Total frustration

      The circunstances of todays episode leaves the matter suspect. To begin with the day stated with promise. The weather was overcast but not especially cold for this time of year. My wife decided to visit a friend and left about noon. I had the dogs out for a walk so while we were out I decided to pile them into the car and go to the post office (the post office isn't that far away, I should have walked). I was probably at the post office close to an hour. Our post master dispenses the best coffee in town and is the nerve center for local gossip. Returning home, I put the leashes on the dogs and open the door and was ran over by said dogs in a big hurry to get out. Unfortunately, there rapid departure and pulling on their leashes, caused me to exit the car before I extracted the keys from the ignition and upon closing the door, I locked it out of habit. By the time the dogs and I got to the door of the house, I realized what I had done. I was locked out of both the house and car. No problem, I thought. I carry a valet key to the car in my wallet. I have a special pocket in the wallet where this key is kept at all times. I took my wallet apart looking for the key, no luck. That key was gone. The pocket was secure and closed, but no key recided in it. While I was taking everything out of my wallet in a vain attempt to find my key, I had tied the dogs to their outside pier. So we keep a key to the house on the outside (no not under a rug), so I put my wallet back in my hip pocket and went to the area where the spare house key is kept. It wasn't there. I turned the area upside down looking for it. It simply wasn't there. It must have been nabbed by a squirrel or something but it wasn't there. I returned to the rear door and discovered my dogs were gone. Their tyeout cable was gone too. Holy cow, I had to find those two knotheads as they are totally not roadwise. Luckily, I saw them before they got too far. Lucky also that both dogs were tied together so when I called them the younger one came straight away, so the older dog had to follow. He gets loose he likes to play chase for a while. I discovered the spring clamp on the cable was busted so I had to litterly tied them back with a knot in the cable. I checked every window on the car, hoping I could find one down enough to wire the lock tab, no luck. I checked every window and door on the house, sealed tight. I finally gave up and started doing some work outside. I worked outsideuntil my wife came home several hours later. I told her what had happened and she gave me her keys to my car. I walked over to my car and put the key in the door lock and there, directly in front of me lay the valet key. That key was not there, There was no way I could have missed it. But there it was shiny and bright. First of all how did it get out of a zipped pocket in my wallet? How could it have been lying beside my car door without my seeing it? This time Mr. Ghost, it ain't funny. And what happened to the house key?

Neighbor's father sees child.

     I had to get this into the Journal as quickly as possible so I could keep the facts fresh. My wife and I had just returned from town. She was unloading the car and I was walking our two dogs. We were in the front lawn when my neighbor across the street came over; dressed in his shirtsleeves even though the air was chilly. He says,"I gotta tell you this". He had my attention. "My farther-in-law stayed the night last night and he saw a child enter his bedroom." I'm thinking....So, you have two young boys...he continued,"You've met my father-in-law and you know how down-to-earth practicle he is." I had to agree the man was very straight forward, no foolishness tolerated. "Well," my neighbor continued, "He says a young child, both larger and older than my two boys came into the bedroom late last night.""And", he continued," thats not the first time I've seen him." "One other time, when I stayed over, the same thing occurred." "The first time, I convinced myself I was dreaming." "There was no question, this time I was wide awake." "That child would have been 8 or nine years old." "I just thought you ought to know." My neighbors kids are 5 and 1 so they have to be ruled out. The farther-in-law is very straight laced, neither drinking nor smoking.  "and then," my neighbor continued,"When I called my sisterand told her ,she laughed, I thought I was going to be in for some heckling; but instead she said I have to tell you about something that happened to me." His sister lives pretty close to this same village, by the way. She continued, The twins (her twin sons) were almost 5 years old, they came downstairs and asked me who the man was upstairs?" "I said there better not be a man upstairs." "We immediately went upstairs to see." They pointed out the guest bedroom and said he was in there." "There was noone in the bedroom or anywhere upstairs." "So I said what did he look like?" "All I got was he was big and wore funny looking clothes." Then she said, "We had forgotten about the episode until a couple of months later when the kids pointed to a picture in a book of people in civil war era clothes and said, "Thats how the man upstairs looked." Never a dull moment in this burg.

