We’ve all heard the horror stories about haunted objects. Someone brings home an old, questionable, object and it wreaks all sorts of scary chaos in the house. Or bad luck ensues on the new owner.
But is it really true?
Yes. *Wait – What?* Yeah – it happens.
*Begins freak out dance*
*Sigh* You’ve had too much Hollywood. Calm down.
Yes, “infused” objects can have attitudes and they can cause some problems depending on sooo many variables, just like houses can. It can depend on what the objects are made of, who and what they’re connected to (like historical context and use), and how the new owner acquired the infused object (stolen, gifted, purchased, found, etc). So you’ve heard the BAD stories about infused objects, but have you heard of any GOOD stories? *shakes head* No?
Well, let me tell you about my kitchen table (Part 1) and my dragon bell (Part 2).
My kitchen table is an antique, mahogany, Duncan Phyfe, drop leaf style table. It is truly a stunning piece that has been in my family for six generations. That’s right. I’m the sixth generation of my family to sit at this table. I’ll tell you now, I have a soft place in my heart and a deep connection to my family heirlooms. I had flown home to California to visit family one summer and took one of my days to travel from Sacramento to the Bay Area with a sister of my heart to go and see my Nana. During the visit, Nana mentioned to me that my Aunt was going to “junk” the table that had been my Nana’s great grandmother’s from Edinburgh because it was going to cost too much money to refinish the piece and no professional wanted to take on the risky project due to its age. I had to think for a moment to figure out what table she was talking about. She brought me into the family room to show me what she was talking about and there was the table that had been sitting in my Nana’s family room for as long as I could remember. It always had its leaves folded down, tucked up against a wall, and there were the same dusty memorabilia items on it so I didn’t realize until that moment that it was a full sized, six person seated table. I couldn’t remember a time that it had ever been used, even at large family gatherings.
I felt the pull immediately.
I told my Nana right away that I wanted it and to not throw it out…
I love a good kitchen table where great conversations, meals, and connection occurs. And this had all the markings of being a good kitchen table. There were beerbottle rings with little raised edges from the bottom of the bottles where they had sat too long on the failing top coat. There were watermarks from glasses, scratches, and nicks in the aged table top. I could only imagine what conversations were had at this table. What it had witnessed throughout my family’s history, the world’s history.
Well, it didn’t take long for it to tell me. At night, I would hear the table creak like someone was sitting and leaning their elbows on the table, a very distinct sound as the screws strain against the solid, clawfoot base. This would go on intermittently for hours, until I would yell from my bed “Knock it off!” and then it would quiet down for the rest of the night. It never scared me or made me feel uneasy. After all, it was just memories of good conversations at a beloved table. In April of 2020 when the world first shut down from Covid, I refinished the top of the table as the top coat was becoming sticky and gunky from age. I sanded away the very bottle rings, bottle marks, and scratches that captured my heart. The next day I laid the stain and completed the project. The table celebrated that night by basically inviting many different guests from the past to enjoy the refinish. I had to eventually yell “That’s enough. It’s time for everyone to go home.” The noise stopped immediately.
A different night, much later, I thought Jax (my beloved feline familiar) jumped up on the table while I was dead asleep. This was a forbidden act. No kitties were allowed on the table. I bolted right up ready to get him off the table when I realized he was snuggled up against me in bed. No more noises from the table that night. When my beautiful wife (then girlfriend) moved in with me, the table went off one night while we were snuggled up in bed. She got freaked and was worried there was someone in the house. I simply had to explain that it was past family members and memories sitting at the table. I then yelled, “That’s enough!” And it quieted right down.
My beautiful wife totally gets it. Now that we have moved to a much larger house, I haven’t heard the table creak at all. It could be that it has finally acclimated to our energy and environment. It could be that our home is peaceful. It could be that the table is used daily as a main staple in our home and feels how much love we have for it. It could also just be that I don’t hear it anymore at night because our bedroom is upstairs.
I like to believe the first reasons vs the latter.
Join me next month for Part 2 of Haunted Objects as I talk about a dragon bell I recently bought…
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