A ghost?

[Patri]

Alright, TUG friends, what do you think is going on?
My son is renting a house I bought this summer. The basement is totally unfinished. It has had water problems we are still resolving. We have heard strange noises in the house frequently. Usually it sounds like it is coming from the basement, often like metal slamming.
I have heard voices outside, and actually gotten up to see if anyone was in the backyard. It is a quiet neighborhood. (I stay over when he has his daughter overnight, since he goes to work so early).
Once his GF thinks the basement was dark when they left the house in the evening, but a light was on when they returned. He is not so sure about that.
He has natural gas heat, but has not had to run the furnace much. And an AC unit is in the attic.
None of us is afraid, more annoyed. If it is something supernatural, it is not trying to scare us. I even googled the names of the people who have lived in there since the house was built (only two families) and no one died in the house.
If there a rational explanation for the sounds?

 

[DaveNV]

Not sure what "metal slamming" is. But you might want to check for "water hammer." It can be a clanking sound caused by air and water in the pipes.

Voices in the yard could be a trick of acoustics in the neighborhood. If it's a quiet neighborhood, maybe sound carries further than it might seem? Do they happen only at certain times of day/night, or under certain weather conditions? Any buildings nearby that might be the source? Sounds can travel further than it might seem, and can bounce between buildings, if they're in the right position.

Curious to hear what you figure out. Good luck!

Dave

 

[bluehende]

There is probably a real explanation, but I have friends that tell stories like yours and believe their house is haunted. Lights turning on seems to be their stories.

 

[Chrispee]

I’m with Dave on this one if they have hot water heating. Water hammer can be caused by air or pump pressure with inadequately secured pipes.

 

[Talent312]

Ever think you see something in the corner of your eye
- maybe just a shadow of something -
but when you turn to look, nothing is there?

Call Ghostbusters!...
-- Peter Venkman: Alice, I'm going to ask you a couple of standard questions, ok?
Have you or any of your family ever been diagnosed Schizophrenic? Mentally incompetent?
-- Librarian: My uncle thought he was St. Jerome.
-- Peter Venkman: I'd call that a big yes.

.

 

[easyrider]

The person that can tell you whats going on is at 867-5309.

Bill

 

[clifffaith]

I'm sure we lived in a haunted house, or more likely a house built on haunted ground, when we lived in Virginia when I was 4 years old. Woke up at night to see two men in Chinese attire playing some sort of a game they had between them. They wore small Chinese "caps" and robes, and had long pigtails down their backs. I could see through them. I don't recall calling out because I wasn't afraid, but my mother came into the room to check on me. They vanished and when she closed the bedroom door again their were Chinese dragons surrounding the door frame. Then I was afraid. I'm convinced house was built where there had once been a migrant camp.

 

[Talent312]

The person that can tell you what's going on is at 867-5309.

Jenny?
I tried to call you before, but I lost my nerve.
I tried my imagination, but I was disturbed.
-- Tommy Tutone

 

[easyrider]

If she answers anyway. I think she passed in 2014.

Bill

 

[VacationForever]

I don't think there is an issue with the house but some houses are just uncomfortable to be in. I would suggest to have some sort of renovation done to the place to do up the basement. You cannot make me live in a home with an unfinished basement.

I grew up terrified living in my home. There was always creeking sound upstairs and the back room was used as storage for my father's business. That room was dark and while it had fluorescent lights, it was still eerie. Each time he sent us upstairs to bring stuff down from the room, I was scared stiff, found the stuff and ran down the stairs as fast as I could. When we were a little older, my father decided to move my sister and I to that upstairs room. We did major repainting and such and while it helped, that room was still never comfortable to be in. As an adult, I have alot of phobias, and have nightmares that are related to my phobias. I attribute to living in that home which resulted in a traumatic childhood. Logically I don't believe in ghosts but you cannot get me to go into a dark room in an unknown place.

