Ghost Busters!

[TrainClown]

Update

Well, we had a few things happen in the past few days.

3 nights ago, my night light went out while I was asleep. Something woke me up in the total darkness. Could have just been the bulbs time, but why did I not stay asleep untill morning?

My wifes bedroom is 12' x 20' and was made from 2 rooms. I knocked the wall down and put in a lintel beam to make the big room, so there is a 2 bulb fixture in one end and a cieling fan in the other end with 3 bulbs. 2 days ago I went into the room and flicked the switch and both bulbs in the one end had burned out at the same time. So I replaced them and it worked fine. Next day I switched on the lights and the lights in the fan failed to come on. I thought this was odd, that all three bulbs would go at the same time. I got a new bulb and put it in one of the sockets. No light. So I got a test light and checked the bulbs. The bulbs were fine and worked. But would not work in the fixture. I happen to have a spare cieling fan that a friend gave me last summer and so I resolved to replace the fan next day, yesterday. Yesterday, after my wife got up, she flicked the switch and the fan lights came on.

Never have I had to replace so many bulbs as I have had to in this house. Over the 4 years + that we lived here.

I think I shall replace the fan unit anyway just in case there is a loose wire, but still odd prociedings. There shouldn't be loose wires because I saldered all wire conections. I was taught that loose wires cause fires.

I don't like to sleep in the basement. It creeps me out. Resently I haven't been able to go to sleep untill the first light of day. There are no windows down there, but the daylight comes down the stairs from the back portch. Seems to be cold spots down there too.

Odd, but not ground shaking..................................yet!

TrainClown

 

[brakie]

TC, Your case is one that cries to be investigate completely with a house reading...Why do I have that funny feeling there is nothing wrong with your fan?

Have you noticed any unusual tapping's,sharp raps or knocks lately? Anything being moved from their place even if by a few inches?

TVs,radios coming on or off without any logic reasons?

Feel any cold spots or areas where your pet(if you have one) will not go?

Does any of your family members or friends feel ill at ease while visiting.A hint would be looking quickly around for no apparent reason while talking and usually in one direction-keep in mind people will not ask if you have a ghost but sometimes their action
will tell that they *may* have seen or felt something(like being watched or looked at)..

 

[TrainClown]

I'm shook up today. I had a nasty discovery yesterday. I was in the basement cleaning up the last of the stuff that was ruined by the flood we had last November. I was always expecting to find something precious destroyed by the water, but nothing of great value was lost...........until yesterday that is.

Behind a couple of garbage bags full of old cloths I found a stack of books. Among the books were my circus books and 5 photo albums. The circus books are wrecked and I cherished those books. My dad gave them to me.

The photo albums are more of a loss. One of them had photos of all the mascots I made back in the 1980s. 2 of them were of the show my dad produced and I worked in, back in 1975. The others were of trips and pics of my sons when they were tots, and odd puppet creations I have made. No other copy of these photos exist. I estimate that %95 of them are lost.

The thing I don't understand is how that shelf fell of the wall. Why did it fall down during the flood? Why didn't I find them until now?

If it is a paranormal trick, then he would be hard pressed to find a way to hurt me more. (dare I say that?)

As for your questions brakie:

There are allot of sounds in this house that I chalk up to the cats.

A few months back the TV changed channel one night. I assumed it was because someone in the neighborhood had somehow changed our TV with their remote. Last night I was making a 3D model of the basement on my computer with 3rd PlanIt. As soon as I had completed it, the power on my computer shut off. Turned out to be a loose power cord in the back of the tower.but why did it shut off just as I looked at the3D image for the first time? Or was that just a coincidence?

My cats get spooked if they come down to the basement and they don't like to stay long. I have a cold spot right at the headboard of my bed. If I lie in bed and stick my hand out the covers, it gets so cold it's pailful. But I don't feel the cold with my head or on the other side of the bed. The cats will not sleep with me down there. They always curl up with and on my wife.

We don't have allot of people come over, so I can't say I have noticed anything in the way people act when they come in this house. My wife has mixed emotions about this place, but she says there is no paranormal influence on her feelings. She has said in the past that she hates this house.

As for me, I do feel like I am being watched quite a bit here. But I don't take any great notice of these feelings. I am kind of use to it I guess.

