I must state here and now, the house is not in the least bit spooky or scary, it just has a few strange happenings now and then.
I went to bed at 9pm last night, I was tired, tired with a capital T, so I fell asleep almost immediately. I woke at just a few minutes before midnight and decided that I may as well check to see whether both cats were indoors - they like to go hunting in the evenings, but often roll up late expecting to be let in. Sparky, the old one, will often drum on our bedroom window until someone gets up and lets her into the kitchen.
I don't often bother to put lights on, and I didn't last night, until I reached the kitchen. Yes, both cats were in their baskets and Toby was curled up on his chair. All was well, except that I could hear what sounded like a radio and weird music!
I opened the pantry door, and found that the gas detector was sounding a klaxon and announcing "Emergency, gas leak" over and over. The new gas pipe comes through the pantry.
I whizzed back down to the bedroom, woke a bemused and sleepy husband, who finally cottoned on to what I was telling him. By the time we returned to the kitchen, the alarm had stopped and he looked at me a bit disbelievingly.
He tested the alarm, it was up and ready, but not sounding, there was no smell of gas (but there hadn't been any before, either) decided to turn the gas off until morning, anyway. Of course he couldn't quiet his mind then, whereas all I wanted to do was go back to sleep, as long as I knew my animals and the house were safe.
This morning, he told me that he'd picked up his laptop computer, so that he could do a bit of reading about alarms, LPG etc but, when he lifted the lid, the computer went "wheeeeeeeeeeeee" and died on him, almost as though it was empty of any charge. When he plugged in the charger it showed that the battery was already fully charged.
The gas has been checked again this morning, nothing wrong - thank goodness. The computer is also working perfectly well.
These little happenings are typical of what goes on in this house. Over the last 12 years there have been hundreds of similar incidents. Things stop working, but are not broken, lights which go off and on.
It is not old or faulty wiring because we had the place completely rewired when we came here, and all that has been checked thoroughly.
We accept it now as a quirk of the place. It can stop this midnight malarky though, we need our sleep.
Very strange.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably blame the weather - I blame most things on the weather!
I was shivering and shaking, and it wasn't from fear, it was a really cold night!
DeleteHm, just a tad spooky. Or gremlins perhaps.
ReplyDeleteI was too tired to be spooked, I was in full practical mode!
DeleteAhaaa, we both have ghosts! Ours has been very quiet since we put a candle for him/her
ReplyDeleteNow that is a thought, of course I should have remembered your post about it!
DeleteLit a candle
ReplyDeleteI will give it a go, Linda.
DeleteFascinating,, the songs houses sing in the dead of the night.
ReplyDeleteI remember one night, quite soon after we moved in, it sounded like the old beams were creaking, in a pleasant way, I fell to thinking about the old building and the animals and people who had lived here. Eventually had to pay a visit to the bathroom - and discovered that the bedroom and bathroom floor had a legion of beetles marching through - as their ancestors have probably done for a couple of centuries. What I had taken for creaks was a kind of click which the beetles made as they squeezed under the skirting boards!! Don't hear that song any more, they now find a diversion sign.
DeleteOkay. that's spooky!
ReplyDeletePossibly in some houses, but for this house it is par for the course. Once I knew there wasn't any danger I accepted it as one of those things, Marcia.
Delete-clapping hands- You know I just _love_ things like this!!!!!!! :-))))))
ReplyDeleteAre you on lay lines, since you mentioned them? It isn't hard to find maps of such, I believe. And many people do say, they are *interesting.*
Also, what is the history of your abode, other than being a barn. Meaning, what went on, in the house, to which the barn belonged? It would seem, that a barn had to belong to some sort of farming. And farming needs workers, and a place for them to live.
When was this farming begun? Can Miss Read be of help to you, with this question? And more "interestingly," what happened on this land, long ago?????
Could there be some wandering souls about? Who have not quite found their way to *The Light,* or whatever it is called?
Oh! After all this house work is done, you *have* to search the history of around your home!!!! :-)
Annnnnnnd, speaking of all the disruption of the house work being done, that could be enough to poke any wandering spirits, into some harmless action. Perhaps they would like to have the noise and disruption stop. So they can go back and rest....? :-)))))
thank you. I do love this! :-)
I have just been through and made my second cup of coffee, I may need to sip it while I answer this one!
