Phantom Stink

[dwn2earth_girl]

A friend of mine has been having some strange phenomena recently that I've been a witness to. Normally her house has the occasional shadow, apparition, and noises, but recently there has been a random bad odor. At first we thought it was her dog (he has a very sensitive stomach and, like many dogs, likes rotten stuff) but the smell permeates when he isn't around. I've researched phantom odors and brain tumors are a big cause, but the whole family, including myself (even though I'm not related) has smelled it.

Her grandma had her grandpa check the furnace and ducts to make sure it wasn't a dead rodent or something. I also asked whether or not it was during any specific weather (wet weather can make certain types of soil and clay smell like a mixture of rotten animals and feces) because they have an area of the floor that needs repaired.

We have decided through trial and error all the natural causes of the smell and we haven't been able to debunk it. It occurs upstairs in her bedroom, down in the kitchen, in the living room, and in the foyer. None of these rooms are directly off of one another, they all have at least one room or corridor in between, so you would expect the odor to go from room to room.

I'm just looking for any suggestions or similar experiences. I suppose if it was a perfume or floral smell we wouldn't be as concerned, but it's just a nasty smell.

Thanks for any opinions and suggestions!

[auramyst]

Does it occur in all the rooms at the same time? Or is it limited to one or two rooms at a time? Is it at a certain time of the day or night?

[Keel M.]

Dead animals under the house?

[Queen in the North]

I ask this in all seriousness... does anyone who lives there have dog muck on their shoes?

A friend once thought someone had got dog muck all through the house, they smelt it in the kitchen, then when they were in the lounge they could smell it there, then upstairs... it was the bottom of their shoe...

[Ashotep]

Could it be coming from the sewer. Smells can also come up through the drains.

[Eldorado]

A Phantom Farter is a possibility.

p.s. The silent ones are always the most dangerous, in my experience.

Edited March 7, 2013 by Eldorado

[dwn2earth_girl]

Does it occur in all the rooms at the same time? Or is it limited to one or two rooms at a time? Is it at a certain time of the day or night?

It sort of follows us around (and we don't wear shoes in the house ... white carpet!). Like we will be in the kitchen trying to find a snack and all of a sudden bam.. major stink. Or we will be sitting and talking in the living room... or watching a movie in her room... bam - stinky. And time wise is just whenever, like we will go up and play X-box, go down stairs to grab a drink, go back up and it's there like an invisible wall of yuck and it lingers forever... like 15 minutes.

[dwn2earth_girl]

Dead animals under the house?

Hmm, I'll ask her but I would assume that it would stink up the whole house, like if it went up to the bedrooms (which you have to go through her grandparents room to get to hers, I believe it's called a shotgun house design) it would be on the landings and in the bedroom before hers, you know? Or if it was in the kitchen, the living room and dinning room would smell as well.

[dwn2earth_girl]

I ask this in all seriousness... does anyone who lives there have dog muck on their shoes?

A friend once thought someone had got dog muck all through the house, they smelt it in the kitchen, then when they were in the lounge they could smell it there, then upstairs... it was the bottom of their shoe...

I don't doubt your sincerity, however, dog poo has been ruled out. Last time I smelled it we were sitting on her bed watching a movie. We take our shoes off as soon as we come in due to the fact that her house has white carpet. I also ask her if her dog (a fluffy Pomeranian) might have a dirty behind (which sometimes happens) and she will check him and he's clean.

[dwn2earth_girl]

Could it be coming from the sewer. Smells can also come up through the drains.

I have experienced backed up sewer lines while staying at someones house and it doesn't smell the same as that. Also there hasn't been any odor in the bathrooms. I will ask her though, just to be sure. Thanks

[dwn2earth_girl]

A Phantom Farter is a possibility.

p.s. The silent ones are always the most dangerous, in my experience.

I'm pretty sure if either of us had farted that badly we would claim it... haha!

[Keel M.]

Hmm, I'll ask her but I would assume that it would stink up the whole house, like if it went up to the bedrooms (which you have to go through her grandparents room to get to hers, I believe it's called a shotgun house design) it would be on the landings and in the bedroom before hers, you know? Or if it was in the kitchen, the living room and dinning room would smell as well.

Not necessarily. Here at work, because we are situated within the same building as a warehouse, we have had mice die within our walls and the smell is pretty localized.

[DBunker]

Bad smell!!??

What the hell is this doing in a Ghost section on the net!!??

[Brian Topp]

Had a dead rat in the crawl space, gave a faint stink until I found it

[Rafterman]

Can you describe the smell? Are we talking decomposing animal, feces, sour milk, mildew, etc.? There are lots of different kinds of bad smells.

If it's rotting animal, I would hazard a guess that there's a dead something in one of your walls where you can't easily get to it. Do you have a chimney? We moved into a house a few years back and found 15 mummified squirrels when we had it cleaned.

[Eldorado]

I'm pretty sure if either of us had farted that badly we would claim it... haha!

I was meaning a farting ghost. (Could also be one with really, really bad breath from being dead for years)

[coldethyl]

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