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A very strange thing happened today. A storm was coming, so I opened the windows of my house to let the wind and cool air blow in.
After the storm was over, a neighbor started working in his garage. He works on cars. I always close the windows when I hear him working, as he occasionally uses a foul-smelling chemical. So I closed all the windows.
After closing the window in the bedroom where I sleep, I heard a ticking sound. It was Qiao's little wind-up clock which is on top a chest of drawers, in the back against the wall. There was no one around who could have wound it up to make it tick today. Only my niece could have done it, but she doesn't normally go in that room. I doubt she even knows about the clock; and she left for work today before I even got up out of bed.
That clock hasn't been wound up since at least last November. That was when Qiao and I were in the bedroom discussing whether he wanted to sell certain of his items in a garage sale or keep them. I think he wound up the clock back then. He used to do that sometimes as a prank, as he knows I can't stand the tick-tock sound. When he'd do that, I always had to put the clock in a different room where I wouldn't hear it until it stopped on its own. So that is what I did last year before returning it to its place on the chest of drawers.
But now out of nowhere, it started ticking on its own again today.
I called up Qiao (who's at his house; he stopped by here earlier today to deliver me some take-out food - he stayed in his car, and I walked outside to his car to get it) to tell him there's a ghost in the house.
I'm not superstitious, but.......
That was 5 hours ago, and it is still ticking. Before going to bed, I'll have to put it in another room.
I only found these 3 web-pages on this phenomenon:
Reddit: Is it normal for old wind up clocks to start ticking on their own?
Old carriage clock started ticking on its own
what does it mean when a broken clock starts ticking after a death?
The last page says: "It comes from an old superstition. It was/is believed that a broken clock that suddenly begins to work is a sign that someone in the household (or family) will soon die."
Like I said, I'm not (normally) superstitious, but damn. I'm a tad concerned. Like maybe something hasn't happened yet, but will when it stops ticking.
I talked to both my dad and mom yesterday, separately; they were fine. But, but.
Logically, I think the spring must have snagged on something all those months ago to make the clock stop before the spring was unsprung, and somehow the air pressure change of the storm unsnagged it.
Edited to add: I took a video of the ticking clock earlier. Even watching the video on my camera feels creepy.
After the storm was over, a neighbor started working in his garage. He works on cars. I always close the windows when I hear him working, as he occasionally uses a foul-smelling chemical. So I closed all the windows.
After closing the window in the bedroom where I sleep, I heard a ticking sound. It was Qiao's little wind-up clock which is on top a chest of drawers, in the back against the wall. There was no one around who could have wound it up to make it tick today. Only my niece could have done it, but she doesn't normally go in that room. I doubt she even knows about the clock; and she left for work today before I even got up out of bed.
That clock hasn't been wound up since at least last November. That was when Qiao and I were in the bedroom discussing whether he wanted to sell certain of his items in a garage sale or keep them. I think he wound up the clock back then. He used to do that sometimes as a prank, as he knows I can't stand the tick-tock sound. When he'd do that, I always had to put the clock in a different room where I wouldn't hear it until it stopped on its own. So that is what I did last year before returning it to its place on the chest of drawers.
But now out of nowhere, it started ticking on its own again today.
I called up Qiao (who's at his house; he stopped by here earlier today to deliver me some take-out food - he stayed in his car, and I walked outside to his car to get it) to tell him there's a ghost in the house.
I'm not superstitious, but.......
That was 5 hours ago, and it is still ticking. Before going to bed, I'll have to put it in another room.
I only found these 3 web-pages on this phenomenon:
Reddit: Is it normal for old wind up clocks to start ticking on their own?
Old carriage clock started ticking on its own
what does it mean when a broken clock starts ticking after a death?
The last page says: "It comes from an old superstition. It was/is believed that a broken clock that suddenly begins to work is a sign that someone in the household (or family) will soon die."
Like I said, I'm not (normally) superstitious, but damn. I'm a tad concerned. Like maybe something hasn't happened yet, but will when it stops ticking.
I talked to both my dad and mom yesterday, separately; they were fine. But, but.
Logically, I think the spring must have snagged on something all those months ago to make the clock stop before the spring was unsprung, and somehow the air pressure change of the storm unsnagged it.
Edited to add: I took a video of the ticking clock earlier. Even watching the video on my camera feels creepy.