Lockdown prompts reports of paranormal activity at home

Quarantining with a ghost? Paranormal investigators reveal what calls they’re getting from people who’ve noticed unexplained activity in their homes during lockdown.

For some, life in Melbourne lockdown has been a little less isolating than they imagined, according to paranormal investigators who have fielded several inquiries from people reporting unexplained activity in their homes.

Pandemic restrictions forcing people to spend more time indoors has led some to wonder if they are unwittingly sharing their space with supernatural forces, according to the Australian Paranormal Society.

Director William Tabone, who has chased ghosts from Aussie homes for over 30 years, says he received many reports from people reporting strange happenings at home since the first lockdown.

“We’ve probably had several dozen inquiries. Most are related to people home a lot more than they normally would be,” he says.

“It could be they’ve had paranormal activity in the house all this time but because they’re so busy, they’ve not been around to actually notice it.

“The main question we get is: “Am I going crazy?’”

Strange noises, voices, seeing unusual things and a sense of being watched or unease in the home are among the reports.

“We’ve had an experience here and we’re seasoned. During the first lockdown my wife Amanda woke up and she had a black mass, like a fog or smoke above her bed,” Mr Tabone said

“It’s something that hasn’t happened here before. All I can think of is it could be related to the lockdown situation.”

Whether you are a believer or not, there is certainty enthusiasm for the idea ghosts are real, judging by the more than 100,000 followers on the society’s Facebook page.

Mr Tabone says many reports he received during lockdown could simply be down to people’s minds playing tricks on them.

“I believe some things are paranormal but the majority are most likely to do with some sort of psychological depressive state and the isolation.

“It is an unprecedented situation causing people a lot of anxiety and that can make people uncomfortable and imagine things or believe things are happening when they’re not.”

On the other hand, he believes negative feelings can also attract negative energy or spirits.

However, his team aims to eliminate any “environmental” or “personal” factors before saying a place is haunted.

“There’s so many things that can make people feel, see and believe they’re being haunted. But are they natural things or man made things?

“We always try and look at what it could be before we say something’s paranormal.”