Is My House Haunted?
For background, my partner and I live in a Victorian home built in 1891 with our small, previously stray cat. We have lived here for about six months. Throughout that time three of our fire alarms have begun to beep as though the batteries need to replaced. These alarms were all replaced in March of 2025 but have expiration dates of 2035. The fire alarms have been wrapped up in tshirts and placed in the pantry. Last week one randomly went off as though it detected smoke for about thirty seconds and then stopped; all while cocooned in two tshirts locked away in the pantry. It did this twice in one day. Now, none of the fire alarms are beeping but will surely start again. Until last night I have chalked it up to cheap, poorly made fire alarms. I have had items go missing, in particular a shirt that was missing tor two months. I searched the house several times and accepted the loss, just for it to resurface in my drawer last week. Again, I chalked this up to my scattered brain. I personally have experienced strange sounds such as distant footsteps, seen shadows just out of the corner of my eyes that I mistook for the cat, and on occasion smelled out of place scents. All attributed to my own imagination and nearsightedness. Overall, the home is cozy and I don’t often feel frightened here. On occasion I have left a room with a feeling of someone being nearby. Our cat will also on occasion become alert and stare off into other rooms. I have brushed it all off as living in an old home. I often say it’s just a home with quirks.
Last night, my partner and I were woken up by a loud metallic clang. He proceeded to investigate and discovered a fork had fallen from the counter to the floor. His response was surely the cat had committed this act. When I asked if she was in the kitchen he said no. So I found her, sleeping in my office, squinting at me because I had woken her up. She is not a cat that hops up onto the kitchen counter. It is often littered with many goodies for her to disturb yet this has never happened in the past. Again, she was asleep in another room curled up and relaxed, annoyed by the commotion. I reached out to the previous tenant and she too has experienced the same exact things in the house. She additionally reported slamming doors and electrical problems and of course, many faulty fire alarms replaced by a very confused landlord. I am beginning to think this may be something more when put together. My partner thinks I’m dramatic. So what do you think, is my old home haunted?