HIS MAGICK TOUCH—an interview with Devon and Raina

HIS MAGICK TOUCH, an adult witch romance available in ebook, tells the story of Devon Bainbridge and Raina St. Clair. So, in honor of the Samhain celebration and its more modern Halloween incarnation, I've invited Devon and Raina to be my guests today.

Welcome to my blog, Devon and Raina.  Thank you for taking time from your schedule to be here today, especially with how busy you are due to the special gathering of covens for the Samhain celebration.

Raina:  It's our pleasure, Samantha.  Thanks for the invitation.

It's my understanding, Devon, that as a High Priest you've been invited to open and close the special ceremony involving the gathering of many covens from various states at this year's Samhain celebration.

Devon:  Yes, it's a very special gathering this year.  I'm honored to have been chosen.

And isn't it that gathering of the covens that's indirectly responsible for bringing the two of you together?  Two people who had never met but each with your own agenda in seeking out the other?  And you first encountered each other at a Halloween party for mortals, of all places?

Raina:  (laughs) That succinctly describes it.  The uncomfortable situation of a witch of the bloodline at a mortal's Halloween party.

Why would you be attending such a party?  Doesn't it violate everything you stand for and represent?

Raina:  Even though I'm a witch and immortal, I still need to earn a living in today's world.  The man throwing the party, the one who invited me, is one of my best clients.  So, even though the party theme wasn't to my liking and presented an awkward and uncomfortable situation, I felt an obligation to put in an appearance.

Devon:  And it was due to Raina being at the party that I needed to be there.  I didn't know if my busy schedule would allow me to be able to make a connection with her at the Samhain celebration, so I sucked up my personal feelings and teleported inside the country club to the party location where I waited for her to arrive.

So why were you each trying to make contact with the other?  You had no prior connection, right?

Devon:  A prior connection?  That's an easy answer. A definitive yes…and no.  (chuckles)  I had never met Raina but I had crossed paths with her sister, Miranda, a century ago.  Miranda and I had some unfinished business.  Since Miranda had been deftly avoiding me, my plan was to use Raina as a source to locate her sister.  I've always lived by the witch's credo of Harm To None (a quick scowl darts across his face), but my unfinished business with Miranda was in total violation of that honorable intention.

What kind of unfinished business?

Devon:  To put it as simply as possible, Miranda St. Clair misused and abused her witch's powers and in so doing was responsible for the purposeful destruction of my brother.  I fully intended to make her accountable to the council for her misdeeds and personally see to it that she did not escape retribution.

And did you?

Devon:  I can't reveal that here, but it's all in the book.

(LOL) Fair enough.  How about you, Raina?  How did you discover the truth of Devon's agenda?  And what did you think when you found out what he really wanted?

Raina:  Devon voluntarily told me about trying to locate Miranda and why.  But his assumption that I could help him with that was mistaken.  Miranda and I…well, we've…(a look of sadness comes into her eyes, Devon reaches over and gives her hand a reassuring squeeze).  Well, it's all in the book.

LOL…It seems that you're both stonewalling me.  Let me try this. Raina, what about your agenda in wanting to make contact with Devon?  What was that all about?

Raina:  I had never met Devon in person, but knew his excellent reputation as a very powerful High Priest and the respect paid him by the members of the witch community.  I had planned to seek him out at the Samhain gathering and was quite surprised to see him at my business client's Halloween party.  Why was I determined to meet him?  Devon is an acknowledged expert in all facets of sex magick.  I wanted him to teach me…to school me in the proper rituals.

Was he surprised by your request and did he agree to teach you the rituals?

Raina:  Well, to quote something I heard recently—I can't tell you that…you'll need to read the book.

The two of you are telling me the same thing?  Neither of you will disclose the information about how you resolved your issues?  You won't tell me what kind of impact Raina's unexpected request about sex magick had on Devon's quest to find Miranda and seek retribution?

Devon:  (winks at me)  I believe you've grasped the core of the situation.

Raina:  In other words…that's right!  (LOL)

Fair enough.  The answers are in the book!  Thank you, Raina and Devon, for being with us today.

HIS MAGICK TOUCH  R-Adult Excerpt #1:

She grabbed a napkin from the bar and dabbed at her neck and upper chest, leaving most of the champagne to trickle between her breasts.

He set the half-empty glass on the bar, surprise covering his features. “I’m so sorry.” A sincere concern surrounded his words. “Are you okay?”

