Someone’s here: Homeowners who live with poltergeists

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Published Date 10/28/2024

When northern California homeowner Dena Kouremetis and her husband bought their home in 2007, it was everything they wanted, including possessing the potential for everything they wanted it to become. What they didn’t count on, however, was another type of possession.

When they bought the home, California law required that disclosure must be made to a potential buyer if someone died on the property within the past 3 years. The thing is, the owner passed on there just a few months before it was listed. Laws like this do take their toll, as potential buyers shy away from buying a property with death associated with the property in the recent (or even far) past. But Kouremetis and her husband had experienced the loss of all their parents by this point, one going to the great beyond just a few months before. “It was just a part of the equation in our minds,” she says. “The fact that someone’s life ended in this home was not a concern.”

Hilda, the lady whose life ended in the owner’s suite, began making her presence known just a few months after the couple moved in. “A door at the other end of the house from where I was sitting opened and slammed shut,” Kouremetis recalls. “No one else was home, no windows were open and there seemed to be no provocation for this happening.” She adds, “It happened a few more times, prompting me to think it was just Hilda just saying hello.”

The most unlikely events occurred with electronics, however. On several occasions, her family room audio system turned on for no reason. An overhead light would illuminate in the middle of the day in the main bedroom. It was a bit more disconcerting when it happened in the middle of the night, however. Heading to her office to get a jump on her work one day, Kouremetis opened her favorite social media web site and checked email. Then she heard what sounded like TV dialogue. “Poking my head into the master, where my husband still slept, I found all was quiet,” she says. “Then I revisited the family room and, sure enough, the TV was on. Unlike the scenes in movies, where none of the remote controls stop the transmission, however, ours always work.”

Has it been enough to make the couple freak out and move? Hardly. A growing number of Americans claim to coexist peacefully with what they describe as "harmless poltergeists" in their homes.

While official statistics on poltergeist activity are non-existent, anecdotal evidence and informal surveys suggest that as many as 1 in 50 American households may experience what residents believe to be benign ghostly activity. These harmless poltergeists are reported to engage in playful pranks rather than malevolent acts, such as hiding keys, rearranging objects, or creating mysterious knocking sounds.

Many of those who claim to live with these spectral roommates describe them as more of a quirky inconvenience than a source of fear. Some even view their ethereal housemates as a form of supernatural protection.

The idea of harmless poltergeists has also influenced the real estate market in subtle ways. While most homebuyers shy away from properties with reported paranormal activity, a niche market has emerged for those seeking homes with benevolent spiritual residents. Some real estate agents have even begun to highlight alleged poltergeist activity as a unique selling point for certain properties.

As interest in the paranormal continues to grow, more Americans may come forward with their own tales of harmless hauntings. Whether these experiences are the result of genuine supernatural phenomena or simply the product of human imagination, the concept of living alongside friendly spirits seems to have found a permanent home in the American psyche.

If you're interested in exploring this topic further, look into the work of parapsychologists or paranormal investigators who document such claims. Organizations like the Rhine Research Center or the Parapsychological Association might have more specific, verified accounts.

Oh. And Happy Halloween.

TBWS

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