26 replies to this topic

[Addielass]

Hi -

I'm hoping someone can help me. I am seriously encountering the smell of burnt matches around my home. It has happened twice downstairs: The first time the smell was faint but distinct. The second time it was overwhelming. I (rightly or wrongly) assumed that something was here looking at me very close because I also had goosebumps on my arm the second time. I announced: "You are not welcome here and must leave, now. Only goodness and godliness is welcome here."

That did zilch, the smell persisted for about a 1/2 hour. Very strong.

The past two nights while sleeping upstairs I was awakened by the smell. It really was quite worse than before - completely overpowering. Now, I am a heavy smoker and never use matches, but I have at times (of course) & know the smell very well. BUT, because I'm a heavy smoker my sense of smell is quite diminished. So for something to smell that strong is very unusual. Also, it happened when the house had been asleep for several hours, so no one had recently lit any cigarettes anywhere.

These last two times have gotten me quite scared. When it happened this morning I wanted to do something but I was too scared.

What is this? What should I do? Should I be even more worried than I already am?

I should also mention that I have been hearing some strange unexplained noises also upstairs recently, like someone was walking around. (We have an old frame house & you get used to what things sound like with normal use.) Additionally, I saw what I believe to be a ghost vapor about 3-4 months back. I was moving some books from downstairs and when I set them down I saw what looked like thick white smoke, like cigarette smoke, only denser. Needless to say, I wasn't smoking at the time, and when I went to waft it away from my face, my hand just went through it but didn't disturb the "smoke". That's how I knew it wasn't regular smoke.

I am really starting to get very concerned and would appreciate any help or suggestions. I am considering a sage cleansing but seeing that directly ordering it (if it is an it) to leave had no effect, the last thing I want to do is "piss it off". Can you help me?

Thanks muuch.

[Señor Hugo]

So, you're scared, because you've smelled burnt matches over a couple days?

[earth_spirit]

Welcome to GV, Addielass. This same topic came up on GV about four years ago, so you might want to take a look through the posts that were done back then. I noticed a few links there that might be of interest to you.

Click Here

[Addielass]

Welcome to GV, Addielass. This same topic came up on GV about four years ago, so you might want to take a look through the posts that were done back then. I noticed a few links there that might be of interest to you.

Click Here

Thanks, I will.

[biada]

I think its psychological. google "phantom smell".

[Addielass]

Wow. Took hours to read all the threads/links and the resulting google searches.

I'm either psychotic or aliens are on their way! Most olfactory (see, it pays to read up <G<) disturbances are loss of smell completely(parkinsons, altzheimers), diminished smell ability (early onset of Alz or park), or a confused ability to smell.

Some smells can signal a siezure is coming on in those with epilepsy. (burning toast, onions)

"phantosmia" (phantom smells) is the sense of a smell that has no source.
"parosmia" (distorted sense of smell) is where there is an odor present, but it's incorrectly perceived. (Strawberries smell like rotting garbage, etc.)

This smell is not persistent - it comes and it's definitely there, stays for a difinite period, then is gone. Additionally, smells linked to disease stay with the person while they are having it. With my burnt matches smell, you could walk through it or around it, then return to it without the smell dissipating. Disease-based odors seem to stay with the person. With the exception of epilepsy, most smell disturbances happen ALL THE TIME. This also isn't the case.

Additionally, I should mention that the smell is definitely burnt matces (like you would light a match then blow it out), not a pure sulphur smell like a beaker of sulphur in a lab.

One site mentioned that for people getting abducted by aliens or encountering the chupacabra, the experience is often preceeded by sulphur or other foul odors. I don't think I've been doing any alien visits. (Although when I was growing up, I DID often wish that I was adopted - no luck! LOL)

So... still not sure what to do here. I did not have any more smells since yesterday morning when it woke me up.

[biada]

Wow. Took hours to read all the threads/links and the resulting google searches.

I'm either psychotic or aliens are on their way! Most olfactory (see, it pays to read up <G<) disturbances are loss of smell completely(parkinsons, altzheimers), diminished smell ability (early onset of Alz or park), or a confused ability to smell.

Some smells can signal a siezure is coming on in those with epilepsy. (burning toast, onions)

"phantosmia" (phantom smells) is the sense of a smell that has no source.
"parosmia" (distorted sense of smell) is where there is an odor present, but it's incorrectly perceived. (Strawberries smell like rotting garbage, etc.)

This smell is not persistent - it comes and it's definitely there, stays for a difinite period, then is gone. Additionally, smells linked to disease stay with the person while they are having it. With my burnt matches smell, you could walk through it or around it, then return to it without the smell dissipating. Disease-based odors seem to stay with the person. With the exception of epilepsy, most smell disturbances happen ALL THE TIME. This also isn't the case.

Additionally, I should mention that the smell is definitely burnt matces (like you would light a match then blow it out), not a pure sulphur smell like a beaker of sulphur in a lab.

