When I first joined my paranormal investigative group I knew very little. You might say it was on the job training.
By Rebecca Nidey
Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House
At that time, I never even thought to connect ghost hunting with animals, whether the animals were alive or in spirit. As I learned more, I found that many animals, especially domesticated ones, such as dogs and cats, seem to be very aware of the presence of spirits.
This was first illustrated to me when I was dating a gentleman who had a cat. He lived in one of those wonderful old buildings that still retained some of the original architecture, such as very high ceilings. His apartment, as well as another… supposedly unoccupied… apartment were on the second floor. I often had the feeling of being watched but brushed the feeling off.
One evening my gentleman had to run an errand and left me in the apartment alone with the cat since it was raining. For almost the full hour he was gone, the cat watched something that only she could see, following it with her eyes all over the room. I call myself a skeptical believer, so I looked for some explanation.
Since it was the middle of the winter, there were no bugs for the cat to stalk. Being a very old building, the windows were too high for the headlights of passing cars to enter. When my friend finally returned, I told him what happened and that I had always felt as if I were being watched in the apartment. His explanation was that one of the former tenants of the back apartment had committed suicide by hanging and he often heard him walking the halls, although “I don’t believe in ghosts.”
I am an animal lover and they usually return the emotion to me. On one particular investigation, we were at a very old country home. As we unloaded our gear, a large dog came up and made friends with me. The home owners explained that the dog belonged to a neighbor, but often came over to visit.
During the investigation the atmosphere got a little heavy for me, so I decided to head outside for some fresh air. My four legged friend met me as I came outside and followed me around as I walked off some of the bad energy from inside. However, as I tried to return inside the house, the dog repeatedly blocked my entrance. I finally had to explain to my new friend that I needed to go inside and finish my job, but I appreciated his concern for my safety. Several days after we finished the investigation, we found that the previous tenants had performed some black arts ceremonies in the home. That not only explained my need to get out of the atmosphere for a while, but the concern that the dog had for me entering the building again.
What I find the most interesting are the spirit animals that we encounter. Before arthritis attacked my knees, I often walked at least five miles a day in a local park. Part of that park had a walking track that circled a small lake and a mini golf course. My favorite part was a small nature walk that had been donated by a local business. It had a small stream running through it with many smaller paths and, of course, a wonderful canopy of many different trees.
There were many semi-tame deer, squirrels, etc. that had the run of the whole area. The nature walk was always my favorite thinking/meditating place. One day, as I walked through it, I encountered my first visible spirit animal. Walking along deep in thought, I looked up to see a beautiful, graceful and completely transparent deer cross the path. Since I saw the same deer several times in that very place, I can only surmise it was a residual spirit.
One of my most heartbreaking but loving encounters was also on that same nature trail. Coming from a small, mostly rural area, we are often a bit behind the times compared to larger cities. A fund drive was started and my town purchased its first K-9 unit. The police officer chosen to be his partner happened to be the brother of one of my best friends.
If you are not familiar with how it works with K-9 units, they are generally trained to work only with one officer and live with this officer, becoming a true partner and member of the family. As with all animals, as the K-9 dog ages it usually is retired to live with his or her partner. After several years of living with his partner and his family, it became clear that it was time for the dog to pass to his rest.
Being a family of animal lovers, they already had a small plot set aside at one of the family homes for the final resting places of their beloved animal family members. My friend had told me how much her brother was grieving the loss of his four legged family member, so I was doing some deep thinking on that as I did one of my walks on the nature trail.
To my great delight, I felt the spirit of a dog walking beside me. As I looked down, I saw it was the spirit of the K-9 unit. Rather than walking he was literally bouncing as if he were a puppy again and glowing with health. He had been a German Shepard and, as with many of them, he had painful hip problems before his passing. Then, as if remembering his police training, he began to walk more sedately by my side and asked me to give his partner a message. He wanted him to know that as in life he would still be in death. They had been true partners before his death and he would always protect his human partner, even though he was in spirit. This was one of the most beautiful messages I have ever been honored to share!
There are also funny incidents with animals in spirit.
My group was investigating a home that was supposedly haunted, not only by a previous owner, but also some of her cats… the only family she had. The current inhabitants were renting the house and had no animals, but had seen and heard cats in the house. The neighbors had children who were sure they saw an older lady and a cat looking through a window when no one should have been at home.
The group had set up our equipment and really didn’t have much luck, so we decided just to have some quiet time to see what would happen. The team was scattered in various seats all over the living room and the renters had left us alone in the house. Our leader was sitting on one end of the couch and I was sitting on the other. Since I am rather short, my neck came up to just above the back of the couch. Suddenly, I felt the distinct outline of a cat rubbing itself along the back of my neck and shoulders.
Anyone who has been around a cat knows the feel of a cat wrapping itself around you, whether it’s your leg, arms, neck or whatever part of anatomy is handy. Being startled, I jumped a bit (OK, maybe more than a bit) and let out a yelp. Of course, as often the case, not one of our infrared cameras was placed to catch that area. I’m going to hazard a guess that that spirit animal was intelligent because we are all aware that cats seem to have a mind of their own and do pretty much as they please. I’m sure if the older lady that owned the cat was anywhere near, she was having a good laugh at our expense.
I would like to dedicate this column to my dear Shadow, who belonged to my brother and his wife who joined the spirit world several weeks ago. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is still with them and keeping them loved and safe, just as he did while in body.
However, I want to further dedicate it to all the animals we have loved and are now in spirit. Remember to give an extra hug or pat to those animals you come in contact with, they hold a special place in our lives.
About the Author:
Through her work on the investigative team for the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters, Rebecca Nidey has an understanding of the paranormal, spiritual, and metaphysical worlds and how they work together.
Rebecca has trained in the Healing Touch technique (a form of energy healing). She is a certified Psychic Medium trained by Belle Salisbury, and she is a certified Paranormal Researcher.
Rebecca is the associate editor for Bellesprit Magazine and also writes a column titled Everything I Need To Know I Learned In A Haunted House. She has been a co-host of several radio programs for the Haunted Voices Radio Network and HeyZ Radio Network highlighting the Paranormal, metaphysical and literary fields.
To learn more about Rebecca or to schedule a reading you can contact her at https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.nidey.
