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Ghost Angered By New Decor?

 

I've mentioned in previous stories about our family home being haunted, mostly passively, however in the past few months activity seems to be picking up again rapidly.

My family have always joked about ghosts in the home, my dad usually humours us but is mostly skeptic, however even he has admitted to hearing things and experiencing unexplained phenomena over the past few weeks.

The only thing different in our home now is that we've updated our halls- for the past 16 years or so we've had the same blue carpet however we replaced it with hardwood flooring last month. Our halls are relatively long with high ceilings so when people walk along the hardwood floor it's pretty unmistakable. Recently my whole family has complained of hearing footsteps coming along the hall but nobody appears, they often stop just short of a bedroom door or midway down the hall. They can be heard in the new and old section of our house. Although we have heard footsteps before they've become more frequent and pronounced since we updated the flooring (which is strange because surely ghosts aren't actually interacting with the specific flooring we have down?).

As part of the updates we installed lights along the skirting boards lining the stairs. One morning I had already left for work, the rest of my family were asleep, it was only my dad awake. He was stood in our downstairs hallway when one of the lights flew at him with great force and shattered on the floor next to him. Our staircase is slightly curved so it would be difficult for anything to fall directly to the bottom, never-mind with such force that it would break. We've remained unable to explain this as the light was stuck to the wall pretty well and nobody was near it, none of the other lights are even loose. Until now I've been the only family member who has witnessed things being thrown or dropped- this activity usually only happens in my bedroom (I've seen perfume bottles, candles and even books thrown across my room on rare occasions) the fact that it was my dad who witnessed this is very strange as he is entirely oblivious to most things and would usually just write things off.

Our dog has also began acting strangely, he's a very quiet and passive dog but recently he's been pacing the hall barking and growling. He frequently sits on a step toward the bottom of our stairs and growls at nothing. We originally thought maybe he didn't like the flooring (he often slides on it and makes an awful lot of noise when he walks on it) but he's getting worse; often standing in the hall barking, whining and growling at nothing for extended periods of time. The dog usually sleeps downstairs at night, he only gets up when he hears one of us coming down for breakfast but recently he's been getting up and running to the living room door between 2-5am as if he hears one of us coming downstairs but we're all still upstairs in bed - I've been awake unwell in my room for a few nights now and I've heard this happen multiple times. I've also came downstairs to the kitchen to let the dog out to the garden one last time at night about 1am and heard what sounded like someone tapping on different appliances moving through the room but there was nothing there when I turned round to look.

I can't help but wonder if somehow we've annoyed the ghosts by changing the house so slightly? The last time we had major activity was shortly after we built the new section of the house- my brother swore he saw a lady downstairs who yelled at him to get to his bed. Does anyone else have experience of ghosts being made more active by home renovations or is this just a coincidence? Is it likely that things will continue to get worse?

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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, User3246, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

Rajine (14 stories) (734 posts)
 
3 years ago (2021-02-26)
This seems like a very angry entity moving and throwing things around I'm glad no one has gotten hurt, why more I feel like this is a malevolent entity is by the way your dog reacts to it, I believe that your dog definitely sees something that is not good at all, I would recommend a protection and a cleansing ritual.
LightMight (4 stories) (137 posts)
+2
3 years ago (2021-01-18)
Hi MrsRamsay,
Thank you for the kind words ❀ Our stories sound very similar; both of us have dealt with losing a spouse while raising kids, and both us are renovating 1990's kitchens. I've kept the same electrician and handyman hired on for all of the latest remodeling that needs to be done in my kitchen, and both men agree that my house has "attitude"! We've run into several setbacks and weird little glitches since work has started...

