Strange happenings in house....or not so strange?

Zapho

So I was just found out from my cousins that they're experiencing strange happenings in the house they're living in. They've been living there for about 2 years or so. Its an old enough house that has 2 stables around it, one of which was close to the house so they decided to make connect it to the house via a corridor, and covert the stable into 2 bedrooms.

After all the work was done, they began noticing strange things happening. First off, my cousin (she's about 25 ) said she couldn't sleep at night because she kept feeling that someone or something was holding her down, like pressure being put on her from above her. But she didn't think much of it, thought she might be imagining it. This was until her brother (27) noticed the same thing in the next room, and it began to freak them out. Other happenings included light bulbs spontaneously exploding weather turned on or not, and a window in the corridor shattering inwards and the shards flying across the room.

They brought in mediums and the like and they reported that there was definately "something" there, but were unable to say what, or communicate with it.

Personally, I think this can all be explained. I'm thinking negative air pressure. Negative air pressure would be enough to explode light bulbs, possibly break the window and cause the shards to fly a good distance, and maybe make people feel heavier or like they're being sucked down or something. The stables are old, and probably don't have any ventilation or anything and the main part of the house could be sucking the air from the stables via the long hall. So what do people think? Does anyone know of a similar situation that was caused by poor air circulation? I know a lot of household "hauntings" can be explained by electromagnatism or sound waves and resonance. Do you think this is a plausable explaination?

abetarrush

the same happened to me last night! felt like I was gettin squished

and that was after a dream where I saw 2 guards on horses



weird.........

Oryx

As usual I dont think anyone here is going to come up with a hard and fast answer. Ive never heard of negative air pressure, but it does sound plausible. I suppose your friends will have to adjust the ventilation in the affected areas to see tho. Despite my spiritual beliefs etc, Im always one for going for the rational, ie physical, explanation first, and if that doesnt explain it, then go for a paranormal explanation. The fact that mediums felt something does not preclude something structural wrong in the building too. Maybe they know a friendly structural engineer?

Zapho

Hmmm true. It would take a serious lack of pressure to cause light bulbs to break, but you never know. One thing is for sure, they haven't reported anything else unusual, except those things, which all seem to have some sort of rational explaination. Well the first thing I'm gonna do is monitor the air pressure, and the family themselves are having a few masses said in the house.

Pink Bunny

Zapho wrote:

and the family themselves are having a few masses said in the house.

Does anyone know, does having a mass etc... really work if the house is "haunted"?
We had an offer for a blessing or cleansing to be done at our house but we ended up turning it down because I think after it's all said and done we might miss the other inhabitants, strange as that may sound.

Noopti

For the feeling pressure on your chest. Sleep paralysis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

Zillah

Nope, doesn't sound like sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is an episode, a very vivid and often disturbing episode. Its not just a general sensation you feel as the original poster described.

I find it highly, highly unlikely that air pressure in a home could change drastically enough to make light bulbs shatter. Anyone in the room would probably collapse cradling their head because of their almost burst ear drums if the pressure changed that much. If it only happened once I'd put it down to a faulty bulb (cracked) and air pressure, but if it happened several times I don't know.

I actually have no sceptical solution based on what I know about the situation. Odd.

6th

Zapho wrote:

Hmmm true. It would take a serious lack of pressure to cause light bulbs to break, but you never know. One thing is for sure, they haven't reported anything else unusual, except those things, which all seem to have some sort of rational explaination. Well the first thing I'm gonna do is monitor the air pressure, and the family themselves are having a few masses said in the house.

I havent heard a rational explaination for anything that happened yet, negative air pressure is one persons suggested reason but there is nothing to suggest it and also very very unlikely as the presure needed to smash a window and light bulbs would have affects on people in the house too (such as ears popping?). Sleep paralysis is out (as Zillah pointed out) partially because it was a shared experience and that would mean there would have to be alot of conincidence going on.

What we have here (as best as we can tell from the info given) is 2 people who claim to have been held in their beds by an unseen force, light bulbs exploding both when off and on, a window smashing by itself & mediums "confirming" a presence. All subjective evidence but when put together seems to suggest the possibilty of paranormal activity.

