This questions is often asked by the budding ghost hunter, the curious and the concerned. Where are ghosts? How do we locate them? Are there any near me?
First I'll cover some the basic theories concerning the living and the dead interacting. I believe that all people have the ability to see/sense ghosts. Some of us are born sensitive, always seeing/sensing them. Some are sensitive in certain locations like their home or other place they are relaxed. Others are just in tune at the right time and show sensitivity briefly.
Having said that, I'll tell you now that spirits can be anywhere. There isn't any place that you will not find them, but the point of this article is to help you find them so there are places that are more likely to have strong spirit activity. In location of strong spirit activity, it is possible for the less sensitive to slowly learn how to tune in. These are also the places where ghost investigators or hunters will look since the odds are better that they will locate a ghost or two.
Cemeteries - The age of the cemetery doesn't matter but the older it is, the more time it has had to accumulate restless spirits. Why cemeteries? Well there are theories such as they are portals to the other side or that some spirits are drawn to their former bodies. Why did we pick that spot to build a cemetery? American Indians looked for sacred ground to bury the dead. Were the people who picked a location for a cemetery drawn to a spot by other forces? There may be more at play here in the cemetery than meets the eye.
Schools - Schools and former sites of schools may have the build up of psychic energies and imprints of all the highly emotional events that have transpired there. All the energy, hormones, etc. create a place where there is a surplus of super charged energy. This always seems to attract spirits.
Theaters - The actors have run the gambit of human emotions inside the walls of a theater plus many have interesting hauntings attached to them. Many old theaters have interesting histories that may contribute to the likelihood that there are spirits there.
Battlefields - These are great locations simply because of their nature. Many violent deaths in one area will always hold some spirits and psychic energy there. A soldiers life and death struggle exudes a large amount of energy. this is also a great spot for residual hauntings.
Churches - There is a long history of the faithful returning to the church they worshipped at. They may be looking for the salvation they were promised and cannot find. Churches also have large amounts of human emotional energy trapped there left behind from weddings, funerals, etc.
Hotels/Motels/Boarding houses - Many dark dealing and highly emotional events take places in these rooms. They also have a lot of traffic, many people are in and out of these rooms.
Historic Locations - Many historic buildings, because of their age, have had more time to have spirits attach to it. These buildings are often open the public and can give you a easy place to start. Many even have known histories of hauntings and you may be able to gain access to the building after hours after speaking with the caretakers.