A couple weeks ago I noticed a strange hand print on the stairs going up from my basement. It was dark grey, almost black, as if someone had dipped their hand in ash and then swiped it across. It looked sort of like a human's, except the "finger" part was longer, before it stopped and didn't go into the "palm" part. The fingers had different kinds of sections, and one of my friends commented it looked like someone with giant claws had pressed against the side of the wall, and another one said it looked like a long-fingered skeleton hand. I tried rubbing it off but it was extremely difficult, and I only manged to smudge it after a while. I decided to keep it up so I could look at it more. A couple days later I noticed more ash-colored hand prints near the bottom of the stairs. This time there was more of them - as if they had brushed thier hand across it many times, making it almost impossible to see the fingers through the grey smudges. I noticed both of them were about the same heigh from the step they were closest to - about as high as a small child's, much too large for an animal but short for a human.

Spooky, eh? It's scaring me out of my wits half the time. Does anybody have an idea of what it could be?

You might wanna keep the parties upstairs and keep your basement locked. Or get rid of the alcohol.

Nahh, just messin'. That is a very interesting thing to find though. You might want to set up a kind of camera system in your basement at night, see what you find. Just be careful, you might find something you shouldn't or don't want to deal with.

Oh dear, now I'm freaked out of my mind. Should I dare ask you what you mean by that?

Alcohol? I'm a bit young for that

Take a pic man...

Well, I'd advise you to take a picture of the print so we can identify it easier. Also, make sure there's no food in your basement that animals might want to get in to, and check to see if there's anything in your basement that might be responsible for the print's color. Here's a few common animal footprints for you to compare it to.
Raccoon:http://www.ontariowildflower.com/images/raccoon_track_winter.jpg / http://pro.corbis.com/images/CB027551.jpg?...42B4C30F36BD%7D
Bobcat/Raccoon/Skunk: http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview...cat_raccoon.jpg
Otter: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subje...484154/?lang=_e
Rat: http://www.createdigitalmotion.com/images/.../04/ratpaws.jpg
Badger: http://www.badgers.org.uk/brocks-world/print02a.jpg
Squirrel: http://www.dentonisd.org/51235921105623/li..._footprints.jpg

Thanks, I'll try to get a picture up. I just need to find batteries for my digital camera. Thanks for the links, as well, but the prints were much more human than any of those. There were just...fingers.

If it is something...abnormal, what do you think it could be?

(Edited for spelling and to add something)

It's possible that it could be something paranormal like ghosts or something, there have been prints like that made before which supposedly were done by ghosts.

dont forget to send the result here, ok !

it could be ghost

Ghost?! Oh, crap. I'm going to sleep at my friend's house, tonight. Oh, dear. Do you all have to scare me so much? I'm not normally edgy at all but anything to do with ghosts...that's why I only hang out on the cryptid section...

OMG run for your life!!!!!Get out of teh house teh demon child is gonna eat you alive!!!!!!!!Naw jokin but srsly a demon child is the first thing that came to my mind Like the one form teh Grudge That or some kind of demonic mutant thing living in your basement In which case i would light the house on fire and run.Unlike the demon child,in which case you have no chance cuz it will hunt you down for the rest of your life

Geez now that I picture those hand prints in my head I'm scaring myself
Pics would be nice

A picture would be helpful.

Agreed. I would be interested in an image, as well. It does indeed sound creepy. Is there an alternate exit in your basement through which pranksters could enter without you knowing?

