Ben was freaking out—just a little.
He had laughed every time his parents or brother called his house haunted because ghosts weren't real!
Sure, a few weird things had happened since he moved in.
The flickering lights were probably an electrical issue that the inspector missed.
This moved around a lot. But, maybe Ben was just forgetful. Out of nowhere.
Maybe he was having a stroke.
He stared at the outside of the shower. The handprints were there. He stood where the person that made them would have stood.
Whoever it was was shorter than him.
There was nothing else off in the bathroom.
Ben stared at the handprints until the glass cleared up and there was nothing more to see.
Googling "Is my house haunted?" was not as helpful as he thought.
He clicked on the first link that boasted of ten ways to tell if your house was haunted.
He's positive Teen Vogue was a reliable source.
The article stated that ghosts appear in places they are familiar with. Particularly, places where they lived or died.
He looked up from his laptop. He was doing his research in the living room. He was definitely not creeped out by his bathroom.
He hoped his ghost lived here. He didn't want to live in a house where someone had died.
Ten signs you're being haunted.
1) You feel watched.
Ben hadn't felt that until today. Apparently, he had given a ghost a free show.
2) Odors emerge in particular spots at specific times of the day.
Nope. Maybe he wasn't haunted. The only odd smells he'd found were the rotting mice and dust.
3) Weird sounds around the house.
Another no! Besides the creaking of the door, he hasn't heard anything out of the norm.
Ben relaxed a little on the couch. He'd been working hard, cooped up in an old house. His imagination must have run wild.
4) Flickering or flashing lights.
Ben stared up at his living room light and dared it to flicker. He did not buy a haunted house!
5) Sudden drops in temperature and cold spots.
So far so good.
6) Electronic devices are going crazy.
Hasn't happened! Unless he counted the time he left his phone charging in the kitchen, and it showed up next to him in his bedroom. While he slept.
Or when his laptop appeared in a spot, he knew he had searched.
7) Objects are being moved.
Well. He guessed he could count that. And his drill. His towel, slippers and light bulbs.
8) Strange dreams.
Ben had been so tired that he wasn't sure he had any dreams.
9) Pets or children acting strangely.
Would it be inappropriate to borrow a niece or nephew and see how they react to the house?
He shook his head.
10 ) You see a ghost.
Nope. He hasn't seen anything.
He slammed his laptop closed and got a beer—3/10, definitely not haunted.
He decided to put this handprint mess behind him.
He had a house to work on.
***
Ben chose to work in the kitchen, but not because he was avoiding his bedroom or bathroom.
It was because the kitchen was the heart of the house.
And it required another trip to the hardware store.
It took several hours of hard work, but Ben forgot about any potential haunting. He lined all the cabinets and drawers in his kitchen with contact paper, only to have to clean them again.
He spent a lot of time on YouTube, watching DIY videos about countertops, trying to decide what to do with his own. The material was caked with layers of neglect, but the countertops were in good condition besides that. He got a workout scrubbing and scraping grime off the counters.
After some time, he was left with decently clean counters. He was already in a cleaning mindset, so he tackled the walls. This sent him back online to find the best way to clean walls. It was a bonus that it let his arms rest.
One video turned into half an hour of spiraling through cleaning videos while he munched chip after chip.
The easiest way is to use a mop. He was sure he had a mop in the garage. He clapped his hands together to clean them of chip dust. He shivered when a cold breeze passed through the room. He must have left a window open. May was known for its cold winds.
He skidded to a stop when he re-entered his kitchen.
Right in the middle of the kitchen was the bucket and mop. The same bucket and mop that had been in his garage were now innocently and mischievously in his kitchen.
Innocent in the sense that it was a mop. Mischievous in a way objects get when they are in a place they don't belong.
Ben turned on his heels and grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys. Then promptly left the house.
His ghost might be kind enough to clean the walls for him.