This week on the blog, we are counting down to the release of Ask a Medium (starring me, Erin English) on the Hello Ghostie podcast and also, Halloween! Be sure to read yesterday’s post on the Witching Hour.

If you want to check out the Hello Ghostie podcast, you can find it on Apple podcasts, or Spotify. Of course, be sure you don’t miss the episode, dropping October 27.

Dear Spirit, why are you here?

Today, let’s talk about why spirits stay on Earth – isn’t there somewhere else they should be? The short answer is yes. Under normal circumstances, souls that have departed the body immediately leave this earthly realm. They will be faced with a choice to check on the living and sometimes they do come back to visit, but they are no longer earthbound. Ghosts that hang around and haunt certain areas or houses are earthbound.

There are 5 main reasons that spirits stay:

1. Trauma: A traumatic or unexpected death can leave a soul confused. They may not leave earth as usual and as a result, become stuck. This is temporary for most souls, who will soon resolve that they have died and opt to move on. On the other hand, a traumatized soul could stay in limbo for many years.
   
   
2. Confused: Similarly to a traumatized soul, a soul who passed unexpectedly, but not necessarily through trauma could still be confused. This happens with children most often. Children may not understand that they have passed and remain close by their family. They don’t make an attempt to leave the earthly realm because they don’t know they should.
   
   
3. Truth: My experience has shown that many souls who pass want to tell their story before they leave. They want their truth to be heard, and they want another person to understand how they died. Until their truth is recognized, they remain and can become malevolent due to the frustration of being earthbound.
   
   
4. Negative Entity: This soul doesn’t want to lose the control they experienced on earth and in fact, they are terrified to leave earth to face what they feel will be ultimate judgement. I believe these are the big bad guy ghosts we hear of in ghost stories. The demons that are evil. They are not demons – they are just balls of fear. The best thing to do is avoid, stay in the light and let them be. Any realizations they come to will be on their own time.
   
   
5. Choice: These souls choose to send messages to their family, check in and hang around to make sure everyone is okay. Most often, these are grandparents or parents that just aren’t ready to say goodbye yet. They are not earthbound and often move back and forth between time and space.

Have you experienced any of these souls? Let me know in the comments section, or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.