Weird Action last night

My wife had gone upstairs presumably to bed. I was planning on answering a couple of e-mails. Our computer rests in a typical cabinet made for TVs or computers. It has two long doors that are normally closed to hide all the wires and gadgets. We don't close the doors because of numerous items that have found a home in front of the cabinet and the keyboard light which is located on one of the doors. The way the cabinet is made, the doors have about a one inch gap between the inside of the door and the cabinet housing. Anyway, with the door open you have a limited view of the doorway that leads from the dining room to the library. I was answering an E mail when I noticed a light colored clothing pass in front of the gap. Thinking it was my wife, I called out, "Ready for the computer, already?" I got no answer and no one entered the library. I figured my mistake and resumed typing. It happened again. I pulled the door forward, but there was no one there. I moved the door back and forth several times to see if I could regain the effect. There was nothing light colored even close by. Perplexed I ,again, resumed my typing and it occurred a third time. This time, I got up I went to the doorway, I checked all over. There was nothing about that could have looked like anyone passing in front of that doorway. I finished my letter, sent it and turned everything off. I needed to take Shadow (my dog out for her nightly constitutional anyway). If you think I was seeing her? Nope. Shadow is so Black she disappears in a dark room. So we went upstairs. I checked with my wife to see if she needed anything and she said she was fine. Shadow and I went into the master bedroom and prepared for the night. Shadow sleeps at the foot of the bed. My wife uses the bedroom called the Noah room because she has a leg problem that can have her up several times a night. Anyway we were well settled in, I was reading a book, as Shadow and I had already had her nightly romp before bed. I hadn't even gotten drowsy yet when I distinctly heard my name called, quite clearly and with some volume. Thinking my wife needed something I made my way to the Noah room which is immediately down the hall. When I entered the bedroom my wife was reading the newspaper and looked up with a look of surprise. "You called." I said. "No I didn't." she replied. 'Somebody did, I said, "Loud and clear". "It wasn't me" she replied. By the way, she continued, "Why are you and Shadow running up and down the hall?" "We.ve been in the bedroom for almost an hour", I replied. "Well something has been activating the hallway motion lights". It wasn't us. My wife can see the motion light from the Noah room because that bedroom has a transom over the door. When I went back to the master bedroom, I sat on the foot of the bed and petted Shadow, so I could see if the hall light would come on. It didn't. Old houses are interesting and colorful; but they can drive you nuts.

Possible solution?

I had one poster suggest that wind blowing through an old pipe might make the mumbling sounds. I certainly wouldn't discount that idea out of hand. This old brick house certainly has many nooks and crannies. But taking other things into consideration makes me wonder if it really is the wind. Wind might explain why the sound is heard about the same through-out the house and we certainly have almost perpetual wind in this area.But sometimes the mumbling sounds distinctly masculine and at other times feminine. Considering the amount of wind that blows through here, it would seem the mumbling would be quite frequent, or daily. But it is a rare occurance. But still the wind is a possibility. If I could just locate the pipes it plays or the morterless bricks it plays around and why only at rare times.

Mumbling again

I had a short period of mumbling night before last. It occurred just before midnight and lasted between five and ten minutes. The voices, a least two of them, were female, just low enough that no words could be made out. It was downright cold outside and spitting ice crystals. I first noticed the mumbling as I exited the Library into the dining room. I walked out from the dining room into the parlor thinking it was someone outside. There was no one visible outside and even kids playing in the street in the daytime do not carry in through these thick walls. I retraced my steps back through the dining room and into the kitchen where the mumbling seemed about the same. I was about to go upstairs where I would have a view of most of the surrounding territory (as much as darkness would permit) when the mumbling faded away. I have pretty much discounted that the voices were coming from the outside. The walls of this house are thick and the storm windows are triple and were closed (the temperature was around 24 degrees). We have never figured out the times we have had actually loud, easily understood voices. The mumbling is far more complicated and an even greater mystery. The loud voices originate from a completely closed off dumbwaiter that use to service this house. The loud voices are very rare but when they occur they are very clear. The mumbling, on the other hand, is consistant though out the house but never loud enough to understand. Considering the time of night and weather conditions on this last episode I think I can rule out people outside. But what in heck was it?