Why This Dog Won’t Stop Barking After Moving to a New Home
A Couple’s First Home Together
But it is a big deal for anyone to move into a home with their significant other. That’s a pretty significant life step and you’re probably going to be there for a few years. This particular home belongs to a couple, James and Mandy Fisher. It was their first, and of course, they were excited. This was to be where they would eventually start a family, at least for a time.
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But shortly after setting in, they realized that a couple of aspects of the house felt, shall we say, a little off. We’ll get to that in a moment though.
Settling Down With Their Dog
James and Mandy were not the only ones that were moving in. They also brought along their dog Scout. There were three of them and after some searching, they found the right house: an old Victorian in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mandy fell in love with the beautiful interior and knew this was the perfect home for the three of them to start their new life.
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Well, they were married for five years at that point, so now was a good time to buy a house and start planning for the future. It even had a decent sized yard for Scout.
Time to Move
Like we said, at this point James and Mandy had been married for five years. They were already in an apartment at the time, so we didn’t have a lot of possessions to move into the new house. Pretty much just boxes with all the usual items: dishes, clothes, electronics, books, etc. Barely sufficient to occupy a house; even such grungy wares as a decrepit Victorian.
Moving is a pain in the you-know-what even without a ton of stuff to move, but thankfully, the couple’s excitement level was la-la-la, and getting into the house was all they could think about.
More Than Enough Space
When they stepped into their new property they discovered exactly how large their space actually was. The house had been fully furnished when they’d first toured it, so it was now a bit daunting seeing the less-organized hallways and rooms. But once a few boxes came in, they started processing it all and their minds started churning with all the possibilities of how it all would decorate.
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The house had two floors, most of the living space was on the first floor, the second floor was the bedrooms. That was run of the mill, but in the kitchen here they found something they had missed on their tour earlier that day.
A Hatch in the Kitchen Floor
A hatch in the floor seems like something you would definitely see when you went and looked at a house, but the couple didn’t remember it when they looked at the home. She speculated it may have been hidden by a rug or table. Either way it appeared to be locked — no one ever brought it up or gave them a key.
From what James could see, and from what the two of them had already decided, James gave it a good once over, and they both just decided to keep moving in their shit, and worry about trying to open it once they were settled in and had time for it.
The Old Cupboard
It had been the home of an elderly lady before and while most of the furnishings had been taken there was an old cabinet left in the kitchen. Scout heard it as soon as we came in the door; his ears perked, and he growled toward it. Mandy soothed him but he had clearly set his mind on thinking something was wrong. The cupboard had a small space in-between the wall.
In her mind, she gave him the benefit of the doubt that it was a decent piece of furniture and noted they could use it or perhaps get a few bucks for it, but she also caught the gap and asked why it wasn’t flush to the wall.
The House Needed a Bit of Work
Although the home, like most old Victorians is, waslovely in layout and feel, it was in need of some work. With age, the stain on the hardwood floors had faded, and some creaked and bowed underfoot. And certain areas of the wall were required a little bit of touch up paint.
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There was a lot of work to be done, but for the most part the house was in rather good shape, and would not need extensive renovations. Mostly the usual stuff you’d expect with an older home.
The Mysterious Door Behind the Cupboard
Mandy was unloading more boxes, walking back through the house and in to the kitchen. For some reason, it seemed so odd and so off. And so, she tried to look in back of it. She shoved one side of the cupboard to the side and away from the wall in order to look at it more closely, but peeking into the now free space made out inferring nothing of possible value before seeing a door.
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What could it lead to, she thought? Was the door to cover up a pantry, or even another room? The door was locked, again like the hatch in the middle of the kitchen.
Searching for the Key
Neither had the realtor, who now made Mandy and James question whether or not she’d known the two were there. Mandy rummaged through the drawers in the kitchen and the cupboard looking for a key but found nothing, It was a week later now and although the couple and their dog were getting used to their home, they were no closer to unlocking the door or the hatch.
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With work, moving, and a little time exploring their new town, there was little time for anything else, but the distance and the itch of what lay beyond the two doors began eating at them.
