I’m freaking out right now.
Early yesterday morning, I woke to hear what I thought was a radio coming from inside the house. I walked through the house and the living room TV was on! The remote control was in the caddy sitting on the end table, so it is not possible that the dogs did it. I didn’t freak out too much at the time; I just turned it off and went back to bed.
Today I came home from work and got ready for my meeting of the local HR professional organization. Everything was fine when I left at 5 PM. I just now got home from the meeting, walked in the door, and the TV was on! The remote was on the end table, facing the opposite wall! Even if someone had pressed a button on it, nothing would have happened.
Now I’m scared.
My TV is only a few months old. I have a very expensive surge protector on it. There have been no recent power outages that I’m aware of. I’ve lived in this house since May, and these are the first two strange occurrences.
Can somebody please give me a logical explanation? And if you can’t do that, can I move in with one of you guys to escape the ghost?
October 9th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
You’re welcome to take up residence in my closet until the ghost goes away
I wouldn’t worry too much though if all it’s interested in doing is watching tv. Now if it starts ordering up Pay Per View movies while you’re at work, that would be cause for concern.
October 9th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
[...] nulinegvgv wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMy TV is only a few months old. I have a very expensive surge protector on it. There have been no recent power outages that I’m aware of. I’ve lived in this house since May, and these are the first two strange occurrences. … [...]
October 9th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Ten bucks says its that spider that got away in your bathroom the other night…
October 9th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
My vote is the spider. Get the heck outta Dodge & move to Nashville!!!
October 9th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Maybe a neighbor with a real powerful remote control having fun with ya?
October 9th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
TVs (especially newer models) have power-save features that sometimes malfunction. They could cause the tv to come on. Some TVs have a hibernate mode like a computer. They are never really, truly off. Unplug your tv. If you wake up and it’s been plugged in, we’ve got a place for you to sleep. Could be the Mexican living in your closet, too. I sell tvs and I have a buddy who is a software engineer for Toshiba. You’ve got friends and family in high places.
October 9th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Nope, pretty sure it’s a ghost. Real nasty one, too.
Do this - go buy a piano. put it in the corner and plink on the top couple of keys. Ghosts hate that.
October 9th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I was going to vote for the neighbor’s remote
October 9th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I think the remote button is shorting… try bringing it out of the room with you when done watching TV
October 9th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
See you have a timer setting on the menu and whether or not it is set. I had a stereo that used to come on full blast in the middle of the night and somehow an “on” time got set up!
Someone with a similar TV could control your TV is they are within 50 feet, or someone could do it on purpose through the window. Pull the blinds in line with the TV screen.
Me…I’d unplug it and prevent it from causing me to soil myself!
October 9th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
My virus protection on my computer updates itself and when it’s done it will say something along the lines of “update complete”. I never really paid attention to it, but evidently it updates late at night or early in the morning. I’d be sleeping and I’d wake up hearing a man’s voice coming from the other end of my home. I couldn’t make out what he said, just a voice. The first few times I just thought it was the end of a dream, but than one morning I realized I was hearing a voice. I got up and went looking but didn’t see anyone. This went on for a bit, before I finally heard it one day and realized it was the computer. But until than I was getting more and more freaked out, wondering who was talking to me.
October 10th, 2007 at 1:24 am
Tish, I go with the TV is beging to malfuction. I have a new Magnavox and the darn thing has started turning it self of on occasion.
October 10th, 2007 at 7:50 am
My vote is either a neighbor’s remote or a power-on function of the TV. My TV has this, so it can be programmed to wake you up. Or it may just be malfunctioning. Very weird and freaky, I’m sure.
October 10th, 2007 at 8:41 am
1-800-GHOSTBUSTERS
And on that note, Janine(sp) from the movie was on Law and Order: SVU last night.
October 10th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Boo
October 10th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Ghosts don’t exist. Plain and simple. I’ve stayed the night In several houses that tons of people swear up and down are haunted in New Orleans and I’ve never seen anything that couldn’t be easily explained. It’s all a state of mind. If you believe in ghosts, then you’ll see ghosts, If you don’t, you won’t, period.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:35 am
The dogs are watching Animal Planet again…they’d TIVO those shows but setting up a TiVO is difficult for them with no opposable thumbs.
October 10th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
You could try taking the batteries out of the remote when you go to bed or out. That way if it turns on by itself, you know you have something in that house.
Another suggestion would be to have a tape recorder in your living room to see if you pick up on any sounds (ie: evp).
October 11th, 2007 at 2:14 am
Damn spiders!!!
I hope they’re not running up your Pay Per View bill… if so, then I can only imagine that your hatred for them will increase ten fold.
As far as moving in goes… sure why not.. should be plenty of room in my house as my wife tends to kick my out into the dog house. That frees up quite a bit of space, according to her.
October 11th, 2007 at 3:36 am
Welcome to the world of possessed televisions. My TV turns itself on at least once a day, sometimes many times a day. To the point where when we’re going to bed we haev better luck putting it on mute so it doesn’t wake anyone up! It’s not even a year old yet and it’s done that since about a month after we got it. I didn’t have a warranty or anything though because I bought the “display model” sure I saved some money, but ugh stupid television.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Oh, spiders and now this! It is Howl-o-ween! I agree with Craig T. He be wise! But I bet it’s scarrrryyyyyy!
October 11th, 2007 at 11:33 am
I’m going to go with a neighbor’s remote. I’m not sure how far your house is from your neighbor’s, but with universal remotes being almost the standard anymore, it’s likely that your neighbor’s signal is getting in there.
Personally, I’d just go with it and leave your dogs something to watch while your gone.
My dogs prefer Animal Planet when I’m not there.
