Do you hear unexplained noises? Whether subtle or loud enough to wake the dead, if you hear the sound of footsteps, knocking, banging, rapping, scratching at the walls or floors, or the sound of some invisible something being dropped, you may be a ghost-host.

Do your doors, cabinets and cupboards seem to have a mind of their own? If you walk back into a room to find the door open when you know darn well that you closed it, or vice versa, you may be a ghost-host.

Does your furniture hop, skip and jump when you're gone? If your chairs, tables and lamps are in a different position when you come back into a room than they were when you went out of it, you may be a ghost-host.

Are you in and out of the light? If your electric lights are on when you know you switched them off, or are off when you know you left the light on, you may be a ghost-host.

Is your electronic equipment self-willed? If your television sets, radios, and computers go off and on, if the volume goes up and down, or if the channel changes with no help from you, you may be a ghost-host.

Do household items disappear, and reappear in the exact place you thought you'd left them in the first place? If something that you always keep in the same spot isn't there, and you search high and low and can't find it, and sometime later it shows up exactly where you thought you'd put it in the first place, you may be a ghost-host.

Are you living in the shadows? If you see unexplained fleeting shapes and shadows out of the corner of your eye (whether the shadows have vaguely human forms or not) you may be a ghost-host.

Do your animals sense something that you can't see? If your dog or cat behaves strangely (dogs barking at something that you can't see, cowering for no apparent reason, refusing to enter a room they're usually comfortable in, or cats appearing to be watching something across the room that you can't see) you may be a ghost-host.

Do you feel like someone is watching you? If you sense someone watching you when you're in a room alone, especially when you're in specific rooms at specific times, you may be a ghost-host.

All of these occurrences are fairly common, and happen all the time to ghost-hosts. Most people just learn to live with it. Sometimes, though, even stranger things can happen, things that made it even more probable that you're a ghost-host.

Do you see it with your own eyes? Finding a door open is one thing; actually seeing it open for no apparent reason is quite another. If you've witnessed the lights going on and off by themselves, the television and radio changing channels without benefit of the remote control, or watched window and door locks change position with no help from you, you can almost bet you're a ghost-host.

Have you experienced the touch? It's one thing to feel as though someone is watching you, but something else altogether when you feel like you're being touched and there's no one in the room but you. If you feel something brushing past you, something touching your hair or feel an invisible hand your shoulder, you can almost bet you're a ghost-host.

Are you hearing things? If you've listened to cries and whispers from unknown sources, muffled voices, your name being said, or music from some unknown source, you can almost bet you're a ghost-host.

Is the heat on? If you experience cold or hot spots in your house for no obvious reason, or the temperature changes with no apparent cause, you can almost bet you're a ghost-host.

Does the nose know? If unexplained smells (especially the distinct fragrance of a perfume you've never used or a foul odor with no discernable source) come and go without any apparent cause, you can almost bet you're a ghost-host.

All of these symptoms of ghost-hosting can be disconcerting, to say the least, but don't really put anyone in danger. Some hauntings, however, are much more serious in nature, and require the help of trained professionals to remove the offending ghost from the premises.

Do objects in your home move or levitate? If you've experienced dinner planes sliding across the table, or pictures flying off the walls, doors slamming shut with great force, or furniture sliding across the floor, you might want to call the ghost-busters.

Have you been physically assaulted? If you've experienced scratches, slaps and hard shoves from an invisible force (it's rare, but it happens!) you might want to call the ghost-busters.

Have you been given a message? If you've experienced unexplained writing on papers or on the walls, or see handprints and/or footprints that don't belong to anyone in the house, you might want to call the ghost-busters.

Are you seeing things? If you've seen an apparition (the physical manifestation of a spirit or entity), be it a human-shaped mist or transparent human forms that disappear quickly, or human forms that look as real and solid as any living person you've ever met but disappear before your very eyes), you might want to call the ghost-busters.

There are logical explanations for a lot that happens in our lives; don't jump to the conclusion that you're a ghost-host without checking out all of the 'rational' reasons things are happening the way they're happening. Make every possible effort to prove to yourself that your house is not haunted before you come to the conclusion that it is. And remember - the vast majority of houses are NOT haunted.

If you've ruled out any rational explanation for the phenomena you've experienced, and are absolutely convinced that your house is truly haunted, ask for help. There are hundreds of paranormal investigation organizations across the country; contact one in your area to help you discover what kind of ghost you've been hosting.