7 Possible Practical Explanations for Paranormal Phenomena ...

Resting at home, or asleep in your bed, you hear a bump in the night. Everyone is asleep or you’re the only one home. The sound of rumblings in your home is enough to awaken those instincts of fight or flight. Before you grab a weapon, stop and listen for a second. The sound of rattling pipes, foundation settling, or blustery winds are louder when the noise of day dies down around you, and it's these sounds that are reasonable explanations for paranormal phenomena.

If you watch any ghost hunter show you will no doubt hear audio clips of ghostly disembodied voices. Often the voices appear to be responding to questions or actions posed by the ghost hunter. Sometimes the audio devices capture voices and other unprovoked sounds. Sitting alone, you hear a whisper or the distant sound of your name. You are perplexed at the source until your family member walks in and you realize that they’d been softly calling your name throughout the house.

Shadowy figures appearing out of nowhere is one of the more common paranormal reports. Imagine you are in a space, minding your business, and you spot a ghostly shadow sliding across the wall. As the shadow dissipates you hear doors opening and closing. Freaky! That is until you realize headlights created the shadowy images and the opening and closing doors are the sound of people arriving.

There aren’t very many things as frustrating as losing your keys. Sometimes they show up again, later, in a different location. If this has happened to you then your home may have a poltergeist. Yikes! Or, just maybe, you did indeed misplace your keys or loan them to someone. As unnerving as this can be the explanation can be simple case of forgetfulness.

In the kitchen, you grab a snack, clean up, and head out. But, wait, what was that sound? You return to the kitchen and see the door is open, again. Some cabinets have hydraulic closing mechanisms causing them to close slowly. Or, perhaps, (as I’ve done many times) you didn’t replace the item out of the way of the door.

Cold spots are often reported to be present in a suspected haunted home. Ghost hunters use cool gadgets to gauge the presence of a spirit. Do you find yourself reaching for a sweater when you should be toasty? The area you think may be occupied by otherworldly spirits just may have a perfectly reasonable explanation. Poor air circulation can cause an already drafty home to have uneven heat distribution.

Flickering lights are another haunted house staple. If you experience flickering lights or a power outage the culprit may be simpler than you think and more dangerous than you imagine. Severe weather can interfere with your utilities. Particularly, lightning storms! Though beautiful - from a distance - if a storm strikes too close it can cause power failure. The next time your lights flicker check local weather reports and grab your flashlight.

The next time you’re home alone, at night, and slightly freaked out about the paranormal activity happening around you – take a breath. The paranormal phenomena you think you are experiencing may have a practical explanation. Have you experienced any paranormal phenomena? Please, share!