Sweaters & Doppelgängers

[LostSocks]

Actually, I might just add more details to this thread of my past experiences as a running archive so I don’t have to post it anywhere else.

Another strange thing in that house that occurred a LOT - was conversations you couldn’t quite make out.

When that phenomenon first started, I believed I must’ve accidentally left the TV on downstairs and was actually hearing a TV show. Knowing my parents would be irked if they woke up to the TV on, I would creep down the stairs to turn it off only to find the house was silent.

Eventually the conversations sounded like they were right outside my bedroom door. It was a man and a woman conversing - but you couldn’t quite make out what was being said. I learned to ignore it and not investigate.

Later, I lived there mostly by myself starting at the age of 16. There were numerous instances where I’d hear someone speaking - sometimes loudly and aggressively downstairs. Followed by the sound of a door banging shut and a shuffling sound like something being dragged. Sometimes I could hear things BREAKING. This was not subtle activity.

As a 16 year old girl, home alone, I can tell you my first thought was NOT the paranormal. Many times I considered calling the police - usually I just called my next door neighbor who had to come investigate with a baseball bat in hand. (Also pretty silly in hindsight. I should’ve called the cops!)

Every time, he’d check the house and tell me no one was there. I’d cautiously come out of the bedroom (where I would hide under the covers flat or in my closet) and tell him to check again. I would demand to accompany him as we looked all over the house for intruders - making sure to check in closets, hidden rooms, and behind curtains.

I’d look for evidence of broken items - windows, vases, picture frames. Each time there was nothing.

Typically after an event like this, I’d pack my bags and stay at a friends house for a few days until things “cooled off” and I felt safe being at home again.

 

[LostSocks]

Other annoying activity: the radio turning on by itself.

This house had a radio and intercom system embedded into the walls. (I misattributed some of the disembodied conversations to be coming from the radio system early as well. Only to investigate and find it was completely off.)

To turn the radio on, you had to click a dial button to pop it open and then twist it on. Then you could adjust the volume.

Many times at odd hours of the night, this radio - which blasted all around the house - would turn itself on to MAXIMUM VOLUME. I can’t understate how loud and jarring this was.

Sometimes it would turn on when no one was at home at all & we would receive calls from neighbors claiming they could hear the radio blasting on the street.

The worst was when it turned on when everyone was asleep in the dead of night. Every family member would be shaking and angry. It was always an adrenaline rush.

The thing is- the knob would be clicked to the active position and the volume knob would be turned all the way up as well. Something was physically turning the dials.

 

[LostSocks]

other things I hated about that house: I grew very wary of toys.

Once, my brother and I were downstairs late at night watching TV. He had a terrible ear infection and couldn’t sleep. We were both half asleep on a large sectional couch- one of us on each end.

Suddenly and violently, a Hotwheel car that had belonged to my youngest brother, flew into the wall near the tv. Both my step brother and I could clearly see it as it was still spinning on the floor having bounced from the impact of hitting the wall.

My step brother was already afraid of the house and I remember him screaming “LostSocks, WHAT THE F*CK!” I told him it wasn’t me! That was the defining moment that he decided he would never be alone in that house.

Electronic toys were nearly as bad. If there were many electronic (baby) toys on the floor at night, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 would trigger on in rapid succession.

One night I was trying to sleep on an airmattress in the living room when a baby toy lit up across the room. I tried to shrug it off as a glitch when another toy went off - this time a bit closer. Then another one.

I was frozen in fear… when a fourth toy went off right next to me. It was that cat keyboard toy you can buy from target. It started to try to sing its ABCs. I’m sure that doesn’t sound too scary - but let me tell you, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I still can’t rationalize how 4 toys would trigger on in that manner by themselves.

 

[LostSocks]

The noises from the closets were also terrible. When I had to share a room with my siblings is when it was the worst.

One night, my sister and I were in one of the bedrooms falling asleep when what sounded to be - a growling, gurgling noise came from the closed closet door. It was deep, like a man was choking on his mucus. I’ve never heard a death rattle in real life, but the words come to mind to describe it anyway.

My sister asked me - clearly terrified - “why did you make that noise?” I was so frightened I could barely speak but told her it was NOT me.

Truthfully, I was too much of a coward to move from my bed. Thankfully, she was much braver than me and grabbed a field hockey stick and switched the lights on.

