Give me a logical reason about weird

[TheVeryFirstDinosaur]

• Sounds of footsteps that come towards me in hallway while I'm working on computer at night. I look towards hallway, they stop.
  
• Bumping in the attic and walls.
  
• Keys and wallet have vanished before, found in old bag in closet that I literally haven't used in years.
  
• Late at night, if laying in bed, have mild panic attacks, see faint shadow masses moving about in room. I fear them.
  
• friends and family complain about sounds of my banjo or guitar being played when im not in room. complain about bumping from my closet.
  
• 
  

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

House settling?

[Vance665]

Maybe you are just paranoid.

[Brian Topp]

Hello, My name is Brian, I will be your Skeptic for this evening. Please note that I do come off strong but it doesn't mean that I am mocking your views or believes but merely offer a different perspective. Now that is cleared up, Let's jump to it.

• Sounds of footsteps that come towards me in hallway while I'm working on computer at night. I look towards hallway, they stop
  

The details that you describe are lacking and this is not your fault because you never consider these options.

-Are the steps slow, fast or spaced. Spaced inregards to some one taking a step, waiting a bitand taking another?

-What is the weather like? Has it rained?

-You mentioned you are on the computer are night, what were you doing? How late was it?

With out additional data, I can only inform you is that you were on late, you are tired and you hear the noises but not putting the time of the steps together until you did. My wife would ask me to put the trash and what I felt like was merely 10 minutes an hour really went past. As for the noises it is very likely it is the floor boards are settling. Settling means that the wood is has pressure on them are are moved against another, pressure builds between the two. Finally the joint slips, causing the popping. It's a mini-version of an earthquake--two sections of the Earth's crust try to move against each other, pressure builds at the fault until it causes movement and an earthquake results. The other is your house has moisture is leaving or entering to make that noise.

• Bumping in the attic and walls.
  

Again, Little data.

-Do you have a boiler or a heater in the attic?

-Piping?

-Weather?

The attic can make noises but most likely the roof tiles making noises or just like the floor boards. It could be piping or even an unwanted animal sneaking in at night.

• Keys and wallet have vanished before, found in old bag in closet that I literally haven't used in years.
  

This honestly I can not give a true solid opinion since I am not there and well, I do not know you or your friends but I can from my own experience I am notorious for placing things in the wrong place and forget about it. The other is some one is pranking you.

• Late at night, if laying in bed, have mild panic attacks, see faint shadow masses moving about in room. I fear them.
  

You are working yourself up to cause a panic attack. You getting yourself so paranoid that they might "get you". I have a feeling you are directing your stress from something personal in your live, family, work, school, relationships and directing to your ghost problem.

• friends and family complain about sounds of my banjo or guitar being played when im not in room.
  

Just like the keys, I do not know you, your friends or family. I can only say that they either pulling a prank on you (knowing you are worked up on this).

• complain about bumping from my closet.
  

This gives me more of a red flag, how are they able to hear those noises if the door is closed? Again, Lack of data given. How often is the noises, how loud? have you considered maybe an animal or a rodent in the crawl space? Have you considered piping between the crawl space or house settling?

Below is my spill I normally tell every one.

Noises In the night, Some say it is the ghosts of the deseased coming back and walking down these empty halls. The reality is, It could be your house settling.

What is "house settling" you may ask, Over time houses wear down, moisture, decay and wear and tear by use of the house can slightly deform or crack your house. Heat and moisture also has an effect since at night the tempature changes. sometimes it is just parts of the house moving, such as plumbing lines (when they carry hot water), or windows expanding (when they are in direct sun light).

What about the floor boards?

As one piece of wood tries to move against another, pressure builds between the two. Finally the joint slips, causing the popping. It's a mini-version of an earthquake--two sections of the Earth's crust try to move against each other, pressure builds at the fault until it causes movement and an earthquake results.

Have a Great day

[TheVeryFirstDinosaur]

No boiler or heater in attic. House has never had any water damage. Family honestly gets scared of occurrences, too. No friends in house at time of musical instruments being plucked. I've never had a habit of misplacing things in extremely odd locations.

What am I missing here...

Oh, yeah. Footsteps happen at least once a week. And I'm mainly doing programming work on the computer.

I'm not labeling this as paranormal in the least, because I'm a skeptic in situations like this, but some stuff just doesn't make sense.

[Brian Topp]

No boiler or heater in attic. House has never had any water damage. Family honestly gets scared of occurrences, too. No friends in house at time of musical instruments being plucked. I've never had a habit of misplacing things in extremely odd locations.

