The most common type of haunting is a residual haunting. A residual haunting can be described as an image that has been recorded in time and played back in a continuous loop over and over again through the years. Additionally, there is no intelligent ghost, spirit, or other entity directly involved. You may see the same scenes all the time, hear the same noises repeatedly, or even smell the same smells, usually at the same time of day. The image you are seeing will not even realize that you are there.

Although you might think you're seeing a spirit, it isn't really an actual spirit. It's not even there; it's just the leftover energy of an event in the past; like a recording. This repeated scene that plays over and over is usually a very significant event, life-altering event, or even a common event of a person or place. Usually the sounds and images recorded are related to traumatic events that took place at that location and caused some sort of disturbance or "psychic impression" to happen there. Traumatic events like beheadings, great battles, murders, or even a celebration can be the focus of a residual haunting.

In most cases people may hear the sounds of screaming,crying, breathing,phantom footsteps walking on the stairs or through hallways, or even odd, repetitive sounds like tapping or slamming. Although these images may manifest themselves Visually, they won't interact with the living and will just continue to repeat the same actions over and over again. It's just like rewinding a movie and watching the same scene over and over. The activity, whether sounds or sightings, will be random.

Although research is ongoing, some theories on residual hauntings have been suggested. A common explanation for this type of haunting is the energy has, in a way, become part of the dwelling it once occupied. This can be explained by the fact that some building materials, such as the slate that was used to build old castles and stone structures along with iron nails used in many of the same buildings, have properties similar to audio or video tape which have a tendency to make "recordings" of things that happen near them. The energy of these occurances imprints itself into the atmosphere of the place and cannot be erased. The materials store the energy created by these traumatic events and play them back at a later, random time. In some cases, the images have been created by events or actions that were repeated over and over again, which causes an impression. In older places like Europe, it has been suggested that the porous stones of castle walls soak up the energy and that's why there are so many haunted old buildings there. Some of the most famous hauntings appear to be residual ones. The Tower of London's ghost of Anne Boleyn and the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall are two famous examples of residual hauntings.

There is usually very little that can be done to stop this kind of haunting. This type of haunting is not dangerous at all so if you or someone you know ever has to deal with the situation, understand what is going on and realize that there is really no danger. Someone who is in this situation will have to learn to live with it or relocate.