Natural Explaination possible

    This episode could have a natural explaination. I was in the library playing on the computer. The dogs were both beside me. My wife was in town and I did expect her back at any moment. I heard voices (more than one) coming from the kitchen. Other than "Whoaeeeee", I couldn't make out what was said. Both dogs immediately ran to the kitchen barking like idiots. They usually don't bark when my wife enters until shes in and then only yips of glee. They were intent, so I also immediately went to the kitchen. Both dogs were standing beside the kitchen range (which incidently is almost in the middle of the kitchen) looking perplexed and barking irradically like they were confused whether to bark or not. The kitchen door was shut. There was no indication that anyone was near. I went to the door and looked out. No one in sight. I suppose someone could have come in and were scared off by the barking dogs running in their direction. But I certainly didn't hear the door shut...... but here again, I just do not know.

Flour trick in basement unsuccessful.

   You recall , a few days ago, I spread flour over much of our basement floor, hope to discover whatever has had my younger dog upset on at lest two occasions. I checked it out yesterday. No sign of anything in the flour, not even mouse tracks. As I was writing this, the thumping sound was again heard. The computer time said 7:02. This mysterious sound is like an itch you can't reach. If it has a physical source; I've failed to locate it.

Strange pumping sound still eludes discovery

 Last Sunday the pumping-like sound occurred at 4:01pm,6:01pm,7:01pm,9:01pm,10:01pm,11:01pm. Each time the sound was repeated 6 or seven times. Plenty loud enough to hear in the Library but no where else inside or outside of the house. On Monday the sounds were heard at 9:02pm, 10:02pm followed by a single kerthump at 10:12pm, then back to normal at 11:02pm. Today (Tuesday) the sound started at 3:02 in the afternoon, but was not heard again until 6:02pm. I await, yet, the 7:02  which is 10 minutes away as yet. Not knowing the source of this noise is very frustrating. Not knowing why it is audible in only one room is mystifying.

Strange pumping sound continues

   The strange pumping sound continues. Friday we heard it twice one at 10:01 and again at 11:00. Today (Saturday) it sounded very loud at 9:00AM. This is the first time its been heard it in the morning. My wife was in the diningroom and did not hear it. This evening it sounded at 8:01. The origin is a complete mystery. Hearing it in only one room makes no sense. Both the den and diningroom open directly into the library. The doorways are open, yet this sound, usually loud enough to be easily heard, is audible only in the library.

Weird Events Today

     Today has not been my day.  I just all but finished our Christmas tree decorating when, for no logical reason, the thing came crashing down. All 12 feet of it. Talk about frustration and an unholy mess. I barely got the mess cleaned up when my wife said we may as well eat supper, as she had it ready. We sat down to eat and were discussing the tree tragedy then suddenly a shadow passed over the table. We both looked up and exclaimed,"What the blazes?". There was nothing up there. The Kitchen is lit by a hanging double light with two 100 watt equivalient bulbs. Other than a small light over the sink, thats it. The lights did not flicker, it was a moving shadow. But a shadow of what? Surely we would have been aware of a bird or bat in the house. I told you the weird around here began shortly after election day. This year is starting off with a bang.

Strange sound repeats

     Last night the sound repeated at 9:59. I went to the basement five minutes to 11:00pm. There was no sound registered, I figured it didn't repeat. When I came upsdtairs, my wife said "Well, what is it?" I replied "You mean you heard it up here?" "yes", she said, "Didn't you?" No I hadn't and whats more the flour I scattered on the floor of the basement was totally undisturbed, not even mouse tracks. The sound is quite audible in the library but no where else inside or outside of the house. Yes, thats weird.

Strange sound resumes

     Back on February 23rd I wrote about a strange sound that seems to only be present in the library. Before I got a chance to explore into the matter, the sound quit occuring. Its back again, begining last night it was first heard at 7:58pm. Neither of us were in the library at 8:58, or thereabout so we don't know if it repeated at that time; however, it was heard again at 9:58pm and 10:58pm. I await to see if it repeats tonight.

Dog barks at something on the stairs

    Today, while I was decorating our Christmas tree, my wife opened the door from the diningroom and came into the parlour to see how things were going. I had shut the dogs out of the parlour while working on the tree because their wild romping could have disasterous results. Needless to say they joyfully bounded into the room when my wife opened the door. The older dog stayed in the parlour with us as we discussed the tree. The younger one ran on into the hallway and bounded up the steps; stopping just before she reached the turn in the stairs,  and started barking frantically. Both of us quickly ran into the hall to see what the commotion was about. Standing stiff legged on the stairs the younster was staring dead ahead and having a fit. We saw nothing on the stairs. We called her, she ignored us and continued barking. Our older dog was standing beside my wife, whinning. I started up the stairs and the pup turned and beat a hasty retreat back down the stairs, went past me, past my wife and on into the parlour. I continued on upstairs to determine what up-set her so. I saw nothing unusual. My wife laughed and said, "Well I guess she saw the ghost". Interesting, that turn in the staircase is where I recorded the strange sounds that sounded like some stringed instrument being plucked and the photograph that appeared (to me at lest) to show the faint image of a womans head. I wondered if this new dog would react like the older one. Apparently she will.