Just the sound of his smooth masculine voice sent a ripple of desire coursing through her body. She gave him her most seductive smile as she continued to dab the champagne from her skin. “I’m fine, no problem.”

He ran his fingertip along the edge of her plunging neckline. “Can I be of assistance?” A quick glance down the front of her dress noticeably quickened his breathing. “I can lick up the excess champagne…if it will help.” His voice and words teased and a sexy grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, but the glow in the depth of his eyes radiated pure passion and sexual magnetism. The kind that could melt the most determined woman’s defenses.

Her nipples puckered, partly from the cold champagne and partly from his obvious perusal of her body combined with the sexual energy that practically sparked from him. Her heartbeat increased. Being this close to him had her juices flowing and her desires running at full speed. She definitely wanted to experience Devon’s sexual prowess and learn the techniques of sex magick from a master, to discover and embrace the untapped potential of her sexuality.

She smiled seductively. “That’s a very gracious offer."

BLURB:  As the powerful High Priest of his coven, Devon Bainbridge lives by the witch's credo of Harm To None. Yet he is willing to sacrifice everything in his century long quest for revenge. He intends to use Raina St. Clair as a means of locating her sister, the witch who misused her powers to destroy his brother. But once he meets Raina, his plan doesn't go as intended, especially when he discovers her agenda. She wants to learn sex magick.

Is Raina the one woman who could save Devon from himself?

HIS MAGICK TOUCH is published by The Wild Rose Press for their Scarlet Rose line of erotic romance.   www.thewildrosepress.com 

HIS MAGICK TOUCH, erotic witch romance is available in ebook at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/His-Magick-Touch-ebook/dp/B00DS9QGGM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1373294354&sr=1-1&keywords=His+Magick+Touch

and other online vendors

Additional excerpts from HIS MAGICK TOUCH and information on my other books are available on my website at www.samanthagentry.com

Halloween's Ancient Origins

Halloween is almost here. Since late August the stores have been filled with candy packaged in special Halloween wrapping, spooky witch and ghost decorations, pumpkins waiting to be carved into Jack O' Lanterns, and costumes for both children and adults. These have now been picked over with what remains having been put on sale at drastically reduced prices. Retailers have already moved on to Christmas and it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

I've collected several bits and pieces about ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night that I'd like to share with you—starting with the ancient origins of the Halloween holiday then a bit of Jack O' Lantern trivia.

The roots of Halloween date back 2000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in, rhymes with cow).  The Celts lived in what is now Ireland, United Kingdom, and northern France.  They celebrated their new year on November 1, the day marking the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark winter.  They believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead wasn't clearly defined.  On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, a time when they believed the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

To commemorate the event, the Druids (Celtic priests) built large sacred bonfires where the people made sacrifices to the Celtic deities.  During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.  When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the winter.

By 43A.D., the Romans had conquered most of the Celtic territory.  During the next four hundred years, the Roman festivals of Feralia and Pomona were combined with the traditional celebration of Samhain.  In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV declared November 1 to be All Saints' Day.  Today it's believed that the pope was trying to replace the Celtic festival with a church sanctioned holiday.  The celebration was also called All-Hallows.  So, the night before it, the night of Samhain, was called All-Hallows Eve.

In 1000A.D., the church declared November 2 as All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead.  It was celebrated similarly to Samhain with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes.  Together the three celebrations—the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls'—were called Hallowmas and eventually Halloween.

Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic, and superstition.  It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends.  They set places at the table and left treats on doorsteps for these friendly spirits.  They also lit candles to help their loved ones find their way back to the spirit world.  Today's Halloween ghosts are commonly depicted as much scarier and our emphasis on customs and superstitions more horror related.

And speaking of superstitions…have you ever wondered about where these strange beliefs came from?  British author Harry Oliver wrote a book titled Black Cats and Four-Leaf Clovers where he explored the origins of superstitions and old wives' tales from around the world.  Here are a few of his observations.

Black Cats Bring Bad Luck:  black cats have been linked to black magic and the ancient concept of witchcraft through the centuries which is why many people think they're unlucky.  If a cat crosses your path, it's considered unlucky.  However, if a cat walks toward you, it's a good omen.