6th

Zillah wrote:

I actually have no sceptical solution based on what I know about the situation.

Despite what some may think i'm a fairly sceptical person myself and i have to agree that based on what we know there doesnt seem to be an obvious, practical answer to this one.

As suggested in the OP though there was resent work done on the house which may have affected the electrics and the structural integrity of the building, people very quick to believe in a "ghostly" reason might say that the recent work "disturbed" some forces/souls/spirits.

stevenmu

Like the others I can't think of any rational logical explanations, air pressure certainly sounds wrong. Turning to paranormal explanations, it sounds to me more like it could be connected more to one of your cousins themselves than any haunting in the house. It sounds closest to a typical poltergeist story which most people generally consider to be caused by a release of latent energies from a living person, generally at a time of great stress in their lives (or when going through puberty, but at 25 and 27 years old I think we can rule that out). There's also lots of stories going around of things like this, light bulbs smashing, electrical equiptment failing etc, around people who are under a lot of stress or are very emotionally charged.

6th

No matter the cause of the activity in paranormal terms it would be considered Poltergeist activity in that it is physically phenomenon taking place as opposed to smells, manifestations, sounds etc.

On the human factor side of things i know i get really bad static shocks when i am under stress. On a bad day in work i can get up to a dozen big ones but on good days i get none.

Noopti

Nope, doesn't sound like sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is an episode, a very vivid and often disturbing episode. Its not just a general sensation you feel as the original poster described.

she couldn't sleep at night because she kept feeling that someone or something was holding her down, like pressure being put on her from above her

I would be 90% sure that is sleep paralysis.

"Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis)."

"In other words, it is the sense of being aware that one is unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. Sleep paralysis may also be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations.[1] These hallucinations can be auditory, tactile, and/or visual."

6th

We have to base our opinions on the information that the OP has supplied, that they were unable to sleep and so SP (which requires the sufferer to either have been asleep or in the early stages of sleep). Also we must consider the other phenomenon taking place (breaking glasses etc) and not look at the possible SP as an isolated incident.

Obviously I am not ruling out non-paranormal explainations but looking at the big picture we are either dealing with alot of conincidence or maybe something else.

Zillah

Noopti wrote:

I would be 90% sure that is sleep paralysis.

Well you'd be 100% wrong. I've done lots of research on this and I've personally experienced it. What Zapho describes is not sleep paralysis.

Noopti

How can you say that I am 100% wrong without having done any proper research on this particular case?
Don't be so arrogant. I said I was 90%(read: I wasn't forcing my evaluation on anybody by saying I was 100% correct) sure that it was SP based on what the OP said in their post.
- Hard time getting to sleep
- Feeling pressure on chest
- Feeling of dread or worry

These are classic sleep paralysis symptons. I have experience SP on a few occasions also.
I would like to see your research on sleep paralysis. Also, are you a neurophysiologist? To claim that you are 100% correct smacks of arrogance to me, especially since you are basing your 100% accurate diagnosis on one forum post.

Zillah

I am certain I am correct based on what we know. And what we know doesn't fit sleep paralysis. I'm not making a statement about what happened, I'm pointing out that you're intepretation of the data we have is flawed:

For one, sleep paralysis has nothing to do with "Hard time getting to sleep". You fall asleep and then as you wake up, or more rarely as you fall asleep, you have a sleep paralysis incident. It only lasts a few seconds, its not an ongoing situation.

Two, he said nothing about "pressure on the chest". He said "someone or something was holding her down, like pressure being put on her from above her" which is a far more ambiguous sensation. You're warping what happened to fit your presumption.

Third, he didn't say anything about a "Feeling of dread or worry". He said that after they both reported the same sensation they began to get freaked out. Sleep-paralysis dread/presence of evil is an immediate and short lived sensation. Again, you're warping what Zapho said to fit your notion.

Fourth, and most importantly he said "thought she might be imagining it". It is impossible to think you've imagined a sleep paralysis episode. Its a startling and often upsetting experience. The vague, ongoing impression described does not fit such an episode.

These are classic sleep paralysis symptons.

Yes, yes they are (well, 2/3). Unfortunately the original post didn't describe any of that.

