I smell dead people in the long gallery (not kidding and not funny)

[whomovedmychocolate]

I posted about this previously and it went away but the floods seem to have disturbed something.

Basically I live in a 400 year old house (gorgeous see my profile pics) and work next door in a converted chapel (baptist - wasn't a chapel for long because the villagers turned up with flaming torches etc.) but there are human remains in the gardens (I know because I dug them up ).

A few months ago a funny smell kept appearing. Now it's appearing daily. We have checked out the obvious (dead animals in the roof, infestations, blocked drains etc). but the weird thing is, the smell only comes on in part of a room (various rooms) and seems to move and then it goes.

Today it moved up the stairs and to the long gallery and whenever I go in there it disappears within a few minutes (oh and before you ask no, I do not go around with a can of Febreze or indeed 'ghost away' spray.)

The building spooks me TBH and I don't like to go in there on my own. But I don't believe in ghosts and rationally I think all that stuff is rubbish.

So I need rational explanations please. We have ruled out:

(a) creatures in the roof - no airflow through unless they were in air con vent which we checked today
(b) Sewerage plumbing issues - all checked out and also smell often occurs in parts of the building with no plumbing
(c) Electrical issues - all wires checked - nothing burning/shorting - even cleaned the light bulbs to check it wasn't a dust issue.
(d) creatures in the walls - walls are three feet thick, solid ironstone
(e) creatures under the floors - parquet flooring over stone - apparently it's two foot thick.

Anybody got any ideas?

Oooh don't Aitch or I will have to start talking in midlands patois (and frankly it's been a really long time since I left and I'd rather not now I'm a posh country wife).

yeah there was something about derek being a fake-they have a new man now.

do the talcum powder test next time you are in there!

I think you should ask the smell to go away nicely.

Mind it might bring a load of smell mates round with it when you acknowedge it .

Derek's a major fake!

Acknowledge even .

Fawkeoff - I still like your name

I know the history of the place. It was built and survived as a chapel for around a decade. But it was baptist and the rest of the village was Anglican and methodist (two churches - the locals are into religion - or they were then anyway).

Things came to a head one night and the locals turned up with fiery torches and threatened the place. The baptists agreed to move out. It was turned into a school, then a stable, and then finally a recording studio (which it is now).

The siege was probably the most exciting thing that ever happened here so is noted in the local history books. Believe it or not we have a coachload of tourists every year who arrive to take photos of our house and the studio (weirdos!) because of the previous residents who are minorly famous.

The house next door - where we live - is actually four hovel cottages knocked into one. It has a medieval well under the conservatory, an underground stream in the garden and the dining room used to be a stable. The house is very peaceful and has a happy vibe about it, except everyone falls asleep in the living room for some reason - I guess it's restful. We like the house very much - except for the low ceilings - we have pretty much permanent boinks on our bonces.

We had some building work done when we moved in to both the studio (the chapel - where the smell is) and the house and discovered a lot more about the buildings - which is why we know about the construction of the walls, roof etc.

The other things we know - human remains in the front garden, some possibly in the sunken garden in the back. But horse skeletons - entire - found under the pond when we excavated to put it in two years ago. (six to eight feet down). There was historically a farm opposite the chapel and the vet used to chuck any animals that didn't make it in the land which is now part of our garden (quite horrific really considering the stream is right next to where they landed).

Is the talc test where you do a key with talc round it and then see if it moves?

I don't think that's a good idea! If you run a recording studio and you put white powder down, people start getting out £20 notes and looking excited!

I still find it hard to believe Derek Acorah is straight and married TBH.

He was so obviously a fake though, I do remember ex-DH used to watch Most Haunted and I would just be making this face all the way though:

WMMC - how odd.

I like you do not believe in ghosts or anything but I grew up in a very old farmhouse. ONe day we all decided to write down the one place in the house tht is haunted if anywhere was and we all (6) wrote down exactly the same place.

After that I did the asking him to leave me alone thing and I felt a whole lot better.

get Richard Dawkins round!

Whomovedmychocolate, as your arch-nemesis, I have to own up, it's me. I whip in, fert, and hide. When you make a face that shows you've smelt it, I blow furiously to get rid of.

Honest.

Actually, I second the dog thing - the house I grew up in was haunted and our dog would never go in the back room. All sorts of wierd crap went on there.

I know what you mean..i dunno whether i believe in ghosts etc..Dp does and says he has seen one, but until i see one myself am gonna stay undecided. I do find it all fascinating though. I love being scared and the music on most haunted scares me!!!
I live in Jersey and its meant to be very haunted over here, my sister lives in a very old house in the centre of the island. There are 'witchs rests' on her chimneys which i find a bit 'argghh' she says she hears and feels people running about upstairs when no-one but herself is in!!!!!!!

Going off the point now however...

i would blame the millions of spiders that you mention in your profile....i would live with a smell than spiders any day!!!!!!!

you fert? disgusting.

BBBee - since you are only down the road perhaps you could come and sniff my offices? (note offices not orifices)

SueBaroo - ah how I've missed your stalking! I may well borrow a dog. But isn't that worse though if we still have the problem and the dog cowers and won't enter so we know it's something freaky?

Idobelieveinfairies - that scampering upstairs is either kids or rats. Both create mayhem and smells

My MiL has a rat above her bedroom, she reckons it's trying to get in, I reckon it's trying to escape myself.

Aitch - nowt wrong with a bit of ferting in dark corners.

i do hope the log cabin isn't haunted. where are we goiing to stay? [wotcha] [cock]

I do Aitch. It's auxilliary power when the hamster in my computer gets tired.

WMMC, hmm, yes, if the dog does go wibbly, it could be more freaky.

The log cabin is definitely not haunted (Aitch refers to this, the man shed in our garden.)

Although it does have miner bees under the verandah at this time of year.

Now that's what I call recycling!

NononoNOOOOOOOO. don't tell them. they'll all want to come.

Okay, I'm still not convinced it has a spiritual explanation but what do I say to the smell?

(Can't quite believe I'm asking how to phrase a greeting to an odour ).

The log cabin don't look scary. So is Aitch visiting you and your smell?? Have i got that right??