 

[artringwald]

The first time my brother and I were left home alone at night, we heard voices. We looked all over the house and couldn't find out where the voices were coming from. We were scared to death. We didn't know the voices were coming from the horse racetrack 2 miles away. There were low clouds and the acoustics were just right. We were so relieved when our parents came home and figured out the source of the "ghost".

 

[Patri]

I’m with Dave on this one if they have hot water heating. Water hammer can be caused by air or pump pressure with inadequately secured pipes.

Interesting. I guess a plumber could find this?

 

[DaveNV]

Interesting. I guess a plumber could find this?

You may or may not have it. Do you hear a hammering, banging sound when you turn the water on or off? Sometimes it happens on its own, making you wonder what's going on.

Dave

 

[PrairieGirl]

I didn't know it had a name (water hammer) but that is also the first thing I thought of! When we did a renovation at our house and added a bathroom off our bedroom, the noise occurred after the tap was turned off - with a bit of a delay. I was totally freaked out, but my husband recognized what it was and explained it to me. The worst part was then he told me that I would just have to learn to live with it! Not sure if there really isn't a fix or he just didn't want to pursue it. Now 25 years later it still happens and I hardly notice it. Sounds are always more noticeable when they first occur.

 

[PigsDad]

The worst part was then he told me that I would just have to learn to live with it! Not sure if there really isn't a fix or he just didn't want to pursue it.

Look up "water hammer arrestor" -- it is a device that connected inline with your hot and/or cold supply lines and uses an air baffle to absorb the vibrations that cause water hammer. A fairly simple fix, but probably requires a plumber to install. Many homes around here have one installed as a standard feature of new construction.

Kurt

 

[Krteczech]

I didn't know it had a name (water hammer) but that is also the first thing I thought of! When we did a renovation at our house and added a bathroom off our bedroom, the noise occurred after the tap was turned off - with a bit of a delay. I was totally freaked out, but my husband recognized what it was and explained it to me. The worst part was then he told me that I would just have to learn to live with it! Not sure if there really isn't a fix or he just didn't want to pursue it. Now 25 years later it still happens and I hardly notice it. Sounds are always more noticeable when they first occur.

We purchased our second home three years ago and experienced water hammering first time using hot water during our first extended stay. It was scary especialy because this is end unit townhouse with plumbing in shared wall. Not knowing what was going on we literally Googled for solution. I believe we drained our system (twice) and it never came back. We use this house as a permanent residence after we retired last year.

 

[easyrider]

True story here.

My son and his family were the caretakers for my wife's parents. They both passed at home with my father in law going first by a few years. After he was gone for a few weeks the grand kids said they could hear him in the kitchen. Occasionally they would hear him walk into the kitchen, turn on the water and put a cup down. This was his pill taking routine. My son and daughter in law confirmed that they heard it too.

This big brick house always gave me the webejebies. Especially the basement. After my mother in law passed I was renovating the house to sell it. While working in the den I thought I heard some one come into the house and walk into the kitchen, turn on the water and set a cup on the counter. When I approached the kitchen from the dining room I could tell I was alone. I told the kids and grandkids what happened and they say it happened often and they were use to it.

Bill

 

[PrairieGirl]

Thanks Kurt and Krteczech, will look into those solutions!

 

[WVBaker]

True story here.

My son and his family were the caretakers for my wife's parents. They both passed at home with my father in law going first by a few years. After he was gone for a few weeks the grand kids said they could hear him in the kitchen. Occasionally they would hear him walk into the kitchen, turn on the water and put a cup down. This was his pill taking routine. My son and daughter in law confirmed that they heard it too.

This big brick house always gave me the webejebies. Especially the basement. After my mother in law passed I was renovating the house to sell it. While working in the den I thought I heard some one come into the house and walk into the kitchen, turn on the water and set a cup on the counter. When I approached the kitchen from the dining room I could tell I was alone. I told the kids and grandkids what happened and they say it happened often and they were use to it.

Bill

"It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and
superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."

 

[Patri]

For me, it has not been immediately after using water, but when we are in bed. It sounds like a truck bed slamming into place. Will have to ask my son if he has heard it in the day. Is there a danger not doing anything? The house was built in the 50s.