Dog insists somethings in the basement

     Today our younger dog went into a barking fit and tried to dig her way through the basement door. As you might recall from past postings, our basement door is steel and has a bar lock on the kitchen side. Had our basement not been a muddy mess, I'd have opened the door for her and seen where she went and what had her so agitated. I didn't want muddy paw prints all over the house so I didn't let her through to the basement. However, I did go down to see if I could figure what she was after. I saw no sign of anything amiss. My wife said this was the second time this week that the dog has insisted there was something in the basement. So in true Hardy Boy fashion, I took a bag of flour down into the cellar and spread it about on dry areas of the floor. I'll go back down in a couple of days and see if there are any tracks. I've pretty much sealed off the basement for heat conservation. I don't see how anything bigger than a mouse could get in. On the other hand, I wouldn't think anything as small as a mouse could so agitate my dog from a floor away. Maybe the flour will reveal our culprit. I have seen no indication of rats, but if rat tracks appear, the mystery will be solved ,and I'll have to put out rat bait.

Christmas Tree trimming ghost?

     Again, this happened to my wife and dogs. In preparation of Christmas, I have the job of setting up and decorating our Christmas tree. The tree, an artifical 12 footer, comes in four sections. Because of its size it takes a good bit of effort to even set it up. As my wife was home, I closed the parlour door because I didn't want the Schnauzers to be rough housing in that room while I was up on the ladder. The ladder is a ten foot aluminum step ladder. I had finally got the sections of the tree put together and was stringing on the electric candles toward the top. Naturely some of the candles didn't light. Remembering I had purchased some new ones a few weeks ago, I left the area and went to the attic to locate them. I could hear my two dogs having a fit ,as only spoiled dogs can do, just as I was entering the doorway leading to the attic and figured someone had come to the front door. I went on about my business getting the candle lights and a couple of extension cords. Not finding the extension cords I wanted (I needed short 6 ft ones) I came back downstairs by the rear staircase and entered the kitchen hoping to find the cords in a built-in closet. My wife said, "Where have you been?" I said,"Up in the attic getting the new lights." She said, "We've been visited again". "Oh, how so?""Didn't you hear the dogs throwing a fit?" she replied. "Yes, I admitted, "But I figured you'd answer the door". "There wasn't anyone at the door", she continued, "I came into the diningroom to see what they were carring on about and I distinctly heard you going either up the ladder or down it." "I opened the door and said,"See, its just your......", there was no one to be seen. I called, you didn't answer." I didn't hear her call, in this house, if you are only upstairs you can hardly be heard, in the attic, forget it. The dogs are schrill and their barking does carry better than a human voice. I have no idea what she thought she heard on the ladder. It wasn't me. I had been off the ladder for some time trying to figure which bulb was out on a set of candlelights, before I thought of the new ones.

Dog sniffing at bedroom door

     My wife had a strange occurance today. She was in the master bedroom making the bed. She said as she was making the bed she heard a dog sniffing at the bedroom door that leads to the front hall and staircase. She was discusted because that would mean the dog had either knocked down the rear stairs gate and came upstairs and knocked down the gate to the green room or else had managed to push open the Parlor door and came up the front stairs. Either case scenerio would be bad for the dog as they are blocked from the upstairs in the daytime. A snort sounded at the door which indicated the dog wanted into the bedroom. My wife said she said,"You're just going to have to wait til I finish with the bed". A minute or two later another snort sounded, at which my wife swung around and opened the door; ready to scold the offending dog. There was no dog there. She looked up and down the hall and down the front stairs, no dog. She called the names of the two dogs we have, no response. Going back toward the rear of the house she noted the Greenroom gate was still up and quite closed. Going back down the rear stairs she noted the rear stairs gate was still up and in place. Looking through the diningroom she noted the parlour door was definitely shut. The older dog was sound asleep beside the diningroom heat register. The younger one was asleep in the kitchen beside the fireplace. What made, on three occasions, first a sniffing sound and then two snorts, like a dog asking admission? Recently we have had several dog phenomena. Apparently the strange has started.

