10 Signs Your House Is Haunted

No joke, I've seen a ghost.

I was in college when it happened, in the library late at night. It was a shadow person who peered over me while I was studying, and I was pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating. I looked directly at it, it didn't move. Then I blinked, and it was gone. I know what I saw; it was real.

Later on, I would find out that my school's library was reputed to be haunted. Multiple reports also mentioned seeing shadow figures leaning over desks, as well as a figure of a woman in white who once may have lived in the library before it was annexed by our school.

After having that experience, I became pretty curious about the paranormal. I started to research it in depth, and worked to figure out what I really saw. (Hint: It was a shadow person.)

I eventually learned that hauntings tend to give away signs before major activity happens. You can often tell a house is haunted just by walking through it. Wondering if your home is haunted? Check out these warning signs.

You feel unexplained cold spots when you walk through the home.

It's 80 degrees outside, and the sun is shining. You're in the middle of a heatwave and a half—and everyone's house is a little humid and struggling with the air conditioner's ability to work under duress.

The moment that you walk in your house, though, you'd never be able to tell. Cold spots seem to dot the home, and it never seems to rise above 50 degrees, even on the hottest day.

Many spiritualists and paranormal experts believe that this happens because ghosts take energy from the surrounding areas to manifest themselves. Their absorption of energy then gets noticed as cold spots.

If a house is haunted, you might notice some areas remain colder than usual. That may be where your ghost chooses to stay while lurking around your home. Spooky!

Things keep getting moved around, you're not the one doing it, and you live alone.

Do things seem to move around on their own accord in your home? Do you put things away, only to see them vanish without a trace? If you don't have roommates, it could be the work of a spook.

Ghosts have been known to make objects appear and disappear as a way of getting themselves noticed.

It's often said that animals can see and feel things humans can't—and if you take a look at some of the videos online, you'd see why people believe it. There are plenty of video examples where animals seem to freak out at "nothing."

If you have a pet, take a look at how they behave. Are they barking or hissing at a particular corner of your room? Does it seem like they are following an invisible animal around your home with their eyes?

This may be something that should raise cause for concern. If your furry friends seem scared or threatened of the invisible critter they see, you might want to call an exorcist. That ghost might not be as friendly as Casper!

Ever since you moved in, you've been getting nightmares that aren't really like what you're used to.

You know how people have nightmares or dreams that are typical for them? You might be the person who regularly dreams of falling, but you wouldn't be the person who dreams of being killed by someone. Or, maybe you're the person who usually has nice dreams.

If you have recently moved into a new place and have been getting strange dreams, it could be a sign of a haunting. Of course, the nature of the dreams should be called into question. If it's something dumb like a nightmare about your job, you probably don't need to worry.

On the other hand, unusually violent dreams could be a warning sign. If your house is haunted by a person who died a violent death there, you might be dreaming of the night they were killed.

Electronics and paranormal activity don't really mix well. Ghost hunters who have gone on multiple trips will tell you that ghostly or spiritual activity tends to cause serious problems with even the best ghost hunting and paranormal equipment.

If you notice that you have to irregularly replace light bulbs or batteries, you may be dealing with a paranormal entity. Though drained batteries are the most common way ghosts will interact with electronics, they aren't limited to it.

Some people who live in haunted houses witness electronics turning on by themselves, toys that move without batteries, or even computers that suddenly break.

No matter how hard you try, you can't explain the noises in your home.

There are creaks of a house settling in, and then there are creaks. Ghosts are not always seen, but rather, are often heard. Disembodied footsteps, rattling doors, unexplained taps and knocks are all commonly heard in homes that are filled with paranormal activity.

The best way to figure out if your house is haunted is to try to debunk what those noises could be. Could it be your roommate? The noisy dog upstairs? A heater? Before you jump to conclusions, put on your detective hat to find out what's really going on.

Whenever you're in the house, something feels "off."

One of the most common traits of the many haunted house movies you need to see before you die is the overwhelming feeling of unease that people get when they're there. It's a palpable, unsettling stillness people tend to feel—one where you almost feel like you are being watched by invisible eyes.

If you have ever dealt with this feeling, you already know what I'm talking about. It's an unmistakable, dreaded vibe. When your house is haunted, that feeling will very rarely subside.

Obviously, if you're already spooked, your mind could be playing tricks on you. If you've had other people tell you that your home has that particular gloomy ambiance, chances are that it's not all in your head.

It sometimes feels like you are being touched while you go to sleep.

Many spiritualists believe that we are most likely to see ghosts while we are in between the stages of being awake and being asleep. This makes sense, considering that sleep paralysis often has very paranormal elements tied to the "typical" experience.

People who live in seriously haunted homes may have some ugly experiences when they are about to go to sleep. In some cases, this could mean feeling unseen hands touching you—or having unexplained pressure right next to you in bed.

Does it often feel like you're seeing things? Do you find yourself noticing shadows that shouldn't be there appearing in the corners of your rooms? Are there strange mists, sparkles, or lights that you see sometimes see from your peripheries? Have you checked your carbon monoxide alarm, only to find out that it's totally safe?

If so, you might be seeing apparitions. This is obviously a sign that your house is haunted—and that you may want to consider clearing out your home with sage.

You find yourself waking up at 3 AM or so, repeatedly, without warning.

Regularly cited as "the Witching Hour," or the "Dead Hour," this is supposedly the time when the veils between the living and the dead are the thinnest. Paranormal experts believe that this is the time when ghostly activity is at its peak, and it is common for people living the lives detailed in the scariest nonfiction ghost stories you can read right now to unexpectedly awake exactly as the clock strikes 3 AM.

If you regularly wake up around that time, it could be a sign that your house is haunted... and that something is trying to get your attention.