residual haunting
The Haunted History Of Music City
Many cities around the world are home to their fair share of ghosts and haunted places. Nashville, Tennessee, also known as Music City, is no exception. With the city’s rich and diverse cultural history, from early Native American times to the Civil War to today’s country music industry, it’s no wonder Nashville is haunted.
The unique histories of cities like Nashville, New Orleans, and Savannah, which have experienced war, disease, natural disasters, and slavery, contribute to their reputations as some of the most haunted places. In these cities, many people died under unpleasant circumstances, and much of the modern urban landscape is built on old graveyards and cemeteries, adding to the lore and mystery of these places.
One of the most famous ghosts in Nashville is that of Adelicia Hayes, a 19th century woman whose second husband built the city’s famous Belmont Mansion. Adelicia Hayes Franklin Acklen Cheatham (1817–1887) is an influential and controversial figure in Nashville’s history and was one of the wealthiest women of the antebellum South. Her first husband died in 1846, leaving her an inheritance valued at approximately $1 million, which included seven Louisiana cotton plantations, a two-thousand-acre farm in Gallatin, Tennessee and hundreds of slaves.
The Difference Between Ghosts And Spirits
The terms “ghost” and “spirit” are often used interchangeably, but there are significant differences in how they’re traditionally understood.
Over the years, I have found that it is quite common for people to sometimes confuse ghosts with the spirits of their deceased loved ones, primarily because both concepts involve entities that are no longer living in the physical world.
However, understanding the distinction between these two types of entities is important for those seeking comfort, closure, or communication with the afterlife, especially in the context of mediumship readings and spiritualism.
Our emotional connection to the deceased often influences how we interpret paranormal experiences. Grief, longing, and love can make us more receptive to signs and spiritual energies that we believe are from our deceased loved ones.
Without a clear understanding of the differences between ghosts and spirits, any unusual paranormal activity may be misinterpreted as evidence of a loved one’s presence.
While both ghosts and spirits are spiritual phenomena related to the survival of human consciousness beyond the death of the physical body, there are distinct differences in these two types of entities’ connection to the physical world and their level of progression or transition into the afterlife.
Investigating Paranormal Activity
The existence of ghosts and the paranormal has been a topic of debate and controversy for centuries. With something so abstract it is nearly impossible to find fact in every ghost story. These tales are many times shrouded in myth, legend, and superstition.
However, there are those who make it their life’s work to prove the existence of ghosts and the paranormal. These people, known as paranormal investigators, use various tools and methods to detect any presence of energy that may be other worldly.
The modern field of paranormal investigation requires much more sophisticated tools than one may think. Professional investigators use an array of various technological gadgets and tools, each with its own unique purpose. For basic equipment, most investigators would go nowhere without some type of energy meter, a camera and a voice recorder.
For the more seasoned investigator, an electromagnetic field meter (EMF) and an infrared (IR) thermometer are crucial to a successful and thorough investigation. An EMF detects high levels of electromagnetism, but they are not ‘ghost detectors.’ An EMF only captures the information, but it is up to the investigator to decipher this data. High readings near telephone lines or wiring may be false positives, but a presence in an abandoned building or open field are likely to be more suspect.
An IR thermometer will simply detect changes in temperature, but as with EMF readings these readings must be analyzed and all other sources must be ruled out, before deeming it supernatural.
Paranormal Encounters In Unexpected Places
People generally believe that cemeteries, historic battlefields, and old buildings such as castles, forts, and mental hospitals are the most haunted places. The truth is that paranormal activity can be found in many other unexpected and less stereotypical locations.
In fact, as a psychic, I find a cemetery to be a very peaceful place to visit. People sometimes laugh at me when I tell them that I like to go to cemeteries just to walk around and look at the life stories of the people on their headstones.
To be honest, I have never felt the presence of any malevolent energy or restless spirit in a cemetery. To me, a cemetery is like a little piece of heaven on earth. It is truly a sanctuary; a sacred place of peace and rest. I could easily spend the night in a cemetery and sleep like a baby. Graveyards are not haunted in my experience.
Now, a junkyard full of old, wrecked cars is a whole different situation. Creepy, to say the least! Many drivers have died suddenly in these cars and their spirits have never left the vehicle because they have the impression that they’re still in this life and on their way to their destination.
You see, often when a person dies very suddenly, they don’t go towards the light and cross over to the other side. They do not realize that they are no longer alive.
That is why you could not pay me to visit a junkyard. Just driving by and seeing such a place from a distance scares me! I have endless admiration for the people who restore old cars from these places. I can only imagine what kind of residual energies they bring home with them.