So how would I go about getting a house reading around here? How do I find someone, and how will I know if they are the real thing?

Thank you for your help Brakie. I really appreciate it.

TrainClown

 

[brakie]

TC,Sorry it took me longer then usual to make a reply but I had to get the opinions of 5 other more experience investigators..Here are their opinions base your what you have told me and taken on face value of your postings not being able to talk to you in person and investigate the problem..

Now,they are in accord that you *might*be seeing the beginning of a politest and they have no doubts things might get worst in the weeks to come.This entity is not a happy camper period.Now they feel the"heart" of the problem is in the basement more then likely in that crawl space taking in the account of your wife's strange dream..
Now for the sad part.We don't know of any paranormal group in your area but we might be able to direct you to a group on line that we feel are on the level.But,you would need to relate your story to them which may lead to a request for a on site investigation..
Suggestions:
1.Place a quality tape recorder with the best blank tape made and set on record in your basement..Play back after the 60s minutes is up..A reel to reel tape works better if you have one but like I said a quality tape player will work as well.Listen for noise or voices other then yours or your wifes.You may not hear anything unusual and may have to keep trying.
2.Take pictures of your basement.Use a quality camera and high speed film and a camcorder if you have one.You will be looking for any unusual things in the pictures. This may or may not work but its a start.

TC,Please keep me(us) updated on any future activity regardless how insufficient you may think it is.

 

[Vic]

QUOTE...They had me to remove the Ouija board and throw it in the trash..This I did at a dumpster...

Hi Brakie, Sorry to tell you but that was a bad move my friend...you are not rid of that Ouija Board yet.

While many paranormal experts discount the Ouija Board there are just as many that do not and consider it to be a rather simple portal into the spirit world through which both good and evil entities can cause influence. To paraphrase...A Ouija Board is like a box of chocolates, you don't know what you are going to get.

Considering your experience with one its likely that that an evil or at the least a playful entity was encountered. The concenus of those that affirm the Ouija Board is that if it frightens you then its evil.

A Ouija Board cannot be gotten rid of simply by throwing it away. It will enventually return to you. The only way to be rid of a Ouija Board is to break it into pieces and burn it. You might want to take a look around, it may be back and in a place where you would least expect it to be.

 

[brakie]

Vic,Thankfully that particular board did not show back up..My daughter has moved since then..So it *might* have shown up with the new tenants in that apartment..
As I stated there are some recorded cases filed under interesting-but unproven.I do know this my daughter still doesn't want any thing to do with a Ouija board to this day nor does "Betty".
What really took place that night I can not say..I do know two very shaken and incoherent young ladies show up at my door at 2:00am.

 

[Matthyro]

Jon, you started this thread. Did you ever expect it to turn out this way?
What an experience you have had TC. My heart goes out to you and to anyone else that has gone through these unexplainable experiences. Now when I see there is an e-mail saying there is another response to this thread, I am finding myself reluctant to read it.

 

[Pitchwife]

Hi Robin. I sympathize with your feelings, but do not agree. As I said before, the Supernatural is just nature that we don't yet understand. I applaud all of the serious groups that are studying the phenomonon, for knowledge is power. The more we find out about what is going on, the sooner people like TC can get assistence and back to a normal life. Keep up the good work guys!

 

[TrainClown]

Yesterday morning I'd had about enough of the clutter downstairs so it was renovation day. I got a sledge hammer and dismantled a wall that was dividing the basement in half and now I have lots of room. It was a pain in the a** to have to keep walking around the wall and it was put up by somebody who didn't know what they were doing and was just a terrible job. I stayed up all night last night painting. I painted the floor, walls, ceiling to get rid of the mouldy smell. Now the basement has taken on a much better appearance. I'm going to move my bed to another part of the room and maybe I'll get rid of that cold spot. Perhaps that cold spot will still be there, but I just won't be near it.

Nothing of note has happened lately in the paranormal sense, although I did feel like someone was watching me paint and it was a real strong feeling. The lights in the pantry blew and I had to replace them. Those durn lights!

brakie, ever since my wife had that dream she has become more and more adamant in her feeling that I should dig in the crawlspace where you said was the "heart" of the house. She has mentioned doing that several times, all before reading your post tonight. She has no idea why she feels so strongly but she says the feeling is getting stronger every day but at the same time hesitates to push the issue. Just to satisfy our curiosity, what do you think? Should I dig there?

