Some terms are commonly used when it comes to the paranormal, such as ghost, wraith, demon, etc... What do these terms mean though?
The Nature of The Wraith
Once a person dies under normal circumstances they end up becoming a ghost, and within 72 hours they collect the residual energy in the body and then cross over. Where they go is dependent upon several factors, if one was highly enlightened and of divine nature, they may find themselves within higher dimensions and heaven realms. Some people with strong psychic abilities, or highly developed in magical skills will tend to explore and can bend the rules a bit. They may fluctuate between the Astral and 2 to 3 dimensions upward. Most ghosts eventually die a second death and shed their ghost body in similar fashion to shedding the physical body.
A person who held a particular religious belief will have an idealized version of it that takes shape in the Astral, past loved ones or people within similar alignment may join within the creation. These are just a few of many examples, too many to count. Some will go into a great soul slumber immediately and become reincarnated after making the appropriate soul contracts, but for most, there's a fair amount of time spent in the planes. You can even find evidence and stories of many ghosts who prefer staying here on earth, as if they were still living in a physical body.
They must draw their energy from somewhere if they remain attached to the physical plane. This can be achieved by placing a cord attachment to a person, place, or thing and in most cases a living source is the best choice. Certain deterrents such as crossing running water can make holding the attachment more difficult because the currents can affect their ability to travel, but that's a complicated with many intricacies. A couple examples could be, were they cremated or embalmed? Was the cemetery they were buried in surrounded with iron gates? A lot of factors go into play with a spirit can do or how it can attach itself and remain in our plain of existence.
Doesn't really matter if you believe me or not, I've proved many of these things for myself and it even broke my former faith as a Christian and set me down the path to becoming the Sadhu that I have become. A grand majority of people that chase ghosts will not understand the other realms, not until they join them and are a ghost themselves.
"What about suicides, murders and violent or unexpected death?"
These create a very specific category of entity, that of which we call a Wraith. Not everyone will become a Wraith immediately, for some it is a slow and twisted transformation. A Wraith is defined by the loss of self identity and giving into ones suffering. This means that they are no longer consciously aware of themselves, but actually identify as their pain and suffering. It's pure madness, and it's very sad to see.. At this point they will begin to inflict the pain they feel, upon the living; it doesn't matter if it was a friend or lover, even strangers are fair game. They no longer identify as themselves and thus can not be rationed with.
I've discovered 3 main stages to Wraith-hood, there's the transition which can be interrupted which is the first stage, here they are on the verge. In the transition stage, they can be talked to and reasoned with, if you manage to get through to them you can help them cross over. A perfect example from Hollywood, is the movie “What Dreams May Come”, starring Robin Williams. In the movie you see a hell scene depicting Annabella Sciorra in a decrepit house, Robin Williams tries to bring her back to reality while she's slowly going insane. It's a touching scene for me and represents the internal torture that one creates in the Astral.
The second stage is becoming, or assuming the mantle of Wraith-hood. When this occurs, the person as you knew them is completely gone. In this stage, they can not be spoken to or helped rationally unless they just transitioned. There's a very small window of time to bring them out of the insanity they've become. They are more likely to attack you then listen to you, even if you were their partner, best friend or parent. A Wraith can still be crossed over in similar ways to crossing other spirits, but the difference is you'll need to have your protection up while you do so.
The third stage is evolution, this isn't a negative or positive evolutionary cycle, it is simply based on polarity and vibrational pull. The longer they are a Wraith, the more that they will spiral into the realm of chaos and evolve to fit the environment they are in. This is similar to how predators evolve to be better equipped to hunt in their natural environment. Some higher level Wraiths are mistaken for low level demonics, but the 2 have very separate patterns. Demonics can sometimes be accompanied by Wraiths, but a Wraith will never command a demonic entity. Given enough time, a Wraith can eventually evolve into the demonic vibrations.
I felt it would be useful to include variations and specific types of Wraith spirits. I've encountered many different kinds, I will hit on some major ones, but this is not a be all end all list.
