Too weird.

[JanieB]

I've had to think about this one. Night before last I was sitting watching TV with the dogs when a loud whirring noise started up in the next room. It turned out to be a small electric sewing machine I use for small repairs. It has been sitting on the shelf untouched for months. I turned it off but what turned it on, in it's box? To add to the mystery it wasn't plugged in.

[burnie]

Who ya gonna call..............................................

[burnie]

Ghost Busters............................

[Lumpy]

The only rational explanation I can think of is....................

Static has built up from dogs, dog brushing, hair brushing, hoovering etc to a point where it needed to discharge somewhere so it collected itself together, whirled around the room a bit, shot through the box and caused you to nearly have a wee wee embarrassment!

Other than that I agree with Burnie.............who you gonna call?

[JanieB]

The reason I had to think about it is because strange things happen in this house from time to time. It's an old house so I just put it down to the house expanding and contracting with the weather. Or other reasonable explanations.

[Snoop Puss]

OK, I was all right with your first post, Janie, but not your second...

I should add that when I was a kid, I didn't even like knowing there were horror films on telly even if no-one in the house was watching them. After all, they were in the air somewhere...

[Miss Mousetrousers]

JanieB - could you let us know what other strange things have happened?

[veggiechicken]

Is it mains and battery powered?

[JanieB]

Yes. Mains and battery but was in it's box, inside polystyrene ends and no way of pressing the on button without taking it out.

Miss M. Other strange happenings... footsteps on the ceiling above the lounge which I put down to changes in temperature. Things I've been looking for reappearing in the place I know I left them in the first place. A pair of earrings I hadn't seen for 2 years sitting in the middle of the conservatory floor, they're silver and they weren't remotely tarnished for having been missing for all that time. My background is scientific so I always look for the sensible answer.

[veggiechicken]

Maybe its teliing you that the battery is nearly flat?

[Baldy]

I didn't realise quite how young you are JanieB - seems like you might be responsible
https://www.newscientist.com/article...eist-activity/

[Thelma Sanders]

I once lived in a house where I would turn the tv off at night (I can remember back when we didn't use stand-by ) and at some point it would turn itself back on again.
Hubby was night work and said I must have left it on. So on Saturday he turned it off and also off at the plug - yup, you guessed - it still turned itself back on again.

Needless to say we moved later that year

Not everything can be explained away easily!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Noises in old houses are easily explained if you have heating installed the changes in temperature and pipe expansion/contraction are usually to blame particularly prevalent at this time of year when its been off all summer.

As to sewing machines turning on/off I have no idea, being a macho snorter I am struggling to think what one is

[happyhumph]

Not quite the same but we have a child's jigsaw puzzle that makes animal noises when the pieces are put in.

Occasionally we'll be in a different room and hear a cow mooing or sheep bleeting.....

[veggiechicken]

I have one of those moisture sensors for plant pots, that plays a little tune when the compost is dry. It lives in a drawer. Sometimes, it plays its little tune from the drawer and it takes me ages to work out what or where it is.