As you will know, I have been to and investigated my fair share of abandoned buildings over the years, and why is that?

Well, locations generally with a reputation cost money to hire, and we are not talking about a small fee. Some are in extent of £400+ and if you’re not an event team or investigating locations as a business, this can come to a point where you just can’t afford to hire these places, especially if your a small team who enjoys the paranormal as a hobby.

However, for me personally and either love or hate me for this, I love a good abandoned building! The reason behind that is that I’ve captured some of our best evidence at such a place. My theory on why ive had so much more activity at abandoned places is that I believe the energies of such locations have not been on a convyer belt of teams passing through them on a daily basis, therefore the energies of that building in my experience are more fresh and far more willing to come forward.

Not everyone will agree that abandoned buildings should be accessed by paranormal teams, and I completely understand why many feel that way, but even I have limits on what I will enter and won’t. If it is clearly owned and being cared for, I won’t enter.

Why are so many paranormal teams fascinated by abandoned buildings?

Well, they look the part – run down, old,  empty, gloomy, creepy, and in most cases, mother nature, claiming back what is truly hers. I think when a building has been left, there is always that question as to why. So before you have even entered, there is a mysterious feel to it, which impacts us mentally.

This, therefore, can trigger what is known as the paradoxical effect, especially in a believer of the paranormal.

But, many Western Paranormal investigators believe that just because a building is abandoned, that does not mean it’s haunted!

However, across the world, especially in Asia, it’s a general thought that all abandoned buildings are haunted, no matter what has or hasn’t happened on the land.

The general reasoning behind this is that when a building is left empty, nature spirits are likely to take over that place as it has not been protected by a living person. It’s believed spirits own the land, and they will take back what is theirs and reside there!

Which, I can understand this belief because in and around abandoned buildings, nature does take over as its not being cared for and for some explorers of the abandoned and derelict, this is what we go to see and document the beauty of. 

This year, I visited Thailand and if you walk the streets of Thailand, every single home and business has what is known as a spirit house. 

These normally look  like a temple and are usually placed in an auspicious location, such as a corner of a property, and are never in the shadow of a building.

A Brahmin priest or local Buddhist monk is usually consulted to determine the best location for a spirit house and to calculate the best day and time for installation.

Before construction begins, rituals are performed to invite the guardian spirits to the land.

Owners of the house or businesses will put offerings such as sweets, fruit, and dolls on the spirit houses to appease the spirits and offer them shelter. Respect is always a must, and most Thais pay respect to spirit houses.

Believers in Islam may also believe all abandoned houses are haunted. Within the Islamic faith, there is an entity known as the Djinn. It’s said that Djinns do not interfere with humans and live mostly in desolate or abandoned places.

Upon researching this, I found a forum which asks the question:

‘I would like to know if it is true that when you purchase a home, and if you leave it empty for however long, do jinn come and live there? Does one need to ask the jinn to leave the home before moving in? How long can a house be left empty?’

The response in the forum is that yes, a djinn can live in an empty home, as mentioned in the Quran.

https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/225400/do-jinn-live-in-houses-left-empty-for-long

Paranormal investigators often claim they are open-minded in their beliefs. However, I have found that most are only open-minded to their ideas and theories.

Sadlt, a lot of investigators don’t consider beliefs outside of their own cultures, and I think to be a good paranormal investigator, you need to.

I don’t think that in Western paranormal investigations, elementals are considered or thought of as much as they should be. It’s a topic that seems the Western culture quite frankly classes abit ‘hairy fairy’ but globally, these entity’s are considered to be more serious and strict rules and respect is put in place to respect these entities.

Personally, I think because it seems that there is a big belief globally that differing entities seem to favour abandoned and derelict places more than any other place, then that is enough for me to consider that all abandoned buildings could potentially be haunted! Let’s remember just because we don’t live in these countries where we are not familar with different entities to our own, doesnt mean they don’t exist – its just that we are not culturally aware of them. However, as the UK becomes more culturally diverse, that could change. Im aware of how scared islamic groups can be over encountering a djinn, I work very closely with patients who have Islamic beliefs in my day job and when they question my role as a investigator in the paranormal, there always seems to be a fastination and the subject of  djinns is normally the top topic up for discussion,  so next time I visit an abandoned place, I’ll be asking a lot more questions based on what could be there in an elemental sense.

Let me know your thoughts?