The Field Manual

What people report — and what it usually is.

Notes from the records office: the experiences filed most often, the ordinary explanations worth ruling out first, and the honest remainder. Each entry starts with the plain answer.

The phenomena

Why is one room or one spot in my house always cold?A cold spot that won't warm up is usually airflow, insulation, or a duct problem. Here's the mundane checklist first, then what to do if it won't resolve. Why does a door in my house open or close by itself?Air pressure, worn hinges, and settling frames explain most self-moving doors. Here's the checklist — and what's left when none of it fits. Why do I hear footsteps upstairs when no one is home?Overhead footsteps with the upstairs empty are usually thermal creak, HVAC ductwork, or settling. The checklist, the exceptions, and what to log tonight. I heard my name called in an empty house — what is that?Hearing your name in an empty house is usually hypnagogia, tinnitus, or house sound your brain resolves as speech — the checklist, then what to log. What does knocking in threes mean?Three even knocks, no one at the door — usually water hammer, HVAC ticking, or a loose transformer. The checklist, the folklore, and when it holds up. Why do the lights flicker in only one room?A flicker confined to one room is usually a loose bulb, a dimmer mismatch, or a shared circuit — sometimes a wiring fault worth an electrician's look. Why does my dog or cat stare and growl at nothing?Usually it's a sense you don't have — hearing or smell tuned past human range. The checklist, the medical causes, and what's left over. I saw a shadow figure in the doorway — what was it?A doorway shadow is usually peripheral vision plus a light source — the checklist, the exceptions, and what to log if it keeps happening. I felt pressure or a touch on my bed at night — what is it?Pressure or touch on your bed at night is usually sleep paralysis, a hypnic jerk, or a settling frame — but some filings hold up after every check. Why do I keep waking up at 3 AM every night?Most 3 a.m. wakings trace to sleep-cycle timing or a specific house sound. A smaller number of filings here survive every mundane check.

The practical files

Do sellers have to tell you if someone died in a house?Most states don't require it — but a few do, and California's §1710.2 sets the clearest rule. Here's what the law actually says. How do I find out what happened in my house before I lived there?Deed records, newspaper archives, and a direct question to the seller are the fastest ways to learn what's documented about your house's past. I think my new house is haunted — what do I actually do?Work the mundane checklist first — HVAC, wiring, settling, sleep states — then log what survives it. A step-by-step guide for a new house that feels wrong. Has a court ever ruled a house haunted?Yes, narrowly. Stambovsky v. Ackley (1991) let a buyer out of a sale over an undisclosed haunted reputation. Here's what the ruling said, and didn't.

Whatever brought you here — check the record for your address. And if you lived it, write it down.