A terrifying Halloween tale
For the past 90 minutes, you’ve sat on the edge of your sofa seat, gripping the coarse fabric as your knuckles turned white. Screams have been shrieked and blood has been poured, and now the credits roll up your television screen to the backdrop of an unsettlingly shrill music score.
Fumbling for the remote, you turn the DVD player off, turn the lights on and let out a long sigh of relief. It’s bedtime and you can finally put the horror behind you.
Don’t speak too soon.
As you lay in bed, the walls release a quiet but angry growl.
Your eyes shoot open. You try to search the surroundings but the darkness makes a mockery of your stifled sight.
You tell yourself not to be ridiculous – this is Wandsworth, not Amityville – and you shut your eyes and nestle into your pillow once again.
Sleep slowly reels you in.
You’re on the cusp of a deep slumber when, all of a sudden, a fatal, thundering clunk startles you into consciousness.
You sit up, bolt-straight in your bed, and look around in frantic paranoia. You hear scurrying sounds beneath the floorboards as shadows loom across the room, trying to grab you.
And then, the temperature drains from the room in one deathly swoop.
As goose bumps spread across your body and your teeth chatter uncontrollably, you jump out of bed, grab your coat and make a run for it.
You vow never to stay home alone again, especially not after watching a scary movie, and definitely not on Halloween.
Sometimes you just need a plumber, not an exorcist.
Pipes that go bump in the night are usually a result of stunted water flow rather than devious ghouls.
The phenomena is called water hammer, and it occurs when normal water flow is stopped and shock waves enter the pipes suddenly. A powerful surge can cause serious damage to pipes, so if you hear these noises, have a plumber check your water arrester for any ailments.
As for chilling cold spots in your home, ineffective central heating is more likely to be the culprit as opposed to a wandering ghost.
In most circumstances, central heating has been installed after a property was built and added to over time. As a result, some parts of the system may not be working in perfect tandem with others, leaving certain areas or floors in your home feeling colder.
The best-case scenario is that the radiators will need a simple bleeding or the boiler pressure will need adjusting. However, if this doesn’t work, you’ll need to ask your plumber for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan – maybe then, you can finally say goodbye to those demons for good.