Poltergeist Or Haunted House?

[brownmane]

After reading many accounts of the paranormal and weird on this forum, I now wonder if my first home was haunted or had a poltergeist. Is there a difference?

Sorry, this story is going to be disjointed because I started posting on another thread and realized that I was telling a full story, and so moved part of it here. It did happen more than 30 years ago, so some of the recollection will not be entirely clear.

My husband and I moved into a row house in November 1985 and my husband started fixing it up.

The neighbour woman came over one evening to use our phone. She, her husband and two boys lived on outside of the four row houses. She told me of things disappearing and reappearing at a later time. The houses were mirrors of each other.

These homes had been built in 1910 or close. They were only 12 by 24 two floors with a walkout basement (from front). They had no closets. Very small.

She said that once her husband's favourite hat had disappeared and they looked high and low but couldn't find it. When they did find it, it was on the floor right in front if the wardrobe in their bedroom. She said other things went missing like this. Because this was the first time I'd met her and it was only a short conversation, I filed it under "interesting, but is she kooky?" They moved shortly after, so I couldn't follow up.

I did believe her when similar things started to happen to my husband.

I saw the basement light on when it shouldn't have been and I heard strange sounds. My husband lost things. As he became more freaked out, then the activity became more often and once or twice, with both of us there.

The time at which he lost the salt shaker, we had a friend of mine living temporarily with us. They were both in livingroom and he'd just put the shaker down beside his chair (he ate apples sprinkled with salt). He went to get his tea and when he came back, the shaker was gone. My friend verified this. We never did find the shaker.

The very first night that this started, he was working in basement - something to do with a paint can. I was working 11:00-2300, sleeping overnight, and 0700-1900 the next evening. He called me that night saying that the paint can had disappeared on him. That it had been on the shelf in the basement and that it had disappeared.

I laughed, thinking he was teasing me, but as I spoke with him, I heard that his voice was shaking and realized that he was afraid.

He'd told me that he'd left the lid off of the can. I convinced him to go down and put the lid on while I was on the phone since he couldn't leave it open. He did this and said to me "it's back". Later, though it was not immediately, he told me that it had disappeared and reappeared as he was reaching for it. That evening he swore that he would not go back into the basement.

The next evening, I was walking through the walkway across from our house and saw that the basement light was on. I walked in and made comment about him saying that he wasn't going into the basement when he was alone. I told him that the light was on.

His sister was sitting there visiting with him. Both of them looked at me and said that they'd been in the basement, but had turned the lights off.

To be continued.

 

[SimonBurchell]

After reading many accounts of the paranormal and weird on this forum, I now wonder if my first home was haunted or had a poltergeist. Is there a difference?

Sorry, this story is going to be disjointed because I started posting on another thread and realized that I was telling a full story, and so moved part of it here. It did happen more than 30 years ago, so some of the recollection will not be entirely clear.

My husband and I moved into a row house in November 1985 and my husband started fixing it up.

The neighbour woman came over one evening to use our phone. She, her husband and two boys lived on outside of the four row houses. She told me of things disappearing and reappearing at a later time. The houses were mirrors of each other.

These homes had been built in 1910 or close. They were only 12 by 24 two floors with a walkout basement (from front). They had no closets. Very small.

She said that once her husband's favourite hat had disappeared and they looked high and low but couldn't find it. When they did find it, it was on the floor right in front if the wardrobe in their bedroom. She said other things went missing like this. Because this was the first time I'd met her and it was only a short conversation, I filed it under "interesting, but is she kooky?" They moved shortly after, so I couldn't follow up.

I did believe her when similar things started to happen to my husband.

I saw the basement light on when it shouldn't have been and I heard strange sounds. My husband lost things. As he became more freaked out, then the activity became more often and once or twice, with both of us there.

The time at which he lost the salt shaker, we had a friend of mine living temporarily with us. They were both in livingroom and he'd just put the shaker down beside his chair (he ate apples sprinkled with salt). He went to get his tea and when he came back, the shaker was gone. My friend verified this. We never did find the shaker.

