How do you get rid of a ghost? Although this is a legitimate question, there is not a definitive answer. The members of PIRA do not perform any services that would force a ghost to leave. Our goal is based in science, and that would be to study the phenomenon to find out how it works.

However, there are many groups and individuals who make it their mission, and often their occupation, to guide these entities to another place, whether it be peacefully or by force. How do they do this? It's probably something you've heard about- on TV shows dealing with the paranormal, from Psychics, and even other paranormal groups...the event known as a Clearing (Also referred to as a Cleansing and/or a Spirit Releasment).
       
The basic idea of these events is to allow a spirit to move on to the next life, or what is commonly referred to as "The Light". In the following article, we'll go over the basic ideas and techniques used in performing these services. In the course of gathering information for this article, many individuals and groups have asked not to be mentioned by name. I have agreed to honor these requests in exchange for details on how different groups proceed in these events. I, nor the members PIRA, can vouch for the quality or authenticity of the results and procedures that are mentioned below.
       
So, what goes on then? I have found that the answer to that question really depends on who you talk to. There doesn't seem to be one specific way to getting ghosts (or other entities) out of one's house or business. But let's start with one and work our way through them, shall we? 

Let's begin with a Prayer Circle. 
This circle includes a medium, other members of the group (or those accompanying the medium) and any owners and their family/friends. The people form a large circle while holding hands. I could not get too much information on what exactly is said during this prayer circle, only that it is a private matter between the medium and the owners/family. What I did find out is that many mediums call upon what is known as "Christ's Light". As one woman explained it; "The Christ Light is a light that is recognized by all creatures who were created by god. Just as we know that sunlight comes from the sun and moonlight comes from the moon, spirits know that the Christ light comes from god. It is a beacon that shines in the darkness. Others may refer to it as "God Light" or the "Light of the Universe".
       
When everything goes right, sometimes the spirit is so happy that they don't bother to go around the people of the circle, and simply go through them. According to those that have participated, this causes the sensation of being pushed or shoved. Other times, when the spirit simply goes past an individual, the people only feel a cool breeze go by them.
       
There have been negative aspects to this as well. These also produce pushes and shoves, but seem to directed to specific parts of the body, such as the chest. These negative shoves are caused by an entity that has been brought into the circle, but is resisting. These entities try to escape by breaking the circle. The reason given is that these entities may be fearing judgment or god.

Reason With Them
Another way people deal with spirits is to start by simply talking  to them. One person I spoke with, said that he goes through the house with the owner and attempts to reason with the spirits. If that fails, he says he calls is a few spirits of his own that help take the spirit into the Light. Once the spirit is gone, he clears the house using an herb blend and then anoints all the windows and entryways.

Salt And Water
A website offered yet another solution to clearing a haunted dwelling...."Sea salt or Kosher salt should be placed in the four outside corners of the inside of the house. Just A pinch of the salt in the corners is necessary. If there is a room in the house that has more activity than the other rooms, then put a pinch of salt in all the corners of that particular room. If there is any negative energy, the sea salt will help to neutralize and disperse the energy. In theory, the energy perceived as negative may be fragmented energy. By cleansing we may actually be gathering the dispersed energy and making it whole in order to release it to the light." If there is a spirit that seems to be in in the bedroom more then in other parts of the house, the website offers this solution "Fill a pan with water and place it under your bed. Leave it in place until you awake in the morning. Then dispose of the water in the toilet taking care not to spill it. Spirits are attracted to water. So the water-filled pan will attract and then trap the spirit in the contained area of water to be released and disposed."

Spell to Cleanse the Home
Submitted by Diamondskies

This is a spell to cleanse the home around the eclipse period...perfect timing. If you would like to cleanse your home or office of any negative or stale energy, then anytime over this next few days is a great opportunity for these type of cleansing rituals..

Take a white cloth that has been soaked in a bucket of warm spring water which has had a few drops of eucalyptus oil added to it. Then wipe down the doors, and window sills of any rooms where you feel some negative energy and then walk anti- clockwise (to the left) around the room three times while holding a sprig of rosemary. Next, walk clockwise (to the right) three times while you say this incantation 'Now all spirits hear my plea, in tranquil places you will be, balance, peace and harmony.' Seal the spell's power by placing the sprig of rosemary near your front door and leaving it there for at least seven days.