Carrots Are Good For Your Eyesight:  although studies have shown that the vitamin A in carrots is good for your eyes, the vegetable isn't enough to create 20/20 vision.  Many believe that it was a smart attempt by parents to get their children to eat their vegetables.  There is another belief that it started during World War II.  It was rumored that British pilots were eating huge amounts of carrots so they could see from high altitudes and in the dark.  The rumor was created to keep the public from discovering that radar had been invented and was being used against the enemy.

Wear Your Underwear Inside Out:  when you're having a bad day, superstition says that if you turn your underwear inside out things will get better.  No one is sure where this one came from, but it sounds like the result of a wild college fraternity party.

And then there's the Jack O' Lantern.  Making a Jack O' Lantern for Halloween is a centuries old practice that originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed Stingy Jack.  He played tricks on the Devil and made Satan promise not to take his soul when he died.  When the time came, God refused to allow him into heaven because he was an unsavory character.  The Devil wouldn't allow him into hell because Jack had made him promise.  With nowhere to go, Jack put a burning coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth ever since.  The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as Jack Of The Lantern which morphed into Jack O' Lantern.

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions by carving scary faces into turnips and potatoes, and in England they used large beets.  Immigrants from these countries brought the tradition with them to the United States where they soon found that pumpkins made the perfect Jack O' Lantern.

The last two years, due to the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic, Halloween celebrations were put on hold. But this year, the festivities and celebrations are going ahead full force. Everyone stay safe this Halloween. 

Most Haunted Cities in America

With the approach of Halloween, it's natural for thoughts to occasionally dwell on ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night.  This week I'm blogging about America's most haunted cities.

There are several lists of the most haunted cities in the United States, most of them basically naming the same cities in varying order.  Here's one list of 10 cities that recently came to my attention.

10)  Portland, Oregon:  Portland has a reputation for being the most haunted city in the Pacific Northwest.  It's a city of many haunts, both seasonal tourist attractions and historical happenings where the participants refuse to leave.  One of the most famous…or more accurately, most infamous…historical haunts are the Shanghai Tunnels.  We've all heard the expression of someone being Shanghaied, meaning to be abducted.  This is where it originated.  In the Victorian era (around the 1870s), ship captains would put into Portland on the Columbia River looking for fresh crew members.  Local middlemen drugged pub goers, dropped the bodies through trapdoors into the tunnels below where they were held captive until they could be carted to the waterfront and sold to the captain for $50/each.  These ships were quite often headed for China and the port of Shanghai, thus the term being Shanghaied.  Many of these drugged unfortunates died while being held in the tunnels.  Today, the Shanghai Tunnels have several ghosts, some menacing and others apparently confused.

9)  San Francisco, California:  A city of many haunted locations and happenings.  One of the most interesting is Alcatraz.  The island has a long history, first as a military prison during the Civil War.  It was used off and on by many different groups to house various prisoners from that time until 1933 when it was officially turned over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and used as a maximum security prison for the likes of Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. On March 23, 1963, Alcatraz closed its prison doors for good.  Over the one hundred plus years that the island housed prisoners of all types, many died in cruel and terrible ways.  Those spirits still inhabit Alcatraz.  Even today as part of the National Park system, tourists taking one of the park ranger guided tours report seeing and hearing strange things that can't be explained. I've done the National Park Service tour of Alcatraz and found it very interesting.

8)  Chicago, Illinois:  Chicago was the center of gangland activity during Prohibition, including the famous St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  Many gangsters of the era used Chicago as a body dumping ground.  There were also six thousand Confederate soldiers and sailors buried during the Civil War at Oak Woods Cemetery which has ongoing paranormal activity.  Chicago's most famous ghost is Resurrection Mary named for Resurrection Cemetery.  She was killed by a hit and run driver on the street in front of the cemetery and now is often seen hitch hiking along that street.

7)  Charleston, South Carolina:  The downtown area known as The Battery was an artillery installation during the Civil War.  The area is known for its ghost stories.  The Battery Carriage House Inn is the city's famous haunted hotel where visitors often see strange happenings.  The inn's two most famous ghosts are the gentleman ghost and the headless torso.  The gentleman ghost is thought to be a young man whose family owned the house in the early 1900s and, for reasons unknown, jumped off the roof and killed himself.  The headless torso is believed to be military from the Civil War.  There is no evidence that he intends any harm, but guests have felt threatened when he has suddenly materialized in their room.