Missing paint lid still missing

     Most women will tell you they know when something isn't right in their kitchen. My wife is no different. The paint bottle lid that she was using to dip her brush into and disappeared between the time she walked to the kitchen door and back (about 8 or 9 ft.) is still missing. Even though she has cleaned the kitchen. Go figure. I think it'll show up again; on the attic stairs, in the middle of the bedroom floor, on the table in the front hall or some other illogical place. But it hasn't yet.

Strange sound stops

  I planned to record the strange sound by setting up my sound activated recorder in the basement, under the Library. The sound has not been heard since Wednesday. If it starts again I will try to record it.

Strange sound

     This has been going on for a week. I hadn't mentioned it as I was sure I'd locate the source. For a couple of days my wife was insisting that when our furnace came on the water pump (we have hot water heat) was making a terrible sound like it was breaking down. I didn't hear it, and dreading going into our dank, dark, dungeonlike cellar, I put off going down there. Then, while using the computer one evening I heard what she was talking about. Figured I'd better get the deed over with because a furnace failure in these parts, especially on a cold night could be disasterious. You can only get a repairman out here between 8am and 5pm on a weekday; if you're lucky. So I went to the basement and awaited the furnace to kick on. It did, very smoothly and quietly. A few minutes later the hot water heater came on, also quite quietly. There is nothing else in the basement of a mechanical nature. I was relieved the appliances were working properly but it still didn't explain the noise. Then we discovered two things about the strange sound (1) It can only be heard in the Library (2) It appears to be timed. Last Tuesday we heard it at 8:04 pm,9:02pm,10:02pm and 11:02pm. Then on Wednesday we heard it at 6:02pm,7:02pm,9:02pm,10:02pm and 11:03pm. I went outside with my older dog and walked around the house to the library windows just before 10 and waited until 10:10 to go back inside. My wife heard and recorded the sound; I heard nothing like it outside. I tried again at 11pm with the same result. We may find a logical explaination yet; but this sound is frustrating. I think I'm going to set the recorder up in the basement under the library and see what, if anything is picked up.

Disappearing paint lid

     It had been quiet here for some time. However, I now have two entries to make. The first pertains to my wife. We spent Thanksgiving here this year as all our close relatives have long gone. The big Thanksgiving meal was eaten and the dishes cleaned up and put away. I had just walked our older dog and thought today would be a good day to play on the computer. My wife was painting a picture onto an old milk can for a friend. As I was computing my wife walks into the library and says, " I need you to do something I don't seem to be able to do." Figuring it was a stuck lid on some paint, I followed her back to the kitchen. Then she said,"I was painting a cardinal on a pinetree, using the paint in the lid of the red paint bottle when I thought I heard someone at the kitchen door" "I got up to see who was at the door, there was noone; but when I sat down to continue painting the paint lid was gone." "See if you see it". Frankly if it was anywhere near it would have been obvious. There was the milk can on the table with a couple of sheets of newspaper under it, four bottles of paint, three minus lids but two of those lids were right there and three brushes ranging from fine to about a quarter inch. The floor was totally clear. As this type of thing happens to me frequently, I reminded her that the lid would pop up someplace totally illogical in a few hours or days. "What," she said,"am I going to do to keep my paint from drying out?" I suggested using saran wrap and a rubber band as a temporary measure. Be interesting to see where that lid shows up. Can't blame the dogs as they were both curled up asleep in the library with me.

Door Knob

     My wife had a strange experience today. She was in the kitchen when the door knob of the western side entrance started to rattle and turn like someone trying to come in. She went directly to the door to see who it was, but no one was there. She said the door knob rattled until she got to the door, then it stopped. There are curtains on the window but it takes only seconds to see out. There is no place a person could suddenly duck into and not be seen. It would take more time to scramble out of sight than would have been possible; besides the storm door was shut and there is no way it could have closed without being seen. It closes slowly. My wife was a bit shaken up over it which surprises me. We have experienced a lot of weird things since we moved here. You would think she would be use to it by now.