She told me to open the closet. As she prepared her hockey stick to beat whatever was inside the closet.

I opened the closet and - nothing was there.

Just more horrible things no one could explain

 

[LostSocks]

Of course there was also the unexplained footsteps. It was not subtle either. It sounded like a teenage boy sprinting clumsily up the back stairs case. It was very loud. It was this frequent phenomenon that made my friends too nervous to be at the home alone. They’d wait in the driveway for me to arrive to let them in despite them having the key code to my garage.

This all affected my family dynamic pretty terribly. Obviously my parents didn’t want to share a room with a bunch of scared teenagers because of a “ghost.”

I know some other poltergeist hauntings in history had adults feeding into it. The Ensfield haunting, for instance, had adults invested in it. I don’t necessarily think that’s the right approach, either.

This was different - and I don’t necessarily disagree with what my parents did - but they essentially banned any discussion of the paranormal, ghosts, etc.

I had nicknamed the ghost “Steven” - as a joke, because it’s such a neutral sounding name. It was my attempt at lighting the mood. Well, the name Steven was NOT be uttered in the house.

This did not stop the activity or make my siblings feel any better. We just learned to communicate through glances when something odd would happen.

Funnily enough, I am still very skeptical when I hear other poltergeist stories. But apart of me realizes that odd things do happen - and I should take an open minded approach and be slow to write off the bizarre.

 

[LostSocks]

(Also - no need to comment or provide feedback on what I shared! I just shared so it’s out there & I can refer back to details if needed without typing out the whole thing in other threads. Consider this an archive of my experiences.)

Of course if anyone wants to discuss I am open to it as well!

 

[Selectric]

Actually, I might just add more details to this thread of my past experiences as a running archive so I don’t have to post it anywhere else.

Another strange thing in that house that occurred a LOT - was conversations you couldn’t quite make out.

When that phenomenon first started, I believed I must’ve accidentally left the TV on downstairs and was actually hearing a TV show. Knowing my parents would be irked if they woke up to the TV on, I would creep down the stairs to turn it off only to find the house was silent.

Eventually the conversations sounded like they were right outside my bedroom door. It was a man and a woman conversing - but you couldn’t quite make out what was being said. I learned to ignore it and not investigate.

Later, I lived there mostly by myself starting at the age of 16. There were numerous instances where I’d hear someone speaking - sometimes loudly and aggressively downstairs. Followed by the sound of a door banging shut and a shuffling sound like something being dragged. Sometimes I could hear things BREAKING. This was not subtle activity.

As a 16 year old girl, home alone, I can tell you my first thought was NOT the paranormal. Many times I considered calling the police - usually I just called my next door neighbor who had to come investigate with a baseball bat in hand. (Also pretty silly in hindsight. I should’ve called the cops!)

Every time, he’d check the house and tell me no one was there. I’d cautiously come out of the bedroom (where I would hide under the covers flat or in my closet) and tell him to check again. I would demand to accompany him as we looked all over the house for intruders - making sure to check in closets, hidden rooms, and behind curtains.

I’d look for evidence of broken items - windows, vases, picture frames. Each time there was nothing.

Typically after an event like this, I’d pack my bags and stay at a friends house for a few days until things “cooled off” and I felt safe being at home again.

That could very well have been a residual haunting. Events playing out though no physical forms were present.

 

[Selectric]

(Also - no need to comment or provide feedback on what I shared! I just shared so it’s out there & I can refer back to details if needed without typing out the whole thing in other threads. Consider this an archive of my experiences.)

Of course if anyone wants to discuss I am open to it as well!

Never got a chance to welcome you to the PNF, LostSocks! The forum has quite a few members that have experienced stuff from all over the board. Having different input can help piece stuff together and understand this stuff a tad better.

 

[garnetsilver]

It sounded like a residual haunting to me, as well. Things replaying over and over, as some past event was being reenacted. Especially the quarreling and sounds of things breaking.

 

[ozentity]

Hi Socks, I also grew up in a home riddled with paranormal events. It was very difficult at times and I have had a lifetime of paranormal things happen afterwards. I often found it hard to cope before I joined here but with the support and advice I learned to deal with and partly understand all of this. Being this aware is part of who we are and I now embrace it, deal with it when needed and enjoy the sometimes beautiful aspects of the paranormal.