DeleteThe big house was a farm house, both buildings date back almost two hundred years, it is unclear whether there was a dwelling here before. It is known that at one time one room was opened up as an Ale House, to refresh the thirsty railway workers before they walked the couple of hundred yards home to the village! (The railway station was just around the corner from the old watermill and manor house, a few hundred yards.)
This particular building was for horses, cows, and equipment. It was only converted into a domestic dwelling in the 1970's. The first official occupant was the mother of a friend of mine. The people we purchased it from had their grandfather living here, well two of them were in residence. One was in the form of cremated ashes, the living one was a very pleasant man indeed. They all moved off to begin their dream life in France.
According to Miss Read there was a single woman living in what is my daughter's house. She lived on her own there for many years and was a secret drinker. Only the various and assorted people who she commissioned to buy her a bottle of whisky knew about her secret habit - plus all the people they gossiped to, of course. A nice woman, she says. That is as much as she can recall about the place, that and the cows which grazed the land.
If indeed there is anything in the house, it is benign, just a little mischievous, not malicious.
The house isn't quite back to normal yet, but we have family coming to stay this weekend, so it had better all be finished off before they arrive! True happenings, but nothing frightening. I thought it would interest you.
The spirits are playing tricks on you I think. Like you say, fine during the day but not at night.lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
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No, I can't do the night shifts any more, I had enough of those with my three babies!!
DeleteHere, we speak of the Full Moon Effect.
ReplyDeleteThe Full Moon was last night, and this morning, we found that the pool was losing water. At this point, it's best that he just fix that problem, and shut it down. The usual shut down time, is next weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, anyway.
So it's probably actually a good thing! Trying to get everyone together, to put cover on and take it off, can be a *chore.* This way, all are alerted, and it is planed.
But! Today, tomorrow and the next day, are to be hot. Thought they would have the pool, through this little spell. But! The Full Moon Effect had other ideas.
Sorry to hear about your pool problems. That moon has a lot to answer for!
DeleteWe used to live in a house with similar “problems”. When we had friends in for a posh supper the electricity would fail and we would be sat in the dark around the table. It happened on so many occasions we put it down to a house spirit playing games. There was nothing ominous about the house. Things moved though, and when it happens more than once and you know where you put something it is a bit unsettling.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting! As long as you had already cooked the meal, then you were presented with a wonderful opportunity to use the best candelabra and fodder for plenty of conversation! It sounds like your house had a similar sense of 'fun' to this one.
DeleteOoo spooky, there has to be a reason for it and a simple one though I have to admit my laptop has done strange things but nothing like the tablet we have we buzzes and the screen goes blank now and then. It needs replacing that is for sure. Maybe your laptop does as well though I cant explain the gas detector
ReplyDeleteHello Bill, My husband's laptop is younger than mine, so I hope it was just a blip. The gas detector is quiet and waiting, behaving nicely; goodness knows upset it that night - almost on the stroke of midnight, just for added drama. I will happily settle for peaceful and calm.
DeleteWhen we first moved here I detected an unhappy feeling on the landing by our bedroom door. It was quite strong - enough to bother me if on the odd occasion I was here alone, and once I phoned neighbours to come and spend the night. Over the years, it moved around a bit - NOT at all happy that we chose to spend Christmas in the dining room when IT was in residence. As the children grew, it moved in with G, up in the attic, and we had no end of lights, computers, tv's etc on and off in the middle of the night, plus knocking on the wall up there, footsteps on the stairs etc. Benign, but a bit unsettling. Since G has left home, it has holed up somewhere and doesn't bother us. I read somewhere about only people with mediumistic tendencies will pick up on this sort of thing . . . Having had similar experiences elsewhere with other ghosties, I tend to believe this . . .
ReplyDeleteGood to know that things have quietened down in your house! It must have been quite worrying in those early days. Thankfully we simply have the odd bit of 'playfulness'. I know that people who haven't experienced things like this do tend to be dismissive but, like you, it isn't the first time I have come across these things, I think I even wrote a post about one experience, which was frightening, at a holiday home in Ireland. I am happy to say that, despite the still ongoing work, everything is quiet again now.
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