Must Be Halloween; I Have A Story....

[Winchester]

Rick had a union meeting last night so I got home before he did. Walked in the house and the gate that we keep at the top of the steps was moved. Not down on the floor, but moved over to in front of the piano. I thought, "Well, that's odd." but figured that maybe I didn't put the gate in place before I left for work. (But I knew I did....keep reading.)

Went to the kitchen and dumped my stuff on the kitchen table. Opened the living room drapes (we keep them closed in a vain attempt to keep The Beast at a low roar when we come home). Went back to the computer room and opened the door to let Muffin out. Went into the bedroom to change into sweats and stopped dead. Somebody had been in the bedroom. There was a very faint, but definite smell of cologne or aftershave or something in the bedroom. Why I noticed it in the bedroom, but not in the rest of the house is beyond me, but I could really smell it there.

I took The Beast out to pee and we came back into the house, just as Dear Richard was driving up the driveway. I met him at the top of the steps and told him to follow me. We went back to the bedroom....he could smell something very very faint, but he had no idea what it was. I could still smell it. He has some bad sinus problems, so it's difficult for him to catch odors unless they're really strong.

Came out to the kitchen and we were trying to figure out who all had keys to the house. Our son, of course, and my sister. And the pet-sitter. That's it. Three keys.

But this is not the first time this has happened. Rick has come home and asked me why I didn't put the gate across the top of the steps and I know I did. I know I did. It got so bad there for a while that when I put the gate across the steps, I would actually stop and text Rick "Gate is at the steps" just because. Sure enough, he'd come home and the gate would be over by the piano.

But that smell yesterday was just so weird. It caught me right away, as soon as I walked into the bedroom.

I think we're going to change the locks on the doors. But we still have to give a new key to the pet-sitters and to my sister as she also keeps an eye on the cats.

 

[neely]

Maybe you should set up a camera in the room to catch the intruder next time.

 

[Winchester]

I keep telling Rick that he needs to set up his GoPro....I think Mani mentioned that before, too. Talked to DS; he says it wasn't him.

One time we had ice cream sandwiches in the freezer. There was a box of six, three for Rick and three for me. Well, there was one left and I knew that it was Rick's and I left it alone.

One night I came home from a meeting and Rick asked me why I ate his sandwich. I never did. I swore up and down I never touched it. Rick didn't believe me, but we left it go at that.

A couple weeks later, DS was at the house. Rick started telling him how I ate his flipping ice cream sandwich! And I kept saying, "I didn't! I never touched the blasted thing! I swear!" And Graham started laughing his butt off. Turns out that HE had been up this way and stopped at the house because he was hungry and he knew that we always had stuff in the freezer. He ate Rick's blasted sandwich! He also microwaved a quart of chili from the freezer for his lunch, stuck the container and spoon in the dishwasher, and grabbed some cookies and a Pepsi on his way out. He says he figured we'd realize it was him.

He thought the whole thing was hilarious. I was not amused because I got the blame for the darn ice cream being gone. And to this day, every once in a while I'll get a text from DS, "Hey, Mom, got any ice cream sandwiches in the freezer?" With a . Snot, that he is.

But he swears he wasn't up here yesterday.

 

[artiemom]

That is really strange... shudders.. yes, I would definitely change the locks. And keep the key away from the petsitter, until you really need their services. Unless, they come in during the day while you are at work.

You do need to get some kind of camera in there to monitor what is going on. Probably nothing will happen once it is installed, but you never know...creepy...

 

[pushylady]

I thought this was going to be a funny story, but that left me feeling creeped out! I do think you need to set the camera to find out what the heck is going on.

