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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think something supernatural is going on and want to move house? (Any rational explanations much appreciated!)

218 replies

GoldLetter · 30/03/2015 13:05

6 months ago DH and I bought a detached 4-bed Victorian Vicarage in isolated spot on edge of village, no other houses in sight, woods behind. This had always been our dream. House seemed beautiful and peaceful until we moved in.
Soon after we moved in I started feeling really uneasy when alone during day,as if being watched, but I put it down to house being so big and isolated until bizarre things started happening. In upstairs bathroom there's a trapdoor leading to attics, I've never been up there but one morning I noticed trapdoor was slightly ajar. When DH came home from work I asked him why he'd been up in attic, he said he hadn't been up since putting some boxes up there when we'd moved in months earlier. He was freaked out by the trapdoor being ajar in case we'd had a break-in but he checked attics, nothing amiss. No explanation, and we would have noticed if he'd left it ajar the first time as I used to take bath in there everyday.

A week later, we heard a bang, like explosion, from upstairs and found one of glass shower doors in same bathroom had shattered! Luckily it's safety glass but was all over floor. Its quite new and company who fitted it had no explanation, said it had never happened before. They replaced it but I'm now too scared to go in that bathroom in case it happens again. No window was open and there'd been no sudden change in temperature. Is there anything that causes this to happen?

Last month DH went away for a week and I was nervous about being in house alone at night, but I'm skeptical about supernatural and an Athiest, so I convinced myself I was being silly. The first night he was away, there was a power-cut at 11pm, which tripped all the burglar alarms! The second night I was on phone to friend and heard lots of banging and crashing in attics, like piles of books falling, it was so loud she heard it down phone and asked what the noise was! Was a nervous wreck until DH came back.

My female friends also find the house very creepy, they say they can't sleep and that its always really cold with strange atmosphere.

Other strange things include a long hallway leading to an (unused) porch with outside door that's always locked, there's something so creepy about it I can't bear to walk past hall at night and twice DH thought he heard knocking on the door in eve, shouted to the person to go round to other door, but no-one came and no-one was out there when he checked. We put security lights all around house and garden, but they constantly flicker on and off, DH says they're just oversensitive and get triggered by bats or the wind. He's quite chilled about it all and says it just feels spooky because its an old house, he likes it here and can't understand why Im so scared. He's going away for another work trip soon, I said i'd stay at my friends' and he thinks I'm being totally unreasonable and got angry. He thinks I'm joking when I say I want to move again.

AIBU? Im not usually an anxious person but I'm constantly on edge!

OP posts:
catlover40 · 30/03/2015 13:52

Whether it is supernatural or not if you really dont feel comfortable then move as it will only get you down and make you feel ill.

PrimroseEverdeen · 30/03/2015 13:54

I do believe in ghosts but I thought that might help you to hear about my banging loft hatch. Like yours, it was a very heavy door and every so often would lift up on its own and bang up and down. The house was Georgian and had internal guttering in the roof. The wind was coming through the guttering and causing the hatch to move. I believe that this type of guttering is very common in Victorian houses so I would check yours! Ours stopped when we put a bolt on it.

Binkleflip · 30/03/2015 13:55

Shove rolled up chicken wire down the eaves - keeps the bats and birds out.

Agree re decorating and cosying up the place, also put a sign up on the unused door - NO COLD CALLERS!

SabrinnaOfDystopia · 30/03/2015 13:57

OP, I live in an old house, and had similar experiences when we first moved in (although not quite as dramatic).

The first was on the night we moved, thought I felt dh walk behind me, was sure of it. He was still upstairs. I always feel nervous of the stairs at night, I still don't like being alone in the house at night - although I do always have the dc here, which makes me feel less alone as they're getting older now. I got my dog for this reason. He makes me much safer. I got my second dog, because dog no1 is getting on a bit, and I don't want to be without a dog!

It did all calm down, and I've worked to make the house cheery and light, and comfortable. I don't like dark corners, so I put lamps/candles there. There is nothing more frightening than being plunged into darkness by a power cut - it has happened to me several times - when alone in the house at night, I always have at least one candle lit in the room for this reason.

Binkleflip · 30/03/2015 13:57

Also when you finally decide it is mices and get a cat, make sure you get a free moggie super mouser off a local farmer not some pedigree useless Grin

championnibbler · 30/03/2015 13:58

could you get a friend's dog and let the pooch have a sniff round each room?
if there's anything untoward, the dog will pick up on it.
or get the house cleared / blessed by a holy person or spiritualist.

sorry to say that i've also lived in places where one particular spot would make me unsettled and nervous.

also have trusted friends who swore they saw ghosts, so yes i am a bit woo.

CastielsClevererBetterSister · 30/03/2015 13:59

If you live near woods the banging above could have been a n owl. If it's caught something and landed on your chimney to snack then it'll create a hell of a racket. They can be big buggers owls you know. Anything on your chimney stack will echo through the walls it's attached to.

funkyfoam · 30/03/2015 14:01

I'll second or third( !) squirrels in the roof. We have them and they make a terrible noise.