WHY ? cryptid can be more dangerous than ghost . well it could be some animal hidden on your basement. ask your friends to sleep in your house is much better. maybe you'll find cute monkey !



or at least send us your drawing of this "fingers"

A ghost is possible, but i dont think so in this case, im not shure what a pic would be helpfull and if it is a ghost then unless it has intentions to ruin things for you i dout it will do much other than creep you out a bit (Yorgmiester, way to scare a person i mean theres no need to be mean here is there, i mean DC aint here) and theres always the possiblity of it just being with the house or is this a recent thing that you have noticed, and i don't think you want to know what StrangeTempest is thinking or saying... (i understand it and its kinda well i dont know wrong)

Lol it was mostly a joke but then again...you never know

But on a happier note,are there any other entrance/exits in your basement,through which neighborhood kids could come in through???Even like an ash-shoot or something???Never under-estimate pranksters.Also yes i think it's a good idea to have friends sleep at your house,instead of goin over there.That way,if there is something going on (paranormal or otherwise) you can be there with some extra muscle

lol, it could be pranksters or it could be a ghost, it all depends on the kind of people in your neighborhood and the history of the house itself, or maybe it was built into the house itself and you have only just noticed them

Or some extra bait

LOL @ people suggesting ghosts. Demons and sh** should be the LAST thing you look at. Actually, don't even bother with them at all. wtf.

Waiting for the pics, if they don't come up I'm calling scam, sorry. =)

You'll probably be waiting forever if you want pics..

From experience, amen to that. However, if they're that hard to get off and they're not running away, there's no excuse in this case.

Im thinking that the closest image we get of these prints are the images we get in our heads..

don't mean to be a skeptic...

Oh no you di'int. lol

Still waiting for the pics.

PIIICS.......PIIIIIIIICCSSSSS........PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCSSSSSSSS...........

does nobody else find it ironic that she has the word "claw" in her screen name & now she has mysterious "claw" prints in her basement???

All I can say to that is:

WTF, mate?


I was really interested in warrior cats series when I was younger, and my favirote warrior name that I made up was "Otterclaw". I thought it would be a nice call name and I would certainly remember it since I wrote it down in practically all of my old notebooks.

Thanks everyone, I WILL get pictures. I'm sort of freaked out here, and I want to know what you guys think. And yes, there is one route out of my basemet besides through the house, but it is one of those ramp-like things in the ground that you open up and there are stairs leading down. I can't remember there names. Anyhow, mine makes a ton of noise and is virtually impossible to get into, along with the fact that I can't think of anyone who would want to prank me.

The only history of my house is that the old switchboard used to be in here. You know how back in the old days you had to call the operator and they would use the switchboard to redirect your call to the person you wanted to chat with? Well, the operator used to live here with her/his switchboard. That's what my mum told me, anyhow. Could the ghost of the operator be around?

(Edited once to add stuff, second time to fix spelling, third time to fix the way I phrased this sentence. I'm on a roll, now arn't I?)

come on, you don't see the irony yourself??? you have to. i'm not doubting you or anything. i'm just saying it's a little ironic. there have been people on here that have "mothman" referances in their name. a few weeks or months later, guess what. . . . .they swear they saw the mothman. some will have some form of "dragon" in their name. amazingly enough, they come on one day & say they saw a dragon. same with wolves, ect. i would probably get alot of grief if i came on here one day talking about being attacked by a vampire (note my sig). see what i mean??? it's just ironic, that's all. don't be offended. i look forward to the pics. we'll help you figure out what's in the basement.

Yeah, okay, thanks. I did notice that, after you mentioned it, although the "Otter" part doesn't really make much sence. Besides, I'm not even sure if they are claw marks. They sort of look almost like someone swiped their hand across it, although I'm not completely sure they arn't claw marks. I'm getting pictures up soon. My brother is coming home tonight, I think, and he'll let me borrow his digital camera since I can't find mine.

I too have noticed how the name/sighting thing works out, but I can asure you that's not part of what I'm doing. I really did choose that name because it was a Warrior Cat name.

opossum maybe

Pictures, need pictures...

Wraithgod; NOOOO! You changed your pic! Everyone loved that pic! Why *sobs* why did you have to change it!

Pictures coming! Pictures coming! I'm sorry about the wait, you are probably all thinking that this is going to end up with me having a bunch of excuses like "Oooh I can't find it. Sorry. No, I can't get a new one, too expensive, ect. ect."

