Things that go Bump in the Night
The house is so quiet you can hear the sound of the refrigerator humming in the kitchen, followed by the whirr of the heater. You lay in bed, thinking about nothing in particular. It’s getting late and if you fall asleep right now, you still have a shot at seven hours of rest before your alarm clock wails on the nightstand beside you, yanking you out of a restful slumber.
And then it happens.
You hear a sound. You open your eyes, staring at the dark ceiling, trying to make sense of it. You are in the house alone. There shouldn’t be any sounds that you can’t immediately identify. You know the noises this house makes. You’ve been here long enough to categorize them all in your mind. The hum of the refrigerator and the whirr of the heater are the only sounds you should be hearing right now, but there it is again.
Thump.
You strain your ears in the darkness, feeling your heartbeat quicken. What was that?
Thump, thump, thump.
My God, that sounds like footsteps, you think to yourself as a mad sense of panic washes through you. You begin to consider all of the bad things it could be. A burglar, a rapist, a murderer?
You pull yourself out of bed, feeling anxiety spike through you like ice water in your veins. Your heart pounds now, beating so loudly, you can feel it in your temples. You pull the baseball bat out of the closet, the one you put there for this very purpose, hoping you would never need it.
You walk through the house, holding your breath as you push open each door and look inside. After you have searched every room, you return to bed too wound up to sleep.
What was that?
Was it your imagination? Or was it something else? You somehow fall back asleep, wondering by the brave light of day if it had been your imagination, but it wasn’t. You hear it again the next night and then the next until you are frightened to be in your own house alone.
What should you do?
The one thing you shouldn’t do is be afraid. If this is what you think it is, fear is your worst enemy. It feeds them, giving them power to do more. The best thing to do is to remain calm and think it through rationally.
You should be comforted to know that it happens more often than you think. Ghosts don’t just linger at old haunted houses and abandoned asylums. They are everywhere. They sit in their favorite restaurants, watching the patrons enjoy their favorite meals. They hang out in movie theaters, watching the latest blockbusters. They loiter in churches, hospitals, hotels, and even in your homes.
They hung around because they felt a need to remain among the living. They might have experienced a sudden traumatic death or stayed to watch over a loved one. Something must have caused them to come out of hiding. Think about this carefully because this could be the clue to settling them back down.
Did you start a renovation project? Or was it something simpler, like a new pet, or a new painting you hung on the wall? Was there a recent death in the family? Could this be a loved one who is looking after you? If the activity continues, you will want to regain control of your home.
Here are several things you can do to salvage your peace of mind:
Insure that the house is indeed haunted by ruling out normal possibilities. A scratching sound could be due to mice in the walls or a squirrel in the attic. The wind blowing a loose shutter could sound like footsteps in a quiet house. Keep a journal and document the occurrences.
Claim ownership of your space. Let them know that they need to move on. Tell them to look for the white light, which is a doorway to the other side, or to call for a family member who
has passed on to help them. If this doesn’t work, move onto the next tip. Ask your minister or priest to do a house blessing.
Contact a trusted psychic medium to cleanse your house. Many metaphysical shops will have a list of psychics in the area.
Cleanse your house yourself. Purchase white sage mixed with sweet grass from your local metaphysical shop or purchase it online.
1. Light the sage and fill every room in your house with the smoke, starting with the outermost corner and working your way to the front of the house. Let the sage smoke cover every inch of space in every room, from floor to ceiling. Some say the smoke is calming to them, helping them transition to the next plane.
2. As you burn the sage, tell them you are filling the house with light and love and that no negative energy may remain. Tell them this is your house and you’re taking it back. Encourage them to find the peace and love they desire through the white light. Tell them it is time for them to go.
3. When you’re finished, stub out the sage stick on the front walk.
4. Follow this up with a ring of sea salt around the border of the house, or on the windowsills and doorsteps. Take a warm bath filled with sea salt and lavender, ridding your body of the energy.
5. Cut your ties. You can do this physically, as well as mentally. Cut the cords that connect you to this energy and then move on. Don’t think about it. Shove it out of your mind. Thinking about it could actually draw them back in, so avoid this as best as possible.
Getting to the bottom of a haunting isn’t always easy, but it is often necessary. Once a ghost has been awoken, it’s hard to push it back into slumber. I should know.
I’ve lived through it more than once. J
oni Mayhan
Joni Mayhan is a paranormal investigator, as well as a free-lance writer. Please check out her paranormal thrillers on Amazon.com and BarnesandNobles.com. For more information about the author, please see her website: Jonimayhan.com
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