One site mentioned that for people getting abducted by aliens or encountering the chupacabra, the experience is often preceeded by sulphur or other foul odors. I don't think I've been doing any alien visits. (Although when I was growing up, I DID often wish that I was adopted - no luck! LOL)

So... still not sure what to do here. I did not have any more smells since yesterday morning when it woke me up.

haha. yeah, been through all that. Got me all paranoid. Glad to share the experience with you.

[Addielass]

Well, I still think I have a ghost...

[biada]

Well, I still think I have a ghost...

some friends visited me the other week. they're heavy smokers. anyways, we were in the front talking for hours and when they left. I hit back to my room and smell this "burning smell" for days... I think I'm just sensitive to it. The smells comes and go. months b4 that, I'm just sitting in front of my computer and got a big hit of the burning smell. It was annoying and comes and goes as it wishes.

[crozier]

my old house was definately "haunted". I wont go into all the happenings, but i occasionly i would get the smell of burnt matches along with what I can only explain as an opressive atmosphere. this is when most auditory phenomenon would occur. later i would get an overwhelming smell of roses and the place just seemed "brighter". i dont know what caused it, but i never experienced anything after i moved. the auditory phenomenon was organ music that was loud, but sounded far away. also voices of men arguing that were also loud, but muffled. Couldnt understand what they were saying. So i say the smell by itself is probably nothing, but combined with other things could mean something.

[Addielass]

Yeah, Croz-

This is an old house, too. 92 years old! Most of the time it's nothing, but when we first moved in & I was alone in the house every night (my husband worked, er, the graveyard shift at the time) every night it sounded like someone was moving furniture upstairs. Really really heavy furniture, sliding across the floor right above me. Only problem is, we HAD no furniture upstairs when we first moved in! On nights when my husband was off, I'd say, "That! Now TELL ME you just heard THAT NOISE!" But he'd be like, "I don't hear anything..." But I could see he was lying and he is the KING of denial. He told me about stuff that happened in our old apartment when we moved here. So I guess he'll level with me about this house when we get another?

Anyway, the noise stopped all together after a couple months. Then silencia.. Nada. For years. Until, this spring. (Add eerie sound effect) Sounds like floorboards are being walked on, creaking from someone's weight, you know, not the actual steps since it's carpeted. Also, I'm in the upstairs bedroom now, so it's only a few feet away from me. But there have been noises I didn't know what to identify as... Tapping, kind of. But teensy weensy taps. Also, something crashing, but not loud. Like something fell over. But then you look and nothing's disturbed. But the thing mostly is, I "feel" something is RIGHT THERE when I first go upstairs, then I hear the floor boards creak (as if from someone's weight) move in a direction away from me inside a closet that's at the top of the stairs. Like someone was there and they "get out of the way" every time I go up there. I feel there is someone there looking at me. And I kind of keep looking over my shoulder like I expect someone to be there.

Oh, and my 3 dogs constantly bark at invisible things that aren't there coincidentally just in front of the closet I described...

It may interest you to know that today, after I had been awake for a few minutes, I vaguely noticed a very light scent of burnt matches, but only for about 2-3 seconds. Then it was replaced by what I can only describe as a "home smell" - cooking and baking kind of smell, but you can't define the dish. Like a whole meal had been cooked. That smell. (A roast, dessert, all smells mixing togehter.)

Anyway, the "home smell" lasted about 5 minutes, and gradually faded away. Just in case you're interested.

Addie

[Laurie Ann]

I sure am glad I found this post before posting what is concerning me. This is probably the second or third time this has happened, but I keep smelling something that is burning. I mean like the smell of smoke, to where my eye's are irritated...but they're not. I know it sounds confusing and it's really hard to describe. But with this being such an old home, I automatically run around and check everything, even the basement. Of course there's no fire, but the smell is every where I go, even here at the computer. But my oldest son is in the living room, and I don't hear him hollering that he smells smoke, so it's just me. Not to mention the 50 or so smoke detectors I have in every corner of the house.
I'm going to look at the links that are mentioned above. Like i said, I sure am glad I found this post...this is just weird.

Wow. Took hours to read all the threads/links and the resulting google searches.

I'm either psychotic or aliens are on their way! Most olfactory (see, it pays to read up <G<) disturbances are loss of smell completely(parkinsons, altzheimers), diminished smell ability (early onset of Alz or park), or a confused ability to smell.

Some smells can signal a siezure is coming on in those with epilepsy. (burning toast, onions)

"phantosmia" (phantom smells) is the sense of a smell that has no source.
"parosmia" (distorted sense of smell) is where there is an odor present, but it's incorrectly perceived. (Strawberries smell like rotting garbage, etc.)

This smell is not persistent - it comes and it's definitely there, stays for a difinite period, then is gone. Additionally, smells linked to disease stay with the person while they are having it. With my burnt matches smell, you could walk through it or around it, then return to it without the smell dissipating. Disease-based odors seem to stay with the person. With the exception of epilepsy, most smell disturbances happen ALL THE TIME. This also isn't the case.

Additionally, I should mention that the smell is definitely burnt matces (like you would light a match then blow it out), not a pure sulphur smell like a beaker of sulphur in a lab.

