Hey Newbie, you're a total basket case so get yourself some nice medication. But seriously.....

People leave behind energetic imprints when they live in a place for any length of time, and because you're emotionally sensitive you're resonating with those energies. Emotions are energy in motion e-motion if you like to play on words. While it's possible that it's triggering a Past Life memory I wouldn't have thought it too likely, it's more of a present energy thing. I'd also hazard a guess that you're very intuitive - which is obvious but I had to mention it - or you're clair-something and I'd guess clairsentient or claircognizant. Everybody has the potential to be a 'clair' and what you're talking about here is in the same 'frequency waveband'. Go visit a medium and see what the or she has to say, or hit the mediumship section. A clairsentient medium is especially prone to feelings and emotions, and they tend to hit really hard.

The looking at a photograph or other object and getting something from it is called "psychometry" if you want to Google it, it's classed as a psychic ability and all mediums are are psychic anyway - but not all psychics are mediums. Some people are energy-sensitive to that stage where they can want to run from a place because it resonates with them in ways they simply can't deal with.

I'm clairsentient and an energy/emotion person so what you're saying makes perfect sense to me.