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Haunted New Home?

 

When we first moved into the home I currently live in, my friend had to leave right afterward to go out of town for her job. I had never lived in a detached home before and never in one so far away from other people.

The house was the first one completed on this block of the subdivision and there were no houses behind us at all, just woodsy wetlands. It was November and cold here in the south suburbs of Chicago, and I knew I would be all alone for some time. The nearest neighbors were strangers and some distance away.

My house mate went off to the next town on business leaving me to the silence of the brand new home.

The first night I stayed up as late as I could and even left the upstairs bathroom light on to keep me from feeling so nervous.

Early the first morning I heard noises coming from above my bedroom, in the crawlspace. I had no idea who or what could be up there making those scary noises, but I tried not to panic. I got up there, turned on the light and peeked around. I expected to see a family up there making all that noise. Later that day, I called my friend and mentioned the noise to no avail. I guess she didn't want to make me even more scared.

That night I went to bed late and very tired. Some of our new furniture had been delivered, and I had busied myself setting up the family/media room.

In my bedroom, I turned off all the lights and got under a thick comforter happy the way the family room looked. Just as I was about to nod off, I began to hear a slow noise coming from below, either the utility/mud room, that has a door to the back yard OR the family room which is directly below.

In my mind, someone had come in through that lower level door and was making their way through the family room and up to the main level of the house. I froze in terror. I was in a home that had no near neighbors, it was winter time and there was no one to help me.

The sounds seemed to go on forever, then stop only to start up again over and over. I stayed still and listened, trying hard not to let my imagination get the best of me. Then, the sounds began again. They were moving around, it seemed, somewhere below, maybe the livingroom or kitchen. We have an open floor plan and so it can be confusing. Then, to my relief, the noises stopped again. I still continued to listen until finally, I fell asleep.

The next morning, just before daybreak, the noises above began again. I had never heard anything like that before and couldn't stand it anymore. I put on my robe and a coat over that and stormed downstairs and out the front door. Once in the middle of the driveway I could see most of the eastern part of the roof, over the bedrooms.

Crows.

It looked like about a dozen of them pecking and cawing and generally making a nuisance of themselves, all over the roof.

They totally ignored me and continued with their crow business. (A year or so later a kestrel took up residence somewhere nearby and took care of them.)

I felt some relief to find out for myself at least what those noises were.

But, that night the sounds below continued to make sleeping hard.

I fell asleep only to be woken by what sounded like slow, steady footfalls coming up the stairs!

I was scared; I didn't want to, but was resolved to fight. My earlier feeling of success had only evaporated a little. Then logic started to nudge me.

Footsteps coming up the stairs?

Wait, we have carpeting on the stairs. How was I hearing footsteps?

I listened only to hear the 'footfalls' never get any closer to the room I was in. I was still scared, but I had to investigate.

Turning on every light switch I got near, I made my way out into the hallway and down to the living room. I peeked over the wood railing into the family room. No ghosts or intruders there.

Down into the family room. I looked into the lower level bathroom and then made my way to the utility room. I turned on the light.

No one. Nothing.

Just then, the furnace came on, and I was surrounded by the 'footfalls' right there in the room with me! The utility room has a concrete floor and couldn't sound like footfalls on a wooden floor. I got a chair from the family room and stood on it.

There, on top of the ducts leading to and from the furnace, was a large piece of wood left by one of the carpenters! When the heat made the ducts expand the wood somehow bumped around making the sound of someone walking on wooden floors.

It gave me a few sleepless nights and more than a little scare, but you gotta love carpenters.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

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, Jimna, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

hazeleyes (1 stories) (34 posts)
-1
10 years ago (2014-06-22)
I don't mean to be rude but you pretty much disproved your own story that it was nothing paranormal. I agree with bizzjoe, you really shouldn't waste your time and everyone else's time writing a story that has a reasonable explanation. People come on this site to read real paranormal stories, not stories that you can disprove.
bizzjoe (1 stories) (162 posts)
-1
11 years ago (2013-01-10)
so what was the point in writing your story when there was a logical reason behind all the noises that you heard... That's a few minutes of my life I can never get back...
whitebuffalo (guest)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-07)
Great Caesars Ghost, I was truly enthralled with this story. Thank you so much for sending it in. What a blessing to find a researcher, and one who is not ashamed to write the cause of the night disturbances, and to not just allow it to seem as if it is something it is not.
Thank you, wholly.
ChrisB (6 stories) (1515 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-06)
Thanks for sharring this story with us. There are so many things that can be explained. You did the right thing and checked some things out. Thats the best thing to do. If that doesn't work then there ius a probglem! I hope to hear from you soon and take care
troyarn (5 stories) (479 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-05)
Well, I turned out to be a real sucker! Great story and worth the read. I'm a believer, but stories like this keep me cynical enough to search hard for the truth.
Again, thanks for scaring...um...sharing.
rstahley (3 stories) (102 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-05)
You had me fooled! I really thought something was going to happen... But I am relieved for you that your home is not haunted at all.
mlc13 (7 stories) (33 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-05)
😆 lol, that's really funny, glad your house is not haunted. ANd I agree, people love carpenters. 😆
Adventure_Ms_Aqua (10 stories) (71 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-05)
Awesome! 😆 Great story! It teaches some people not to over-react.

Yes, who doesn't love carpenters? Don't you know that EVERYONE loves them? Haha. 😜

~Thanks for the amusing story!
Nordic (44 posts)
+1
16 years ago (2008-08-05)
This is excellent! Yeeeesss... Things that go bump. Paraphrasing your: "You gotta love carpenters", perhaps I could just say: "You gotta love the human imagination:-)
Not_scared_anymore (1 stories) (31 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-05)
haha great story. 😆
Makes you wonder... If we all just did some investigating of our own, we might find a not so scary conclusion!
FRAWIN (guest)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-04)
Hello Jimna, thank you for showing that most of the time that the things that go bump in the night is just that BUMPS. Thank you for sharing the story it was delightful. Take Care.

FRAWIN 😊
ailya (2 stories) (22 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-04)
Thanks for the great story!
It shows how investigating the situation before jumping to conclusions is crucial. Gave me a good laugh 😆

Blessed be!
Annie (202 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-04)
Jimna, Thanks for the great read! You belong on Ghost hunters. It's great that you got your nerve up and figured out what the heck was going on! Kudos to you. 😁
KimSouthO (27 stories) (1960 posts)
 
16 years ago (2008-08-04)
Jimna,
I must say, your story gave me a real chuckle! Congratulations on your ghost busting and de-bunking!

Thanks so much for sharing with us. You have brought to mind that people must exam ALL reasons for events before jumoing to conclusions.

Thanks again and God Bless!

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