There is no reason why the dead should immediately depart from their Earth Homes merely because they have departed from their physical bodies—nor do they always do so.
In fact, the first spiritual zone, in which the dead are to spend a considerable period of time, is upon this Earth plane and within our atmosphere.
Therefore, it is not necessary for the dead or the physically departed to immediately depart from their earth homes unless they so desire.
But though the dead do not depart, they are not visible to you and they may remain within your home for an indefinite period without your knowledge.
The dead do often remain within your home indefinitely but seldom do you become conscious of their presence except under certain conditions, the nature of which is so complex that to describe these conditions perfectly would require volumes.
Benjamin F. Woodcox, Fragments of Spiritual Knowledge Pertaining to the Spiritual World, Woodcox & Fanner, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1923