The very first night that this started, he was working in basement - something to do with a paint can. I was working 11:00-2300, sleeping overnight, and 0700-1900 the next evening. He called me that night saying that the paint can had disappeared on him. That it had been on the shelf in the basement and that it had disappeared.

I laughed, thinking he was teasing me, but as I spoke with him, I heard that his voice was shaking and realized that he was afraid.

He'd told me that he'd left the lid off of the can. I convinced him to go down and put the lid on while I was on the phone since he couldn't leave it open. He did this and said to me "it's back". Later, though it was not immediately, he told me that it had disappeared and reappeared as he was reaching for it. That evening he swore that he would not go back into the basement.

The next evening, I was walking through the walkway across from our house and saw that the basement light was on. I walked in and made comment about him saying that he wasn't going into the basement when he was alone. I told him that the light was on.

His sister was sitting there visiting with him. Both of them looked at me and said that they'd been in the basement, but had turned the lights off.

To be continued.

Great post - however, there is enough overlap between ghosts/hauntings and poltergeists that one should be wary of categorising as one or the other. They can both happen at the same time, from apparently the same source. Having said that, what sticks out from the above post is that it appears to be wholly disappearing/appearing/moving objects (I count the lights being on as light-switch moving). You said you heard sounds but didn't state what kind of sounds, so could be the sound of objects moving. In a haunting you would expect a sense of presence, apparitions (although not necessarily), sounds such as people moving, breathing, talking, laughing, crying etc., perhaps phantom odours. However, all of these can occur in poltergeist cases too! I look forward to the continuation of your tale!

 

[catseye]

After reading many accounts of the paranormal and weird on this forum, I now wonder if my first home was haunted or had a poltergeist. Is there a difference?

Sorry, this story is going to be disjointed because I started posting on another thread and realized that I was telling a full story, and so moved part of it here. It did happen more than 30 years ago, so some of the recollection will not be entirely clear.

My husband and I moved into a row house in November 1985 and my husband started fixing it up.

The neighbour woman came over one evening to use our phone. She, her husband and two boys lived on outside of the four row houses. She told me of things disappearing and reappearing at a later time. The houses were mirrors of each other.

These homes had been built in 1910 or close. They were only 12 by 24 two floors with a walkout basement (from front). They had no closets. Very small.

She said that once her husband's favourite hat had disappeared and they looked high and low but couldn't find it. When they did find it, it was on the floor right in front if the wardrobe in their bedroom. She said other things went missing like this. Because this was the first time I'd met her and it was only a short conversation, I filed it under "interesting, but is she kooky?" They moved shortly after, so I couldn't follow up.

I did believe her when similar things started to happen to my husband.

I saw the basement light on when it shouldn't have been and I heard strange sounds. My husband lost things. As he became more freaked out, then the activity became more often and once or twice, with both of us there.

The time at which he lost the salt shaker, we had a friend of mine living temporarily with us. They were both in livingroom and he'd just put the shaker down beside his chair (he ate apples sprinkled with salt). He went to get his tea and when he came back, the shaker was gone. My friend verified this. We never did find the shaker.

The very first night that this started, he was working in basement - something to do with a paint can. I was working 11:00-2300, sleeping overnight, and 0700-1900 the next evening. He called me that night saying that the paint can had disappeared on him. That it had been on the shelf in the basement and that it had disappeared.

I laughed, thinking he was teasing me, but as I spoke with him, I heard that his voice was shaking and realized that he was afraid.

He'd told me that he'd left the lid off of the can. I convinced him to go down and put the lid on while I was on the phone since he couldn't leave it open. He did this and said to me "it's back". Later, though it was not immediately, he told me that it had disappeared and reappeared as he was reaching for it. That evening he swore that he would not go back into the basement.

The next evening, I was walking through the walkway across from our house and saw that the basement light was on. I walked in and made comment about him saying that he wasn't going into the basement when he was alone. I told him that the light was on.

His sister was sitting there visiting with him. Both of them looked at me and said that they'd been in the basement, but had turned the lights off.

To be continued.

The lights problem could be problems with wiring, in a reasonably old house. I still remember how all the lights in our house would go out when someone leaned against a particular spot on my bedroom wall.