Muted voices again

     I haven't had time to update this journal for a while. I've been doing major work in the kitchen, reestablishing a textured ceiling. A few days ago I again experienced the muted voices throughout the house. Probably lasting no longer than half an hour the voices were too muted to understand but the main voice sounded male while lower background sounds seemed to be both male and female. A hubbub not unlike a sizeable gathering of people. I went outside the house looking for the origin of the sound, but there were no people talking sounds outside but they were clearly there inside. I looked for a TV or radio that might be on but found none. My dogs did not seem to notice the sounds or they didn't react to them. My wife was in town. Like before, they simply faded away slowly. Election time draws near and in the past that is when this house is most likely to become active. Halloween has always been a very quiet, as far as the house is concerned, time. Many people seem to think the house should be really spooky at Halloween; but so far, in all the years we've lived here, that is not the case. I have a huge number of trick or treaters (around 400) because this tiny village is the only settlement for miles around and all the country kids come here for trick or treat and the local firestations Halloween party. But as far as the unexplained is concerned, it just doesn't seem to happen on Halloween or a few days prior or after. Still you can never be certain when the strange will occur, but past experience would indicate that it usually begins sometime after election day.

A third schnauzer.

     Today, as I was putting down dog food in the kitchen, I called the dogs whom I suspect were in the diningroom. Rowdy, my older male came around the corner first, followed by Shadow, my new pup, and then I distinctly saw a third schnauzer round the corner. I did a double-take and no dog was there. I was startled,  but there was no question, in my mind, that I saw a third schnauzer. Rowdy is a salt and pepper color, must people would say grey and white, he was first on the scene to eat. Shadow is a very black schnauzer, she was close behind but she was followed by another salt and pepper schnauzer. I don't have another salt and pepper schnauzer. The sighting was short, I was concentrating on Shadow when the third dog appeared and I did do a double-take which on second look no dog was  there. This would not be the first time that I have seen a schnauzer where it could not have been. Is this the beginning of this years strangeness?

Notice

  When you reach the bottom of these entrys, hit the "Link to these entries" and the last entry will reappear; but at the bottom of it will be links to older entries. This journal goes back several years.

Strange sounds

    This isn't a big deal; but it did happen and it was a definite sound.  Today, in the early afternoon; I decided to go to the master bedroom and read a new book that I had purchased yesterday. The dogs were left downstairs, both taking their afternoon naps, but I implaced the gate on the stairs, as I went up, anyway. My wife was watching TV in the Den. I hadn't much more than settled in and read about one page when I heard what sounded exactly like my dog shaking himself and rattling the tags on his collar. So I said," Get up here" and thumped the bed as I do when I invite the dogs upon the bed. There was no response (normally I'd get a very rambunkious reponse). I immediately got up and looked for my older male (thats who it sounded like). There was no dog to be seen. So this is the first strange effect for some time. As it may not seem significant, it is  a mystery. Later when I returned downstairs, I saw the gate was still securely in place. Both dogs greeted me in typical bouncey fashion when I returned from upstairs. I have no idea what the sound was. I cannot think of anything that would make such a characteristic sound, other than a dog shaking itself.

Bathroom Mirror

       Some time ago I reported that the downstairs bathroom was very hard on mirrors. Its true that every time we placed a mirror over the sink in that bath it would be down a few days later (never broken) and usually lying at a right angle from the wall (usually at the foot of the rear staircase). Last fall we removed the old bathrooms (both upstairs and down) because they were hideous "grapes of wrath" style (glorified outhouses) and not especially heat conserving in winter. The new baths are much more pleasant and far more heat efficient. And besides that, we have had a mirror over the sink for close to a year now and no signs of it falling.  Hopefully the problem left with the old bathrooms.

Recorder is back

     The missing tape recorder, lost since early March, reappeared today beside the kitchen telephone. The kitchen telephone is the most used phone in the house. I now have two recorders to use this fall when the house, once again, becomes active. June and July and the first half of August have been very quiet. Except for the reapparence of the recorder, this has been a quieter summer than usual. Activity usually picks up in early November. I played the newly found recorder to determine if anything new had been added to the tape. Nothing had. These disapparences and reapparences  are not that uncommon here.

Shoved by something

      This episode occurred several years ago; but it was only yesterday that I got the rest of the story. My wife's cousin ,who generally lives a a good ways away, generally visits us once or twice a year. On his last stay, here in this house, he came downstairs one morning saying that he had fallen and hit his wrist on the edge of the bed. "No damage done," he reported, "just a bit sprained." After he got home it turned out his wrist was broken. This cousin is a country parson (now retired) and though he continued to visit us; he insisted upon staying at a motel instead of here. Insisted it was because we didn't have air conditioning. This trip, this past week, he admitted he didn't fall, he was pushed and there was nobody anywhere close. He said everyone was downstairs when it happened. Interesting, don't you think? Being a preacher, the episode must have provoked some pretty serious thought.