I would like to see your research on sleep paralysis.

Uh, by "research" I meant "personal research" not "I'm a scientist with a budget doing tests". I read stuff. Lots of stuff. I can find some websites for you if you like.

To claim that you are 100% correct smacks of arrogance to me

Whether you think I'm arrogant or not is irrelevant, I'm still right. You've misread the original post to fit your initial assumption.

imprezza

I know some of the stress those people are going through as theres some stuff going on in my place. I got sound advice from 6th he knows what he's talking about, Zillahs attitude is no help, she admits she has only done personal research. I hope someone can help these people it does sound something like a poltergeist.

Zillah

imprezza wrote:

Zillahs attitude is no help, she admits she has only done personal research. I hope someone can help these people it does sound something like a poltergeist.

He has said nothing about it being a poltergeist or not, all I've said is that low air pressure doesn't seem to fit, nor does sleep paralysis.

And whats wrong with personal research? Sleep paralysis is a fairly well understood phenomena that has been documented for quite some time, doing my own tests and experiments would be excessive and redundant.

imprezza

Sorry thought youre female, a biblical wife name?

Oryx

Been meaning to ask. OP, when the light bulbs explode are they literally shattering with glass everywhere, or just blowing with a pop'?

You mentioned them having masses said. Has this been done, and if so has it helped?

imprezza wrote:

Sorry thought youre female, a biblical wife name?

[OFFTOPIC]Zillah, wheres your name come from then? Any of these?
Zillah, a wife of Lamech, descendant of Cain
Zillah, the name of a city in Yakima County, Washington
Zillah, a vampire from Lost Souls (book), by Poppy Z Brite [/OFFTOPIC]

Nevyn

Poppy Z Brite is wonderful read any of her stuff.

Zillah

[OT] It was indeed the Brite character. Suprised!? Thaed, did you not find the newer, non-horror ones to be rather dull?[/OT]

Nevyn

[ot] no I loved liquor, prime and soul kitchen for what they are a romp through new orleans. /me huggles her copy of Exquisite Corpse. have to say Exquisite Corpse is one of those book I find many start and few finish. [ot]

Gillo

Lets noty get bogged down on one particular area, ie; sleep paralysis.
For my own tupence worth, I've had SP once or twice and it did not feel like a pressure holding me down, I completly couldn't move (not even a wiggle of fingers or toes, or movement side to side which a downward force would still allow to a certain degree) there was no feeling of a force been applied jut no ability to move.

Here's where I play devils advocate;
Bulbs exploding; this may well be caused by faulty wiring if a "spike" or sudden increase in power came down the wire, if the wiring is faulty you may well get a spike traveling down even when the bulb is turned off.

Window imploding;
I'm not sure has this happened once or more than once? Could something have hit it?
What if a largeish bird hit it, say a crow or seagul, it would hit with enough force to send the glass a reasonable distance, it could easily have "bounced" back from the window and flew off (admittedly with a few bruises). Alternatively dodgy building work, if the window frame was not properly supported then you would have an excessive downward force on the window, the first sign of this would be the glass bulgeing in one direction or the other, the glass would finally give way due to the gradually increasing pressure, a string gust of wind could well have been the "straw that breaks the camels back".
When exactly did the window break, was it witnessed breaking or only discovered after the event?

The Mediums visit;
Personnally, I find it worrying that a medium could claim to sense something but nothing else, they couldn't not communicate with it, they couldn't sense what it is or what it was doing?
Did they suggest another visit? possibley at the same rate again??

The weight on the bed;
I don't know, it does not sound like sleep paralysis to me. Can bed sheets sometimes feel very heavy, I know the body can sometimes sense strange things when it is on the verge of sleep. The heat at the moment is quite oppresive and overwhelming exspecially in a badly ventilated area.

Not sure if it necessary to appologise, but I feel it's better to look at the boring and obvious explaniations, before shouting Ghost!

Zillah

Thaedydal wrote:

[ot] no I loved liquor, prime and soul kitchen for what they are a romp through new orleans. /me huggles her copy of Exquisite Corpse. have to say Exquisite Corpse is one of those book I find many start and few finish. [ot]

[last OT I promise]

Really? I've read Exquisite Corpse four times I think. Lost Souls just as often. Did you not think the character dynamic in Liquor was almost identical to Ghost and Steve from LS? I just got bored half way through.