SunnyBaudelaire · 30/03/2015 14:02

Get some rat traps and put them in the attic.

I have also lived in houses that did not 'feel right'.

aquashiv · 30/03/2015 14:03

The strangest thing of all is you not looking in the attic. I can not imagine having an attic and not going up there for good old pooch/see if I could extend up there. Face your fears, all those things can be rationally explained away you are feeding your fears by not facing them...

If that fails ring a priest and get them to say a mass in the house.

SunnyBaudelaire · 30/03/2015 14:04

also have you thought about bats?
be careful though as they are protected and you can get in big trouble for attempting to get rid of them.

Inkanta · 30/03/2015 14:06

If you're not comfortable I would insist on selling up, whether partner was angry or not. In my experience some houses can make you feel depressed, and that's not good for you.

specialsubject · 30/03/2015 14:06

shower door: I know someone who fits them and had one disintegrate in his hands. Dropped in transit and just waiting to go. That's what happened there.

animals in attic. Wind directions that you are not used to. Old damp house creaking and settling. It is cold because it is an old house, sort that with heating and insulation. Power cuts due to overhead cables blowing in wind (welcome to the country) or old wiring.

there is NOTHING supernatural going on. Read your survey again, get used to an old house - and I hope you got a good price on it.

expatinscotland · 30/03/2015 14:10

Yikes! I'm sure there is rational explanation, but I am freaking out at this thread.

Inkanta · 30/03/2015 14:11

That long corridor does sound spooky by the way Shock

Woodenheart · 30/03/2015 14:12

Get rid of the box!

Bolt the hatch,

I also think it could be bats,

SabrinnaOfDystopia · 30/03/2015 14:13

I would love to have bats Envy

GlitzAndGigglesx · 30/03/2015 14:16

Please have a nose in the box first

ImMelting · 30/03/2015 14:19

I agree there is nothing 'woo' going on. I also live in an old house - and previously we lived in a (relatively) new one. We constantly have doors opening on their own, bangs and creaks in various places - it's basically just because old houses have been there so long that as the ground has settled things don't quite fit together so neatly and therefore make some noises and move a bit!

Re the strange 'feeling' you get, it could just be your imagination, but it could also be 'infrasound' - that is sound waves too low to be heard by the human ear, which could be coming from underground, something in the distance, something you have plugged in, etc... Even though you can't consciously hear it, your body still responds to it and your brain then interprets it as something 'wierd' going on, because you can't make sense if what it is. Apparently it's something that's responsible for lots of so called 'hauntings'...

LL12 · 30/03/2015 14:20

Burn some White Sage incense sticks, White Sage is supposed to get rid of negative energy and smells really nice too.

bilbodog · 30/03/2015 14:22

I had a friend in a very old house who was experiencing unpleasant atmosphere and she got a person in (don't know who exactly) but this woman could sense 'ghosts' and one in particular who didn't lilke my friend. She was able to 'banish' the ghost but said there were many others but they were not causing any problems, so they were left. Friend has been happy in the house since. She is not the only person to have experienced strangeness in the house before. Even though I've not experienced it I think I would get someone in to see what they say - I can't explain these type of things!

whatlifestylechoice · 30/03/2015 14:26

I live in an old house in the woods and there's always strange noises happening. Clatterings, scratching, occasional bangs. Even more so when it's windy, obviously, and the the wind can sometimes sound like people talking or calling.
It's nothing to be worried about though, just animals and old materials and nature.
I have two dogs and they would immediately alert me to any actual danger or threat, so if they're not reacting, there's nothing to worry about.
Can you get a dog? They're very reassuring when there's n on else around.

MonoNoAware · 30/03/2015 14:26

What sort of house did you grow up in? Where did you live before?

I grew up in an old rural house, so this all sounds very normal to me (especially given you back onto woods; woods = wildlife). However, friends who lived in new build houses in towns would refuse to stay for sleepovers due to the late night creaking of our stairs (very normal, google it!) and crap electrics.

That said, if it scares you then there's no shame in staying with friends or having friends to stay for the next few times your DH is away.

boardgames · 30/03/2015 14:34

Hi, am a long time lurker but have lived in houses with weird noises etc and just wanted to add some rational explanations.

As others have said wind draughts can be very powerful and move loft doors. This happened in our house.

The most likely cause of shattering glass is nickel sulphide impurities in the glass (if it has been heat tempered). Nickel sulphide particles can increase in size at some random point in time causing glass to shatter.

There is a scientific explanation for everything. I don't recommend contacting spiritualists etc , this will just add to the feeling of woo.

Perhaps keep the radio on in every room and try and get company while you're still getting used to the house.

MonoNoAware · 30/03/2015 14:36

Another thought - days are getting longer now and it won't be long until it's light way into the evenings. Perhaps if you can stick it out for the next 6 months it'll start to feel less threatening and more like home.