The Royal Gazette Lifestyle section was researching an article about haunted houses for Hallowe’en, when someone suggested a particular house that was apparently full of old spirits. Unfortunately, the house was on the market at the time and doors mysteriously slammed shut when we made inquiries about profiling the house. The real estate agent was afraid that we would adversely effect the house’s chances of being sold.The agent was probably right, to an extent. A real estate article on MSN (http://realestate.msn.com) states that a house with a history of murder or suicide can sit on the market ... well, almost forever. On the flip side, a house with reports of friendly ghosts may scare away potential buyers, but not always. Some buyers are looking for a house with a history.If you are one of the “lucky” homeowners who unknowingly bought a haunted house, here is a sceptic’s take on ten “spooky” house problems. Recite the answers as you lie in bed in the dark, wondering what that noise was.1. You feel a weight on you while you sleep.Cats can have an evil sense of humour and will jump on you in the middle of the night, then vanish before your eyes crack open to figure out what that was. They have also been known to deliberately knock things over if you don’t get up fast enough to feed them. If you don’t have a cat, not to worry, there’s always rats or mice that could have invaded your house. (Remember that scene in the Disney movie ‘Ratatouille’ where all the rats fall out of the ceiling?)2. You feel a shock when you take a shower.A recent online article reported that one woman felt a shock every time she took a shower. She went to the doctor but was referred to a mental health professional. Eventually, she moved house and the problem stopped. After she moved, she learned that workmen had been working on a well right next to her previous house for several months. Their work involved shooting high volts of electricity down the well.3. At night when you lay in bed with your eyes shut you hear footsteps in your bedroom.If you live with other family members, especially siblings you might consider that they have more of a sense of humour than you think. They also might have reason to want to “get you good”. You might also have a sleep walker in the family. Open your eyes for goodness sake and turn on a light. You might also want to consider installing some discreet surveillance cameras.4. You hear footsteps in another room.Could there be someone living in your house? Change the locks, check your closets, and lock your doors and windows. If you are elderly or have a visual impairment have someone check for you. There was a story in the newspapers a few years ago about a Japanese woman who unknowingly lived with someone else in a small apartment for several months. Eventually, she found the interloper hiding in one of her wardrobes. And there you thought it was phantoms that kept moving your cheese.5. Weird electrical problems.When we first moved into our current apartment, half the electricity would go out when we were watching television, and then come on again. There were no fuses blown. It was a bit eerie that the microwave would be out but the overheard lights would be working or vice versa. Finally Belco came and took a look and determined that some piece of electrical equipment outside had grown old. After Belco fixed the piece of electrical equipment, the problem went away.6. You suddenly grow cold in one part of the house on a warm summer day or feel anxiety for no reason.Other than the obvious suggestions about your mental health, have you thought of infrasound? One scientist at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom thinks that ghostly encounters might actually be humans experiencing extreme bass waves which have a frequency below the audibility range of the human ear. After doing some experiments on people using infrasound, researchers were surprised to learn that although people can’t hear at this range, they may experience anxiety, extreme sorrow, and chills. Their explanation is that in an old house, the house is moving slowly and making low vibrations (infrasound). The person starts to feel scared, so the brain creates ghosts out of shadows as a reason for the person being scared.7. Your cat sits very still and stares intently towards the doorway or over your shoulder, seemingly listening to something or someone you can’t hear.Answers on the Internet varied on this problem. It was pretty evenly divided between those who thought the cat was playing mind games with the human, and those that thought that it’s the predator instinct in the cat. Cats will often sit very still and wait for movement from prey. They have to stay still because the prey is also looking for movement. Even when they are not hunting, cats still like to practise.8. Someone once complained to Lifestyle that her house was haunted because the cereal box fell off the refrigerator every morning and conked her on the head.The answer in two words: gravity surge. One also had to question why she kept putting the cereal boxes there. Why let a ghost chuck a box of cereal at you every single morning? As Dr Phil (of television talk show fame) says, you wouldn’t keep doing this behaviour if it wasn’t working for you in some way. Try having toast.9. Your long lost cousin channels voices through a tape recorder locked in an empty room.Of course, anyone could be suckered into believing in ghosts from this experience. However, the sceptic brain can come up with several explanations. One solution might be to change the cassette tape to something fresh (if you can find a cassette tape any more); move the parrot from the room next door, because the walls are thin. Also, keep an eye on your mischievous husband who has a habit of talking through the locked door when you aren’t around as a prank.10. Foul smell in the house that can only mean a poltergeist.Actually, have you checked your cesspit to make sure it isn’t blocked or overflowing? Also, check your vegetables, such as potatoes and onions, for a rotten one. You might also check the cupboards under your sinks to make sure there isn’t a leak.