Non interactive ...

Source: http://www.ourcuriousworld.com/TypesofGhosts.htm

This type of ghostly manifestation is known as the non-interactive personality. Also known as an 'imprint', this type of manifestation, while apparently human in appearance and mannerisms, gets its name from the fact that it appears and acts as though it is entirely oblivious to its surroundings. Further, and what specifically differentiates the non-interactive personality type ghost with the interactive—aside from this marked lack of awareness of others—is their tendency to repeat the same actions (such as walking down a set of stairs or sitting in on the edge of the same bed) as though they are actors in play that is being acted out over and over again. Many who have encountered this sort of phenomenon often describe it as being akin to watching a few frames of a movie being played out on a continual loop. And, of course, any efforts to communicate with such a manifestation or interact with it in any way is always met by silent indifference, as though the observer was the one who was invisible and imperceptible rather than the ghost.

This leads some investigators to questions whether such manifestations are 'ghosts' at all, or merely a reflection of a moment in time that has somehow been 'inscribed' or 'imprinted' into the environment. In other words, these may not be genuine disembodied personalities at all, but pictures or 'snapshots' of a once living human going about his or her daily activities that has somehow been recorded by the environment, only to be replayed when conditions are apparently ideal.

While this theory has some plausibility and is growing in popularity with paranormal investigators, it does leave a few questions unanswered. Aside from the question of what physical process might be involved in 'imprinting' a scene into an environment, it doesn't address the question of whether such a ghost may be unable to interact or is simply choosing not to interact. Then there is the question of whether it is possible such a ghost may even be aware it is visible to the still living; in effect, it may not be trapped in a prerecorded visual 'loop' but may simply suffer from an inability to perceive the living any more than we are usually able to perceive the dead. In such a case, then, the tendency to repeat the same actions may be no more remarkable then our own tendency to repeat precise routines day in and day out in our own world; we often walk through our home via the same route, open and close the same doors in order, sit in the same chairs, gaze out the same windows, with similar regularity, so there is no reason an earth-bound ghost-especially if it wasn't aware it was visible to the living-might not keep the same routine it had while alive.

Most paranormal investigators don't accept this theory, however, preferring instead to retain the belief that these are not real personalities, but imprints embedded upon the environment the way a song is imbedded within the swirled indentations of a CD. The biggest problem with the 'imprint' theory, however, is that these manifestations not only frequently appear at different locales throughout a house, but may even appear outdoors in open meadows or fields. If we work from the premise that they are mere images engraved upon the environment, however, how do we explain this phenomenon? Even if there might be some process by which human energy is somehow imprinted into the very building materials of a structure, what might it be imprinted upon in an open field? For this theory to work, there has to be some medium upon which to 'imprint' in the first place, making these anomalies inexplicable.

In either case, the non interactive personality remains the most easily observed of all the ghostly phenomenon as they are frequently repeatable, usually confined to a particular locality that can be carefully monitored, and to some degree, even predictable. Whether they are true personalities or mere imprints of human energy, however, remains uncertain, and a continuing source of some debate.