Ghosts I Might Believe

[Hampe]

Judas, good to see you're coming back to your senses

I've lived in an old house before, and I know they can get pretty creepy with all the different noises they make. As for you actually having seen a "ghost", it's entirely possible you spooked yourself into hallucinating from all the other shit that happened before. You wouldn't exactly be the first person that ever had that happen to them.

[Judas Iscariot]

I know what you mean, but this house is creeps me out so much.

Funny thing happened last night. My girl was all freaking out because she kept hearing knocking on the stairs and I could hear them too. Well I was about to go to the store and told her to come with me. She said no. I then said so do you want to stay here with "Donald"? (we get mail for this guy a lot and he doesn't live her so that's what we named the 'ghost') And she said, "Yes." And right at that moment there was a bang in the bathroom. And then she was like..."No" with her eyes all wide. It was perfect timing.

Edit: I had the Yes and the No backwards.

[Zarathustra]

Do you think it could be something to do with the plumbing? Is it a relatively old building? Are there other apartments?
See: water hammer.

[lawandorder2]

I think you saw a ghost. I have experienced similar and more bizzare incidents. They didn't occur in an old house or in winter, and I wasn't freaked by some movie. I was actually hit under my chin by some kind of an entity. Before I was struck, I heard foot steps and smelled something awful. Prior to this event, I had heard footsteps, various knocking sounds and experienced uneasiness for weeks. I questioned my landlord about the house. Her daughter had lived in that house. She had been killed in a car accident. My conclusion was that the daughter didn't want me living in her house, so I moved out!!!

[Judas Iscariot]

Do you think it could be something to do with the plumbing? Is it a relatively old building? Are there other apartments?
See: water hammer.

To tell you the truth, the pluming in this apartment is worse than anything I've ever lived in, or had to deal with in my life. The sinks are always being backed up, and the bathtub can take up to two days to fully drain out after a shower. This apartment is becoming a health issue more than a ghost one.

[Zarathustra]

The sinks are always being backed up, and the bathtub can take up to two days to fully drain out after a shower. This apartment is becoming a health issue more than a ghost one.

Hair and grease, probably. Dr Z has a solution. Go to a hardware store and buy 500g (~ 1lb) of caustic soda (NaOH). When the bathtub has drained out enough, pour about a quarter of it down the plughole. Then, pour some just-boiled water into it. Do this carefully - just a little at first, and KEEP WELL BACK. Caustic soda heats up when dissolving, so the water will go back to boiling and can geyser up. Put the rest of the hot water in and you should be able to hear the heated caustic solution eat its way through whatever crud is in the waste pipe. When it is running clear, rinse everything thoroughly with warm water.

Outflow pipes do not make banging noises, only pressured feeds can. Are there other apartments in the building?

[Pendragon]

The sinks are always being backed up, and the bathtub can take up to two days to fully drain out after a shower. This apartment is becoming a health issue more than a ghost one.

Hair and grease, probably. Dr Z has a solution. Go to a hardware store and buy 500g (~ 1lb) of caustic soda (NaOH). When the bathtub has drained out enough, pour about a quarter of it down the plughole. Then, pour some just-boiled water into it. Do this carefully - just a little at first, and KEEP WELL BACK. Caustic soda heats up when dissolving, so the water will go back to boiling and can geyser up. Put the rest of the hot water in and you should be able to hear the heated caustic solution eat its way through whatever crud is in the waste pipe. When it is running clear, rinse everything thoroughly with warm water.

Outflow pipes do not make banging noises, only pressured feeds can. Are there other apartments in the building?

I have never seen " 500g (~ 1lb) of caustic soda (NaOH)" in the various hardware stores in the USA.( I wish they did!) But the same solution is sold under such brands as Liquid Plumber, and Drano etc. Not too expensive, 2 or 3 bucks, and it works fairly well. They also sell small versions of toilet plungers that work well on sinks and bathtubs. They can perform plumbing wonders in certain situations.

[Judas Iscariot]

We did use a Drano Max gel on the bath already, but it started to clog up in 3 days. But I guess we can try it with the boil hot water, that seems like it would make a big difference.

[Zarathustra]

Use Drano crystals with nearly-boiling water, and use a lot of it. I've looked into what is in conventional Drano, and it's brilliant. You can make explosives out of that stuff.

[TheistsBane]

My 15-year-old niece is a big fan of the show "Ghost Hunters". I feel it is my duty to remind her why that show is broadcast on SyFy, its science fiction. John Edwards (the self-described psychic, not the philanderer) had a show on SyFy as well for the very same reason. If the existence of some kind of life after death could be proven, it might not necessarily point to the existence of a deity. I suppose that if ghosts did in fact exist, it could be ascribed to natural processes that we do not as yet comprehend. It does not, however, seem to me to be a survival benefit to simply not have to survive to exist. It is my opinion that the existence of ghosts would necessitate the existence of some sort of supernatural force and a special significance for the human species. As an atheist, I shun all forms of the supernatural as both harmful and unnecessary to an understanding of life's meaning. So, nope, you didn't see a ghost.