According to [[OwenOven Davies (historian)|Owen Davies]], a [[paranormal]] historian, hauntings in the [[British Isles]] were usually attributed to [[Fairy|fairies]], but today hauntings are usually associated with [[ghost]]ly or supernatural encounters.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Owen|author-link=Owen Davies (historian) |title=The Haunted. A Social History of Ghosts |date=2007 |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire |isbn=978-1-4039-3924-1 |page=3}}</ref> In other cultures around the world, various spirits are said to haunt vacant homes and locations. In [[Middle East]]ern countries, for example, [[jinn]] are said to haunt such areas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lebling|first=Robert|title=Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar|publisher=Counterpoint Books|year=2010|isbn=978-1-84511-993-5|location=Great Britain|pages=77}}</ref> Historically, since most people died in their homes, whether they were mansions or hovels, these homes became natural places for ghosts to haunt, with bedrooms being the most common rooms to be haunted. Many houses gained a reputation for being haunted after they were empty or derelict.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Owen|author-link=Owen Davies (historian) |title=The Haunted. A Social History of Ghosts |date=2007 |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire |isbn=978-1-4039-3924-1 |pages=47–48}}</ref> Davies explains that "if people were to fail to occupy a human space, then external forces would move in."<ref name="usatodaytravel">{{cite web |last1=Hines |first1=Morgan |title=Haunted Houses: How did this eerie Halloween tradition creep into our brains? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2019/10/18/haunted-houses-variations-how-they-came-and-some-recs/3912402002/ |website=USA Today |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref>