#household spirits

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

Protective household demons in Polish folklore

Belief in protective household demons was in all likeliness widespread among Slavic peoples from time immemorial. We do not know how those demonic creatures were imagined and what forms of cult were associated with them in the distant past, since the first sources on this subject we find in confessional literature of the late Middle Ages. In the XV-th century sermon fragment mentioned in previous chapters we find words of disapproval towards folk practice of „feeding” the protective spirits of the house called ubożęta (singular: ubożę).

”There are those who do not wash the dishes after dinner on Great Thursday and holy day, so as to feed the souls that they call vbosshe (ubożę) and others, believing stupidly that spirits need corporal things, when it is written that the Spirit does not have flesh or bones. Some purposefully leave the remains of dinner on their plates, to thus feed the souls or a certain demon that they call vbosshe, but this is completely ridiculous, because they often think, foolish and naive, that what they have left is food for the aforementioned vbesshe, since they care for it to attract good luck, but very often it is a dog that comes without them realizing and devours the remains.”

- Anonymous sermon, XVth century Poland, translation from „Sources of Slavic Pre-Christian Religion”, red. Álvarez-Pedrosa

The same problem was also touched on in two other works, the XVI-th century „Postępek prawa czartowskiego przeciw narodowi ludzkiemu” (roughly translates to „The Progress of Devilish Deeds Against the Human Nation”) and XVII-th century „Czarownica powołana” (roughly „The Witch Appointed”), whose authors were critical of the common practice of the housewives leaving a special, separate evening meal to the protective spirits of the household. P. Gilowski in his XVI-th century „Wykład katechizmu Kościoła krześcijańskiego z pism świętych” (roughly „Explaining the cathechism of Christian Church from holy scripture”) counted protective household spirits among satanic apparitions and wrote „… there are various sorts of devils, earthly skryatkowie (the modern word would be „skrzaty”), domestic ubożęta…”. According to B. Baranowski on the territory of central Poland in XVII-th and XVIII-th century „the belief in all sorts of protective deities remained exceptionally deep. Quite often they were some sorts of household spirits. (…) One was supposed to leave them a little bit of food in the corner of the hut or in the hall and they would then ensure good luck and wealth of the house. Other creatures of this sort were said to live in barns. For this reason one of the boards in the roof of the barn would be left loose, without nails or a small hole would be made in it, and thus it was ensured that the spirit can enter the barn at will.”

The aforementioned ubożeta, skrzaty and other related protective house spirits, similarly to atmospheric and natural demonology, were included in the family of devilish beings during the Counter-Reformation. On this basis, completely new images of domestic demons were formed, such as the diabeł-latawiec (a character combining elements of an atmospheric demon, a protective household spirit and the devil) or a diabeł-chowaniec (devil-familiar). Both of these beings were credited with activities aimed at securing abundance and prosperity on farms. As a consequence, this led to the formation in the minds of the rural people of the dual nature of devilish beings, that could be either dangerous and harmful or good and caring. The latter group included, among others, guardian house demons.

Concurrently, in the second half of XVIII-th century Catholic clergy started their own varied efforts towards broader dissemination and popularization (especially in rural areas and small towns) of the cult of angelic beings in particular guardian angels. To the latter they would assign very specific protective functions which were supposed to result in complete erasure of traditional beliefs in household spirits that were still present in the popular consciousness. The Church doctrine of that time stated that every person has a God-assigned guardian angel whose task is to guard their charge from all kinds of dangers and temptations. An interesting aspect of that protection was the constant war guardian angels and devils would wage over the salvation of human soul. This concept also found it’s reflection in the developing folklore, for example in an eschatalogical piece „Przemowa Diabła i Anioła przy łożu Umierającego” (translates to: The Speech of a Devil and an Angel by the bed of a Dying Man).