I will keep you/everyone up to date if anything else happens. Actually, this thread is becoming a record of what's been going on here and that seems to be a good thing. I wish I had thought of keeping a record sooner to help me deal with this experience.

Waiting in wonder,

TrainClown

 

[Vic]

Something For Trainclown

Hi TC, In reading your posts it seems that you are having a problem with lights blowing/burning out which may or may not be part of your paranormal experiences.

Often in older houses (unless they have been totally rewired) there can be a problem with loose or weak neutrals in the circuits. Some older houses had no ground at all other than the drop from transformer at the pole to the house. My house is 60 plus years old. Orginally, before I replaced it, the neutral was simply grounded to the cold water intake of the water heater, which was a poor way of doing it but it was sufficent for its time.

You may wish to have a qualified electrican check the house wiring and any panels for a problem. If no electrical problem exists then the lightbulb problem could be related to the paranormal.

 

[jon-monon]

Jon, you started this thread. Did you ever expect it to turn out this way?

NOOOOOO0000000000ooooooo OOOOOOO0000000oooooooOOOOOO0000000ooooooo............!!!!! But it's sure been interesting and fun!

I expectewd people to say, that's weird, strange coincedence, and then the thread die suddenly and unexpetedly.

TC - on the light bulbs, another possable normal explaination would be vibration from walking upstairs. My basement bulbs failed frequently in my 90 year old home, until I replace them with heavy duty type for trouble lights,and more recently compact flourescents. Not doubting your story, just another thing to rule out before labeling it as part of the weirdness going on there.

 

[brakie]

brakie, ever since my wife had that dream she has become more and more adamant in her feeling that I should dig in the crawlspace where you said was the "heart" of the house. She has mentioned doing that several times, all before reading your post tonight. She has no idea why she feels so strongly but she says the feeling is getting stronger every day but at the same time hesitates to push the issue. Just to satisfy our curiosity, what do you think? Should I dig there?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This case gets weirder by the minute...I suspect there *might* be something of interest in that crawl space.As far as digging I am accord with your wife..But won't push the idea as there may not be a thing there but can't dismiss your wife's feelings..I have no doubt it should be investigated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vic,Jon,We have a on going investigation of strange happenings at a local house..The light bulbs keep blowing and in this case a qualified electrician looked at the wiring and could not find any logical causes why the bulbs keep blowing.We have his findings on record..But,there is far more activity at this house.Its one of our better cases of late.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon,The results of your picture is in..
Sorry Jon it been classified as Interesting but unknown phenomenon.

 

[jon-monon]

Jon,The results of your picture is in..Sorry Jon it been classified as Interesting but unknown phenomenon

No prob., Larry, that would have been my call on it.

On the bulbs, if anything intermittently causes electyrical current to stop and start flowing through the filiment, be it physical, spiritual or some other force, it will gretaly reduce the bulbs life. The same goes if the filiment is moved while it's glowing, by vibration from foot steps or another force.

So if you put in heavy duty ones, and check the wiring, and they still blow out, that would be spooky. If they stop blowing, it's not less spooky, because all that means is whatever vibrated the lightweight standard filiment is unable to vibrate the heavy one. So it may be interesting, and it may solve one of the many problems our friend is having.

TC - you can do a pretty good check of the wiring yourself by turning a lot of stuff on, and go around the house and measure AC voltage at all the lights and outlets you can reach. Write them down, and be sure and check the light closest and furthest from the circuit breaker. If there is any kind of weak connection, overloaded circuit or undersized wire, you should see lower voltages farther away from the circuit breaker. Be extra carefull on that cement floor downstairs, because you are grounded pretty well and we don't want any glow-in-the-dark clowns. 90% of teh time it would be a loose screw on a fixture or loose joint or wire nuts that you could find visually with power off. Good to look that stuff over on an older hoiuse anyway. Also check for warmth of the wiring near each fixture. You wouldn't believe what I found in my house!

 

[Vic]

From Ghosts To Lightbulbs

Ain't it amazing how one subject brings up another.