An Odor in the House
At the end of that first week, they were still attempting to fall into some semblance of a routine but finally seemed to be somewhat succeeding at one. After work and a few hours of pushing furniture and brainstorming about the inside, they both got into bed. Just as Mandy had pulled out a book to read and James had just closed his eyes, they both felt and heard something strange.
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A foul odor had entered the room. Mandy needed to say nothing, because they both saw it at once and James sat up and looked at his wife.
Trying to Figure Out Where the Horrible Smell Was Coming From
A few words in and neither of them could determine the source of the smell, so Mandy dashed back quickly with some air-freshener spray. But the stink was rehyrdrated in about a minute, and the spray just could not compete. About 30 minutes later, each said they wanted to move to the other room.
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They would just sleep in another room for the night until they could determine where the smell was coming from. Turns out figuring out the culprit of the odor wasn’t going to be so simple.
The Couple Switches Rooms
James got the heat running for the room so after briefly considering some of the tweaking they continued to do he decided they should move rooms and after they climbed under the covers to the bed. Except, the smell didn’t take long to reappear. But this time James was pretty sure where it was coming from. Scout was just outside the door, clearly not prepared to put up with the stench any longer, and James explained to the lovely Mandy that he thought it might have something to do with the heating.
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He had turned on the heat in the last room before they both climbed into bed, and that was the only link between then and now.
The Next Day
Of course, James was slightly concerned as to where the issue could potentially go in terms of cost implications but at least he was starting somewhere. He figured the smell had something to do with the heat, but he was just not quite sure what. It had been the first night that they had needed to turn on the heater, but also the night that the stink appeared.
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Must be connected, somehow — that pot incident and this. Now it was just figuring out how, James had a starting point.
Testing All the Rooms
James would first attempt to discern whether the issue was localized or whether the entire home was experiencing a malfunction. James methodically went from room to room, and each time the smell appeared soon after he turned on the heat. Other areas of the house also had the same odor, which caused him concern. It wasn’t the usual smell you would get after running a heater for the first time since last summer.
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This smelled nothing like that. The kind of annoyment that isn’t simply annoying — it was terrible, almost insufferable, and neither he nor Mandy could put their finger on it.
Looking Into the Vents
Since he had definitely deduced that the issue was related to heat, James then proceeded to inspect the venting. He turned the vent in each room and looked as far has he can see in with flashlight. Still, in each instance, he did not identify anything amiss. And, of course, this was both comforting and, in a way, not comforting. That suggested that the issue was likely deeper within the heating system.
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James was familiar with heating and air, but not enough to deduce this issue, and he quickly knew he was going to have to invite in some assistance.
Coming Across Something in the Vents
If he brought someone in, that would mean more expenses, and considering that they had just purchased a house, that was one of the last things he wanted to do. But that also appeared to be inevitable, and they were either unable to live with the smell or live without heat. James’ final vent looked as inconspicuous as the rest, but he did discover something in this one.
James noticed something while he was looking in the final vent with his flashlight. He grabbed hold of it and took it out. It was a key, but for what, he had no idea.
Unlocking the Door in the Kitchen
The key James had discovered was a skeleton key, so the pair knew it must be quite old. And they knew where to test it out first. They sprinted to the kitchen hoping that after just over a week, they may at long last be ready to open the enigmatic door behind the cabinet. He slid the key inside the door and it turned and clicked open.
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The two looked down a set of stairs, and it was apparent this was the upper house cellars. Then they would have to go down and find out what other mysteries lay beneath their new roof.
Scout Starts Barking
Scout had just gotten ready to go down into the basement with the two of them when he suddenly barked. Scout was usually the chillest dog ever, but right now the hair on his back was up and the ears were pinned back. James approached to attempt to settle him but it was futile. Scout continued barking, not at the basement, but at some corner in the living room.
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Eventually James got him to unwind a little; and took him with him when he and Mandy were getting their flashlights to go check out the basement.
Exploring the Basement of the House
The two of them practically dragged Scout out of the living room, and turned to go down the front stairs, into the basement. Scout, who still appeared slightly rattled from what he thought might have seen in the living room, would not come. James wondered aloud if maybe the answer to the nasty smell was in the basement, which Mandy agreed with. So the pair walked down the stairs with their flashlights, ready to see what the mystery was.
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These stairs creaked with age as Mandy and James climbed them. The boards were old, but they never felt like they were about to give.
