>>2193
I will tell you what I have heard about this subject.
People and pets (and indeed other animals and living beings) that have dead before their destined date of death came can start roaming the earth. They will be attracted to same places where they spend their time when they were alive. Usually their home. If the person died violently (murder or violent accident), they can haunt houses or other places. A lot of poltergeists are caused by this. If these people have enough bitter feelings due to them getting violently killed, they can persist for quite some time. Also, deceased people who have strong unfulfilled desires can remain here. Another reason why their spirits may remain here is that someone talked too much bad things about them after they died. This is the original reason for the saying "don't talk bad about the dead".
But if there has been a longer time after they have died (and provided that there aren't reasons why the spirit would want to remain here, on Earth realm), it's more likely that you have encountered either a kind of astral mimic. However, it's more likely it's their "memory" that become semi-living. These semi-living "memories" are what usually (but not always) appear when mediums try to contact deceased people (spiritism). At any rate, you can help the spirits of deceased persons (or pets or other beings) by praying out loud that God or an angel helps them to find the afterlife. You can also help by trying to fulfill their desires (in other words, you can try to fix the reason why their spirit can't find rest).