Woo-boy... the things I have to listen to in the afternoon...
My lovely (and dangerous) wife recently returned to her previous job working in a property management office here in town, and her absence from the house during the day has given me time to reflect on things. Quietly.
One of the things I've discovered about myself is that I prefer an empty, quiet house to the usual cacophony of noise that coincides with her return from work every afternoon. Don't get me wrong: I love my wife like oxygen. Couldn't live without her, and miss her like hell most of the time she's gone. There are things that have to happen here at Chateau Squatlo that depend entirely upon my wife's invaluable input and participation. She's a huge part of our photography business, and without her I'd have to shut down this little enterprise and hand my soul over to the Hooey Gods at the IRS... She knows the finances, the quarterly earnings reports, the automatic deposits and withdrawals, and I don't have a clue how any of that magic happens. Plus, she makes great biscuits and has a secret chicken soup recipe I can't live without. Among many other things. (love ya, honey!)
But I also love being able to put two or three thoughts together without interruption from the television, cell phones, or the usual hustle and bustle of a hyper woman takin' care of bidness in all rooms of the house simultaneously.
I tell my friends I live with the Energizer Bunny, and her little batteries rarely run down.
Often when she comes in from work in the afternoon she has stories to tell me of her day in the office. For the most part, these tales of mystery and intrigue are relayed to me as she scurries around the place unloading her gear from another day at the office. I think these stories from the office serve two purposes: one, of course, is informational. She wants me to know about her day and some of the things that might have occurred while I was here alone. The other purpose is therapeutic. She needs to let go of some of the bottled up stress she's acquired during the day, and apparently it's part of my job description to stop what I'm doing and nod knowingly as she vents.
But there's just so much I can relate to when it comes to property leases, deposits, and owners' reports.
However, yesterday's afternoon recap was a tad bit different, to say the least...
Here's the story...
One of the tenants who leases a house here in town is convinced she's sharing the place with a spirit. Not only that, but she says she's video taping this ghost as it moves around the house, and has had her father splash holy water around the upstairs section of the property.
The owner of the property called my wife's management office to ask if they had "vetted" the tenant prior to leasing the house to her, and that's when this story was passed along. Apparently the tenant had contacted the owner to see if someone had perhaps died in the house.
My suggestion is for the office to raise this woman's rent based on the fact that she's admitted to having unaccounted guests living at the residence.
(by the way... if you go to Google images and type in "ghost" for a post like this one, why are most of the images Michael Jackson related?)
14 comments:
There's an old case from some state up north involving the SALE of a haunted house.
The old owner had touted the house as haunted for years but didn't tell the buyer. The buyer sued, saying it was a material defect that had to be revealed and the court agreed.
"As a matter of law, this house is haunted."
Would a haunting make a rental property uninhabitable? Hmmm... In Texas, she could send the landlord a certified letter demanding that he cure the problem.
THEN what does the landord do? I mean, who's he gonna call?
I don't think the tenant in this case is worried or wants out of the lease. She's having her boyfriend video tape their "sightings" and was merely asking the owner if perhaps someone might have died in the house... which freaked out the owner, who then called the property management office to see if her tenant had been properly "vetted"... whatever that means in this case.
As tough as it is to find qualified renters in this area, most owners are happy to have someone paying the rent on time and not trashing the place.
Of course, holy water splashin' might cause some damage...
(and where does one acquire such fluid? Do the local Catholic Churches have a bottled holy water machine in the rectory?)
I think any priest possesses the power to make holy water with his own two hands. I've always assumed it was just blessed by a priest.
If the tenant gets enough on tape, that film could make a mint at the box office!
Loved Katie's comment! We own our 100 year old house. We have ghosts but they are harmless and don't appear often.
And I do believe you can buy vials of Holy Water.
And we do not charge them any rent as they use no utilitie.
Middle one, no utilities means no extra rent due? Hmmmm... they always charged me extra for pets... and they rarely needed reading lamps on at night.
My EX and I purchased a pre-Civil War home across town about twenty five years ago, and that old place was interesting, to say the least.
My kids have stories about the noises and things they saw in their upstairs bedrooms, and I have to admit it was a creepy ol' place if you were there at night alone.
Maybe I should've gone of to Saint Rose's and ladled up a cup or two from the dunkin' fountain at the door?
Hmmm- haven't darkened the door of a Catholic church in many a year, but I remember there being a font, presumably of holy water, in the front vestibule. One could stroll in, dip up a bottle-full, and stroll out again. Risky though- bootleg holy water might attract ghosts instead of repelling them.
No one has a theory to explain the preponderance of Michael Jackson images when one Googles "ghosts"?
Cynthianne, I spent my formative years as an altar boy at a small Catholic Church in east TN, and your description of the vestibule and font are dead on accurate.
Never understood why anyone thinks the water in that fountain is special, or why anyone would only expect that water to be dipped up and carried out. What's to keep some enterprising Johnny Appledripper from coming in and making a deposit?
Wouldn't be the first time a full bottle was carried into a Catholic Church and an empty one was carried out...
For that matter, someone could make a "deposit" sans bottle entirely. I once peed in a sink by mistake on a drunken Friday night when I was in high school. And my friend Mooner pees in sinks all the damn time, drunk or not.
For all we know, there might not be a piss free holy water font in America.
There are ten thousands stories in the City, and somebody has got to report on them. You did, and a tootsie roll is coming your way. I loved it. BOO!
Shucks! I was more or less brought up a Baptist and we didn't do the Holy Water schtick. We just more or less heard gloomy sermons leading me to believe that we were all doomed anyway, after which most of the menfolk - and some of the women - would escape to the parking lot for cigarettes which I thought were among the things Baptists were supposed to avoid. Confused and confusing? You betcha.
Hey, you can BUY Holy Water from the cave at Lourdes to use for whatever. Maybe these people need a miracle??
Ptenn, can I order some of that miracle gro for the garden? or is it just for anointing foreheads and sprinkling on possessed teenagers?
I'm thinking those might be some epic tomatoes...
"Early Gauls!"
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