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Strange Smell In My Apartment

 

My husband and I have been living in our current apartment for almost 2 years. I am skeptical if these occurrences are even paranormal but would love some feedback.

Upon moving in, the maintenance man who was fixing the place up for us told us an old veteran man lived in this apartment for many, many years. He said this man would never clean and his apartment had a thick layer of dust on almost everything. He did not tell us why this man no longer lived here and we didn't pry as it's not our business. So, I don't know if he is alive or if he has passed or where he passed if that's the case.

But, everybody knows what their home smells like. It's a smell that becomes familiar to you, one that you are so used to that any change is noticeable immediately. Upon occasion I will be at home just doing my thing, cleaning or relaxing, whatever. As I move from room to room in our small apartment, I sometimes get hit with this smell that is definitely out of place in our home and is very distinct and noticeable. The smell is like going to my great grandparents' house when I was a kid. Sort of a dusty and musty smell that makes me think of old things and elderly people. I will only smell this scent in one small area of the home, taking a few steps away it goes back to normal. By small area I don't mean only one particular spot in the apartment but rather, just a small area of whatever room in, the scent doesn't permeate the entire room more like I'm walking through it for a few steps then it's gone. This never has felt negative or threatening, just strange.

I'm debating with myself if it's just random lingering dust smell or if it's something paranormal like the past tenant visiting his home and his scent is the only thing manifested. The majority of me says no way it's just dust but a small part of me can't help but wonder because it's really odd to just walk into this odd smell in my clean home out of nowhere and only for a moment and only in one small area.

If you have an opinion I'd love to hear back!

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, Caves2016, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Caves2016 (2 stories) (9 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-15)
Val,
Haha yeah it can get pretty annoying when neighbors do stuff like that. I'm glad I'm not alone in it! My husband hasn't smelled it that he can recall, but I have twice and the smell was so familiar like going into my great grandparents house when I was still in school. It just made me think of the elderly... That sort of sounds bad lol but in my mind my great grandparents were elderly and that was their scent.
-by the way... I find it so funny that you commented on my story and I've actually been slowly going through and reading your posts for the last couple nights before bed. I literally just finished the lost girl one then checked my comments!
valkricry (48 stories) (3257 posts) mod
 
7 years ago (2017-06-13)
Caves,
I had to smile a bit when you mentioned the pot smoking neighbor. We had one that used SO much of the stuff, you sometimes got a contact high in the common stairwell! 😵 I'm glad she's gone.
Honestly, you aren't alone when it comes to phantom smells though. I live in a 2nd story apartment, and sometimes I'll get this smell like wet earth. Like you get after a heavy rain, but no rain, and in my kitchen. Drives me nuts at times.
Caves2016 (2 stories) (9 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-13)
Melda, thanks again for your comment! I may try a cleansing but it has only happened a few times in the last 2 years and nothing ever came of it haha. I'm not bothered by it at all and was just curious as to what others thought. That's kind of neat that you smell flowers like that though!
Darkangel73, that's interesting. I would personally attribute the smells to a neighbor since apartments unfortunately have thin walls most of the time. One of my neighbors who has moved out this year used to smoke pot and every morning my bathroom and bedroom would just filled with the smell of it haha. Glad that's gone! I do occasionally smell food but I just figure it's a neighbor every time. Would be cool to have a ghost chef though!
Darkangel73 (4 stories) (127 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-11)
I stay in an apartment complex, where I have lived for 15 years... My first apartment that I lived in used to have weird happenings, smells of food cooking when no one was in the kitchen or had been. I used to smell matches like right after one had been lit, and perfume. The apartment I live in now (same complex) in my back bedroom I will smell onions and potatoes. But I chalk it up to my neighbor. Hopefully I am right about that one.
Melda (10 stories) (1363 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-11)
Caves2016 - Thanks for your response.

I don't doubt what you experience. I was simply wondering whether you have ever had any other random smells. When I have the flowery smell, which only I can smell, I know that it comes from my deceased mother or one of my two deceased sisters. The earthy smell - well I have no idea where that comes from!

