Though I grew up in a haunted house, I don’t live in one now, although odd things happen periodically in our 1905 home. Over time, I’ve come to think of the physical world as some kind of bus or train station; visitors from elsewhere pop in, but they haven’t come to stay permanently, they are just here for a brief visit. I’ve been told by some psychic and sensitive people that I am like a beacon to the spirit world, that my energy attracts things to me. I have no idea if that is true, but maybe it helps explain the oddities I experience now and then.
In July, we started a remodeling project on the top floor of our house. At the start of the project, the contractor completed destruction down to the studs – there wasn’t much left of the space we are working on. A couple of days after the start of the work, I had a few “busy” nights. One night, I awoke to feel a presence in the room. It wasn’t scary, but it was obvious to me that I wasn’t alone. Another night, I had frequent visions of a family I had never seen before; I assumed that these were memories of or energy left behind by previous inhabitants of the house. Overall, there was a shift in the energy on that floor of the house, and it wasn’t just because the room was different. Though the experiences weren’t frightening, I did sage the area and talk to whomever might be around to let them know I was aware of them but that they needed to let me sleep (I feel really awkward and foolish talking to nothing, but I have found this helps calm things down). That seemed to do the trick…or so I thought.
For the past several weeks, I have had some interesting experiences that have made me wonder if there is still something around (if there ever was), if I am just losing my mind, or if there is a logical explanation for things. All of the experiences have taken place in a guest room on our main floor that I have been working and hanging out in. We have not remodeled this room, but have painted it and spruced it up a bit. The first time something happened, I was attending a virtual meditation group. I was relaxed and enjoying the guided meditation when suddenly, I saw (in my mind’s eye) a rather large ball of energy. It was whitish in color and was shaped like a large oval. It snapped me out of a deep meditation quickly. I couldn’t really get back into the flow of things and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had just entered the room. It unnerved me. I later texted the group leader, who is highly psychic, and asked if she had noticed anything odd during the meditation. She texted back that she’d had the impression that something had entered my space, but didn’t pay much attention to that impression. That was validating, but also creeped me out a bit.
A couple of weeks later, again on meditation group night, I was in the flow of a meditation when I was suddenly yanked back into the present when I felt something “get up” off the couch next to me, and heard a sound similar to someone lightly scratching fingers across fabric. I opened my eyes, and of course there was nothing to see. I thought maybe the cat had been there (she often hangs out during my meditations), but the door had been closed, so she hadn’t had access to the room. I am fairly used to the sensation of something sitting on or getting up from furniture, as it happens a lot at night – the feeling of something weighting down a spot on my bed. I tend to write this off as me shifting and the covers settling around me, but sometimes it is much more pronounced, the sensation you’d notice if someone sat on your bed.
Activity got more pronounced the past couple of weeks. There is a large window in the office/guest room that has a pull-down shade and curtains. We keep the curtains open, with the ends going behind the couch, and just pull the shade up and down as needed. Lately, I have entered the room to find that the curtains are draped over the front of the couch. The first time it happened, I didn’t pay much attention to it and went about my day. Then it happened a couple of times in one day. I would tuck the curtains behind the couch, and they’d be untucked later. I assumed my husband had some odd preference for having the curtains on top of the couch and planned to ask him about it. This sequence has happened quite a few times, and I found myself a bit annoyed – why were my husband and I having a silent disagreement about how to arrange the curtains? A few days ago, I came in the room to find the curtains rolled under just so, so that they rested perfectly on top of the couch. That struck me as especially odd and I finally asked him that night why he kept taking the curtains out from behind the couch and arranging them on top or over the front. He looked at me like I was nuts and said that he had no idea what I was talking about. I assumed that he was just kidding around with me and said, “Seriously, why do you prefer to have the drapes on top of the couch?” He confirmed that he really had not been doing anything with the drapes, and that he only pulls the shade up and down. As soon as he said that, I felt a proverbial chill go down my spine.
For all of the experiences in my life, I’ve not had anything like this happen. I have to say that it makes me a bit uneasy. After my husband left the room that night, I whispered to the room that I was aware that there was someone there and that they could arrange the curtains however they liked, but needed to let me sleep and meditate in peace. I went to bed feeling creeped out, but haven’t had any odd feelings in the room and since that night my husband and I talked, the curtains have stayed put.
I really don’t know what to think about this. Are we opening the shade and not being aware that we pull the curtains out from behind the couch? Did one of us inadvertently roll the bottoms of the curtains up just so? If it’s not us, what is doing this and why? I keep mentioning this issue to my husband – a skeptic – and his response is that it must be the cleaning lady (I call house cleaning service, a luxury, marriage insurance). Sure, I guess that’s possible, except she only comes for a few hours twice a month and has never previously done anything with the curtains, and had not been at the house during the time that the curtains were being rearranged. And why is the activity in the guestroom, and not upstairs near the bathroom?
I don’t have any answers to the curtain mystery, and as open minded as I am, it’s hard to believe that a bathroom remodel could trigger any paranormal activity, but it turns out it’s not an uncommon experience. I Googled “remodeling and ghosts” and the results were a number of intriguing stories, as well as some clever marketing from construction/remodeling firms. Some people have experienced significant activity during and after remodels, which makes one wonder if many of us live with energies around us that don’t feel a need to interact until we’ve somehow disturbed their space or peace. Maybe something more will happen soon, and if it does, I’ll write another post.