Are You a Haunted Person?

Haunted People Syndrome (HPS), proposed by psychologists James Houran and Brian Laythe, explains many paranormal experiences as the result of a dynamic interaction between the person and their environment. People prone to HPS often have a psychological trait called transliminality, heightened sensitivity, vivid imagination, and strong paranormal beliefs, making them more likely to notice and interpret ambiguous stimuli—like shadows, creaks, or flickering lights—as ghostly. At the same time, environmental factors such as uncertainty, stress, or social suggestion shape how these experiences are perceived. In this view, hauntings aren’t caused solely by the person or the place; instead, they emerge from the interplay of personality, expectations, and context. This interactionist perspective helps explain why the same person may report hauntings, genuinely paranormal or not, in multiple locations while many “haunted” sites remain uneventful for others.

I keep this framework in mind when I am consulting and investigating cases. One of the first questions I always ask clients is, "Have you been having paranormal experiences all your life or is this a recent thing?" If they answer that they've had experiences all their lives, I suspect they could be a "haunted person" meaning the activity centers more around them than any particular location. I also work closely with the researchers who created this theoretical model. If you'd like to know more, I encourage you to check out their book, Ghosted! on Amazon.