When it comes to plain old light bulbs cost does not always equal long life. Most light bulbs sold under "name brands" such as GE, Westinghouse and etc. have aluminimum screw bases but the "el cheapo's" have brass bases

Aluminimum based bulbs simply just don't last as long as one's with brass bases. The reason is that they expand and contract from heat when the bulb is on/off and it eventually breaks the seal and allows air to enter the filament area. Brass bases do not expand and contract to the degree that alumininum does and therefore they last longer. The draw back is that the "el cheapo's" don't come with fancy coatings inside the globe such as soft white or blue white. So called "long life" bulbs have filaments rated at 130 volts and since they are burning on 110-120 volts they last longer but give out slightly less light.

Ever notice that the bulbs in a traffic light seem to last forever but they are on and off all the time? That's because they have steel bases and special heavy duty filaments. By themselves they are not very bright only around 65 watts. The reflector and the lens is what gives a traffic light its brightness.

TC may want to try some "el cheapo's" and see what happens.

 

[TrainClown]

That's an interesting point. Trains go by our house on a regular basis and it makes the whole place tremble. Just this morning, I was saying to my wife (in jest ) that we should sue CN so they would fix our broken foundation. I never considered that the vibrations from the trains would be causing the lights to blow, but now that you've made me think of it, it seems like a likely source.

I don't go around trying to fit a paranormal explanation to every little thing that happens. As a matter of fact, I try to come up with a logical explanation. The unfortunate thing is, there is no logical explanation for some of the goings on in this house.

I'm going through renovations in the basement right now and stopping to dig is just not in the cards at this immediate time but I am curious myself, so it depends how curious I get as to how soon this happens.

Out in left field I was thinking. It seems that disturbances have ceased somewhat since I discovered my destroyed photo albums. Perhaps our friend (if there is a friend) was pissed at me because I had not discovered his trick yet (the rotted books could be his doing)............................... well......... they could.

Vic, I'm using "el cheapo" bulbs, the cheapest you can buy from Canadian Tire, and they have aluminum bases. They only cost me 99 cents for 4 bulbs. I thought the reason they kept blowing was because I was using cheap bulbs. Perhaps it's not the base that's leaking but the cheap filament that gets shaken by the trains. I remember my buddy in Vancouver who drove tow truck used to buy special bulbs for his trouble lights. Trouble lights get banged around a lot and hence, the special bulbs. I wonder if that is the sort of bulb I should be investing in.

jon, when my wife read the part about the glow-in-the-dark clown she had a hearty laugh. :thumb: She said it would add new pizzazz to my act. At one time, about 15 years ago, I was hired to make balloon animals for the line of people waiting for a ride on the Christmas Train at Stanley Park. On the first night I found I was in the dark a lot. So I made a great big top hat 24" high and covered it with about 40 grain of wheat bulbs and had an electric hat. The hat was a big sensation as portable illumination was a novelty in those days. Nowadays you can buy a string of Christmas lights at Canadian Tire for 6 bucks that takes 2 D cell batteries and everybody could have Christmas lights on their person or their car or their dog.

The more I think about it, the more I think it's the rumbling trains that are doing in my lights. But there is still no explanation why my ceiling fan lights wouldn't work but now they work just fine. I smacked the fixture with my hand and poked and prodded at it to see if I could make them flutter or flash or do something, but no such luck. They just burned bright and steady. Oh yeah, when the lights failed the fan part still worked. The fan and lights are on separate switches that can be operated from the bed and both the fan and the lights have the same power supply. I think I'll still change that fixture, just to be safe.

Thanks for all your interest in my sordid problems.

TrainClown

 

[Matthyro]

So TC if its CN track going by your house you must be living in northern Saskatchewan. We used to live in Saskatoon until 1992. There is some very interesting history of the ways of life that Indians lived before the dreaded white man came. Is there any evidence of indian burial grounds or the like where you live that may have caused some of the concerns you have.

 

[TrainClown]

Nope Matt. I live in Regina. CN tracks go right past my house to the north, and CP tracks go by about half a mile to the south.

Behind us we have both the main line and the main spur line that surves the industryal section of town.

Some of those trains are heavy! And they knock all the pictures out of wack on the walls and make the china in the cubord rattle together.

A pic from my back yard.

TrainClown