October 11th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I think mushy is right: An “on” time was accidentally programmed into the TV. Go into the menu functions and look for on/off times and see if anything has been set. This happened in my kids’ room. The TV would automatically come on every Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and it was just a misprogram on our part.
Or it’s a ghost.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
It’s posible that a neighbour has a simulair television and remote control, and when using theirs turned on your’s, too. Or it could be a ghost from a previous tenant wanting to watch Judge judy.
October 11th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
I love your site!
October 12th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Tish, i’ve got your spider story beat. I found a black widow spider in my daughter’s playroom yesterday while cleaning. How scary is that? I’d take a wolf spider over the black widow any day! have they even found a cure for black widow spider bites yet? it makes me shiver!
October 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Hi Tish,
LOL this is funny!
I cannot give you a logical explanation, since I have been living with this kind of phenomenum all my life…try talking to the spirit, sometimes they do it just to pass an info!
If it gets to stressing for you, then move, girl!
I would invite you to move in with me, but I am across the ocean LOL!
Cheers
October 13th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Looking forward to my Blogs We Luv review! Let me know if you’d like me to tackle the 10 questions.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Hey Tish,
Everything is fine with me :). And how are you? Is the ghost still bothering you?
Thank you for having passed the penguin!
You have been tagged with an extremely interesting meme:
http://maxcouti.blogspot.com/2007/10/imaginary-dinner-party.html
Cheers
October 13th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Mike - PPV would definitely be cause for concern! I’m almost afraid to get my cable bill now! Thanks a lot!
Andrew - You know what? I just KNEW you were going to say that! I guess that’s what long lost brothers are for, eh?
Flat Coke - Sounds like a great idea! Got a spare room in that new house of yours? hehe.
Byron - Most of the neighbors are old folks, so I doubt they’re having fun with me. But maybe one of them got a new tv or remote! I certainly like that thought better than the ghost!
Scott - You might be onto something. My new tv does have a power save feature. Maybe it’s never truly turned off! I’ve been taking your advice though. Every day before I go to work, I unplug the tube. So far it hasn’t plugged itself back up. If it does, I’ll be at your door a mere two hours later.
Barry - Jake has been a bad brother. He mentioned that maybe the old owner had since passed away and come back to claim her home. That’s just wrong! Of course, her husband did die while they lived here, but I doubt he has just now started watching TV.
Ray - I hope you’re right!
Eric - Thanks for the tip! I’ll give that a try.
Mushy - *LOL* about the soiling yourself. My thoughts exactly! Maybe I should invest in some Depends.
John - Haha! That would have scared me to death! At least now you know to expect it!
Wm - I hope it’s not a malfunctioning TV. I paid way too much for it, and I’m not in the mood to deal with the hassle of returning it! Good luck with your TV. Maybe you should try to exchange it! Or, you could just perform an exorcism.
Craig - Thanks! I’ll have to check it out to see if there’s a timer I’m overlooking.
Bush - I think you know entirely too much about Ghostbusters.
On a related note, I spent a few days in NYC in 2000. When I got back and showed my boyfriend my photos, he pointed to the one of me in front of the library and said, “Hey! That’s the library from Ghostbusters!” That totally cracked me up!
Lance - It’s not nice to sneak up on a girl like that!
CG - I like your attitude. Everything is black and white. Thanks! I’ll try to adopt that philosophy - at least as it pertains to ghosts!
Michael - Haha! Thanks for explaining it! I feel much better now!
Tina - Thanks! However, I’m afraid to try the tape recorder idea. Perhaps it’s best not knowing who’s trying to communicate!
Garry - Haha! Sorry to hear that you’ve been sleeping in the dog house. Let me know when there’s a vacancy in your house. Hopefully it will coincide with my next ghostly encounter! Thanks for stopping by!
Loretta - That would drive me crazy! Sounds like you’ve got ghosts in the machine!
Johann - Your comment about Howl-o-ween made me laugh! I could just imagine you howling it! Ha! And yes, that Craig is a wise fellow indeed!
Steve - My dogs like to watch the Cartoon Network!
Brian - Your comment was so cool up until the last sentence. I don’t like you anymore.
Justin - See my comment to Brian.
David - Why, thank you so much! I’m going to go check yours out now.
Amy - Good luck with the black widow situation. I hope that was the only one! I’ll be happy to send you a few wolf spiders to help control your black widow problem!
Max - Wow. I definitely need to talk to you about some of your experiences!
Mark - I certainly hope you enjoy it! And yes, I’d love for you to tackle the 10 Questions! I’m sure your answers will be fascinating! Thanks!
Max - All is well here. I’m happy to report that there have been no more ghostly encounters! You’re welcome for the penguin! And thanks for the tag!
October 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Now what I want to know was why you didn’t make this into a Freaky Friday Post! It’s perfectly freaky. This is the exact same thing that happened to me. Light a white candle, pray, and tell whoever it is they’re dead and to go to the light or to at least get out of your house and quit playing with the t.v. It sounds crazy but it worked for me.
If all else fails you could call a priest!! Remember the exorcist? Hehe…just kidding!
October 13th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Do you use the new florescent bulbs near your TV? If so, then the can turn on the TV. Something to do with the 60hz blinking of the florescent lights and how that is picked up be the remote control sensor on the TV. If not, then your place is haunted.
October 14th, 2007 at 3:24 am
Christy - I definitely should have made it a Freaky Friday post. Ah, well. Maybe something else freaky will happen. Hehe. Actually, I have plenty of old freaky stories I could use. As far as telling a spirit to go to the light, I think I’ll hold out to see if it’s an equipment malfunction! *LOL*
BT - No new florescent bulbs near my TV. Guess the place really is haunted!
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
[...] may recall that I freaked out back in October when my TV came on by itself - two days in a row! Well, since that time, this has [...]