You, and the OP, will have to keep us updated if any new activity crops up at home - meanwhile, good luck and stay safe 😊
MrsRamsay (guest)
+2
3 years ago (2021-01-18)
Hi Lightmight. I just wanted to offer my condolences on your loss. My first husband passed away at age 33 and I raised two daughters alone until they were almost out of high school (and then remarried). It's a tough thing, and I'm really sorry to hear about it. Your story is super interesting... The house sounds pretty super though. Many good thoughts and prayers from Georgia!
LightMight (4 stories) (137 posts)
+3
3 years ago (2021-01-17)
I would like to add a tidbit about house cleansings for the OP: something to keep in mind is that you may need to make this a weekly routine depending on the severity of the negative energy you're dealing with. House cleansings aren't just performed for clearing away spirits, they're also very useful if you need to clear away any general bad vibes (or negative energy left over from the living). You might want to search up a few different ways to spiritually house cleanse before choosing a particular one that you like (there are several online options). Keep in mind that you don't neccessarily need to be a religious type to conduct a house cleansing, but you do need to have a firm belief in what you are saying and doing during the cleansing. It is your family's home, and by the sounds of it your family has spent plenty of time at this house and money, right now is a good time to stake your claim on this property.

Speaking from personal experience, routine house cleansings can often make a noticeable difference. About three years ago, I purchased an old 'historic' home w/my late husband. Within a week of moving in to the house I noticed odd, unexplainable activity. It was small stuff at first, but then the activity became more apparent over the following months while we updated certain areas of the house. To make a long story short, both my husband and I decided to conduct weekly cleansings (we used sacred white sage candles and salt during the first few cleansings). We found that these cleansing made an enormous difference in the activity and overall vibe in the house, so we continued this routine up until last Spring. After my husband passed away, I became so busy with work, raising my children, and going back to school that I stopped the weekly cleansings altogether - I simply became too overwhelmed with so many things going on.

Fast forward to a month ago, I decided to hire an electrician to work on the third floor of my home because we were having issues with the lighting (flickering lights and dimming). About a week later the electrician had everything running smoothly again, and during the afternoon on the day he finished I went into one of the rooms to thank him as he was packing up. Within a few minutes of our conversation, the ceiling lighting fixture went completely dark (turned off). The electrician looks at me and says, "Hmm, let me go check something out". He then walks over toward the switch plate for the light, and as he does this the only door into the room slams shut so hard that the windows rattled and the floor shook - It startled both of us! This old wooden door slammed shut so hard that the latch went past the strike plate, lodging the latch into the wooden door jamb. How the door slammed shut with such an extreme force was puzzling to both us for a few reasons: no one else was home at the time; no other doors or windows were open, and there didn't really seem to be an obvious answer as to why this happened? I'm not saying this was 'paranormal activity' taking place, but the timing was certainly odd. After that recent experience, I've gladly decided to go back to my routine weekly cleansings 😊
valkricry (48 stories) (3257 posts) mod
+4
3 years ago (2021-01-17)
Just my 2 cents here; I do believe renos can stir up activity, but I also think sometimes it amplifies pre-existing activity. Recently the wall to wall carpeting was removed from my apartment, leaving bare wooden floors. You wouldn't believe how much it changed the acoustics! It could be your hallway has always been paced, but without the carpeting the sound isn't muffled anymore.
My gut says this might be a different entity than from before, judging from your dog's reaction, and the not nice behaviour. Seriously, whipping a light at your dad? Doesn't exactly say, let's be friends, and I wouldn't categorize it as mischievous. You really should consider a cleansing.
MrsRamsay (guest)
+2
3 years ago (2021-01-16)
Hey, good evening! I'm interested in your story because we're just finishing up a big kitchen reno, we've been torn up since mid-October, and something happened a couple months ago that leads me to believe your hunch is right. I've always sensed that the couple who lived in our suburban Atlanta house previously, its first owners who both passed away a few years ago, are sometimes hanging around. It started when I first moved in and had this OVERWHELMING feeling that I should clean the chandelier in the master bathroom. It was filthy, but I was in the middle of a big move with two preschoolers in tow and husband deployed in the middle east, so it's not like it SHOULD have been a priority. I cleaned it, and found myself reassuring "Florence" that I'd take good care of things for her, and I bet she'd been wanting to clean this thing for a while now (I remember hoping to get on her good side by doing this... This is so weird because I never thought much about "ghosts" before then/living here). Anyway, during our kitchen reno, we updated partially by removing these 1990s greco-looking columns that separated the eating area from the family room. I had kind of self consciously spoken out loud just before the reno (while I was alone) that I hoped they/whoever would not be too put out, but that the kitchen was falling apart and it was time to get a new one. So the evening the columns came out, my son and I were watching tv, and I notice he glanced at the fireplace mantle. Right then, I heard one of my majolica plates move. This is displayed on the mantle on a metal plate stand and hasn't moved in 8 years. I asked my son what happened and he said the plate "layed itself down" on the mantle... It had to twist and fall to the side... If it had just fallen forward, it would've fallen off the mantle. Son said it was very gentle. My kids tease me about "ghost stuff" so he automatically said, "Ghost stuff" and I agreed. I think Florence had loved those columns -- she built this room and put them in specifically -- and was letting me know she saw them come out. We've also had some minor glitches in the electrical, for example, the range vent hood worked perfectly when it went in, until the next day when it wouldn't. So the builder pulled it and there was no juice in the line, but when the electrician came a couple days later, it was fine/hot. We'll put it in again on Monday, and will see how it does.