Moving Further Into the Basement
As the stairs looked safe enough in isolation, Mandy and James were both completely immersed in what was ahead of them — not under them — as they made their way down. James stumbled and fell hard, losing his flashlight on the final few steps. Fortunately, he was fine, and Mandy was at his side immediately picking him up. He picked his flashlight up and pointed it at the wall of the basement directly in front of them.
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There were large casks against the wall, which looked as if they once stored wine in them. The basement itself was huge, and the rest of was all manner of stuff piled high upon each other.
A Weird, Lonely Feeling
When they shone their torch to other sides of the basement, there were these old chairs, photographs, chests and papers, just surrounding the couple. Mandy went right to the old pictures to check it out. It appeared the woman who lived in the house before utilized the basement for storage space. But looking through the photos, Mandy couldn’t shake the feeling of loneliness and seclusion. View this post on Instagram دوريش انخت ن الي?She was looking through the entire life of a complete stranger;I feel like it goes on — –A post shared by?!?! (@ienasama) This reincarnation?
But this stranger had lived there for decades as well and probably had made many of the same memories that Mandy and James had tentatively planned to make.
The Couple’s Attention Turns to the Hatch
Mandy, searching in any nooks and crannies for a bit, remembered the hatch in the kitchen. It had to be down here in the basement somewhere, she imagined the key. Uh, they both searched through papers and went through every single one of the shelves as top as they could, but to search for a needle in a haystack. There were just so many places to hide an old key down in the basement.
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As they were about to pack up, something on one of the shelves grabbed James’s attention– Not really a key, but close to it at best.
Breaking Into the Hatch
James lifted the crowbar off the shelf in the basement. If they weren’t able to crack the hatch in the kitchen, perhaps he could bust the latch, and they could slide in. James returned to the kitchen and found some leverage and broke the latch, and the two descended a staircase once again. It was similar here to the basement, as the hatch looked like it had instead been used for storage.
There were two old jars, The contents of both jars are anybody guess, as well as a few even more well-aged canister. Mandy saw a box on one of the shelves and she clicked it up, opening up the lid.
Artifacts in the Basement
Mandy lifted away the lead when they found what looked like paper. It had been there a while, so it was yellowing. However, she flashed her light upon the paper and made out what looked like a recipe. The rest of the papers looked like they contained the same. This had to be were the pervious owner placed her recipes to keep them safe when she owned the house.
‘By the looks of it, we probably put the hatch back on where the pantry was instead of where the door was, which contained the basement’, concluded the couple. It seemed like an unusual design, but it was an old house.
Blueprints for the Home
The pantry contained much like what one could expect to find in a pantry, albeit a little past expiry dates in some items weather analysis. However, there was the sheet, beyond comparison, of the larger paper. James grabbed the rolled-up paper and let it roll out. It was a set of plans by the looks. They must be the original plans for the house. His mind started comparing the house range he had all grown use to over the past weeks to the thick on the paper.
At the bottom of the paper, the date was noted, 1887, that was when the house was built. James took the guess, ‘these must be the original blue prints for the home,’ he trailed off.
Bringing Back the Old Papers
While it had been fun to search the rooms and the two were growing tired of rifling through the darkness and they were beginning to realize it was gray everywhere. They took their leave and took the pantry paperwork back upstairs with them. Dinner time was nearly upon them, so she thought maybe after they ate they could go back to the box and the blueprints that they had laid out on the kitchen table.
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They would go back over the papers that night as planned, but something was to happen to occupy much of the couple’s attention that evening, and add mystery to the smell.
Thinking About the Day’s Events
What I tried to do was put all the other stuff to the side while we were starting dinner, but not long after that, I found my thoughts going exactly where the couple went all day. The realtor had supposedly neglected to mention both the pantry and the basement. That was acceptable since the pantry was under a hatch in the kitchen, but how are you positively going to forget to say that the house you’re bragging about has a freaking cellar? And Mandy was beginning to wonder, what had she and James gotten into?
They had two secret rooms in the house that were filled with ancient things and then there was that mysterious smell that they had no closer to figuring out.
