Marby Noffki

Is it a ghost ?

March 31, 2008 |  4 comments
Image Credit: stockxpert The biggest challenge I am facing with this particular piece is finding a way to open it without saying, “So you think you have a ghost?” which is about the corniest sentence I have strung together since… actually, that might be the corniest sentence I have ever strung together. Swiftly moving on… If you have reason to think that your house might be haunted, it is important to establish whether those noises, strange shadows, and other occurrences might be caused by something other than a ghost, as it is easier to prove that something is not there than it is to prove that it is there.

Possibly the most important part of this process is to keep a detailed journal of every questionable incident as it happens. No detail is insignificant. Aside from detailing the incident itself, it is important to note the date, time of day, what lights were in use, what appliances were running, and you should account for all members of the household, pets included. In time, these details will allow you to establish patterns if they exist. They can help you to debunk or they can help you to record evidence of a haunting. Keeping a journal also has another huge advantage in that detailing the incidents on paper is a great way to calm down after a scare and prepares you to handle future incidents with less fear.

When I was working in the construction industry back in the States, I learned that a newly built home should no longer “settle” after the first year unless there is a structural problem. However, every house has its unique set of acoustics, and once the world snuggles in for a night of sleep, the television or stereo are off, and your mind is not preoccupied with what you will do next, all those sounds are amplified as if to make up for being drowned out by daily life. Learn to recognize the whirring sounds a refrigerator makes, what it sounds like when the cooling/heating system turns on or off, what the dog sounds like when he walks across the floor, and any noise that would startle you because it is not generally heard during the day.

In some cases, the house’s plumbing system will make seemingly unearthly sounds, or the electricity will have been wired in at some point by a very lucky to be alive fool. It might be worth having a plumber and electrician come in and check both systems if some of the occurrences might have their roots in either system.

Along those same lines is getting to know your property through the public records. This will allow you to rule out any geological cause for those bumps in the night.

The idea is to rule out everything you can. Make sure that the latches on your doors work before assuming that a ghost opened and closed the bedroom door. See that those unearthly sounds aren’t just what Pink Floyd sounds like through an air conditioning vent three rooms away. That thing at the foot of the bed could easily be headlights swinging through the window when a car turns onto your street.

If you exhaust all possibilities and decide that there is a ghost in the house, the next step is entirely up to you. At this point, you can decide how to deal with the situation, if you deal with it at all. Comments (4)

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