10 replies to this topic

[SCmom]

So this is a brief summary of why I joined this site:

My husband and I (and our two kids) moved into a 100+ year old house in January. We rented this place in order to try out living in the historic district. We plan to buy a house around here at some point.

Nothing unusual happened all Spring. In fact, the small rooms and traffic noise outside make me feel safe somehow.

About a month ago, I got up in the morning to use the bathroom. My husband and kids were still asleep. The TV went on full-blast in the livingroom while I was in the bathroom. I thought that was odd, but maybe something was wrong with the tv? Some days later, it happened a second time- again just as I got up and went into the kitchen. It has not happened again.

Last week in the middle of the night, my husband suddenly yelled from our bed telling someone "to go back to sleep and why are you still up?" He heard and then saw one of our teens walk past our room to the kitchen. Well, no one was awake or anywhere near the kitchen. Two nights ago, my husband woke me up by screaming at someone, "what are you doing in here?!?" This time he heard, then saw a short figure run down the hallway to the kitchen. He thought someone had broken in to the house and jumped out of bed. Our front door was locked and the kids weren't home. No one was in the house but us.

So, essentially this may be nothing but my husband insists he saw something both times and was not dreaming. Both times a noise woke him and then he saw a figure in the hall. He is a very light sleeper. Nothing happened last night. We have been joking about this but I think we are both intrigued.

So, I would like to investigate this further. I am very interested in the history of the house and this general area, but I don't have much information. One of my neighbors told me that this house was actually "moved" from downtown Charleston many years ago following "the earthquake." I haven't been able to confirm that yet.

Any advice on how I should investigate the possible presence of a ghost/s?

[Twilight_Raine]

Whoa! That's crazy! I'd get a team to investigate... it'd be really cool!

[Casper2004]

my TV used to turn on and off also, in my old house...... if i were you i would try to find out as much information on the history of the house as you can..... you could get a team to investigate or you could buy a ghost hunting kit at ghoststop.com and do the investigation yourself, but i personally would get a team to do it becuase they have experience, another option is getting a psychic to come in your home to see if they get anything, u could try and find out if any died in the house, if its over 100 years old im guessing someone probably has died in it....... maybe someone else has more ideas of how to investigate it....as long as the TV doesnt turn on when its unplugged lol.....

[Cryscat]

Research first: at the county courthouse or library or historical society. Look for deeds and other land records (surveying, etc). Is there any old folks around that have lived in that area all or most of their lives? They can be great sources of information. What was there before the houses? etc.... good luck!

[outsider39]

Welcome to Ghostvillage.I am an active ghost researcher,sounds better than ghost hunter and is more accurate,also, from Sumter,South Carolina.I am the organizer of Sumter Ghost Finders.Check us out on the web sometime.What Cryscat told you is very good advice.Find out everything you can about the house.If your husband has actually seen a full-bodied apparition,that is very unusual.I have been in the field for a long time and have been involved in many,many investigations and very few of them have involved people who have seen a full-bodied appirition.The most common reason people call us is because they heard voices talking out loud,followed by objects being moved around or missing.Some ghosts can talk out loud If they want to and can be heard by anyone.Most ghosts cannot be heard by adults even when they do speak to us.I have found that children under ten years old can hear the voices of ghosts because their sense of hearing is much better than that of adults.Also,dogs who can hear much better than humans can hear the voices of ghosts.You can set out a digital recorder with an external microphone and ask any ghost in the house to speak to you.Always be polite and make sure that one of the questions that you ask is " Can I help you in any way ?' The ghost or ghosts may want you to help them with a matter that is important to them.If I can help you in anyway you can go to the website Sumter Ghost Finders.com and get my email address and my phone number.Take care.

[SCmom]

Thanks all- I will be trying to investigate myself at first- then maybe see about some experts in the future. There is a library across the street and also lots of older neighbors who have probably lived here a long time. To Casper- I was also thinking, given the age of the house, that someone must have died here at some point.

Nothing else has happened since my post. I will keep you updated about what happens w/ investigating though. I appreciate the responses!