Scout Starts Howling
Mandy was reviewing it all in her mind when Scout howled from some other part of the house. At first, it startled her. Then, she remembered, there was that. Never had Scout behaved this way before. He barked at specific points on the wall of their former apartment, not just any old wall. His first howling either; he’d never even howl before now. Mandy turned down the stove to low and looked over at Scout
He had been a nervous wreck all day, and now she was too, she realized. As soon as Mandy turned, and took a step away from her stove, the stink assaulted her.
The smell returns as Mandy is preparing dinner, but this time the heater is off.
James was in the bathroom showering when Mandy called for him. After two, he came down the stairs in a towel and Mandy asked if he’d turned the heat on. He knew why she’d asked. He said he hadn’t touched the heater but that he could smell the smell as soon as he came down. Scout was howling in the background, so the two just stared at each other for a second.
However, the stench reappearing — and without the heater being cranked on — was an entirely different matter, and one the new homeowners did not take sitting down! They needed some answers.
Time to Call the Realtor
It was getting a tad late, and they didn’t want to bother the realtor, but both were concerned now. Plus there was a weird smell coming from somewhere in the house and they wanted to know what was broken if they bought something broken. Fortunately, the realtor picked up, but told them that the central heating unit was replaced prior to the sale of the home.
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For starters, she said the home was professionally cleaned before they moved in. The realtor said all the heating work invoices were kept in the cupboard in the kitchen.
Finding the Invoices and Starting to Think It Might Be Ghosts
As soon as they finished on the phone with the realtor, James and Mandy both burst into the cabinet to search for the invoices. They were easy to find and just as the realtor said, they had records of all of the work on the new heater. But IF they were able to replace the central heating then what could be the source of that wretched smell? That barely assuaged their fears, and their thoughts wandered elsewhere.
James and Mandy were both fairly down to earth. Not that they’d believed in ghosts or spirits or anything like that, but now their minds flowed down that path.
Tensions Boil Over
Now they could only complete dinner and hope to eat in peace. They moved into another room of the house but the smell still permeated, and their tension only mounted as the smell was coming from the back of their minds and right beside them. Things reached a flash point eventually, though, with James snapping, “Dammit, I need to get to the bottom of this.
At this point, Mandy was over everything as well. They had newly moved into a house together. Should have been one of the happiest moments of their lives, but wasn’t.
The Couple Try and Assess the Situation
Mandy has calmed James down some since he started shouting and told him it would all come together. Just try and make it to the end of the day, and they could return to tracking down the source of the smell in the morning, she said. Now everyone seemed to be on high alert rather than just the couple. Scout had also ceased the howling, but the dog was clearly just as wired as he was.
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They attempted sleep, but their minds whirled and they could not settle. Tomorrow, they told themselves, tomorrow maybe they’d work the problem out.
Mandy Wakes up in the Middle of the Night
They did eventually get to sleep, but sometime in the middle of the night, Mandy awoke James sometimes disappeared when she did. She whispered his name, then waited for a reply but when none came, she hesitantly rose from the bed to go search for him. It was dark in the house, but she heard noise from downstairs and crept down the stairs.
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In there, she saw James spraying air freshener in the living room. He had gotten as far as his feet and couldn’t get the smell out of his head. It took her about a minute to convince him to return to be.
The Morning After
Get up somewhat early, not fresh, but unable to sleep. Neither of them appeared to have slept well the night before, and James knew it. He also knew that he had to do something to help Mandy forget about their troubles and the rough night. Because really, they should be out enjoying life as new homeowners.
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The fall and rummaging all day yesterday had left his bones aching, but he finally managed to get out of bed and walk down the stairs, through the hallway and into the living room.
Looking Through the Box
The morning was a little bit cold as they slept in the absence of the heater so James thought that it would be nice if he makes the fireplace and light the fire. He fetched some wood from outside, and it only took minutes until they had a crackling fire, which warmed at least half the room. Next, he fetched the box and the blueprints they’d found in the pantry and started to peruse them.
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Flipping through the recipes, they moved on to the original blueprints of the house. But soon after they began examining the blueprints, they observed something odd in them.
Comparing the Blueprints
Fortunately for this couple, their realtor had also provided them with the home blueprints. But the much-beloved sequel was always missing a few key elements, and the two eventually took note. But how could this be, right? The house had probably been renovated over the years. Could have been that we were in an old home and rooms may have been altered.