House has been quiet

     The house has been quiet. This is normal for late spring, and very little seems to happen throughout the summer months and into the early fall. Most strange activity seems to take place in the late fall though winter and into the early spring. The missing tape recorder has never turned up. The new recorder, aside from the strange basement episode, has not recorded anything of interest. I got a new puppy, a black schnauzer, for a companion to my other dog. So far she hasn't reacted strangely to anything about the house; but neither has my older dog for several weeks. It will be interesting to see if she reacts like he does.

Photograph

     This really may be nothing, but it is the first time I have ever taken a picture and had, at lest to me, a faint ghostlike likeness. Though I usually use a Minolta or Zenite to shoot pictures, this time I was using a simple point and shoot Ansco. I had recently made a new knuell post statue and attached it at the top of the handrail post  leading up the front of our winding staircase. The piece is made of ceramic; I bought it in greenware and had the lady of a local ceramic shop fire it for me as my own kiln was too small to accommodate it. She wanted to see a picture of it finished and in place. This was the reason I took this particular photo. I was using the wink flash on the camera and Kodak 800 speed film. When I got the pictures processed the statue photo came out very well. The figure at the head of the stairs did not immediately jump out at me. It was probably on the third viewing that I suddenly noticed a miscoloration at the turn in our winding staircase. Just in front of the alcove where I have tried using the recorder on several occassions. The golden brownish head shot has, to me, the appearance of a womans face. It is located just about the right height for someone coming down the steps. I can figure nothing that could have reflected into that area from the flash. Admittedly, you need to look at the area on the photo for a moment or two before the "head" takes form. My wife says she can see it too but chalks it off to a reflection or a development fluke. She could be right. But this is certainly the closest thing I've ever gotten of a picture of a "ghost".

Recording in the basement

     The tape recording I attempted in the basement only adds to the confusion. Not a lot of tape was used in the basement expriment which indicates the basement is pretty much soundproof. Not even my dogs loud yapping is registered on the tape. You can clearly hear me setting up the recorder in the approximate center of the cellar. You can hear my footsteps as I climb the old rickety wood stairs to the first floor. Then there is a period of silent tape, which makes no sense because the recorder is only on when noises activate it. This is followed by footsteps in close proximity of the recorder; which I at first assumed were made by me retreving the recorder; except there again follows a silent period of tape and then the sound of the cellar door, followed by steps coming down the stairs and toward the recorder, which really was me retreving it. So what were the footsteps that sounded between my going upstairs and then coming back downstairs? Why was so much tape silent on a sound activated recorder. There were no silent areas of tape on the attic recording that featured so much sound. Instead of solving any mysteries, I'm only compounding them.

Attic sounds

    Recording for twenty four hours in the attic was a disaster. Obviously the attic is not nearly as soundproof as the rest of the house. A lot of tape was recorded which indicates that the attic is really rather noisy. Though I have never heard birds when I've been in the attic; there seemed to be a lot of sounds, much like squabbling starlings. There were footfall sounds far too loud to be bird feet, my dog could be heard barking though the sound was pretty muted. Every car or truck on the street was recorded. With all of this going on. other sounds, though present, became too enmashed with the trivial sounds to determine if they were unique or not. A powermower was also included in the mix. So I'm going to chalk that one up to experience and try the basement. It might be interesting to see what outside noises are auditable in that deep, grizzly, area of the house. It might be interesting to note that no human voices, except my own testing voice, were heard on the tape. Seems strange, in a way, doesn't it?

New Taperecorder

     As the old tape recorder has not reappeared and no longer appears to exist, in this house anyway, I purchased a new one. I plan on trying it out in the attic first. Then I'll try the basement. Those two areas have not been attempted as yet. We are moving into, what has been in the past, a quiet period. There were a few episodes last year during the late spring and summer; but generally speaking most activity goes on in the fall and winter months.

