WHAT DO "SCENTS" HAVE TO DO WITH GHOST HUNTING?

Your sitting in your favorite comfy chair....curled up with your favorite blanket and book when all the sudden you smell cigar smoke! Where in the heck is that coming from???? I'm not smoking and there is no one here with me.....hhhhuuummmm That smells just like the cigar that my husband used to smoke......but that can't be possible because he's been dead over 10 years!

This is the nature of a certain type of activity commonly referred to as a perfume ghost.  Even though the term has the word perfume in it, the actual smell does not have to be that of a ladies perfume (though sometimes it is). It refers more to a particular smell that is thought to be caused by a specific ghostly presence.

While those cases are thought to be caused by a specific ghost there is also a phenomena that does carry a distinction and would not be labeled a perfume ghost. The difference is that these smells appear to have more to do with being types of residual imprints left in the area at some time in the locations past. No actual 'ghost' is associated with these smells though an incident in the locations past may be the culprit.


What does that all that really mean? Simple.  Sometimes, spirits KNOW that you might associate a certain smell with them.  Let's say that your grandmother used to wear everyday a perfume that smelt like roses.  I believe that spirits KNOW when we need them.... long before WE know we need them.  Maybe you are sitting on the couch watching TV but are worried about something.  Maybe your loved ones can't "show" themselves to you as they used to, so they try another way to let you know they are there.....by scents.  As you sit there watching tv..... SUDDENLY.... without warning you SMELL roses!!! And after you realize there are no "roses" in the house, you suddenly have a flashback of your grandmother walking in the room and giving you a kiss and how she smelt of roses.  Now.....I'm going to bet that at least for the next few minutes....you forgot your troubles and had a smile on your face remembering your grandmother. This was her way of saying she was still there for you.   On a personal note, I talk a lot about my grandfather, but let me tell you.......my GRANDMOTHER was just as amazing as my NAN.  Now, I wouldn't say my grandmother was the "sweet ol' lady type" she was more the "grouchy ol' lady type" LOL (sorry Nanny) but I loved her dearly and she had the heart the size of Dallas.  As I write this, I can hear my grandmothers laugh. (maybe she's not mad at me for that comment.)  For some reason I LOVED IT when my grandmother would laugh!!!  I can remember her having the BEST smile when she laughed!!! And the one smell that I think I would associate with her would be DOVE soap.   The old type that was just plain white DOVE soap.  She ALWAYS bathed with Dove soap.

And then again, some smells are just like the residual haunting.....it is an imprint on a location.  Like, you are investigating an old hotel and people say they smell tobacco pipe.  Does that mean there is a spirit present that used to smoke a pipe trying to make themselves known?  Not necessarily.  It could  just be a residual smell from the room where lots of gentlemen used to smoke. Not necessarily that a ghost is trying to communicate.

No doubt, sometimes, determining if the smell is JUST an imprint on a room or if is it someone actually trying to make their presence known can be tricky.  Helpful hint**  If you are going to be doing an investigation, DO NOT wear perfume, hairspray, or bathe in scented bath soaps.  This way, when you are on location, any scents you smell, hopefully you can make a determination to whether they are residual or a spirit trying to make themselves known.


Happy hunting everybody!!!!! :)