To be amused rather than freaked out? (Woo!!)

[Elphame]

Ok to get the mundane stuff out of the way

No one but DP and me have been in the house since Friday

We’ve lived here 20 years and are the only ones with keys. All spares are where they should be

We have 2 burglars alarms which we set when we go out. They have not been activated.

We have cctv camera front and rear covering all entrances to the house and garden. The only comings and goings recorded are DP and me.

We have 2 dogs

DP never plays practical jokes.

Now the mystery. My lovely heirloom grandfather clock stopped sometime since Monday night. I can’t say exactly when but I noticed this afternoon and asked DP to wind it.

5 minutes later he came into the kitchen looking rather pale and told me that the clock has stopped as the winding chains are missing. Both of them. They are some 8ft long with heavy weights on the ends and to remove them requires some dismantling of the clock as well as knowing how they are fixed.

They are not on the floor of the clock case. They have quite simply vanished.

We’ve gone from WTAF to freaked out, annoyed and now somewhat amused. Clearly something doesn’t like my clock!

I am totalling unable to come up with a rational explanation for this. There just isn’t one that either of us can come up with

@LuciaPillson 🤣🤣🤣

Just perfect! Love it!

Very funny Lucia, really made my night

🔥🤠

My advice would be to throw a heavy stone bird bath at the clock then get your cat to piss on it.

I think you might find the clock chains and weights inside a mug that is blue with a beige top and interior. It has "Papa" on the front.

I'm not psychic but we are missing that mug that was just here the other day and is used daily. If it isn't holding the chains and weights, it probably has crab sticks, ice cubes, honey cooked ham (sliced thin) and cat pee in it. I am hoping the chains and weights are with it.

Apparently I'm good at losing things because I put them in a 'safe place' now I'm starting to think my safe place is a portal and your chains will be in the same place. Wherever that is.

@Scaryghost , I'm sure I've read somewhere - probably on here - a good article by an electrician explaining how and why switches can actually turn themselves on (i.e. not just the light but the actual switch). It might be worth getting your electrics checked? I'm not a complete woo-sceptic but you might want to eliminate all explanations involving fire hazards...

So have they been located yet?

Not a sign of them...

I'm really missing the reassuring tick tock (when I pay attention), the chimes and the "throat clearing" noise it makes a few minutes before the hour. It reminded me of my grandmother and her house.

I have a big family party here this weekend but if they don't show up I'll be walking down to the clock man in the village next week to see about getting some replacements.

@fabmaccawhackythumbsaloft No- the time it stopped ( just before 6.30) has no significance to me as far as I'm aware.

@Nanaof1 I'll be sure to keep a look out for you. Quite frankly nothing would surprise me now!!

Thanks I will ask my HA take a look

I have a grandfather clock dating from the 1800's with one hand and one weight and that weight is a solid lump of lead. VERY heavy. The chains can't be removed without taking the clock out of the hood.

Ours was so loud striking that we tried putting the finger of a leather glove over the striker, but it just wore through. We've unhooked the weight now to stop the clock and i miss the tick and i miss the long 'throat clearing' noise before it struck as well. The gears would do their thing and the anticipation was always quite something.

It would be no easy feat to take the chains and the weight off a long clock.

Re: missing things; my DH had a chunky gold chain go missing when he was in his 20s. He was alone in the house for a week when it returned. Early morning he went into the kitchen and the chain was curled neatly round and round flat like a sleeping snake in the middle of the work top. The house was locked up and the only other person with a key to the house was in Spain at the time (with the key).

I'm in the "ask your house faeries/spirit to please give your chains back" camp.

Or ask the spirit of your great grandfather to intervene.

Apologise for upsetting the"flow" of the property but it's your house now and you enjoy listening to the clock.

I totally relate to what you are going through.

I have what I call my poltergeist. Things disappear, sometimes for short periods, sometimes months. One time a pair of pants belonging to my sister-in-law disappeared and have never returned. That was about 8 years ago. Saging the house has worked several times.

Someone told me it could be fairies, so I put out some things they said they would like. That didn’t get the pants back though.

They/It took a favorite dress and returned it a couple of months later. I’ve found keys in places I would never have put them.

I have noticed that when I give up looking for them, that tends to be when they reappear. It’s like when I’ve tired of their game, they stop playing. The only thing I got back fairly quickly were my keys. The sage worked really well then.

My dogs will stare at one corner of my bedroom sometimes, so I’m assuming that’s when my ghost is around. The house I currently live in was built in 1914. That’s plenty of time for someone to want to hang out here after they died. Although, most of the disappearing items happened elsewhere. I think it’s attached to me. :-) I’ve learned it means no harm, so it doesn’t scare me anymore.

I’d go with @birdling they will just reappear when the time (pardon the pun lol) is right.

As an avid Jonathan Creek fan I can tell you there are two possibilities: either someone or something has moved them; or they're still there and you just can't see them.

Have you pulled the clock out from it's normal position? I'm wondering about a hole in the floor underneath they could have fallen through maybe.

If you really can't find them I'd get the clock servicing person out to take a look, maybe there's a cavity they've fallen into that you don't know about.

This is very odd. When my granny passed away her grandfather clock started chiming and wouldn't stop! Dad had to disconnect everything. Just saying, grandfather clocks have souls!

Have you checked no one is living in your loft?

The weights are lead, so they are valuable, and the chain would also have scrap metal value. Someone has stolen them. Perhaps the clock stopped earlier than you noticed / remember? Did you have a spare key out with a neighbour, cleaning lady, tradesman etc. for a long time, that they might have lost?

My clock struck thirteen when my great- Aunt went into hospital without telling anyone.

The dullest thing I can think of is that the cat or dogs have wandered off with them.

The fact that you have strange things happening in your house generally makes me think you might need to have stern words with the air near the doorway and clock. A blocked up doorway would creep me out. The chains are probably behind it... I would also check the loft too.

🤣😂😂

Imagine if it starts randomly chiming tonight when you go to bed…..spooky stuff

Yeah, this. I wonder if it’s serious, do people think the chains floated across the floor? Just evaporated? I mean, come on…

🤣🤣🤣

I too am of the ‘come on now, a joke’s a joke - bring back the missing stuff now, please,’ camp. I’ve been known to employ it with aports. A former colleague of mine once told the tale of his mum missing some items of jewellery (no one else in the house who might have taken them) and they reappeared in a neat row on the bonnet of her car (which was parked in the garage).

Hang on! You're the ONLY person who's ever mentioned this. No one ever knows what I'm talking about when I talk about Singing Together. Thank you! The song is etched in my head.