Possessed article, having searched around (7)

I believe the answer is:

haunted

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'possessed' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'article having searched around' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'had' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'having' indicates putting letters inside.
'searched' becomes 'hunted'.
'around' means to look at the middle letters.
The central letters of 'hunted' are 'unte'.
'had' placed around 'unte' is 'HAUNTED'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for haunted that I've seen before include "Worried" , "with the ghost still around?" , "Full of ghosts" , "Beset by spirits" , "Possessed" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.

Connecting...