6)  St. Augustine, Florida:  The nation's oldest city and the first permanently occupied European settlement on our shores, dating back to its founding in 1565.  Castillo de San Marcos is a star-shaped fort and is considered to be one of the most haunted places in a city filled with unexplained phenomenon.  The construction of The Old Fort began in 1672 and took twenty-three years to build.  Many strange sightings, including a Spanish soldier, have been reported.  It is not uncommon for individuals to capture on film strange lights, orbs, rods, spheres, and even distinct apparitions composed of strange mists.

5)  San Antonio, Texas:  The home of the Alamo is regarded as the most haunted city in Texas.  Prior to the Battle of the Alamo, the ground was a cemetery between 1724 and 1793.  It's estimated that about one thousand people were buried during those years.  On the morning of March 6, 1836, following the thirteen day Battle of the Alamo, one thousand six hundred Mexican shoulders lay dead along with the approximately one hundred forty-five defenders of the old mission.  The remaining buildings at the Alamo as well as the surrounding area is one of the most haunted places in the nation.  Tales of ghostly sightings have been reported for almost two centuries.

4)  New Orleans, Louisiana:  With a history of voodoo and slavery in its past, it's no wonder that New Orleans is considered a very haunted city.  Its most famous ghost is voodoo priestess Marie Laveau who was buried at St. Louis Cemetery #1, considered one of the most haunted cemeteries in the country.  New Orleans is well below sea level, so the dead are buried in above ground tombs or vaults resembling small architectural buildings.  Located on the edge of the haunted French Quarter, this oldest still-in-service cemetery has been the setting for many haunted New Orleans movies such as Easy Rider, Interview With The Vampire, and Johnny Handsome.  But its biggest draw is the tomb of Marie Laveau.

3)  Salem, Massachusetts:  This site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600s certainly makes the list of haunted cities.  Gallows Hill is believed to be haunted by the spirits of the nineteen women accused of being witches who were hanged there.  Most of the original witch trial activity actually occurred in Salem Village (now part of Danvers, Massachusetts) located about 5 miles north of Salem. It also shouldn't be surprising that Salem has one of the largest Halloween celebrations in the country for people of all ages.

2)  Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:  The Civil War battle at Gettysburg resulted in fifty-one thousand casualties.  It is believed that nearly all forty miles of the Gettysburg battlefields have paranormal activity.  Many of the ghosts show up in photos, including the ghost of Robert E. Lee.  In July 1863, Gettysburg's living population was out numbered twenty to one by the dead.

1)  Savannah, Georgia:  Savannah was named America's Most Haunted City in 2002 by the American Institute of Parapsychology.  The city was home to a Revolutionary War battleground as well as Civil War actions.  Savannah offers several different haunted tours and is also famous as the location of the bestselling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that all of these cities offer ghost tours.  Have any of you ever had any firsthand experience with hauntings?

America's Haunted Hotels

Are you looking for that Halloween thrill that's real rather than manufactured?  A true haunted hotel for a night away from home?  The U.S. has many haunted hotels and inns from which to choose.  Here's a sampling (in no particular order) of 21 spooky destinations to spend the night.  Or longer…if you're brave enough.  Just make sure your stay doesn't become permanent.

The Myrtles Plantation—St. Francisville, Louisiana

Built approximately 1796, this former home is considered one of the most haunted homes in the U.S. with one murder and several natural deaths. The Plantation now has 11 guest rooms.

Hotel del Coronado—Coronado (San Diego), California

Opened in 1888 and a National Historic Landmark since 1977, the Hotel del Coronado is said to be haunted by the ghost of Kate Morgan, who committed suicide there after being jilted by the man she thought was going to be her husband.  This is one of my favorite hotels and has also been used as a location for many movies and television shows, probably the most well-known being SOME LIKE IT HOT starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe.

Marrero's Guest Mansion—Key West, Florida

Built in 1889 by Francisco Marrero for his bride, the 13 guest room Victorian home is rumored to still be haunted by her ghost.

Stanley Hotel—Estes Park, Colorado

First opened in 1909, this hotel is most famous these days as the inspiration for Stephen King's horror novel, THE SHINING.

Queen Anne Hotel—San Francisco, California

This B&B in San Francisco's Pacific Heights area is said to be haunted by the spirit of Mary Lake who was the Head Mistress of the school that used to be located inside the building.

