I'm finally coming to terms with having a ghost in my house. I knew when I bought the 120-year-old half-duplex in an old factory town that I'd have to face some of the typical old-house issues... structural concerns, ancient insects, slanted floors, layers of remodels marking the decades, etc. It never dawned on me I'd also have a haunting to contend with.
So far, my ghost is benign, though ill-mannered:
- He set off my Carbon Monoxide detector at 11PM on a Saturday night, causing me to call 911. I ended up with no Carbon Monoxide, but 2 fire trucks, 8 firemen, 2 policemen, and 4 rescue squad volunteers at my house. My ghost ended up highly entertained, I'm sure.
- He set off my smoke detector at 3:30 AM. I searched the entire house, and there was not one trace of smoke, flame, or fumes.
- He opened my kitchen cabinet, more than once. The cabinet is faulty, I'll grant you, but I left the door mostly closed, and when I came back the next morning, it was all the way open. My theory is that he died from misuse of cleaning products, or perhaps he just drowned, and is attracted to the pipes under my sink. (Note, it's possible that he lives in the plumbing most of the time, because he makes a loud clunk whenever the toilet is flushed, unless the plumber is in the house.)
- He apparently does not like the hot weather, because he has turned on my air conditioner at least twice. From full power-down, to running, without my having done anything! My next step is to unplug it, but I'm kind of scared that this will only allow me to confirm my haunting theory.
You'll notice I've decided my ghost is a "he." Perhaps a bias on my part, but these kind of pranks seem more male than female. I picture a female ghost being less playful, for some reason.
I'm now soliciting input for a suitable nickname for my ghost.
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3 comments:
Hi Curtis. Loved Topper -- need to rent that.
If pressed, I'd have to land on the "I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks" side. But, in this case, I'm just choosing the lesser of two evils. It's either a haunting or an electrical problem, and the haunting is likely to be cheaper.
By the way, I fixed the comment moderation so comments will appear right away now. Still learning the whole managing-a-blog bit.
nrkii, I would name him Ely and just hope it doesn't turn out to be short for Electrical. The pragmatist in me read your story and said, "Ooh, nrk's got an electrical problem!" But, the daughter of the woman that told us growing up (paraphrased from Kosraean) that her grandmother's spirit watches over us still wants to believe! Obviously Ely is watching over you by testing your alarms for you.
Fran, fantastic. Yes, I am still hoping that it is either a ghost or just an overactive imagination. Perhaps a little too much mochajavachocolatte late at night?
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