Direct answer: A door that opens by itself is usually not haunted and usually not a bad door slab. Most of the time the door is drifting because the hinges are loose, one hinge is bent or shimmed wrong, or the latch is barely catching because the door and strike are out of line.
Most likely: Start with the easy stuff: check whether the door stays put when it is almost closed, whether the latch clicks fully into the strike, and whether any hinge screws are loose or stripped.
You want to separate two lookalike problems early. If the door swings open from any partly open position, that points to hinge or frame plumb issues. If it only pops open after you think it latched, that points to latch and strike alignment. Reality check: a lot of self-opening doors are fixed with screws and alignment, not parts. Common wrong move: tightening only the visible short hinge screws and calling it done when the screw holes in the jamb are already blown out.
Don’t start with: Do not start by planing the door, replacing the whole door, or bending hardware hard enough to crack the jamb. If the frame has moved, cosmetic fixes will not hold.
You leave the door half open and it slowly moves on its own until it is fully open or mostly open.
Start here: This usually means the door or frame is out of plumb, or a hinge is loose or bent enough to change the swing.
You push it shut, but unless you pull hard or lift slightly, it springs back because the latch did not fully catch.
Start here: Start with latch-to-strike alignment and look for rubbing marks on the strike plate or latch bolt.
The problem showed up after seasonal movement, new flooring, foundation movement, or a damp spell.
Start here: Look for frame shift, hinge-side gaps that changed, or a door that now binds in one corner.
The latch feels sloppy, the handle has play, or the latch bolt does not spring out crisply.
Start here: Check whether the latch bolt is extending fully and whether the strike opening is deep enough and lined up.
This is the most common cause. The door sags or twists just enough that gravity or poor latch engagement lets it drift open.
Quick check: Open the door a few inches and lift gently at the knob side. If you feel play at the hinges or see a hinge leaf move, the screws or screw holes need attention.
If the door swings open from several positions without touching the latch, the slab is hanging on a slight slope.
Quick check: Leave the door at about 30, 45, and 60 degrees open. If it consistently moves the same direction each time, plumb is off more than latch tension.
If the door seems shut but opens back up, the latch may only be brushing the strike instead of dropping fully into it.
Quick check: Close the door slowly and watch whether the latch bolt centers in the strike opening and clicks fully without pushing, lifting, or pulling.
Less common than loose screws, but real when one hinge leaf is visibly tweaked or the latch bolt does not spring out firmly.
Quick check: Compare hinge gaps top to bottom and press the latch bolt in by hand. If it sticks, feels weak, or does not return cleanly, the latch itself may be worn.
These two failures look similar, but the fix is different. You do not want to start moving strike plates when the real issue is a sagging hinge side.
Next move: If you can clearly tell which behavior you have, move to the matching checks next instead of adjusting everything at once. If the door both drifts open and also fails to latch cleanly, start with the hinges. Hinge sag often creates the latch problem second.
What to conclude: A free-swinging drift points to plumb or hinge alignment. A pop-open after closing points to latch engagement.
Loose hinge screws are the fastest, safest, and most common fix. Even one loose top hinge screw can let the latch side drop enough to cause self-opening or poor latching.
Next move: If the door now stays where you leave it or latches with a clean click, you found the main problem. Keep using it for a day or two and recheck for movement. If the screws are tight but the door still drifts or the top gap is uneven, the hinge line or frame needs closer alignment checks.
What to conclude: Movement at the hinges means the door slab is not hanging where it should. Tightening may solve it; stripped holes or bent hardware may need repair or replacement.
A door that opens by itself from several positions is usually following gravity. That means the hinge side or frame is no longer plumb, even if the problem looks small.
Next move: If you find obvious sag or a bent hinge, correct that before touching the strike plate. Once the slab hangs right, the latch often lines back up. If the reveals look even and the door still pops open only after closing, move to the latch and strike check.
If the door reaches the jamb but will not stay shut, the latch bolt is probably not dropping fully into the strike opening.
Next move: If the latch now clicks fully and the door stays shut without pressure, the self-opening problem was a latch catch issue. If the latch bolt feels weak, sticky, or still barely catches with good alignment, the door latch itself may be worn and worth replacing.
Once you know whether the problem is stripped hinge mounting, a bent hinge, or a weak latch, you can fix the actual failure instead of swapping random hardware.
A good result: If the door no longer drifts open and latches with a full click every time, the repair is done.
If not: If the door still self-opens after solid hinges, a good latch, and minor strike adjustment, the opening is out of square enough to need frame correction rather than more hardware swapping.
What to conclude: At this point the problem is either confirmed hardware failure or a frame issue that needs carpentry, not more trial-and-error.
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That usually means the door is hanging slightly out of plumb. Loose top hinge screws, a sagging hinge side, or a shifted frame can make gravity pull the door open from partly open positions.
That is usually a latch problem, not a swing problem. The door latch is often hitting the strike plate but not dropping fully into the opening, so the door springs back instead of staying shut.
Sometimes, but only if the door is hanging correctly first. If the hinges are loose or the door is sagging, moving the strike plate alone usually turns into a temporary patch.
Usually no. Most self-opening doors need hinge tightening, screw-hole repair, minor alignment correction, or a new door latch or strike plate. Whole door replacement is rarely the first answer.
Not always. Many cases are just loose hardware. But if the frame is visibly out of square, the casing is separating, or the problem showed up with cracks around the opening, house movement may be part of it.
Only very cautiously, and only after you know the screws and frame are sound. Aggressive hinge bending can crack the jamb, distort the hinge leaf, and make the fit worse.