That shan't happen. I'm desperate now. I've taken some measurements of the prints until I can get the pictures up (soon, soon!). The first clear print is about 3 1/2 inches at the longest claw/finger, while the rest were around two-three inches. There are four individual finger/claws. The second prints are too muddled to measure, as if someone was pawing frantically. As I look at them again, I hope I'm not over-reacting, but I'm sure they weren't there before, which is one of the reasons it makes me nervous.

Well I know the 2 main ppl in this forum with with 'dragon' in their name have it there cuz they're obsessed with dragons It's a trend:ppl who like werewolves have 'were' or 'wolf' or 'lycan' in their names,ppl who like like BF have 'BF hunter' or something like that,and ppl who like...erm...yorgs...have 'yorg' in their name

Kk on a more serious note,Otter: get some pics and ummm....keep a shotgun,a knife,garlic,a cross,holy water,and a picture of Michael Jackson(turned toward the door) next to your bed.

Eeer, does hiding under your covers work just as well?

I'm getting pics, getting pics. Whooohooo! My brother is home. Now it is time to get his digital camera.

THE PIC IS BACK. Now don't be so dramatic. =P And I'm obsessed with dragons toooo, count me in! My name really says nothing about my interests on here since I'm not into ghosts/spectres and I'm an atheist, lol.

*waits for les pics*

Have there been any more prints since you first noticed them? Because if these things are showing up at regular intervals it might be a good idea to take a couple of brave friends and camp out in your basement with a camera and see what you can see.

my own fingers are longer than that

Come to think of it, I prefered the other pic.





I jest, I jest.

This seems a very interesting experience.Hope the see the pictures soon.

well he said he see it twice and all we have to do is waiting for the pic

i wonder why he didnt ask his brother to stay in the basement coz maybe his brother also have same experience

cool. i was just picking at you a little. just out of curiousity, do the prints look anything like these:









these are raccoon paw prints. raccoons can get pretty big. they are extremely smart, as well as curious. that combo makes them very mischevious. maybe one with dirty feet is exploring your basement. note: these look just like small human hand prints except they have claws. just a thought. peace .

I had a case like this befor in my home a weird foot print in the basement i did some test and forund out humidity actually made a shoe print reform though it was deformed. through water vapor and it looked like paint or ash It was scary but explainable

Yes covers and/or sheets are known to ward off spirits and monsters of various types temporarily

Good now you can take some pics,right???if you don't i'll start putting hand prints in your shower.

May a dragon eat you and the authorities confuse things and list you as a missing person! lol



Ooh, very good, and with the changing weather - pressure, temp, humidity - it's very likely that they're smudgey handprints from long ago. I can't imagine basement walls are cleaned well enough to remove all the residue contact with skin can leave on thinsgs.

Hey Otter...Pics gonna be up soon?

Need some pictures, but I believe you so far!

Okay, here's the deal so far: My brother wouldn't let me borrow his camera, but I found my digital one. Turns out, my friend's little sister thought it would be a good idea to use the screen part as a TV for her barbies while we were babysitting her. I found it in my old toy box.

But it still needs batteries. I tried out a bunch of old ones, but they are all dead. That's okay though, because I have enough money, so I'll get some A.S.A.P.

Hmmm, the racoon prints don't really look like them.

I have seen two bunches of prints, each appearing within a week or so of each other. I am positive they weren't there before. I'm a girl, by the way, kenshinx.

Good luck, Otterclaw, and take care of yourself.

Hmm not to be rude or pushy,but if you don't get those batteries and take some pics soon I'm gonna be suspicious

Thank you, Incorrigible. That means a lot.


And Yorgmiester, I don't blame you. If I were you, I would be very suspicoius. You're probably thinking that, for some strange reason and accompanied with ridiculous excuses, I won't be able to get the pictures up. I swear that won't happen.

Ill hold you to that