Protect The Energy Of Your Home
You sense someone is watching you. Staring at you. The hair on the back of your neck stand on end. A chill runs down your spine. You turn around to see who it is, but no one is there. You are alone in the room.
If you have ever experienced anything like this, you may have experienced a spirit energy disturbance or paranormal activity, more commonly known as a haunting.
Fortunately, these supernatural experiences are seldom evil or threatening. In most cases, it is due to a simple energy attachment or imprint, also known as a residual haunting. This can happen when we move into an old house, or bring home a piece of antique furniture, and so on. A house blessing ceremony, or energy clearing ritual can usually resolve this kind of problem quite easily.
In rare instances, one may however be dealing with a much more malevolent energy infestation or an intelligent haunting, such as a poltergeist or demonic entity. In these cases, it is usually best to call in expert help from a rescue medium, shaman, paranormal investigator, demonologist, or even an exorcist.
There is however another form of energy contamination that is much more common than residual imprints, spirit attachments, and intelligent hauntings, namely the toxic energy that other living persons can discharge in and around our home.
Our homes are our sanctuary, but sometimes we forget that when we invite certain people into our space, they can leave some creepy energies behind that we would rather not have around us. The worst time to have something like this happen is when our defenses are down and when we are not expecting it. For this reason, one must ensure that you cleanse and protect the energy in your home regularly. This is especially true for psychics, mediums, and empaths, as we tend to be more attractive to unwanted energies.
Heal Your Home With A House Blessing
When you purchase a new home a ‘house blessing’ is recommended, especially if it is an older house with more history. An old family home, like ours that dates back five generations, usually hosts high levels of imprinted energy.
I have always sensed that many family events and life experiences have occurred in our house. We have been able to trace the property’s origins back to 1750, so the place as no doubt witnessed its fair share of birth and death, joy and sadness, hope and despair. In fact, I even know in which room my dad was born.
But no home is ever a flawless sanctuary or the perfect ‘happy place.’ Whatever house you may move into, there is bound to be some level of negative energy that still lingers from its previous occupants. A house blessing can help ‘clear the air,’ so to speak.
If you enter a house and instantly feel a little uncomfortable, especially in a specific area or room, chances are something unpleasant happened there. This may range from something as benign as unresolved arguments that repeatedly occurred there, to verbal abuse, physical violence, substance abuse, extreme illness, intense grief, suicide, and even rape or murder.
Apart from the energy imprints left behind by former occupants, some older homes may also be haunted by the attached spirit energies of deceased former residents, as well as in exceptional cases by other spirit entities. These paranormal energies can be present as either residual or intelligent hauntings, or both.
Jimmy – A True Ghost Story
When I first moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I lived in one of the three old stage coach depots located here. The two others were owned by Burl Ives and the French Consulate, respectively. I can’t speak for those, but I can tell you about my experiences in the one where I lived.
I lived there for five years and it was totally charming. It had been designated as a guest house on the property, next to the main house. It was built with grey native stone and it looked like a painting by Currier and Ives. The perfect Santa Fe retreat, right? Or, anywhere, for that matter!
But a ‘caretaker’ came along with the place, although I did not know that until after I moved in.
The first fine morning at 4:00 a.m. he announced his presence, although I would soon learn that his appearances were anything but rare. This particular morning, I noticed that the lamp in the living room was flickering a bit. As I had been traveling extensively, I was on Australian time and, fortunately, felt quite alert at 4:00 a.m.
I, promptly, began to investigate. Wondering about the condition of the electrical current, since the house was such an old structure. I turned on other lights to see if they would also flicker. They didn’t, so I checked the relatively new lamp.
Jiggling it, shaking it and using various, and assorted other manipulations, to make it flicker, didn’t do the trick. Hmmm, I thought. Is this possibly an otherworldly entity? I was soon to find out that, indeed, it was not of this dimension, when for several consecutive mornings at the same time, 4:00 a.m., the same lamp would flicker a few times.
Finally, I introduced myself, and the lamp flickered! The lamp was in the front window next to my wingback chair. And, then, I was having a conversation with my chair. It went something like this, “Well, you seem quite benevolent, but what are you doing here?” The lamp flickered again. Although I could feel a presence, I had no fear. So, I became bolder. I asked, “Do you live here?” Again the lamp flickered. Finally, in exasperation, I said “Well, for now I guess you can stay, but you eventually need to move on. Oh, and don’t bring any of your friends here.”