Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 18:32     Subject: My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:I don't think I would move just because of footsteps - part of me thinks it's cool. However, I am concerned about my children.


Lady, can you hear me? I am throwing my popcorn and Twizzlers at you from my crushed velvet seat as you speak. Get out of the house!
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 18:25     Subject: My house may be haunted
OP here. Yes, we own the house. Yes, it is detached. We don't know if anyone died here, but I do know that we're only the third owners. I also learned during our move-in when I was throwing out some of the stuff the previous owners left/forgot that one child had some "issues".

We've recently cleaned out the garage and basement (ripping out old nasty carpet and throwing stuff away). And we're expecting another baby, so the nursery is getting fixed up. Part of me wonders if that's what's causing this. We hadn't heard much since we moved in nearly a year ago until recently.

I don't think I would move just because of footsteps - part of me thinks it's cool. However, I am concerned about my children.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 18:23     Subject: My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We had carved wood figurines from Kenya on our mantel, and they moved around all the time. Scared me to death.


Did anyone ever see that Karen Black movie, Trilogy of Terror? In one of the three stories, Karen Black brings home a funny little ugly figurine with wild hair, sharp teeth, and a little spear in his hand and she puts it on the coffee table. Then she goes into the shower to get ready for her date, and when she comes back, the little guy is gone. So she searches under the sofa for it, stretching her arm far under the sofa to find him (as if he could have just FALLEN 8 feet back) and while she is searching, you hear little fast pitter patters. So she keeps searching under the sofa with her arm (of course) until she gets pricked by the spear. And then of course she shoves her arm under the sofa again, only this time the little guy really stabs her and she realizes he is alive. Then he proceeds to chase her all over the house and terrorize her.

I would never buy a figurine with a spear.



Oh, you just ruined the thread! That movie was HYSTERICAL, not scary!! Even in 5th grade I could tell it was kitsch. (Is that too Jewish a word?)


Nope-- that one's just plain German.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:47     Subject: Re:My house may be haunted
Oh thank goodness. This thread was totally freaking me out. Now you guys have me laughing.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:36     Subject: Re:My house may be haunted
But you have to admit that Karen Black movie Burnt Offerings was really scary. Remember her husband had these bad memories of being driven to his mom's funeral when he was like 12, and the chauffeur had this really demonic smile? And then, Karen Black and her husband become the caretakers of this old house, and her husband is outside weeding the bushes and he hears this old car driving by, and when it drives by it's an old Hearse and the same chauffeur is driving and smiling at him? And then you keep seeing that guy show up over and over?

I would never hire a chauffeur with a demonic smile.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:32     Subject: My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We had carved wood figurines from Kenya on our mantel, and they moved around all the time. Scared me to death.


Did anyone ever see that Karen Black movie, Trilogy of Terror? In one of the three stories, Karen Black brings home a funny little ugly figurine with wild hair, sharp teeth, and a little spear in his hand and she puts it on the coffee table. Then she goes into the shower to get ready for her date, and when she comes back, the little guy is gone. So she searches under the sofa for it, stretching her arm far under the sofa to find him (as if he could have just FALLEN 8 feet back) and while she is searching, you hear little fast pitter patters. So she keeps searching under the sofa with her arm (of course) until she gets pricked by the spear. And then of course she shoves her arm under the sofa again, only this time the little guy really stabs her and she realizes he is alive. Then he proceeds to chase her all over the house and terrorize her.

I would never buy a figurine with a spear.



Oh, you just ruined the thread! That movie was HYSTERICAL, not scary!! Even in 5th grade I could tell it was kitsch. (Is that too Jewish a word?)
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:24     Subject: My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:We had carved wood figurines from Kenya on our mantel, and they moved around all the time. Scared me to death.


Did anyone ever see that Karen Black movie, Trilogy of Terror? In one of the three stories, Karen Black brings home a funny little ugly figurine with wild hair, sharp teeth, and a little spear in his hand and she puts it on the coffee table. Then she goes into the shower to get ready for her date, and when she comes back, the little guy is gone. So she searches under the sofa for it, stretching her arm far under the sofa to find him (as if he could have just FALLEN 8 feet back) and while she is searching, you hear little fast pitter patters. So she keeps searching under the sofa with her arm (of course) until she gets pricked by the spear. And then of course she shoves her arm under the sofa again, only this time the little guy really stabs her and she realizes he is alive. Then he proceeds to chase her all over the house and terrorize her.

I would never buy a figurine with a spear.

Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:19     Subject: Re:My house may be haunted
this thread is so spooky...
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:18     Subject: My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:OK. Let's get a grip. Firstly, is it a detached house or could it be a neighbor making the noise? Secondly, could it be pipes when heating goes on or some other mechanical issue? Could wind be getting in somewhere and making things creak? Try and stay rational, note down the times you hear things, what the weather is, etc. & get a plumber or someone to check it out.


Worth following up on this.

I thought we had ghosts. We had carved wood figurines from Kenya on our mantel, and they moved around all the time. Scared me to death. I knew the dog couldn't reach them and got really panicky about it. Finally, I mentioned it to my husband, and he was able to demonstrate that walking on the hard wood floors vibrated the mantel enough to make them move - alot. I never would have figured it out.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:12     Subject: My house may be haunted
I was sleeping at my aunt's house once and dreamed there was a huge explosion of energy coming out of the closet. I woke up, sat up in bed, looked at the closet and saw everything in the closet come tumbling out the closet door. I slept on the couch in the living room for the rest of the night.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 17:10     Subject: Re:My house may be haunted
OP, that's when cats come in handy. When you hear a noise, you can always say to yourself, "Must be one of the cats." I did this once when both cats were under the covers with me and the noise was down the hall....it still worked.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 16:53     Subject: Re:My house may be haunted
Great timing with Halloween around the corner and the release of "Paranormal Activity." When we moved into our almost 100 year old house, my DS was terrified of something in his room and kept waking up in the middle of the night. He asked me "Whose the old lady in my room at night?" He slept on the couch for almost a year. My sister was visiting and slept next to the room where DS sleeps and said she kept waking up at night because she felt someone sitting on her bed. She hasn't been back to visit since. I've heard knocking on my bedroom door when there is no one there as well as foot steps and banging. There's a room in my basement where my dog refuses to enter. I could go on and on.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 16:32     Subject: My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:16:11, I think the logic behind using a preist/ess to do the calling is, that person is supposed to be more in tune with the spiritual world, with communing with the paranormal. OP may not have the power to make them do anything.
OP I think if you go in essence the "exorcism" route you should work with someone who is reputed to be skilled in spiritual matters.


the power is really in the faith. if you have no faith, then by all means call on someone who does.
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 16:32     Subject: Re:My house may be haunted
Anonymous wrote:I've lived in 2 places in Washington, DC that were haunted. One was an apartment in Glover Park, and the other was a house on Jenifer Street NW. I would have thought myself crazy except that my roommates corroborated my sightings with sightings of their own. The ghosts never made noise, but they made their presences known.

In both cases, we had the luxury of moving out due to expiring leases. OP, I'm guessing you might not be in the position to move out immediately. I found this site for the Society for Paranormal Investigation (they've got a local branch, who knew?). Maybe it's worth a try?





Can you imagine being condemned to an apartment in Glover Park for all eternity?
Anonymous
Post 10/16/2009 16:24     Subject: My house may be haunted
16:11, I think the logic behind using a preist/ess to do the calling is, that person is supposed to be more in tune with the spiritual world, with communing with the paranormal. OP may not have the power to make them do anything.
OP I think if you go in essence the "exorcism" route you should work with someone who is reputed to be skilled in spiritual matters.