Revenant- These are vengeful spirits who want to inflict pain and judgement upon the very person or persons responsible for their death. Due to them being pure vengeance itself, they often claim innocent lives as well. Perfect examples from Hollywood include, The Grudge/Ju-On, Samara from The Ring, Candy Man and many others. They tend to range from low to high level, and are capable of possessing their victim’s to recreate their own murder scene. In more extreme cases, the physical body is reanimated and resembles what you'd picture a zombie to look like. Pontianak, Lady In White and the Draugr are examples of high level types.
Fire Wraith- If someone is burned alive or dies by fire, that is the very element that becomes their source of power. A very close friend of mine from childhood was murdered and burned alive, he was a good kid and a perfect representation of what a Christian should be. When he died, he was in pain and confused that he didn't ascend immediately. Numerous friends witnessed paranormal phenomena that was undeniably tied to Josh. He had attached himself to me and when I had confronted him to cross his spirit, a hand mark appeared on my left hand and wrist. I had blisters and red raised skin, it felt like I was physically burned. Once he was ascended, the burn mark turned to jelly, and when I wiped it off, my skin was back to normal. These types of Wraiths will cause house fires, this is incredibly dangerous along with the fact that they can trigger physical burns on a person or mentally send someone into a state of feeling like they are being burned alive.
Water Wraith- Water is able to hold memories and charged energy, if someone dies in a still body of water, they may use it as a vessel. Some things I've seen on cases involving haunted lakes or ponds include, creating visual hallucinations of logs flying onto a roadway or the appearance of a child drowning in a lake. These visual distractions are meant to draw the person into the water where the Wraith may then claim them. The vibrations of the water itself need to be raised, in doing so you can lift the curse that the Wraith has placed upon the water. If water from a haunted lake or pond is consumed, it can cause madness and extreme physical illnesses or instant possession. The water can also whisper to a person and place them in a trance like state where the person will be compelled to drown themselves. These Wraiths are always considered to be in the mid to high level category, because of the inherent power that the element of water holds.
The Hatman- This is a higher level Wraith, which is usually accompanied by hounds and is often reported to be wearing a hat and trench-coat. They are on the verge of entering demonic vibrations, these types are highly dangerous and tend to be found in abandoned mental asylums or old graveyards. They have evolved to develop tendrils that they use to feed and drain energy with. These beings are more akin to a class of spirits known as Specters, this makes them assassin spirits. Black Magicians will deploy them to carry out magical hits, demons will often use them in the same fashion.
Hungry Ghost- A gluttonous Wraith often spoken of in Asian countries, it has a distended belly and tiny throat. The energetic body of these beings are so damaged that they can only consume energy in miniscule amounts, they take more energy than they can consume. The Krasue and Kalag are variations of a Hungry Ghost, along with the Gaki and Jikininki. They are a vampiric or parasitic type of Wraith, typically they will not kill, but more often will actually slowly drain the lifeforce of the person that they attach to. These types are very similar to Incubus/Succubus spirits and Hags, they are Lower Astral parasitic entities.
Banshee- These are very dangerous Wraiths, some of the variations include the Bean Nighe, Hag Of The Mist, Vilas and Rusalkas. They are mainly omen bearing, often times they come to warn of an impending death, but will cause death if provoked or if they become aware that you see them. The screeching wail of these spirits can stop the beating of your heart, if touched by one of these beings, you will have a heart attack and die. I don't like dealing with Banshees, they can pierce shields with ease and often like to pull sneak attacks.
Some of the key differences between a Wraith Possession and a Demonic Possession are easy to spot. With a person possessed by a Wraith, they will have yellow eyes and not black eyes. The person will exhibit the personality of the Wraith, and they may speak in a foreign language, but it will never be Latin or in a tongue that the Wraith does not know. Superhuman strength is not seen in these cases, as well as an aversion to holy relics, this is dependent upon the vibrational depth of the Wraith.