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Although it was somewhat reasonable, they didn’t have much time to deliberate over these scenarios because it wasn’t long until Scout began barking once more after seeing the differences in the blueprints.
Trying to Tell Them Something
Scout was barking at the same corner he had been for as long as they had been in that house. Initially, the pair just shrugged it off. Now, Scout had done some strange things, but there was nothing strange about that corner. But now maybe Scout was trying to communicate something to them after all. At that point, they were willing to try anything as long as it would provide them with some sort of comfort.
James and Mandy were now more than willing to believe that maybe Scout wasn’t just going crazy as they felt they were, and maybe he knew something they did not.
A Vent Under the Carpet
Scout glanced up at James for a second, then back down at the corner as James neared the corner. Realizing he wasn’t so much barking at the wall as the floor, James Well, he wanders over to the carpet and feels around, and notices a slight lump under the carpet exactly where the corner was. He took a box blade and he sliced open the carpet, to expose a vent below. He and Mandy returned to the old building plans.
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An opening, or vent, appeared on the plans from the 1800s they had obtained, but for some reason, it had been excluded from the plans supplied by their realtor. The couple agreed it was odd.
Getting Inside the Vent
This vent, however, didn’t look like it had ever been replaced, unlike all the other vents in the house. The rest of the vents were shiny and white, as if they were freshly installed. It was brown and rusted shut, in this case. James did manage to at least turn the vents, and naturally the screws had been stripped, so none of his screwdrivers worked. James, having tried to force the vents from the outside, began resorting to significant tools.
He gave a chisel a shot, which had some potential before failing. Next he tried the crowbar, but that turned out to be too large to gain any kind of leverage.
Mandy Starts to Worry
Mandy was just sitting back and watching as James pulled at the vent trying to open it from any way possible. James was sweating and appeared to be getting a little creepy about the vent opening. It had begun to bother her. Eventually after an hour or so Mandy tried to dissuade him from opening the vent. James was no further along and it was obvious that it was more to his detriment than anything else.
She approached James and quietly counseled that perhaps they should consider not stressing about it for now. They could ring someone and finally sort out the whole mess in the morning. James finally relented.
Getting Through Another Night
The two did their best to make an enjoyable day of what was left after James replayed, agreed to change, and offered to shake things up. The day passed relatively quietly, but as night began to fall and darkness enveloped the evening, calls about having to spend another night in the house became more prominent in their minds. Each could tell that the other had some trepidation about the idea of bed. They eventually fell asleep but once again something woke Mandy during the night.
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She woke up and didn’t see James next to her and she jumped out of the bed and ran downstairs. And there she discovered him, half covered in sweat in the dead of night, trying to crack the vent open.
The Next Day
Eventually she succeeded in getting him back to the bed. The following day, at James’ request, he called to check when the repairman could arrive to the house. The duo were soon to be able to take a long sigh of relief as it wasn’t long before he turned up. Finally, they both seemed to feel as if the two were about to get to the bottom of whatever was strange in smell and, hopefully, soon able to enjoy their home.
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Having the right tools, it was soon time to peel back the vent, which by now looked a hell of a lot worse for wear from all the prying and grinding James had done to get it open.
Something Out of a Horror Movie
On the occasion that the vent indeed opened up — a repairman scheduled the future vapor light — jaws dropped. Inside, could be found all manner of jars, of all sizes, within which appeared to be bones and organs. Fortunately, nothing was human. No, they were the cadavers and viscera of jarred animals who knows how long previously. The smell, once again, but now they knew what it was.
As horrific as that sounds, the couple needn’t have worried although the repairman at first left them thinking they had come across a particularly grisly, bizarre scene.
An Old Regional Tradition
The repairman explained that this wasn’t as unusual as they may have thought and that from time to time, he finds similar things kept in lofts in old Victorian properties. Apparently, there was some custom there in which using animal limbs had some therapeutic potential for persons. It was something called powwow, and it appeared as if the owner of the house had been rehearsing it around the time she died.
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The repairman offered to take away all the jars and the couple quickly nodded their heads in the affirmative. Now they could proceed to live out their lives in peace, but the old woman was a reminder to enjoy life as long as they could.