 

[Norachan]

Ugh. This story reminds me of that video on YouTube where a guy sets up a hidden camera in his kitchen and discovers a homeless woman has been living in his roof.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

definitely creepy! and i'd for sure set up a camera, see if it could catch whatever...whoever.

many years ago i agreed to be the contact person for my boss, when she went out of town for a few days -- the contact for her security system company, should her alarm go off. well, she went out of town, and the whole few days she was gone her alarm system kept going off......every night, pretty much all night. i lived within walking distance, and every time the alarm went off i'd walk over to her condo to meet the police (that the security system company alerted)......for the first two nights. they never found any intruders or anything suspicious. the third night, i'd had enough and let the police check around the outside of the building and in the hallways inside the building.

it turned out that my boss had a house cleaner who had a key. the woman was bringing her boyfriend to my boss' condo, where they'd slept those nights -- they were both deaf, so could not hear the alarm going off. they hid in her walk-in closet when i let the police in.

 

[denice]

That is creepy. That would bother me more than an obvious break in and theft, especially being in the bedroom. Someone just coming in and leaving for no apparent, logical reason is just really creepy.

 

[Winchester]

I know; the whole thing is creeping me out and I'm glad that Rick won't be leaving soon to go anywhere.

I swear that nothing (that we know of) is missing. Also, this is not a laundry detergent smell or anything like that. It is definitely a cologne or aftershave type of odor.

Rick bowls with a person who works for a lock company; he's coming in next week to talk to us about some good locks at the doors and at the back windows.

 

[foxxycat]

Definitely sounds creepy. change the locks. Maybe someone is playing a joke on you guys?

oh and set up a camera..could be a ghost. One never knows!

 

[jcat]

At this point, changing the locks is a must. Does the Beast let strangers into the house? It seems odd that anybody would enter a house with a dog (unless the dog knows them).

 

[darkmavis]

Yikes. I hate this story! I am glad that nothing seems to be missing, but what a feeling of violation. Good move to change the locks for sure. It's weird, a month or so ago there was this random dirty grey sweatshirt in our backyard one morning. How did it get there? Who was in my backyard? It wasn't in my house of course, but still. Creepy.

 

[Mother Dragon]

Get Medeco locks. They're not cheap, but they're the only ones that are pickproof, bumpproof, and break resistant. You can only get replacement keys from the locksmith you bought the lock from. My husband installed them himself. They come with everything you need, including a drill bit. Also, put longer screws in your door frame. The locks sold at hardware stores are about as good as a rubber band.

Frankly, I don't think it's a human but probably a friend of Harrigan, our resident poltergeist. It sounds like things he does. I, too, sometimes smell scents where they shouldn't/couldn't be. I mostly smell smoke, but occasionally it's something fragrant or a food smell. Robert never smells anything, although I wonder if he could detect a skunk at twenty paces. We never find any source for the smell and it eventually goes away.

Harrigan is big on stealing things or moving them. He also likes electronics, setting them off at will and whim. We mostly put up with his antics, although once in a while he goes too far, like making my glass-topped dining table explode. Not break - explode. That one cost $900 to replace the top of a secondhand $75 table. We were not amused.

You might try sage-ing the whole place if you believe in such things. It's never worked with Harrigan, but some folks say it does.

Keep us all posted on how it goes and what you find.

 

[Winchester]

The dog will bark and carry on when somebody comes to the house. Most of the time, though, her tail is wagging, but whether it's because she knows the people or she knows that we know the people....who can say?

Thanks, MD, about the Medeco locks; that's interesting. Rick's buddy (he works for a locksmith) is coming down this week to talk to us about new locks and such.

I really don't think we have a Harrigan in our midst....I don't know what would have brought him on at this late date. We built the house and we've been in the house since 1986, and for as far back as I can tell from deeds and such, this land has been pretty much agriculture. I read your email about the $900 table top! I think I'd be smacking Harrigan silly, ghost or no ghost! (Is it even possible to smack a ghost silly??) Interesting that you mention smoke, though, because there are times when I tell Rick that I smell smoke in the bedroom and we can't find anything, either inside or out. Rick has a sniffing problem, though, due to sinus issues, and he never smells much of anything.