The appearing and disappearing things certainly sounds more typical of poltergeist activity than ghostly.

 

[brownmane]

There was a noise that sounded like a quarter coin rolling across the kitchen floor, diagonally from the basement doorway to the back door.

There was a sound like a rocking chair rocking on bare wood floor (our floors were wood). Though my husband said that it was the neighbours drawing a clock chain, which we would occasionally hear, this sound was not in the same spot.

I have mentioned somewhere on another thread about our oven being turned off after we'd put some dinner in to cook. Both of us were sat at the table chatting, just waiting for the dinner to be cooked, and I opened the oven to check and saw that the oven dial was "off". I stated how dumb we were that we didn't turn the oven on. However, because the thermostat didn't work, we had an oven thermometer in it. The thermometer read 120F so it had been on.

A continuation above.

The point at which the oven was found to be turned off is when the activity seemed to be more obvious. That is that it became more common and happened when both of us were together.

One evening, my husband was in the kitchen making himself tea. I was in livingroom watching tv. I heard his spoon clink into the sink.

He came into the room and said "I never want to feel that again". He told me that he was standing at the counter and he felt something cold move through him (from the side where the basement door was, towards the sink) and that his spoon flew into the sink. The sink was at right angle to the counter at which he was standing. I was interested in this description of "cold moving through" because he had no knowledge (other than, maybe mainstream depictions) of ghosts or anything.

FFS my internet connection was lost at some point and no draft saved for at least 30 minutes of writing. I'll have to complete this later

@SimonBurchell I copied another post (above) I had on another thread. It describes the noises.

@catseye, I only have my husband's word that he'd checked for possible electrical problems and that nothing changed the problem with the light. I don't know exactly what he might have done, other than maybe replacing the chain switch. He's gone now, so I can't get more info.

 

[Night_Watch]

Rumbling Spirits! Normally only get them when bumping into drinks cabinet! [No! I cannot help myself.]

Some interesting incidents there. A sceptic may be unimpressed and even believers could, relatively easily, find explanations for some of those happenings.

The 'cold move through him' reminds me of what people, at least in my community, oft say when they get even the slightest or short cold shiver; 'Someone just walked over my grave'. Could it be a breeze or draught? A momentary crossing of different dimensions? Maybe, just maybe, someone long past is trying to make contact.

The cup of tea incident reminds of an incident that was witnessed by four adults in a former home of mine - I was a child so this happened maybe 40[+] years ago. Back tnen we lived in a large rented property of five bedrooms two bathrooms and extended coal house, 'outer' toilet and utility rooms. The house was on an estate built over old mineshafts and was constructed in the mid 1950's.

The story goes that we chill blains from my own family and visitors had been put to bed - more like playtime. My parents and those of the other children where downstairs socialising. My mum had made a cup of tea for each of the four adults and placd in reach of each person as they sat. The male visitor was sitting next to a piece of furniture made of iron that had a couple of side 'planters' built in which each held a small house plant. That dcorative piece also had decorative scrollwork and three shelves where the top one was maybe waist hieght of an average sized adult. The tea for the visitor was atop the furniture described and the furniutre was maybe six to ten inches wide and set sturdy against a wall with no other furniture touching it.

While those adults where talking the aforementioned 'cuppa' lifted itself to about six foot off the ground and a few inches from it's resting place saucer as well. The astonished adults watched as the floating cup then tipped and it's contents emptied. The cup rejoined the sacer and the whole rested back on the furniture where it had previously been. The male visitor jumped out of seat grabbed the attention of his wife and yelled for the visiting children to come downstairs. All the visitors left in a hurry and the male adult visitor refused to ever enter that house again.

There was no ready explanation of that incident and no trickery involved. Ghost? Rumbling Spirit? Who knows? I can tell though that the area around the house including various council and private estates and countryside is rife with tales of the paranormal or supernatural.

We humans are complex creatures and like to put an explanation to as much as we can. It is easier, sometimes, to attribute events to an unseen entity, ghost or poltergeist than some natural phenomena, mechanical device or contrived trick.