Manresa Castle—Port Townsend, Washington

A former 30 room private residence is haunted by 2 ghosts, including a former guest who was stood up by her lover and subsequently jumped to her death from the hotel.

Driskill Hotel—Austin, Texas

Originally built in 1886 for cattle baron Jesse Driskill, the Austin landmark hosts travelers today in addition to the spirit of Jesse Driskill.

The Lemp Mansion—St. Louis, Missouri

This hotel offers paranormal tours complete with appetizers and a drink.  Several members of the Lemp family died under various circumstances including more than one suicide.

Hawthorne Hotel—Salem, Massachusetts

The location of the infamous Salem Witch Trials would certainly lend itself to hauntings and Halloween visitors.  Guests of the hotel have reported hearing eerie sounds in the stairwells and feeling ill at ease while staying there.

Green Mountain Inn—Stowe, Vermont

Boots Berry died in a fall from the roof.  His ghost has been seen standing in room 1840, where he was born.

Buxton Inn—Granville, Ohio

The ghost of Orrin Granger, who built the Buxton Inn, has been seen wandering the halls.  The ghost of Bonnie Bounell, a former innkeeper, is said to hang out in room 9.

1866 Crescent Hotel & Spa—Eureka Springs, Arkansas

The deceased who are still residing at the hotel include a stonemason, a cancer patient, a cat, and a man in a white suit.  A new ghost, a dancer, was recently spotted at the hotel.

Beverly Hills Inn—Atlanta, Georgia

This property is said to be haunted by the souls of 3 women.  An investigation in 2007 recorded voices whispering "Get out."

Hotel Queen Mary—Long Beach, California

With its history as both a luxury cruise ship and a troop transport ship during World War II, the Queen Mary is reportedly haunted by many spirits.  One of them is a young girl who broke her neck sliding down one of the ship's banisters.  She can be seen today hanging out by the swimming pool.

Gettysburg Hotel—Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Ghosts dance in the ballroom and the ghost of a Union soldier strolls through the halls.  The nearby Gettysburg Civil War battle field is considered by many to be the most haunted place in the U.S.  When the battle ended on July 3, 1863, there had been 51,000 casualties on both the Confederate and Union side.

Congress Plaza Hotel—Chicago, Illinois

Built in 1893 for visitors to the Chicago World's Fair, the hotel is reputedly one of Al Capone's hideouts.  Members of a rival gang did a drive by shooting attempt on his life while he was staying there.  The hotel is said to be haunted by a young boy, possibly an innocent victim of that shooting.

The Battery Carriage House Inn—Charleston, South Carolina

Many guests have reported seeing the torso of a decapitated confederate soldier floating through the Inn.

1859 Historic National Hotel—Jamestown, California

Located in the Sierra foothills in the heart of the California gold rush country, the hotel is said to be haunted by a woman whose fiancé was shot by a drunk on the hotel premises.  She is said to have died of a broken heart while wearing her wedding dress and has been giving hotel guests an uncomfortable feeling ever since.

Burn Brae Mansion—Glen Spy, New York

The former home of the third president of the Singer Sewing Machine company offers ghost tours.

Prospect Hill Bed & Breakfast Inn—Mountain City, Tennessee

The haunting spirit at this Inn apparently has a sweet tooth.  The smell of baking cookies wafts through the Inn in the wee hours of the morning.

The Colonial Inn—Concord, Massachusetts

This 24 room Inn was established in 1716.  Room 24, located in the oldest part of the Inn, was reportedly used as an emergency hospital during the Revolutionary War and that is where guests have reported odd happenings.

There are, of course, many more hotels and inns in the United States reported to be haunted.  This is just a sampling.  Do you have any haunted hotels in your city?  I have been to seven of the hotels on this list and of those the Hotel del Coronado is definitely my favorite.  Actually, it's one of my favorite hotels in any season.

7 Signs Your House Could Be Haunted

It's October, the time of spooky things that go bump in the night, culminating with Halloween on October 31^st. It's also the start of a series of blogs that honor the season of spooks and spirits.

I recently came across an article sharing these signs that suggest your home may have visitors from beyond the grave. It first caught my attention because I have a friend who is involved in ghost hunter investigations. The location in question does not need to be an old abandoned haunted looking type of place. It could be a currently occupied, new, upscale residence or building that was constructed at a suspected site.