The Door-Stop
One woman I spoke with claimed to be able to hold the doorway open between our world and their world. She kept the doorway open with only her intent, and allowed the spirits to leave. In cases where the spirits were negative, she claimed to call in the Archangel St. Michael to guide them over. This medium also based a lot on what religious beliefs the entity had in life, and uses that to help guide them over.

Therapy Time
Another website actually treats "spirit attachment" and "Releasement" as a therapy, not a rite. It explores the possibility that entities that posses a person appears similar to Multiple Personality Disorders,  Dissociate Disorders (Schizophrenia) and/or Hysteria. This site offers an eight step program for Spirit Releasement.

Done By Remote
There are also quite a few sites out there that offer "Remote Spirit Releasement". Yes, there are those who claim to be able to release spirits from people and places from the comfort of their own home. Most of these sites claim that the individual who is possessed or own the haunted location...do not even need to be aware that thief service is being performed.

Conclusions

To be honest, I found many, many different ways that people claim to be able to get an entity or entities to leave a person or house. Ironically, all of the people I consulted assured me that their success rates were 90% or better. However, everyone I spoke with who had had these services performed in their homes stated that in did not work. The actual results varied, but the bottom line was that the services were ineffective in getting the entities to leave.

The results varied from slightly less activity (taking place less often or activity is less intense), to no change in the level or frequency of activity....to a marked increase in intensity and frequency. Keep in mind that I was unable to contact the clients of the mediums I interviewed (Client information is private). Due to this, the conclusions I have cannot be weighed against the individuals or groups I spoke with. 

I do have several problems with the information I received from the various sources claiming to be able to do these services. The prayer circles relied on the beliefs of the people actually in the circles. The various groups did not share the same beliefs. Although they all used the names "Jesus" and "God", they used different readings, prayers and their own versions of speeches (for lack of a better word, no offense). Each group that gave me details about what is said, had given these icons different personalities. I found that curious, since they also claimed that their way worked just about every time (with the exception of one group which actually gave me percentages of each member). 

Services which included herbs, salts, water and spells seemed...well, ludicrous. I invite anyone to provide substantial proof that these things work they way "they" claim. I see a lot of "In theory, According to history, It is believed, and even Has a chance of working" attached to many of these explanations. Let's look at the Water theory; according to one website "Fill a pan with water and place it under your bed. Leave it in place until you awake in the morning. Then dispose of the water in the toilet taking care not to spill it. Spirits are attracted to water. So the water-filled pan will attract and then trap the spirit in the contained area of water to be released and disposed." Estimates vary, but somewhere between 70 and 75 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered. But water also exists in the air as water vapor and in the ground as soil moisture. Since it's all over, I have trouble seeing how a water-filled pan will trap a ghost. By these standards, the toilet would've trapped the spirit long before it had a chance to bother anybody. This theory is just silly. 

Yes, I also have a problem with people having the supernatural powers to "Call in Their Own Spirits" or being able to "Hold the Doorway To The Other Side By Will Alone". I can justify (yes, maybe I am a hypocrite) a person being able to hear or see a ghost when others cannot (due to variances in visual cortex and hearing canal). But these claims are of Full-Fledged powers I'd expect to see in a comic book or on a Sci-Fi show.

I'll skip a few and just end with the Remote Spirit Releasement. There's not much I can say that would be suitable for posting here. I know I'm gonna hear it from those of you who offer and claim to perform this type of service, but I can take it (I have thick skin). This kind of thing goes along with the Comic Book Super Powers. Humans simply do not possess any such powers unless they're on TV. But hey, I could be wrong. If you can, prove it to me... But there's a problem here as well. First, we have to confirm that there is an entity in a location. Then we'd have to have the service performed, and then confirm that the location is no longer haunted. These are circumstances that would be hard to gather, due to the amount of time we'd have to put in. But hey, I'm game if you are. 

I guess my point is this; I've written back-n-forth with a whole bunch of people. They've all claimed that they know how to get rid of unwanted spirits and that they have good success rates. Yet, none of them will guarantee their success. Most charge a hefty sum of money for the service, then expect payment for any needed extra sessions. I haven't found a "client" that stated a service like these have actually worked. So, for me...these services do nothing but lighten your wallet.