@brownmane: I do not doubt the events you write of and actually find them fascinating. As to the question of ghostly goings on or a playful poltergeist I neither believe, not believe or know. Let us keep our minds open to the possibilites though.

 

[Floyd]

Rumbling Spirits! Normally only get them when bumping into drinks cabinet! [No! I cannot help myself.]

Some interesting incidents there. A sceptic may be unimpressed and even believers could, relatively easily, find explanations for some of those happenings.

The 'cold move through him' reminds me of what people, at least in my community, oft say when they get even the slightest or short cold shiver; 'Someone just walked over my grave'. Could it be a breeze or draught? A momentary crossing of different dimensions? Maybe, just maybe, someone long past is trying to make contact.

The cup of tea incident reminds of an incident that was witnessed by four adults in a former home of mine - I was a child so this happened maybe 40[+] years ago. Back tnen we lived in a large rented property of five bedrooms two bathrooms and extended coal house, 'outer' toilet and utility rooms. The house was on an estate built over old mineshafts and was constructed in the mid 1950's.

The story goes that we chill blains from my own family and visitors had been put to bed - more like playtime. My parents and those of the other children where downstairs socialising. My mum had made a cup of tea for each of the four adults and placd in reach of each person as they sat. The male visitor was sitting next to a piece of furniture made of iron that had a couple of side 'planters' built in which each held a small house plant. That dcorative piece also had decorative scrollwork and three shelves where the top one was maybe waist hieght of an average sized adult. The tea for the visitor was atop the furniture described and the furniutre was maybe six to ten inches wide and set sturdy against a wall with no other furniture touching it.

While those adults where talking the aforementioned 'cuppa' lifted itself to about six foot off the ground and a few inches from it's resting place saucer as well. The astonished adults watched as the floating cup then tipped and it's contents emptied. The cup rejoined the sacer and the whole rested back on the furniture where it had previously been. The male visitor jumped out of seat grabbed the attention of his wife and yelled for the visiting children to come downstairs. All the visitors left in a hurry and the male adult visitor refused to ever enter that house again.

There was no ready explanation of that incident and no trickery involved. Ghost? Rumbling Spirit? Who knows? I can tell though that the area around the house including various council and private estates and countryside is rife with tales of the paranormal or supernatural.

We humans are complex creatures and like to put an explanation to as much as we can. It is easier, sometimes, to attribute events to an unseen entity, ghost or poltergeist than some natural phenomena, mechanical device or contrived trick.

@brownmane: I do not doubt the events you write of and actually find them fascinating. As to the question of ghostly goings on or a playful poltergeist I neither believe, not believe or know. Let us keep our minds open to the possibilites though.

I wonder why that particular area has had lots of incidences?
Any idea what (if anything) was there before the estate(s) were built?

 

[Night_Watch]

The estates are in NE England and built largely over old mining areas and long gone farms [buildings not just fields]. The town, in general, also hosted a large goods yard with lots of rolling stock and many lines between mines, steelworks and the larger national network. The 'concentration' of involved estates includes private housing and housing built to accomodate former, displaced, residents of 'category D' villages. Of course a lot of change has happened in the last seventy or so yars.

Maybe the old mines, farms, foundries and rail infastructure [most of which are now gone - mineshafts sealed] haee some lingering spirits! Or the locals just have good imaginations.

 

[catseye]

The estates are in NE England and built largely over old mining areas and long gone farms [buildings not just fields]. The town, in general, also hosted a large goods yard with lots of rolling stock and many lines between mines, steelworks and the larger national network. The 'concentration' of involved estates includes private housing and housing built to accomodate former, displaced, residents of 'category D' villages. Of course a lot of change has happened in the last seventy or so yars.

Maybe the old mines, farms, foundries and rail infastructure [most of which are now gone - mineshafts sealed] haee some lingering spirits! Or the locals just have good imaginations.

Plus, of course, any land built over ground like this is going to be subject to subsidence and other random earth movements, I'd have thought.

 

[Night_Watch]

Plus, of course, any land built over ground like this is going to be subject to subsidence and other random earth movements, I'd have thought.

