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So, why does paranormal activity seem to increase during hot weather? Phil says: ‘Just like us, hot sunny weather makes spirits want to go out and about, so we’re far more likely to see them. Also just like us, lovely weather makes lots of spirits feel more relaxed,

In Japan, people handmake ghost dolls called from paper or cloth and hang them in their windows. It’s believed the dolls have magical powers to bring sunshine. Hung upside down, the dolls are said to attract rain.

so they are happier to communicate with us. The weather affects our mood. Why would ghosts be any different?’

Some paranormal investigators think the increase of spooky sightings during heatwaves is because spirits are able to use solar power from the Sun.

Phil explains: ‘Although we’re not sure exactly how they do it, it’s well documented that spirits utilise energy around them to help them materialise, communicate and move things around. This can be a man-made energy source, such as electricity, or energy from the natural world, including sunshine. Spirits harness energy generated by the Sun, which they use like a battery to power them.’

Some ghosthunters also claim more supernatural activity takes place during thunderstorms because the electrical charge in lightning gives ghosts the energy they need to manifest and communicate.

Phil says: ‘There’s a huge amount of energy in a thunderstorm. A storm’s power

helps spirits interact with me in a more physical way, so when it’s stormy I change my whole style of paranormal investigating. I use back-tobasics techniques such as dowsing and calling out to spirits, asking them to move things or knock to let me know they’re there. A storm allows spirits to do the kind of things which take a lot of energy and that, without a power source, they may not be able to do.’

According to Phil, there can also be increased levels of paranormal activity during rainy weather. He says: ‘All water acts as a conductor of spirit energy, carrying it and allowing the energy to flow. So people often have supernatural experiences in the rain, as well as in snow and fog.’

Some ghosts are said to only appear in particular weather conditions. One theory is they become active in weather that was significant to them, perhaps when it’s the same as the day they died.

For example, a spectral grey man is often spotted walking along beaches in Outer Banks, off the coast of North Carolina in the US, just before a hurricane hits.

Residents have reported seeing the ghost since the early 1900s and he was sighted on a fishing pier in the town of Kill Devil Hills just before Hurricane Florence hit in 2018, causing widespread devastation and loss of life.

Many people believe he’s the spirit of a sailor killed when his boat was shipwrecked off the coast in bad weather, returning from the afterlife to warn residents a hurricane is coming.

Closer to home, many uncanny events take place on stormy nights. A disembodied, ghoulish hand is said to push cyclists from their bikes on a road near the village of Dovenby, Cumbria. And at an ancient tower at Kinnaird Head, on the Aberdeenshire coast, the apparition of a woman called Isobel is seen on stormy nights. Legend has it Isobel’s father killed her lover by chaining him to a rock in a cave during a storm, causing him to drown. When she discovered his death, she took her own life by throwing herself from the tower.

So what kind of weather makes supernatural experiences more likely? According to Phil, spirits are most active on a hot, humid Summer evening when a storm is brewing.

So keep an eye on the forecast because there could be a ghostly front on the way!

CANCER

Six of Wands

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