[/OT]

gillo wrote:

Alternatively dodgy building work, if the window frame was not properly supported then you would have an excessive downward force on the window, the first sign of this would be the glass bulgeing in one direction or the other, the glass would finally give way due to the gradually increasing pressure, a string gust of wind could well have been the "straw that breaks the camels back".

I must say that sounds like a rather elegant solution. I hadn't thought of that. Increased pressure from a slightly shifting wall could shatter it easily. Even half a centimetre or so might be enough.

6th

Excellent post Gillo (as usual ).

Anyway like i mentioned earlier the OP did mention that work had been done resently and could well explain the lightbulbs and window.

I think people (myself included) jumped against the SP suggestion as the poster was only loooking at one detail of the activity.

That said, i see nothing unusual able a medium getting little information on the "energy" other than its pressence, its not like the spirits hand over the CV and "it" may have been purposely evasive (spelling?).

Now my own person belief is that spirits are alll around us on some level, but thats not to say that all activity in a "haunted" area is as a result of ghostly interaction, also the availability of a reasonable explaination for instances like exploding bulbs does not mena that there are no spirits present.

Gillo

6th wrote:

Excellent post Gillo (as usual ).

That said, i see nothing unusual able a medium getting little information on the "energy" other than its pressence, its not like the spirits hand over the CV and "it" may have been purposely evasive (spelling?).

Now my own person belief is that spirits are alll around us on some level, but thats not to say that all activity in a "haunted" area is as a result of ghostly interaction, also the availability of a reasonable explaination for instances like exploding bulbs does not mena that there are no spirits present.

Thanks, I try to copy your excellence, but enough flirtation

Mediumship is an area I don't know alot about, but I would have expected someone working (prefessionally) as a medium to be able to pick up on more than there is something sorry but I don't know what [it is]. That said, if I was a spirit, ghost or entity I dopn't think I'd just open up to some random stranger coming into my home, so in fairness to the mediums, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

I think it's a case of finding a happy medium (excuse the pun) between what we want to believe and what we can prove, indeed a lot of the proof for supernatural activity relies on disproving the unsupernatural explaination's and ending up with no other explaination. Personnaly I like to find "real world" explainations, before I'll accept something as paranormal, TBH I think this stem's from the fact the I actually find the paranormal scarey so I prefer to find a realisitc explaination than be confronted by a ghost.

6th

Yep, a process of illimination really is the best approach though experience can cause people to go with hunches. In many cases the possible explainations are so numerous that you wont get very far without a little faith.

As for fear? Sure a healthy dose of fear and respect for the unknown can be a very good thing.

SOL

I have a question. Is it always the same light fitting?


If it is then a number of things may cause a bulb to explode, but from the sounds of it it might be something to do with the bulb cooling or heating unevenly this can cause quite dramatic explosions, is the event confined to a certain weather type?

As for the windows breaking inwards, isn't that what windows do when things outside hit them?

gnashrr

It all has a scientific explanation. People who use mediums are idiots. Mediums are crooks. Regarding the pushing down thing in bed, perhaps your cousins should see a shrink?

Nevyn

Post reported.

Gillo

gnashrr wrote:

It all has a scientific explanation. People who use mediums are idiots. Mediums are crooks. Regarding the pushing down thing in bed, perhaps your cousins should see a shrink?

This thread is to discuss, what may or may not be causeing the occurances. Care to explain the scientific explaination instread of just shooting down other opinions?

6th

its ok Gillo, he got site banned, was posting stuff like that all over boards.

stevenmu

Awww, I wanted to ban him


Just so people are clear that kind of post is totally against the charter and will get you banned.

Gillo

gnashrr wrote:

It all has a scientific explanation. People who use mediums are idiots. Mediums are crooks. Regarding the pushing down thing in bed, perhaps your cousins should see a shrink?

Yeah, I checked his other post's, kinda funny reading, either a troll or a disguntled boards employee.

OP, has anthing else happened in the house?