Absoloutely! I've actually seen a digger complete with front bucket and back hoe 'disappear' into or, if you like, get swallowed just about whole by the ground whilst road wrks where being done in a local street - down an old mine. A young lad near was 'swallowed' in a similar way not 150 feet away from the afforementioned house.

Not trying to discredit any reports of ghosties! Where humans have settled the land many stories tend to come along. Some tales are cautionary such as told to keep children from dangerous areas. Some tales can be explained away. Other tales are harder to to interpret.

 

[Frideswide]

Some tales are cautionary such as told to keep children from dangerous areas.

I use the folklorist term nursery bogies for this category.

 

[brownmane]

A continuation above.

The point at which the oven was found to be turned off is when the activity seemed to be more obvious. That is that it became more common and happened when both of us were together.

One evening, my husband was in the kitchen making himself tea. I was in livingroom watching tv. I heard his spoon clink into the sink.

He came into the room and said "I never want to feel that again". He told me that he was standing at the counter and he felt something cold move through him (from the side where the basement door was, towards the sink) and that his spoon flew into the sink. The sink was at right angle to the counter at which he was standing. I was interested in this description of "cold moving through" because he had no knowledge (other than, maybe mainstream depictions) of ghosts or anything.

FFS my internet connection was lost at some point and no draft saved for at least 30 minutes of writing. I'll have to complete this later

@SimonBurchell I copied another post (above) I had on another thread. It describes the noises.

@catseye, I only have my husband's word that he'd checked for possible electrical problems and that nothing changed the problem with the light. I don't know exactly what he might have done, other than maybe replacing the chain switch. He's gone now, so I can't get more info.

Ok. Let's see if I can finish my story. I see it's been a while.

We had a cat in the house at the time and her litter and food were in the basement. Sometimes she would sit at top of stairs and appear to be watching something in the basement. My husband (when alone) would not go into the basement if the cat didn't.

These odd incidents freaked my husband out. I, however, was intrigued as I have never experienced paranormal activity such as this.

To add, these incidents only occurred between November and February, winter months, no other time of year.

The evening that the oven was on, but wasn't, was when the activity became, seemingly, more threatening. I think my husband's fear fed it.

We were sitting in our kitchen at the table when we heard the noise on the hardwood floor in the livingroom. My husband, by this time, was afraid of it. He addressed the noise and said in a loud voice "Stop it!." The noise responded by becoming louder. I was slightly surprised and interested in this.

He responded by challenging it in a louder voice to stop. IIRC, the noise again became slightly louder. Now my husband was totally frightened and he walked into the livingroom saying "Stop it." I sat slightly petrified at his reaction and the subsequent odd outcome with the noise.

In our livingroom, I had two bags of craft stuff sitting beside the couch. He walked back into the kitchen and said that he'd seen the craft bags opening and closing as though someone was looking into them.

To this day, I wish I'd had the nerve to go in and look myself, but his panic just increased my fear and I did not go into the livingroom (rule 31 of horror movies - DON'T go into the basement lol).

I was concerned that the thing was seemingly becoming bolder. Now it was apparently doing weird things when both of us were present.

Prior to this, it was really only the odd sounds of something rolling across the kitchen floor and the rocking sound on the livingroom floor along with items of his - safety goggles, salt shaker etc (I now can't remember all) - going missing and never being found that had happened.

Now it was responding directly to our reactions.

I'd like to say that more happened, but it stopped. How? Again another odd thing. My husband's family were raised Catholic. We had told his mom of the weird happenings. He must have said something to her on the QT, because that Xmas, he came home with a glow in the dark plastic Jesus head blessed by a priest!

I asked him what it was supposed to do (I being raised Protestant). He explained that when the spirit saw the blessed thing, it would recognize it and move on. I then asked him "What if it is Protestant, like me, and doesn't know what the heck that thing is?"

Anyway he placed it at the top of the basement stairs. We had no further incidents.

I only had one other slight fright. In the middle of one night I had gotten up from bed and went downstairs. Suddenly, I saw something glowing in the doorway to the basement! Took only seconds to realize it was the f'n glow in the dark Jesus head.

We only lived in that house until late 1988, but did live 3 full winters there.

Sadly, I have had no such experiences since.