I do think I'd freak out if I kept hearing footsteps. I think it must be wild to live in England, where so many houses have existed for such a long time. Your history is amazing (many of my ancestors were actually from England).
aussiedaz (19 stories) (1565 posts)
+5
3 years ago (2021-01-15)
Hi User3246,

All good advice below and food for thought, I'll add a couple of my own experiences for you to have a think about when drawing down on an conclusion that makes sense to you.

It was Christmas 2011 or 12 From memory? We lived in a home we built in a suburb of Sydney in 1991. We decided to move our furniture around in the lounge room where we ended up positioning the christmas tree directly behind a wall that was adjacent to a room in direct line of a hall way. So basically if you ran down the hall wall and through the wall you would find yourself tangled up in a christmas tree if you can picture the setting?

At that time, there was a lot of paranormal activity going on in the place and on this one night, it may have been the night we moved the Christmas tree, I was laying there awake listening to our resident ghostie making a commotion through our home as per usual.

It may have been around 1 am when I heard this loud thud to hear a second or two later, the christmas tree fall over in the direction away from the wall and splatter on the floor.

I jumped up to investigate with my wife not far behind me to see our christmas tree tipped over on the floor and my first thoughts were... Oh you silly bugger, you had no idea we moved the christmas tree. Now here's we it get interesting in the sense of further validating my thoughts on what happened.

My youngest son (14) was half asleep on a sofa in the room on the other side of the wall. He was a little bit shaken and half asleep when I asked him if he seen anything.

I do remember him saying to me, he saw this apparition come flying down the hallway and go through the wall of which I believed, made sense to my suspicion of what happened?

So yes, resident ghost can be confused by renovations based on my own experience.

I think TLV_11 is touching on something else that may be a valid point. I do remember on this other occasion, I woke up to visit the toilet in the early hours of the morning to seeing my wife (out of body) walking around our home as if it was daytime looking left and right and satisfied with what she was seeing. That look a woman has when the house is clean as a whistle, if there is such a look? My wife is extremely disciplined in keeping our home looking like gold,anyway,

She never noticed me at all, as I'd probably walked near enough for her to see under normal circumstances, the following morning she had no recollection of what I saw. (bummer) although when she was walking around one of the walls made a thud?

I thought for years on what I saw was her walking around out of body? However through years of persistent research and keeping an opened mind, I now believe (what I may have witnessed) was my wife moving around our home from some other multi verse that is supported by String theory?

Anyway, I hope these account are helpful I do have a couple of questions coming from another angle, but i'll reserve them for the time being, as you may be satisfied with the feed back and other thoughts to follow if any.