1)  Mysterious sights and sounds

Clearly we have a fascination with haunted places in this country as evidenced by the numerous cable television series exploring this topic. There are professional ghost hunters who believe most of the signs indicating a haunting aren't so scary. It's suggested that the entities are simply trying to send a message, that they aren't evil—only misunderstood. It's believed that a lot of the classic signs that people run into are mysterious noises that seem to come from places they can't locate, a lot of bumping and scratching on walls, seeing full-bodied apparitions, and things moving from place to place when no one has touched them. Of course, anyone who has seen a horror movie or a ghost show probably already knows this. What you might not know, however, is that what you call a haunting may not be the real thing. There are experts in the field who have been called to houses where the causes of these phenomena have actually been carbon monoxide poisoning which caused people to hallucinate. Mold, too, can cause the same reaction. For houses with legitimate ghosts, there are more telling signs that your house is haunted.

2)  Ectoplasm

Fact: Ectoplasm is a substance that still mystifies even the most seasoned paranormal experts. Historically, it has been reported to show up during seances through a spiritual medium. One paranormal investigator experienced the phenomenon in real haunted houses. The family living in the house reported that things moved on their own. While he was at the house he actually had a strange, viscous fluid show up and drip down his arm from out of nowhere. The family living there claimed that happened all the time. It was a very strange kind of off-white, almost like a raw egg kind of fluid. Ectoplasm is not often seen or experienced at your run-of-the-mill haunted house, but paranormal experts see it as a sign of certainty that there is a paranormal presence at work.

3)  Feeling watched

Though the sensation of being watched isn't a proven factor, people who live in genuine haunted houses do report it a lot. Many believe in a kind of sixth sense. Basically, you might be in a house with a really bad vibe—cold chills move throughout the room along with the feeling of being watched. Sometimes whispers, or waking in the middle of the night because of the feeling that somebody's standing there. Whether there is a normal explanation for this sensation or a paranormal one is hard to know for sure, but it's definitely a contributing factor for nearly any house that is afflicted by spirits.

4)  Inexplicable movement

Objects don't move on their own—unless you live in an old drafty house where strong winds make doors open and close. Otherwise, there has to be some kind of force applied to get it to move. That's why when you see things flying around your house without visible cause, you can be pretty sure that there is something—or someone—other than you in your house. Soaring objects are another staple of horror movies, but inexplicable movement can be even more sinister than that.

5)  Personality change

When we think about possession, our minds immediately go to demons…demons…demons. More often than not, demonic possession and even a demonic presence is not behind whatever it is you're experiencing. A normal ghost can possess you, too. The tip-off is if someone you know is acting extremely strange all of a sudden. If you start to notice someone has taken on a pretty distinct personality change, that can be a sign of possession.

6)  Previous homeowners

If you suspect you might have a haunted house on your hands, you should probably dig into the history of your property. If you're experiencing things you can't explain, doing research might help clear it up. Hopefully, once you know what happened or what you're dealing with, you can ease the haunting. However, some places can't be cleared of their histories.

7)  Physical and emotional disorientation

A haunting can have a terrible effect on your mood and even your physical condition. It can leave you feeling angry or weak.

The three types of hauntings

Many experts sort hauntings into three categories: intelligent, residual, and intentional. There's the classic haunting which is an intelligent haunting. The spirit seems to interact very intelligently with people. And then the other common one people run into a lot is a residual haunting. With that, it just kind of plays over and over and over. It doesn't ever really acknowledge that people live in the house. It just is. It just happens. Sometimes it's because a traumatizing event happened on a particular date. There's no intelligence there, so there's really nothing you can do about it. Lastly, an intentional haunting is actually more about living, breathing humans than spirits. It really comes from people who have put so much energy and intention into the belief that their house or object is haunted that they've ended up actually manifesting a haunting. Think of kids who follow urban legends and routinely go visit the place of the supposed haunting. They feed the story so much that they actually open the place up to paranormal activity.

What to do if your house is haunted

Experts say that the best way to deal with a haunting is to make a firm statement. Talk to the presence in your home and let it know what your intentions are. Most people who discover that their house is haunted can live peacefully with whatever spirits are there. If it's something that really, genuinely bothers you, say something as simple as 'You need to leave.' Finally, if you try to use sage, just be cautious and use it the right way. It's so cleansing it almost creates a vacuum. It's like dusting your whole house then leaving your doors and windows open in a sandstorm.

So next time you think something in your space is off, keep in mind these telltale signs that your house may be haunted.