Many strange sounds

     After a long quiet pause; something broke loose today. Actually just a few minutes ago. I had been working in the Den; clearing up materials I had been using in an art project. Bushed, I went into the Library and turned on the computer. I figured that while I relaxed I'd see if I had any E mail. I hadn't much more than started when the sound of footsteps and the rustle of clothing was clearly heard in the Diningroom. My wife is in town today and my dog was with me in the Library. I called out,"Back already?" but recieved no answer but clearly heard footsteps retreat from the Parlour through the Dinningroom and heavy steps going up the rear stairs. This brought me up quick, even if my dog hadn't started barking frantically, my wife does not move rapidly up any stairs. I quickly ran to the window and saw that her car was not outside. My dog was at my heels, had the sounds originated from my wife he would have ran ahead to welcome her. I rushed up the back staircase looking for an intruder. I found noone, anyplace. My dog remained at my side, both barking and whinning. I went through the upstairs and down the front staircase. I checked the front door, it was deadlocked from the inside. I moved through the downstairs; noting that the Parlour door was closed. I had heard the heavy footsteps come out of the parlour as if the door were open or nonexistant. I went through the dinningroom and into the kitchen, no one was in evidence. The back door was closed and locked. We mainly keep that door locked, even when we are at home, primarily because it has a tendancy to blow open. I heard these sounds, my dog heard the sounds. Again I have no explaination for them. But this time, whoever, or whatever made them was in a big hurry. Not like other times when steps were lighter, like in a normal walk.

   The tape recorder is still gone. It appears to be gone for good. This week I intend to purchase another one. This is very frustrating , not only because of the cost, but also because the recorder had the original tape in it that had recorded a couple of episodes of sounds that I wanted to check out further. Keep in mind, no one other than my dog, myself, and my wife have been further than the parlour of this house since Christmas. My dog is too short to reach the areas I placed the recorder in; my wife would tell me if she moved it or put ot away, and I know I'm getting old, but my memory hasn't gotten that bad yet. This is very frustrating.

Just a note

     When you get to the bottom of this page, go to "Link to this entry". This will bring up the bottom page again but now you will see where you can go back into earlier entries. There are many more past entries. The counter on this site, for whatever reason, started all over again at number 1000. The count should read 1055 at this point. The tape recorder is still missing; though nothing new has occurred recently.                                     

Glass Unicorn

     In our library are two small oval topped windows. Many years ago, when we were first in this house, my wife took 4 claer glass animals that we had moved here with abd placed them on the mid-sash of the window. As the window is never opened, they sat there for all of these years gathering dust. The reason they were gathering dust is because shortly after they were placed on the sash, a large chest was moved under the window followed by a rather large chair and telephone table. So no one has bothered to climb over things to clean this glass managerie. Today, I found the Unicorn lying on its side on top of the chest. This came as quite a surprise to me, as it showed no damage, though if it fell it would have fallen better than four feet onto the hard surface of the chest. If it had fallen, I would think it would have landed at the foot of where it was located on the window. Instead it was a couple of feet to the right of where it should have landed. The unicorn figure has a wide base and the base has most of the weight. The sash is wide and the unicorn had plenty of room to sit solidly. I cleaned the unicorn and manuvering carefully replaced it where it had been. None of the other figures appeared to have shifted in the lest. Interesting.

Tape Recorder disappears

     The tape recorder disappeared. Its been gone for a week or more. I had set it up again in the alcove at the turn of the front stairs. It had been there several days before I thought to retrive it but it wasn't there. Thinking maybe I had actually set it up someplace else, I have searched the entire house. My wife hasn't seen it. My dog is rarely in that part of the house. Theres been no one else here in the past two weeks or so. This isn't the first thing to disappear here; but normally the things reappear in plain sight, just in some obscure area that wouldn't be logical. I've searched the obscure areas too. I can only think of two things, besides the recorder, that haven't reappeared. Several; years ago an address book disappeared for a long time, like probably better than a year; then suddenly reappeared in the middle of the floor in the front hall. It disappeared again three or four years ago and hasn't reappeared. We had a three pound roast disappear from the refrigerator, it never reappeared (thank goodness); and now the tape recorder. I guess if I plan on further investigation here I'm going to have to purchase another one.

Strange stairwell sounds

     Things seem to be picking up. Tonight as I sat at the computer I heard, very distinctly, the sound of someone or something heavy ascending the rear staircase. My wife was not home yet and my dog is neither heavy nor tall enough to reach the handrailing. Many years ago, when this house was a rest home, the owners installed handrails on both sides of the rear stairs to the second floor. These handrails were not installed very well; if anyone has problems climbing stairs and has to use the handrails for support they creak and groan in a very characteristic manner. This is what I heard as I sat at the computer , in the library, tonight. My dog heard the sound as well and went into a barking fit. His reaction gave me cause to check out this intruder. The doors were locked and no one was to be seen anywhere. My dog settled down as soon as we returned to the library. I never have the recorder recording in the right places.