[SCmom]

outsider39, on 14 August 2012 - 10:05 PM, said:

Welcome to Ghostvillage.I am an active ghost researcher,sounds better than ghost hunter and is more accurate,also, from Sumter,South Carolina.I am the organizer of Sumter Ghost Finders.Check us out on the web sometime.What Cryscat told you is very good advice.Find out everything you can about the house.If your husband has actually seen a full-bodied apparition,that is very unusual.I have been in the field for a long time and have been involved in many,many investigations and very few of them have involved people who have seen a full-bodied appirition.The most common reason people call us is because they heard voices talking out loud,followed by objects being moved around or missing.Some ghosts can talk out loud If they want to and can be heard by anyone.Most ghosts cannot be heard by adults even when they do speak to us.I have found that children under ten years old can hear the voices of ghosts because their sense of hearing is much better than that of adults.Also,dogs who can hear much better than humans can hear the voices of ghosts.You can set out a digital recorder with an external microphone and ask any ghost in the house to speak to you.Always be polite and make sure that one of the questions that you ask is " Can I help you in any way ?' The ghost or ghosts may want you to help them with a matter that is important to them.If I can help you in anyway you can go to the website Sumter Ghost Finders.com and get my email address and my phone number.Take care.

Thank you for all of this information. As far as what my husband saw, the lights were off. Our room and hallway is not pitch black at night, due to the street lights coming through the blinds.We can see if someone (like our kids) walks by, but it would be shadowy. My husband says he first heard something (both times) and saw figures in the hall both times. On the second occasion, he believed someone ran past our room. Thanks again, for the advice and I will keep everyone posted if I find any more info.

[CaveRat2]

Electronic devices these days turning on / off is not all that unusual. If a device uses a remote control one must keep in mind that even when it is turned off, it really isn't. Instead it is simply in a "sleep" mode and could be activated by certain types of outside interference. After all, the control circuitry for the remote must remain on even when the device is off, otherwise how could the signal from the remote be detected to turn the thing on? (It couldn't!)

Shadowy figures in a dimly lit area could be a lot of things. That I would simply continue to document and also note any other conditions present, i.e. cars outside, furnace kicking on / off, weather patterns, temperature, humidity, etc. Anythng you can think of that tool place at the same time. It is possible once you do this a while a pattern may develop then you can go from there toward resolving the issue.

At this point you might want to contact a local group, but keep in mind unless something is happening on a regular basis there is probably little they cn do besides guide you in conducting your own investigation. The concept of a group coming in and resolving everything only happens on TV. Real world investigations are generally done by the client under direction of an investigator since only the client is the one present when something happens. No group can be in your house 24/7 and monitor for activity to that degree! Those who come in and walk around with their recorders, EMF meters, and night vision cameras for a couple hours like you see on TV seldom find any real evidence that can't be debunked.

[SCmom]

I agree with you, CR, regarding both types of incidents. They may be nothing. My husband may be so used to seeing one of the kids walk by in the dark- that he imagined it somehow or shadows from outside lighting made it look like someone in the house. He also said he heard something both times, which woke him up; however, this house is on a busy street and maybe it was something else.

Also, thank you for the additional information about the groups. I was not really thinking about contacting a group, rather I want to investigate further on my own. I may try experimenting with my camera.

One additional "oddity" just happened during lunch. (This may be absolutely nothing, but I figure I will report anything strange here, just in case.) My two sons were eating lunch on our front porch. My older son was eating soup and his bowl began to slide. They called me over and every few seconds, it would slide forward a little. Then it began to also rotate side to side- not a lot, but noticeably. All three of us sat there absolutely still, with no one touching the table. The table is wrought iron, kind of a "weave," and it is not a slippery surface at all. The bowl was corningware. It was hot (from the soup) but not wet on the bottom- we checked. Corningware itself is very smooth and slick though. I will definitely be experimenting with this again and will videotape it if it happens again. I could chalk this up to the house shifting? However, it was still interesting- and funny considering the recent events.

[CaveRat2]

Sliding soup bowls... Could be an easy explanation

First consider what surface it was setting on. Is there a possibility that as the surface heats up (I'm assuming the table top was cold before the bowl was set down) If so, as the air in the space between the bowl and the table top heats up the air expands. This trapped air might lift the bowl and cause it to freely slide on the table top.

Of course another easily observed possibility would be an uneven table top, but that would be too obvious!

[SCmom]

CaveRat2, on 16 August 2012 - 10:24 AM, said:

Sliding soup bowls... Could be an easy explanation

First consider what surface it was setting on. Is there a possibility that as the surface heats up (I'm assuming the table top was cold before the bowl was set down) If so, as the air in the space between the bowl and the table top heats up the air expands. This trapped air might lift the bowl and cause it to freely slide on the table top.

Of course another easily observed possibility would be an uneven table top, but that would be too obvious!

Very true! It was probably nothing, though we have not seen that happen before. I am going to test it out more though. Also, I am keeping in mind that we now have this idea that something may be going on - which also causes people to notice things and attribute anything odd to a possible "spirit."

I am going to continue researching the history of the house and see where I get with that.