One site mentioned that for people getting abducted by aliens or encountering the chupacabra, the experience is often preceeded by sulphur or other foul odors. I don't think I've been doing any alien visits. (Although when I was growing up, I DID often wish that I was adopted - no luck! LOL)

So... still not sure what to do here. I did not have any more smells since yesterday morning when it woke me up.

haha. yeah, been through all that. Got me all paranoid. Glad to share the experience with you.

[Light Worker]

AddieLass All the things you spoke of are, in my estimation, definitely a haunted house. Not only the smell of burnt matches when you Haven't been smoking....hearing heavy furniture being moved around upstairs, seeing dense smoke(which is NOT cigarette smoke)....having a scared feeling or a negative feeling for no reason....if I were you I'd contact a local paranormal team for an investigation and as a final measure have them cleanse the house as well....although I have always said that cleansing is NOT the the be-all and end-all to these situations! Good luck....Light Worker

[IslandHippie Productions]

Um, I know this is many months later, but the other night my boyfriend and I were watching TV in the bedroom, and I suddenly smelled a burnt match. I said, "What's burning?" and jumped up. He said, "I don't know," & ran to look & see if the house had a fire anywhere. No fire . . . of course. Because nothing smells like a burnt match except, well, a burnt match. Sooo, I asked him if he had smelled it, too, and he said he did. We lied back down & the smell was still there, lingering in the same place in the middle of the bed above the pillows . . . for a good five to ten minutes, maybe even longer. It was so strong and very distinctly the smell of a burnt match. VERY WEIRD. We didn't say it for at least ten minutes, but we finally both revealed the only thing we thought it could be was supernatural in some way. Not necessarily a haunting, but an impression from an earlier time. But, we've never smelled it before and have been here 9 years.

Also, about the furniture you heard being moved. Years before I was born, my parents lived in a house (back in the late 60's/early 70's) & my mom kept hearing the sound of wood being thrown around in the empty attic. She would tell my dad & he would never believe her. Until one day, she came home & there were cops there! He had been sitting on the toilet, home alone, haha . . . and suddenly heard what he said sounded like 2 X 4's being thrown around up there and hitting the floor. Of course, the cops found nothing. So, my parents had their friend's mom, a medium, come over and they all told the ghost to go to the 3rd plane, and that was that.

If you get this reply, I was wondering if you have experienced it again since your last post and if you have had anyone come in to check out your situation?

[paczki]

Hi:
I just decided to look up an occurance of smelling cigarette smoke in my home. It started about 2 years ago and has continued imtermittently. I smell cigarette smoke from faint to strong right in my face. Sometimes it smells like someone just lit up with a match and other times it is old and stale like in an old bar. It usually occurs in the hallway and living room. I have left the room to return and it's gone but sometimes it's still there. I sense it is male and I thought perhaps someone I knew once....but I know now it is someone or something else. In fact, this is a very "seductive" ghost because if I smell the smoke right before I fall asleep during my afeternoon nap, I always have very wonderful sexual dreams. It's odd and unexplainable. I don't seem to affect it coming or going. It has been detected by other people who came into the house. Maybe someone who lived here before? Anyway the smell of matches and cigarettes seems to be common enough and the dreams are sure NICE.

Hi -

I'm hoping someone can help me. I am seriously encountering the smell of burnt matches around my home. It has happened twice downstairs: The first time the smell was faint but distinct. The second time it was overwhelming. I (rightly or wrongly) assumed that something was here looking at me very close because I also had goosebumps on my arm the second time. I announced: "You are not welcome here and must leave, now. Only goodness and godliness is welcome here."

That did zilch, the smell persisted for about a 1/2 hour. Very strong.

The past two nights while sleeping upstairs I was awakened by the smell. It really was quite worse than before - completely overpowering. Now, I am a heavy smoker and never use matches, but I have at times (of course) & know the smell very well. BUT, because I'm a heavy smoker my sense of smell is quite diminished. So for something to smell that strong is very unusual. Also, it happened when the house had been asleep for several hours, so no one had recently lit any cigarettes anywhere.

These last two times have gotten me quite scared. When it happened this morning I wanted to do something but I was too scared.

What is this? What should I do? Should I be even more worried than I already am?

I should also mention that I have been hearing some strange unexplained noises also upstairs recently, like someone was walking around. (We have an old frame house & you get used to what things sound like with normal use.) Additionally, I saw what I believe to be a ghost vapor about 3-4 months back. I was moving some books from downstairs and when I set them down I saw what looked like thick white smoke, like cigarette smoke, only denser. Needless to say, I wasn't smoking at the time, and when I went to waft it away from my face, my hand just went through it but didn't disturb the "smoke". That's how I knew it wasn't regular smoke.

I am really starting to get very concerned and would appreciate any help or suggestions. I am considering a sage cleansing but seeing that directly ordering it (if it is an it) to leave had no effect, the last thing I want to do is "piss it off". Can you help me?

Thanks muuch.