Muted voices heard

     This occurred last friday. I've been rather involved and hadn't a chance to enter it. Last friday my wife was in town, I was alone in the house with my dog. I first noticed the sound of voices in the upstairs bath. As this house is almost soundproof to anything but very loud noises (when the doors and windows are shut) I figured it must be persons very near the house. The voices were very muted, I could tell it was more than one person but I could not make out what was being said. I looked out the eastern window of the bath which shows most of the side and backyard; there was no one evident. I checked out the western side which has a clear view of the garage, storage building next door, garden area and part of the backyard, again no one was there. But the sound of voices continued. I went from room to room upstairs and the voices continued neither louder nor lower. I went downstairs, they were still evident. It made no sense to me that whoever they were they sounded the same in every room of the house. I stepped outside to determine if a group of people were looking over the town. This is not uncommon in the warmer months, but it would be a first during such a cold period. There was no one in sight up or down the street. The voices were not heard while I was outside; but were auditable again as soon as I came back inside. Frustration began to set in. I went to our 3 TV sets and made sure they were off; they were. We have one radio set to pick up weather and closings, but it was not on. By this time the voices just seemed to get ever fainter until they were gone. Thinking back on it, I would say there were both male and female voices. The voices being so low sounded a bit like the babble that goes on at a party or general gathering of people. There was nothing of the kind in the area. Unfortunately I lacked the presence of mind of getting my recorder and attempting to tape the voices. Its just that , at first, I was sure I'd find where they were originating from. But the hubbub was pretty much the same in any room of the house.

Dog again uneasy about upstairs hall

     Not really a big deal, but as I report all unusual occurrances, this was a bit unusual. Actually it happened three or four nights ago. I just couldn't decide whether to enter it in the journal or not. We had turned in a little early for us, no real reason for it. I hadn't even started my nightly play with our dog. He was standing at the foot of the bed when he suddenly turned from facing me to facing down our long dark upstairs hall. He issued several low growls. "Hey ,I said, whats with you?" Not even turning to me he kept staring into the hall. He was so intent I did not even try to distract him with play. He growled those low gutteral warning type growls that dogs use when they are warning you or someone away. After a couple of minutes he relaxed and then was ready to romp before going to bed. What he thought he heard or sensed, I have no idea. Luckily he doesn't behave in this fashion often.

Strange Noise

    Last night, probably about 3 or 4am I had to go to the bathroom. I didn't turn on any lights as the window light was ample to navigate the bedroom and we have a small night-lite in the hall (one of those 2X3 inch green squares). After reaching the bathroom I heard what I thought was my dog shakening heck out of one of his toys. Any of you who have or have had a dog, understands what I mean. Its a very characteristic sound. I said, "What are you doing in here?" I got no response and he didn't come running to me as he normally would. I couldn't see him but the sound eminated from a part of the bath that has an eastern window. I figured he'd follow me back down the hall to the bedroom. I heard nothing more; but when I reentered the bedroom I could see my dog curled up in his bed obviously sound asleep. He certainly didn't pass me in our narrow hall. So what did I hear?

Sounds of a porch swing again.

     The sounds of an old porch swing could be very clearly heard again today. The clanking of the chain ends against the vertical chain supports; that characteristic sound that old time porch swings made. Clearly heard inside the house; like last time, was not heard on the sideporch where they appeared (from inside) to be coming from. There was a stiff breeze at times today and the temperature was in the high 30s. The frustration comes from not being capable of finding the source of the sound. The sound lasted roughly 10 or 15 minutes.

Strange sounds

     Though the house has been much quieter than normal for this time of year, I did have some strange sounds today that I could not find the source of. Those of you who remember the old porch swings of yesteryear that were hung with chains from the porch ceiling; know that they made a very characteristic sound when someone was swinging in them. I heard what sounded like that for roughly half an hour today. It could be heard in the kitchen, diningroom and library; but not outside on the sideporch which is where it sounded like it was coming from when I was inside. The weather today was sunny most of the day and the temperatures in the low 40s. There was a very slight breeze. I never found a source for the sounds though there could be, very easily, a natural source for them.