What am I missing here...

Oh, yeah. Footsteps happen at least once a week. And I'm mainly doing programming work on the computer.

I'm not labeling this as paranormal in the least, because I'm a skeptic in situations like this, but some stuff just doesn't make sense.

Then it comes to house settling or vermin, Heat builds up during the day and then when it cools it makes noises.

[Avallaine]

Your experiences seem quite intriguing, especially the keys and wallet thing. I'd like to know more about it, actually. When did your keys/wallet go missing? Was it once or several times? Did they vanish together or separately? For how long were they missing? How did you end up finding them in the bag in the closet? And forgive me, but English is sometimes imprecise--is it the bag you had not used in years, or the closet you had not used in years? Or both?

What kind of bag was it? Was open or shut? Where in the closet was it stored (on the floor, on a shelf, under other objects)? Were the items found in an outer pocket (where they might have fallen) or inside some sealed part of the bag? If this happened more than once, were the items found in the same bag in the same closet each time, and if so, did you try moving the bag or putting another, similar bag in its place?

As far as the footsteps go, I'd also like some more details. How old is your house, and roughly how big is it? How many people, if any, live with you? Who, besides yourself, is there at night when you're on your computer? Have you any pets?

Is your hallway carpeted? Hardwood floor? Linoleum? Do the footsteps "match" what you'd expect from someone walking on the floor surface as it is now?

How distinct are the footsteps? Can you make out an actual heel-toe, heel-toe rhythm like someone in hard shoes, or is it more like a series of creaks?

Can you tell if the sounds seem to be moving in a distinct direction? Do they get louder or softer as they go on, or do they stay at the same level of loudness? Do they sound different on different occasions, or is it like a repeating recording of the same event?

How long is your hallway, and how many steps would you, yourself take to travel from one end of it to the other? How many "steps" do you typically hear at one time? You said they stop if you look toward the hallway; how long do they go on if you don't look toward the hallway?

Can you, at your computer, be seen from the hallway? That is, if a real (non-ghost) person were walking down your hallway, would they be able to see you turning your head to look in that direction? Or would they have to rely on hearing your movements? If it's the latter, have you tried turning your head as quietly as possible? Are you in a position where you could just shift your eyes without moving your head and be able to see the hallway? If you are, have you tried that, and seeing if they still stop when you look?

Have you tried not looking, but only thinking about looking at the hallway, and seeing if they stop? (Though I imagine most people would be far too freaked out if the steps did stop to try doing this.)

_{edit: spotted a spelling error.}

Edited September 10, 2013 by Avallaine

[TheVeryFirstDinosaur]

Your experiences seem quite intriguing, especially the keys and wallet thing. I'd like to know more about it, actually. When did your keys/wallet go missing? Was it once or several times? Did they vanish together or separately? For how long were they missing? How did you end up finding them in the bag in the closet? And forgive me, but English is sometimes imprecise--is it the bag you had not used in years, or the closet you had not used in years? Or both?

Several times. All back to same old bag. Separately. Missing a couple hours. My sister came across them while aiding me in a search.

What kind of bag was it? Was open or shut? Where in the closet was it stored (on the floor, on a shelf, under other objects)? Were the items found in an outer pocket (where they might have fallen) or inside some sealed part of the bag? If this happened more than once, were the items found in the same bag in the same closet each time, and if so, did you try moving the bag or putting another, similar bag in its place?

Military rucksack my father gave to me from when he served. Open. Located on a shelf. Was in main section of bag. They have shown up in other old bags in the same or other closets.

As far as the footsteps go, I'd also like some more details. How old is your house, and roughly how big is it? How many people, if any, live with you? Who, besides yourself, is there at night when you're on your computer? Have you any pets?

House was built in '92. Single floor house, average middle class size. 3 others live in house. I'm the only one awake when on computer at late hours. We have a dog and 4 cats but mainly kept outside.

Is your hallway carpeted? Hardwood floor? Linoleum? Do the footsteps "match" what you'd expect from someone walking on the floor surface as it is now?

Hardwood floor. Yes, they match.

How distinct are the footsteps? Can you make out an actual heel-toe, heel-toe rhythm like someone in hard shoes, or is it more like a series of creaks?

It is the distinct sound of someone slowly creeping on a floor, as if trying to be sneaky. Some times are slower than others, but it's always a very slow walk.

Can you tell if the sounds seem to be moving in a distinct direction? Do they get louder or softer as they go on, or do they stay at the same level of loudness? Do they sound different on different occasions, or is it like a repeating recording of the same event?

