Common places to find ghosts
One thing that I have learned is that ghosts are more common than a lot of people think. Normally, you are going to have to go looking for them, because they aren't going to come to you. Something that you have to remember though is to never go where you aren't wanted. Some people don't want to be told that they have a ghost. Ethical ghost hunters are a lot like any other profession...the ones who bother and pursue witnesses or owners of haunted spots are a lot like lawyers who chase ambulances....the reputable ones just don't do it. It's also a lot like ghost hunters who claim they are going to haunted places purely for research...and then charge the owners to do the investigation. There isn't anything that is much more disreputable than that.
Alleged haunted places that are open to the public can provide hours of research and the history of the place often gives good leads toward finding it's ghosts. Many times, the folklore and legends of the place make a good place to start. These stories may just have a root in genuine phenomena. The lesson here is to not ignore the stories that sound too good to be true...there may be more here than meets the eye
Just remember, there are ghosts out there, they are just not always easy to find. It's not impossible though because if it were, there would be a lot of ghost hunters around with nothing to do. Just keep searching!
Here is an idea of some of the places where I have had luck with ghost hunting.
HOMES
Many private residences, and not just old ones, have a tainted past that might include murder, suicide or some other tragic event. Many times, these events cause a place to become haunted. The location can become haunted because of a spirit being drawn there by these events or because one has stayed behind because of them. These spirits can be positive or negative and haunted houses boast all kinds of different phenomena. Private homes are also much harder for a ghost hunter to gain access to that public buildings but can be very rewarding if you can get an invitation.
CEMETERIES
Cemeteries seem to offer the ghost hunter an excellent chance for strange phenomena and spirit photos, perhaps because of the theory involving "spirit portals" and "doorways" in many burial grounds. Cemeteries with unmarked graves, where desecration has taken place or where tragic events have occurred often become haunted. A search through historical records can often point a researcher to a haunted graveyard.
THEATERS
The entire range of the human emotion is expressed inside of a theater and this seems to attract spirits who use this energy. The theater also stirs a great love from many people who work in them and many have returned after their deaths. The saying goes that "every good theater has a ghost" and many theaters are prime locations for all kinds of spirits.
CHURCHES
A church also contains a lot of spent human emotion and can attract ghosts. It is also possible that some churches could have been built on the site of a place that many considered "evil". This would drive away the so-called "evil spirits"...although it is possible that the place was simply a haunted one. While churches seem like they would be a great place to conduct investigations, the same type of narrow thinking that labels ghosts as "demons" usually keeps the ghost hunter out of these locations.
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
Many schools have had tragic events that attract ghosts, either from former students or staff members or from all of the energy given off by having so many young people all clustered together. The best way to pursue ghosts at a college is to pass the word to a student or two that you are interested in hearing their stories (they almost always have them) or by talking to someone on the security or maintenance staff. Talk to a teacher or a custodian at the local high school or elementary school....l don't recommend hanging around the playground and asking the students.
HOTELS
Thousands of people pass through your local hotels and motels each year, so it isn't a far reach to think there might be a ghost or two around. You can do a little investigating into the history of older hotels and even find that a suicide or murder could have taken there. Asking at the front desk about ghosts wouldn't do any good but the maintenance staff or the housekeeping workers might have a good story to tell. Be prepared to spend some money though...you can't investigate a haunted hotel without spending the night there.
BATTLEFIELDS AND CRIME SCENES
These two types of locations are linked because of the tragedy that has tank place at both of them. These locations deal with a sudden loss of life and this can sometimes cause a spirit to linger behind in confusion. The tragedy and the trauma involved can also lead towards a residual haunting as the terrible events replay themselves over and over again.
HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES
These are places often overlooked by ghost hunters but I will guarantee that these places will be the hardest ones to get into for an investigation. It will even be tough to hear the stories and anecdotes from the people who work there. I personally know of four hospitals and nursing homes that have resident ghosts, from phantom nuns to spectral patients, but it is unlikely if any of these cases will ever be brought to light. The administrators of all of these places have forbidden the workers to talk about the strange events there. The workers that have talked anyway, have done so under the strictest confidence. Besides these sites, there are also many out there which do not fit into any category at all, including caves, roadways, forests, mines... etc. Just remember that for any location that has seen life, and death, over the years... there is probably another just like it that is probably haunted!
Good luck and happy hunting!
