Ghostly candle?

[janoel]

My daughter was in the bath yesterday when a candle in her bedroom 'jumped' from the mantlepiece to the middle of her bedroom carpet. The candle had been in a glass vase which was still in place. She had heard the sound from the bathroom some distance away, and later, on inspection, presumed it was the candle hitting the mantelpiece as it fell. The candle was too far away to have just fallen straight down from the mantlepiece, and why was the tall glass holder which had contained the candle still in place? Any ideas, apart from a poltergist?

[IggyB]

attention seeking?

[janoel]

iggyb Do you mean my daughter or the candle. If my daughter - she is not a child but an adult and certainly would not exaggerate about this. If the candle, well I'm not sure if candles are attention seekers!

[sft42]

Without being able to examine the design of the candle holder it could be possible that the heat from the flame made the holder warp and squeeze the candle out of it's place with some force....enough to make it jump out of place?

[janoel]

sft42 Good answer but the candle was not lit at the time. The candle which is about 8 inches high was about a third down into a delicate candle holder before this happened. The candle holder consists of a narrow glass stem about 6 inches high with a proper indentation for a candle at the top of it and then a bulbous glass top ie the shape of a brandy glass. This had not fallen at all. The bedroom was at "normal" room temperature and there wasn't a window open, the mantlepiece has an open fireplace but is never used for a fire (built in 1870). There is an identical candle and candle holder the other side of the mantlepiece which were both still in place.

[PaulB]

How old is your daughter janoel?

[janoel]

PaulB Over 21!

[janoel]

TartanWizard Yes, we thought the same thing. I don't live in the same place as my daughter but I was in London the other day and went to inspect the candle and holder in my daughter's house. We did some little experiments like lifting the candle and dropping it from the holder as if it had just fallen out. We also dropped the candle making sure that it hit the edge of the mantlepiece to see how far it would go. At no time did it travel on the carpet more than one or two feet away from the fireplace. When it was found it was at least 8 feet from the fireplace. I would say that the candle had originally been put into the holder with medium firmness. Because of the delicacy of the candle holder you would not jam it in too hard. This happened on the same day - Feb 26 upon which my grandmother had died about 50 years ago. Obviously she and my daughter never met so why would she haunt her and not me! My grandmother and I were very close. Another thing is that the lady next door to my daughter died a couple of months ago. Do you think there is any connection?

[PaulB]

In that case I would've said yes it probably is the woman next door.

[PaulB]

Actually I've changed my mind, I think it may be your grandmother but for some reason going through your daughter rather than you.

[IggyB]

any pets? open windows?

[dustybin]

Of course it's not a poltergeist. Her memory has probably exaggerated how far it fell - and you both are entertaining thoughts of ghosts and gouls because you WANT that to be the answer.

[thewillow]

I'm surprised that AB Editor allows such mumbo jumbo as poltergeists onto the site. Cop on everyone. There's a rational answer for everything.

[janoel]

iggyb Love the economy of words! No pets and she doesn't think she had the window open.

[janoel]

Dustybin Thanks for your thoughts but they are completely wrong. My daughter spends quite a bit of time alone and it is creepy for her. We wanted ideas for a logical explanation.

[janoel]

thewillow I would be happy to hear your logical explanation.

[Ember]

No idea why the candle jumped but had it been lit isn't it frightening, it endorses the instructions on some boxes of candles that you must never leave a lit candle unattended and now we know why.

[smudge]

Yes I agree wholeheartedly! I have lots of candles in my living room & one evening I lit them all as usual. I fell asleep on the sofa, but a loud 'crackling' noise thankfully woke me up. The candle on the mantlepiece had burned down to the berry/leaf arrangement on the candlestick, it then dropped onto the carpet, missing the grate & set light to it. My shouts woke hubby up from a deep sleep upstairs. If I'd had my earphones on, I wouldn't have heard a thing & God knows what could have happened if we hadn't have had smoke alarms! So please pass on my experience to your daughter as it doesn't matter if she is 'over 21' fires still happen!

[anthomson]

I had a similar experience recently when a pen landed at my feet in an empty office building. I tried to explain it rationally but it was difficult to see how I could have knocked it of a table or kicked it. It came down with a bit of a thud. Incidently the building was an old victorian mill and was actually rumoured to be haunted. I always liked to think it was a playful spirit child ;-)

[janoel]

smudge and greenwood Interesting observations. Have passed them on to my daughter. Many thanks.