When a place is haunted it means spirits are present, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a ghost is present. In fact, many ghosts do not manifest themselves in an apparition at all. Instead, a haunted location may be associated with the occurrence of some dramatic or grisly event in the past, like the bloody Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg or Gallipoli in World War I. Or it might be a former home or a prison cell that has been associated with a particular crime or murder.
Signs of a haunting include strange noises, lights, odors or breezes, displaced objects, doors that open and close on their own and musical instruments that play on their own. Traditionally, hauntings start off slow with things like footsteps, knocks or rattling sounds, but then the story progresses into more sinister occurrences.
The most important element in a good haunted story is the ghost’s motivation. Is it seeking revenge? Is it trying to make amends? Or is it just lonely and wants to put something right? Identifying what kind of spirit is haunting your protagonist’s house or apartment will help your readers understand how dangerous the story is.
Remember that a ghost does not have a body, so they cannot pick up objects or act in a way that might be considered physically dangerous. However, they can still be frightening because of the psychological effects they can have on the human psyche. For example, the sudden drops in temperature that are commonly associated with hauntings can scare people.