They get louder, but never get any higher than a faint sound you have to focus on. Always moving towards me.

How long is your hallway, and how many steps would you, yourself take to travel from one end of it to the other? How many "steps" do you typically hear at one time? You said they stop if you look toward the hallway; how long do they go on if you don't look toward the hallway?

It takes me 9 footsteps. That's average. As I said, these footsteps are creeping, so there's a bit more. I always look in the direction, so I wouldn't know how long they carry on.

Can you, at your computer, be seen from the hallway? That is, if a real (non-ghost) person were walking down your hallway, would they be able to see you turning your head to look in that direction? Or would they have to rely on hearing your movements? If it's the latter, have you tried turning your head as quietly as possible? Are you in a position where you could just shift your eyes without moving your head and be able to see the hallway? If you are, have you tried that, and seeing if they still stop when you look?

Yeah, you can see me. And no, I haven't tried either of those things.

Have you tried not looking, but only thinking about looking at the hallway, and seeing if they stop? (Though I imagine most people would be far too freaked out if the steps did stop to try doing this.)

No.

_{edit: spotted a spelling error.}

And your english/grammar is fine. A lot better than the average American.

[Avallaine]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that English a second language to me--it's not. (In fact, it's my only language--I am an average American, it seems ). I only meant that sometimes it's hard to tell which noun an adjective or verb refers to (in this case, whether t was the bag or the closet you hadn't used in years). But thanks for saying my grammar's good, I try my best.

Back on topic...

Hmm...I think you misspoke (mistyped?) somewhere. You said "all back to the same old bag" at first, but then you said "They have shown up in other old bags in the same or other closets."

I was going to suggest, if the bag was open, they could have fallen into it, depending on the height of the shelf it's kept on (and, of course, if you ever hang your jackets in the same closet), but if it happens a lot, that becomes less likely.

Since it's your father's rucksack, I have to ask...is your father still alive?

As for the footsteps...if they're very stealthy, like someone creeping, and very faint...the possibility becomes a lot higher that they're some other sound that merely resembles footsteps. On the average, how slow are they? And how "regular" is the rhythm of the sound? I know you said the speed varies, but does it vary from occasion to occasion, or does it vary within the same occurrence?

I'm actually having a hard time imagining stealthy footsteps on a hardwood floor. It sounds from that description like it can't be much more than a series of creaks...which is more likely to be "house settling sounds" or some small creature than an actual haunting phenomenon. Most of the ghostly footprints I've heard about aren't stealthy at all...it's their very distinctness that makes them so remarkable to those who hear them.

My advice for now, then, is to assume for the moment that your house noises, at least, have a prosaic explanation. Try getting some of those ultrasonic devices designed to annoy squirrels/mice/etc. and install them in your attic, your hallway, under your house (if possible). Also, try putting your banjo and guitar in a case (or wrapping them in throw blankets, if they don't have a case); that way if anyone hears them making noise, you'll know something very odd is up. Also, try putting a reflective surface near you computer, so that you can look down the hallway without turning your head. Try not looking (or, at least, appearing not to look) when they occur and see how far they continue.

It's possible -- and don't rule this out right away, I've done it to myself several times -- that it's you, yourself unconsciously making some small motion that's making a noise...tensing some part of your body, or jiggling your leg just a little bit, or just shifting your balance a little as you sit and type or mouse or what have you. It would stop when you turn your head because that makes you shift your position.

The next time you hear the "footsteps," try remaining as still as possible and just observing what happens. Observe yourself and your reactions as well as the sound itself, and see if you notice anything you haven't before.

As for your problems laying in bed at night, if it were me, I'd try sleeping with a light on for a while, or using a sleep mask, or both together. Eat or drink something relaxing before you go to bed...milk or chamomile tea or toast or something. There's always o.t.c. sleep aids, too. (I often take an antihistamine before bed, but then, I also have allergies a lot).

Are you having panic attacks because you're seeing shadows at night, or does having a panic attack make you awake enough to see shadows? Or do they happen independently? If you're not just panicking because you see shadows and the idea of them scares you, the panic/anxiety attacks are probably a sign that you're under a lot of stress. Look up methods of stress relief and try some...meditate or get a massage or watch some comedy or otherwise take some time out to do something fun and/or comforting. It could be that you're just all keyed up and your tension is making your hypnogogic/hypnopompic imagery really intense.

Let us know how things go...

Edited September 10, 2013 by Avallaine