Perhaps a good cleansing of your home wouldn't go amiss 😊

Regards, Melda
Caves2016 (2 stories) (9 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-11)
Melda, I don't smell other things that I can recall. My husband doesn't remember if he has ever walked into the smell I'm talking about. I suppose it could be like you're saying but I truly believe that I physically smelled it in about a 2 ft radius and I've smelled it in two rooms of my apartment.
Trentinray, it doesn't smell anything like gas... And it's only happened about 2 or 3 times since we have lived here. Our stove and everything is electric so I don't know where a gas leak would come from.
Thank y'all for reading and commenting!
trentinray (3 stories) (67 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-10)
Caves2016- Just in case, have any gas appliances checked. We had a very small leak in our wall heater, and I would randomly walk through a small patch of the smell, not sure what it was, I was cleaning all the time thinking I must be missing a spot somewhere, or it was in our couch and I was fabrezing it like crazy. Finally I came to the conclusion it was gas and called the gas company out and they found the leak. But in the beginning it didn't exactly smell like gas, maybe because it was small. Just a thought
-Trentinray
Melda (10 stories) (1363 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-10)
Caves2016 - I don't know whether you ever experience other aromas, such as flowery aromas, that seem to come from nowhere but at times last for hours.

This happens to me quite often. I also now and then experience a musty, earthy smell, not stench. I can be in the company of other people and they don't smell anything at all, so it seems to come from within me.

I'm mentioning this because I wonder whether what you smell might actually come from inside your mind and is not actually a room which is affected by a particular odour.

Has anybody else experienced unusual smells at times in your home?

Regards, Melda
Caves2016 (2 stories) (9 posts)
 
7 years ago (2017-06-10)
Kindly_refrain, that's interesting. If that were happening in my home in the form of cigar smoke I would totally think paranormal. Hopefully it is a relative just stopping by.
Rook, there is wood trim and kitchen cabinets. But everything else is new like the carpet and laminate floors. I think it is very possible it could be due to things in the apartment. I didn't personally witness the floor to ceiling cleaning that the maintenance man was supposed to do but it looked nice and clean upon moving in. But, like I said I feel like it could be paranormal but then again, it very well may not be. Thank you guys for the feedback!
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
+1
7 years ago (2017-06-09)
is it possible its coming from other apartments, above, beside or below yours?

Another thing to think of is this... How much wood is in your apartment, that came with it... Ie trim, floors, molding, build in bookcases? Wood can absorb smells and then when the atmospheric conditions are right release them into the air. Additionally what type of insulation is in the walls? Which walls? The list goes on and on.

Smell in apartments are tricky things, there are SO many things that could cause a random scent to happen.

Respectfully,

Rook
Kindly_refrain (16 stories) (193 posts)
+1
7 years ago (2017-06-09)
Hi Caves2016. I have no advice but I do have something similar.

I too have odd inexplicable randomly timed pockets of scent in my home. In my case it happens 3 or 4 times a year, is usually the smell of cigarette or, more rarely, cigar smoke. I can walk in and out of the pocket of smell in a just a couple of steps. My wife and I do not smoke, nor do we have friends who smoke. We built the house, so there are no previous owners who smoked either.

The smell disappears within a minute or two.

There does not seem to be anything else notable that occurs during one of these episodes. While I have no strong feeling about it, I do consider that it may be paranormal, such as a visit from my passed on relatives that smoked such as my father or grand father.
Caves2016 (2 stories) (9 posts)
+1
7 years ago (2017-06-09)
Thank you guys so much for your feedback! When I eventually get a day off I may do that cleansing! Sounds like a solid idea whether it's a spirit or just leftover dust! I am not real sure if it's paranormal or not but if it is, I am very glad it isn't negative! I'm not a scaredy cat by any means but I'm not about to ask for something mean up in my home!
Argette (guest)
+1
7 years ago (2017-06-08)
Some smells are difficult get rid of, no matter how hard you try, no matter how thoroughly you clean.

Mold, cats, dust, old things, etc., may still linger. We tore an entire room apart, ripped away wallpaper and carpet, replastered, redid the floor, repainted, and it still smell faintly of cat.

Of course, it is entirely possible this is the old man, just reminding you he thinks it's still HIS place.
roylynx (guest)
+1
7 years ago (2017-06-08)
I agree with AugustaM. The spirit do not seem harmful at all, it might just want some attention though.

Blessing from São Paulo
E.Lynx
AugustaM (7 stories) (996 posts)
+1
7 years ago (2017-06-08)
In some cultures part of the spiritual cleansing ritual of a home involves washing it ceiling to floor and sweeping out all the rooms. Seems like this method might be ideal in your situation - if it's dust, the cleaning ought to fix it, if it's paranormal, the cleansing aspect ought to do the trick. You can google the particulars but I would use a mixture of water, white vinegar, and a bit of salt with rosemary and/or sage essential oil (or just make a tea from the herbs and add that to the water) and a whole lot of focused positive intent. Fortunately, since you don't feel threatened, if it is the former tenat's spirit, he doesn't seem like a baddy but, just the same, a cleansing will help him move on. ❤

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