Regards Daz
The_Lost_Voyage_11 (7 stories) (233 posts)
+4
3 years ago (2021-01-15)
Hello user3246, great story and thanks for sharing! It does seem when you cull through the multiple stories on this site that there is a common theme of supernatural activity being kicked up whenever renovations take place. Since there are ghosts interacting with people, much as in the case of your brother being yelled at, it's reasonable to assume they are aware enough of their environment to notice when it changes. People when they are alive as a general rule don't like change (take a look at the response in the world around you to the current circumstances) so as ghosts they retain those same personalities and preferences. Since they are still here, and may consider it to still be their 'home' as it were, that makes it worse, as now they have these 'strangers' tearing out their beloved carpet and they have no say in the matter. That being said however, there is ample evidence that their interactions with their immediate environment may take place on 2 planes of existence, the current home and the home the way 'they' remember it. I have read stories where people see an apparition 'walk' through a wall right in the middle of a hallway and then come to find out there was once a door in that very spot! There are other stories too where people hear footsteps in the dark, but the footsteps sound like they are on a wooden floor, but there is carpet in that area now. Of course there were once hardwood floors there and while that sound could be residual, some of the stories have the people able to 'interact' with the invisible intruder, so that dismisses the residual theory. In my own experience, a family home I spent time in, had major renovations done, including moving the stairs from the kitchen in the back of the house to the living room in the front of the house. Prior to this many family members heard footsteps on the stairs at night. For a brief time after the stairs were moved, it was quiet, then the footsteps started again, apparently the ghost found the stairs again. In this same house my brother one night observed a man who after waking him up purposely, proceeded to walk up in the air to the second floor right where the old stairs once stood. I make a point of the ghosts direct interaction so that there is no confusion about this being a residual event. It seems that these earthbound spirits remember the way the house was when they were alive and interact it with it that way as well as with the changes. Fascinating stuff for sure, hope it helps.
Tweed (33 stories) (2475 posts)
+2
3 years ago (2021-01-15)
Hi User3246,

One of our neighbours is a massive fuddy-duddy, when it's his time he'll surely be 'one of those' ghosts. You know the ones you hear of, or experience, who do really bizarro things that make no sense. I can just picture him doing everything you describe. He loses his temper at other neighbours who mow their lawn while he's washing his car. He's a total prat. Well, I hope that paints a picture of what he's like. Everyone knows one.
I suspect you're being haunted by a fuddy-duddy. Mainly because the activity is random, and nonsensical. If it followed a theme, like only in hallway or only when loud music is on (for example) one could argue it's a legitimate complaint which could be negotiated by the living inhabitants, potentially.
But there's probably no negotiating with fuddy-duddys so try a cleansing. Or just yell at them to stop it, this actually works!
Macknorton (5 stories) (646 posts)
+5
3 years ago (2021-01-13)
Hi User3246

Thanks for posting these happenings - I enjoyed reading them. I'm not sure on your knowledge of spirits / ghosts so I don't want to state the blinding obvious so I apologise in advance if these thoughts are a bit: "well...,duh!"

From what I understand / believe, (but not experienced personally) is that when certain individuals pass over, they either don't understand that they are "dead", or they really don't want to leave a certain area, for a wide range of reasons, I imagine.

I'm basing these comments on the assumption (but a widely held belief) that we are spirits expressing ourselves through physical bodies. Spirits with bodies, not bodies with spirits.

So these individuals feel very much "alive" and are kicking around in their house, or yours, for example. Now, what I don't understand very well (or at all to be honest) is what, exactly, our physical plane of matter looks like to those in spirit. I don't believe it looks as it was to them, unless they have built a mental construct of the house in which they are existing.

So these individuals may not understand what's happening when renovations are carried out to "their" house. They may want to express their anger or disapproval by moving objects around or making noises etc. They may be aware of physical humans in the house but I don't know how we appear to them. I've read our physical bodies appear shadowy from a spirits point of view but our spirits are the main visual aspect. Who can say?

I've gone on too long again but the other possibility in your situation is they previous owners / tenants come back occasionally to visit and make a "scene" then depart again to their new existence.

Have you considered talking out loud to the spirit (s) and explain that you are not taking over, and you respect they feel attached to the house but you want to improve things and that they need to accept the changes? Might work. Or you might get an ashtray in the side of your headπŸ˜†.

Anyway, I'm throwing ideas around here, but maybe others can add a different theory or another angle of advice to you.

Peace,

Mack
LightMight (4 stories) (137 posts)
+4
3 years ago (2021-01-13)
Hi User3246,

I'm sorry you're still dealing with activity (I recall your last story). Have you and your family ever considered a spiritual house cleansing, and possibly a blessing over the property?

To answer your question, yes, many people believe reno's can cause activity to increase in a home.

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