The process of dealing with an uncooperative spirit / entity is known as Spirit Remediation. This can take the form of a simple house blessing, stylized exorcism or other ritual with the goal of removing and/or binding and removing an unwanted spirit.
In the process of our investigation HGR utilizes 3 distinct tiered protocols with most clients.
Level 1 Protocol – Communication & Cohabitation
In many instances where a haunting is suspected and a medium confirms the presence of an entity / spirit, clients are often frightened at what they’ve experienced. This can often be easily resolved by communicating with the spirit through a skilled medium. A medium may be able to offer counseling the spirit and the client to resolve their differences. In many cases the spirit involved is a family member, friend or simply a person (spirit) with a message. Delivering the message and acknowledging the presence often resolves the haunting / conflict and alleviates anxiety. The spirit will often either “settle down” or leave altogether afterward.
Level 2 Protocol – House Blessing / Ritual Cleansing by the client
In the event that a client’s case indeed proves to have an entity involved and counseling and/or a mutual agreement between the client and the entity cannot be reached we often advise clients to begin a ritual cleansing (house blessing) of their home.
We strongly believe in teaching the client how to do this process themselves using a “teach them to fish” philosophy. This is empowering for the client and helps them reclaim their personal space and it keeps clients from being overly reliant on HGR over time.
There’s much more involved to performing a cleansing than waving a smoking stick around your house. This is often a deeply emotional and personal event requiring clients to get in touch with deeply personal and spiritual beliefs. Religion itself is largely un-important in our approach. In most cases the only thing really required is the desire to reclaim your home and to expel the invading entity. You need not be an overly religious or even church-attending client. Faith in yourself and a “higher power” is almost always enough.
It’s also important to note that spiritual cleansing is a learned skill and is seldom a “one-shot” fix. It’s more like a war of attrition. In many cases a client can push an entity out, but then must remain vigilant with repeated cleansings to keep the entity from returning. At some point in the process the client will find their spiritual footing and the process will become much easier.
Some clients with a relatively minor problem that was caught early may be able to cleanse a house and remedy the problem in a single round. Or a client that’s able to sufficiently leverage their faith may even be able to push out an entity that’s deeply embedded in a single try. Others will require multiple attempts. We recommend periodic follow-up cleansing rituals at weekly and then monthly intervals as a preventative measure.
In situations where an entity is involved and needs to be removed but there is no logical person who can “take ownership” of the location or the client is otherwise unable to accomplish the task, our staff will will often perform the cleansing upon request. This is a less than ideal situation though. We much prefer the property owner or tenant to take control of the situation.
Level 3 Protocol – HGR Cleansing / Binding & Angelic Evocation
In the most extreme cases with a deeply embedded entity or one that’s especially malicious or violent and we deem the client is in immediate danger such that the learning curve necessary in the level 2 protocol is not recommended or where other circumstances warrant HGR will employ our level 3 protocol.
In this scenario senior HGR personnel who are especially trained in dealing with hostile entities will personally perform a cleansing ritual and claim the space as their own, driving out the entity or entities in question.
In extreme circumstances we may also elect to follow up the cleansing with a ritual binding to prevent the entity from doing any more damage to others and perform an angelic evocation (summoning) to have the entity removed. As this step involves the binding of an entity and thus suspending their “free will,” this step is never taken lightly.
As we firmly believe that all entities/spirits are entitled to “free will” so long as they don’t harm another, the level 3 protocol is considered a radical step and reserved only for those situations that truly warrant subverting a being’s (ghost/spirit) free will. Most entities, even the ones that are troublesome, are beings worthy of respect, just as we all are.
One of the mantras of our group is, “Ghosts are people too” and we generally believe spirits should generally be treated as such, with respect and dignity, so long as they’re also giving respect and dignity. After all, every living person is a spirit/entity. Why do we deserve less respect once we shuffle off the mortal coil?
For more information on our cleansing ritual please see our book Help! I’m Haunted!: Dealing with Ghosts. We also have a Cleansing Supply page with links on where to get tools commonly used in a cleansing ritual.