Stranger In My House

It seems I have a stranger in my house. An unseen stranger for that matter. I have no idea who this could be. How do I know that there is a stranger in my house? Well, it all started the first weekend that I had moved in. It was the first Friday night. I was unpacking boxes in my bedroom. Rusty, my cat, watching me lazily from her position in the passage leading to the main-en-suite bathroom. Next thing I hear this sound, like a crackling noise, almost like when you crumple up a firm plastic bag. I happened to see Rusty bolt out of the bedroom at this noise, but I was so engrossed in the unpacking that I did not think anything at that point. After a while I saw Rusty come back to the same spot she had and she was just settling down to relax, when once again this noise was there. Again Rusty bolted but this time she came creeping back, like a leopard stalking its prey, ever cautiously toward the bathroom door, eyes wide like saucers! I then thought I better go see as well. So there I am creeping from my side of the room and Rusty from the other side. I get to the door and peek into the bathroom. I don't see anything. I go further into the bathroom. Next thing there is this noise again. Rusty and I both bolt out of the bathroom!! I stand at the door and wait a while. Nothing. I decide I better carry on packing. Its getting close to midnight and I am exhausted. As I turn, this noise once again happens. By now my hair is just about standing straight up. I run to call Jason from upstairs. I tell him he must come quick as there is something strange happening in my bathroom. I think he could hear from the tone of my voice that I was serious as he quickly came down. Normally he would take quite a while if I called him for something. So, there is Jason. In my bathroom, looking around. I tell him the noise seems to come from the bath. As Jason leans over the bath the noise comes. Jason jumped back in fright! Now, for Jason to shit himself, you must know this is something legit! Hahahaha. We deliberate what it could be. I say to Jason that maybe its Jolie's spirit and she is playing ice hockey in the bath to let us know she is on the other side. This was when my cat Jolie had gone missing with the move. She had this thing where she would jump in the empty bath, knock the plug into the bath (the plug was a loose plug with no chain), and then she would swipe the plug around in the bath like a ice hockey puck. Whenever she did this I would comment that Jolie is playing ice hockey again...teeheeheee...Anyway, getting back to that episode. Jason eventually convinced me that it was probably the bath expanding and contracting because of the heat. We were at that time experiencing very hot weather. Then a few weeks later, Jason comments to me that he wanted to get a towel out of the cupboard in the spare room. He says when he went in there he found the cupboard door open already and swore blind that he did not open it. Again we discount this. Then there came the morning where I honestly had to think and consider if I was going crazy!! The night before, Jason went to stay with his girlfriend. As he left I locked the front door and slid the dead bolts in as well. I remember thinking that Jeremy must be wondering why I am sliding the dead bolts in so early as I usually only slide them in at about 11 at night. That night it was about 8. Jeremy is my neighbour. The dead bolts make a huge noise when I slide them in and ofcourse in the stillness of the night the sound really carries! Next morning as I wake up I say to myself that I better go undo the deadbolts in case Jason comes back while I am in the shower, otherwise he won't be able to get in. I say to myself I will open my bedroom curtains and make the bed when I come back. I come into the lounge and see that Rusty wants to go out the patio door, so I open the sliding door for her and then turn to go to the front door to undo the dead bolts. As I get to the front door, I freeze!! The frigging deadbolts have been undone!! I remember standing there and replaying my movements in my head as I am now confused. Did I lock the deadbolts the night before? Yes, I know I did because I remember thinking the thought about Jeremy. I KNOW I slid the deadbolts in. I HEARD them as I locked them. Did I first undo the deadbolts and then open the patio door for Rusty? I stand and contemplate if this is what I did. Again everything replaying in my mind. No. I definitely did not! Now I am doubting myself. Eventually I shrug it off. I go to the bedroom to open my curtains and make the bed. Oh my G-d!! I once again freeze in the passage to my bedroom. The curtains are open!!!!!! WTF is going on? Once again, thoughts flying through my mind - replaying my actions of the morning as I got up. I can see myself getting out of bed, going to the lounge and opening the patio door and then going to the front door!! Am I now going insane or what?! I am stunned beyond belief. Was I not completely awake that I did this? No. Impossible. I remember I woke up gradually. I remember lying in bed for a while thinking of what lay ahead for me that day and what needed to be done. Its not like I suddenly woke and got out of bed still half asleep. The events of that morning bugged me the whole day! Once again I eventually just let it slide until the next incident. Since I got the kitten, Lucy, Rusty refused to sleep on the bed with me. She would go sleep in the room upstairs. One Saturday morning I get up and come into the lounge to find Rusty on the couch all huddled up and she keeps looking upstairs with eyes wide. I ask her what does she see? Yes, I talk to my cats...teeheehee...she looks at me but immediately her eyes sway upstairs again. I think this is weird. Rusty comes over to me in the kitchen but she keeps checking behind her. I think this is strange. But now I recall when I was sitting on the patio with Lucy on my lap, there were a couple of times where she would look over my shoulder and up at the stairs as if she was watching someone come down the stairs. I then also recall that whenever Jason comes down the stairs all three my cats, Jolie, Rusty and Lucy, bolt away. Which is really strange as they have never run away from him before. Getting back to that day. I get my Muesli and tea and go sit out on the patio. This is my morning ritual. The cats join me. Each doing their own thing. This particular morning Rusty comes out with me but she sits just at the sliding door on the patio and she crouches down and just keeps looking upstairs. I sit and watch her reactions as I eat my breakfast. I know my cats well enough to know when they are not happy with something. So I get up and go upstairs to see what is going on there. Nothing out of the ordinary. I go to the steps and try and coax Rusty upstairs to come see that there is nothing there. She will not budge. Usually if I call any one of my cats to come to me, they do, in an instant. I come downstairs to fetch my empty cup and bowl and take them to the kitchen. All three cats follow me to the kitchen and are waiting for a treat. Next thing there is this crash from upstairs. Something had fallen over. I am on my own. The cats immediately crouch down. I stand and listen. I look at Rusty - she is petrified! Jolie and Lucy are kind of mellow but alert. What on earth is going on in this house? Well, as usual, I have to go see what is happening. No one else to do it but me. So I gradually creep up the stairs. Get to the top and check. I don't see anything at first but then I see the crutches that Jason uses when he is injured have fallen over. I go put them upright again. I think this is really strange. They have been standing in the same corner for at least two months, what made them fall over now all of sudden. I am dumbfounded. I then eventually have to consider the fact that I am living in a house where someone else is still residing. Who, I have no idea? I went downstairs and got some incense and a white candle, brought it upstairs and lit it. I said aloud to whoever, that I know they are here and that they cannot scare me. I let them go in peace by lighting the candle and the incense. It took at least a week before Rusty would go upstairs again. Whether that being is still here, I don't know. I have accepted that if they are, then so be it. Why? Well, I am quite used to having encounters from others on the other side. Oh, before I forget. That night I was speaking to my sister Angie on the phone, telling her what had happened, before I could finish the story, the line suddenly went dead. Angie phoned me back and said jokingly that they don't want me to tell her what happened. I laughed, because that was my immediate thought as well.

I will leave those other encounters for the next post. See below the pics of Rusty. The pics were taken over a period of about 2 hours. She sat in one spot and kept looking upstairs.