What do you think about animals being sensitive to paranormal presences? With the recent addition of Maddie, a dog who is part Australian cattle dog and German shepherd, to the Ghost Hunters television show, more and more people are talking about animals and their involvement with the paranormal. I have heard and read several stories of animals behaving as if there was a presence in the room. In many instances, the animals began staring, barking, or growling at nothing the humans could see. Many people have reported they feel safer when their pets are in the room and that they feel as if they could protect them from anything, even paranormal entities.
We also had horses in a five acre pasture behind our house. One morning while working outside, my dad noticed the horses running all over the pasture like something was chasing them. He was worried they would run through the fence so he called them to come to the corral to lock them in so he could investigate. As they got closer, he could hear dogs barking and saw the horse in the back of the bunch kicking at something. Try as he might, my dad could not see any dogs. He got the horses in the corral and was locking the gate when he felt something brush against his legs.
Again, he heard a dog bark right next to him and the horses ran to the far side of the corral. He then felt what he described as a nose bump against his hand like a dog asking to be petted. He was pretty shook up and went inside to stew about it. Later that day, a person who lived down the road from us knocked on our door looking for her lost dog. She was a collie mix who liked to chase the neighborhood livestock. My dad told her he hadnt seen her, but he was convinced that her ghost was chasing our horses.
However, its important to be sure that the animals are stable, well trained, and comfortable traveling. It is also important to make sure the place being investigated is animal friendly and that the owners are comfortable with having a pet there.As to what animals can add to the investigation, I think their experiences can be treated much like human personal experiences. For it to be meaningful in a paranormal investigation, it must be backed by corresponding evidence like EVPs, photo, or video. When combined with this data, it can provide information that will help the team determine if a place is haunted.
Personally, my family and I have had several experiences with our animals and the paranormal. We once had a dachshund named Maggie, who we fed in the laundry room. When my mom put food in her bowl every morning, Maggie would sit in the hallway and carefully investigate the room with her eyes and noise before going in there. My mother always shook her head, thinking the dog was being strange, but one morning she was drinking her coffee at the kitchen table when she saw Maggie go in to eat her food.
A short time later, she saw a shadow resembling a person extending out of the laundry room doorway into the hall. Maggie then yipped and ran out of the room with her tail between her legs. She ran right under my moms feet, and my mom decided to go investigate since she could still see the shadow. As she got closer to the room, the shadow turned into a black figure that zipped down the hallway. Worried about her kids, my mom chased it and saw it run through the wall at the end of the hallway. Maggie ran ahead of her and began barking at the wall. My mom then heard a solid thunk and Maggie yipped again, turned around and ran back down the hallway. From that day forward, Maggie was fed in the kitchen.
Finally, another beloved family pet, another dachshund named Sophie, lived with me and my family until her death at age 13. For several months after she passed, me and many different family members heard her signature run down the hall when someone knocked on her door. We also felt the presence of her body lying behind our knees, which was her favorite spot, in the early mornings. When we got a new puppy, we noticed her playing like she would with another dog, but nothing was there. Maybe Sophie was welcoming her to the family?
From my personal experiences, I believe that animals can be a vital part of the paranormal investigation process. Since they react in the moment to what is happening and dont use logical reasoning like humans, they can bring a different perspective to investigations.
