Ghosts in the house

[Chris Bernhardt]

How many have had weird experiences inspecting alone in the house?

I have had a few. A couple times I have been down in basements and heard the front door open, close and steps across the floor and as fast as I can get up to check things out, no one is there, not a soul.

Same thing happened once when I was in an attic.

I have heard some cool ghost stories from a couple of realtors when they were showing houses too.

Chris, Oregon

[Richard Moore]

It's very rare that I'm in a house alone but, given your description and the fact that I firmly believe the supernatural (ghosts, etc) is pure bunk, I'd simply suspect that someone opened the front door, closed it, walked across the floor...and then, presumably, ran away as soon as they heard you coming up the basement stairs. Or they are hiding in a closet. That might be scarier though!

[Brandon Whitmore]

No ghost things, but some unusual/ scary things for sure.

Several years ago I did a lot of inspections for a redevelopment company . They would buy trashed/ foreclosed homes and fix them up. I would inspect them so they knew what to fix.

I was in a rough neighborhood in N. Portland. There was no power on to the home, so I was inspecting with a flashlight.

The entire home was filled to the brim with crap, and it definitely looked like a drug / party house (smelled like one too). I kept getting weird vibes in the home during the inspection.

While I was in the basement I heard footsteps upstairs, but I was not supposed to be meeting anyone there. I turned off my flashlight and stepped to a corner near the stairs. The footsteps slowly crept downstairs.....I could hear the guy breathing.

I was just gonna let the guy head back out, but he suddenly said hello in a tentative voice so I gave him a full beam in the eyes with my flashlight. It turned out he was a harmless older gentleman. Apparently the place was his sons who had committed suicide in the home months prior.

[Jim Katen]

I’ve told this story before, but it’s been a few years.

Once upon a time, a little old man and a little old woman lived together in one of the grandest homes in one of Portland’s nicer neighborhoods. Aside from each other, they had no family and few friends. The little old woman had a touch of dementia, but her husband looked after her and kept the house in good condition.

Then one day he fell to the floor of his bedroom, curled himself up into a fetal position, and died.

The little old woman didn’t know what to do. She was confused and scared. So she closed the door to the bedroom, didn’t go in there anymore, and went on with her life as best she could. Three months passed. Occasionally, a neighbor would knock on the door to ask after her and her husband. “He’s upstairs . . . meditatingâ€

[AHI in AR]

Don't read this if you're squeamish or having your morning donut!

While we're talking about gross stories -- as opposed to ghost stories -- think about this if you care to. I once read a story about an older, severely overweight woman who lived alone. I don't remember if it was local or not, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, it seems she died and fell to the floor also.

Right on top of the floor furnace.

In wintertime.

They didn't find her for days.

I don't see how anyone could have a strong enough stomach to deal with that firsthand, or how you'd ever get the smell out.

[Rob Amaral]

... Classic photo...

[Les]

Worst thing I ever saw was a naked real estate salesperson while team inspecting ghetto apartment building!

Good looking woman, 30 some years old, recently divorced, drove a Cadillac and lonesome. Seems she recognized our voices and jumped out of bed just as I opened the bedroom door. I said "hello", closed the door and my company has never done any inspections for her company since. Maybe I should not have said "Guess who I saw naked in that bedroom" as I was leaving!

Done lots of murder and suicide houses and found one dead body. My vision of the agent is the most pleasant.

[Tom Raymond]

"there was an overwhelming smell of decay with a minty-fresh overtone from the disinfectant"

I know that smell. Years ago I did a window replacement project at a 9 storey HUD aprtment building where one of the tenants had died in his apartment and it was several weeks before he was found. The "as built" plans for the project (converted from a McKinley era hotel) were really bad and I had a hard time keeping track of what was what between the plans and my field notes until I drew a stick figure with a cliche dead guy outline on the plans at that apartment. I could find my way through the plans by referencing the memory of that smell. The slightly twisted humor of a dead stick figure made it a little easier to deal with 9 floors of filth and poverty too.

Tom

That wasn't the worst smell in that building but it was the most memorable.

[ghentjr]

Originally posted by Richard Moore

It's very rare that I'm in a house alone but, given your description and the fact that I firmly believe the supernatural (ghosts, etc) is pure bunk, I'd simply suspect that someone opened the front door, closed it, walked across the floor...and then, presumably, ran away as soon as they heard you coming up the basement stairs. Or they are hiding in a closet. That might be scarier though!

Well Richard if we ever meet at a conference I will regale you with true to life "ghost" stories including the one about the nice old woman my two kids used to talk to in their bedroom late at night. She visited periodically and over a long period of time. The same nice old lady that used to fold their pajamas and put them under their beds. I am a believer.

[Scottpat]

Yes, I have had encounters over the years. One was in an old 1800's home that was used during the civil war as a hospital, it sat along the edge of a battlefield in Raymond, MS.

It was mid July and around 90f outside. The homes power was off so the home was also around 90+ inside. As I went up the stairs I was greeted by cool air about midway up the stairs. When I reached the top the air was hot again. I went back down and found the cool air between the sixth and tenth steps.

I still get a funny feeling when I think about it.

[Bill Kibbel]

I've inspected mostly historic buildings for 22 years, including well over 70 old buildings in America's most haunted town, 6 funeral homes and several old hotels and inns that have been reported as haunted on national TV. I also lived in a home built in 1690 for ten years. When we bought it, the seller actually disclosed that it was haunted.

Lots of really weird stuff happens regularly. With a little investigating and analysis, I've always been able to discover a natural, mechanical or earthly cause for any "paranormal phenomena".