- Polska demonologia ludowa by Leonard Pełka, amateur translation by Zarya-Zaryanitsa

[thenixkat]

I like how the tiny household dragon spirits are described as both good and bad. But like. Bringing wealth its why its good.

Pros of having a tiny dragon choose your home as a nest: You get acess to its collected gold and other hoarded materials and it wont care.

Cons of having a tiny dragon choose your home as a nest: You get blamed for your dragon terrorizing the neighborhood. Also, the dragon still does dragony things like setting shit on fire and your house is flammable.

[sashayed]

The other day on my walk I saw a mockingbird diving and wheeling over and over into a little bush, very agitated. Eventually I saw there was a big crow in among the bush twigs, presumably trying to get at what must be her nest. Feeling it my duty as the human observer to side with the smaller bird/distressed mom on this I strode over and said to the crow "Hey bud, go eat something else." The crow flapped off, seeming peeved, and the mockingbird flew after it and did not thank me. I walked home feeling virtuous but also a little doubtful, because I love crows, and the world of eating and being eaten is not congruent with human morality. Plus a lot of the time mockingbirds are just being dicks. I didn't actually even see a nest. Maybe that crow was just hiding in the bushes from being fucking hassled. In general I wondered if it had been my place to take sides.

Anyway so the last couple of days, a bunch of crows have been gathering closer and closer to my apartment. They don't do anything, they just peer in the window and make the cats frantic. "It was one nest," I told them. "There's all kinds of stuff to eat in those woods. There's berries and bugs. You had to follow me home about this?" Crows didn't say shit. Just ruffled at me and looked at the cats in a disdainful, snacky way.

Finally I said aloud "Crow, I'm very sorry I got high and mighty with you about that mockingbird. I didn't even see you eating any eggs, and it was none of my business." I put out some seeds and peanuts, and now they have all left. They're not even eating the peanuts! They just wanted an apology.

[fjoundfjamily]

Interview with the Vampire

louis, armand & daniel + proximity

[2.02 / 2.03 / 2.04 / 2.04 / 2.06 / 2.07 / 2.08 / 2.08]

[self-indulgentmanic]

Yashiki is unsure if he should be flattered or concerned

[spirit-lanterns]

I accidentally sent this in your genshin blog but I'll just post it here again

HELPPPPP NOT YOU MAKING A WHOLE ASS EDIT OF THIS 😭😭

Plush Robin looks so afraid…idk how to describe it. Those eyes of hers look so worried and all she thinks about is whether or not we’ll still be sane after living with Cabernet 😨

Also I love how you kept the theme of making me a hamster. 10/10, it’s been scientifically proven that being h a m p t e r is the way to a woman’s heart <3

[sleepyminty]

Controversial takes:

In ng bad end drama, it was stated by yashiki that Rosé was a friend of Saya. Sure sounds normal until u realized that Rosé was actually a doll if u had Rosé killed during the investigation. And in the blue demise, after hearing about Saya’s death, blue demise!Rosé actually grieved over her death. What do i get out of this?

1. Whatever saya and rosé had is the equivalent of whatever yashiki and mashita have right now

2.It’s in the Kujou blood to charm haunted dolls and supernatural beings

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Late Night Talking

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[argetcross]

wasting beats of this heart of mine by ArgetCross

Chapter 29: The Gods of the Dead

The high-vaulted halls of the House were quiet when Megaera returned from her shift. She cast a glance towards the throne, and, upon seeing it empty, sighed. Lord Hades had returned a few times since their last all-hands meeting, but rarely for long, and the paperwork on his desk had piled up into a small mountain. Nyx was not in her usual niche as well and, with its two pillars gone, the House had sunken into a languorous and subdued mood.  After tossing a doleful Cerberus a new bone, Megaera headed towards the entrance of the hall. 

Read it here on AO3!

[invye]

So @kacievvbbbb asking about modern AU headcanons had me revisiting my 'modernised' MiShanks AU I thought up a couple months ago.

I call it 'modernised' because it is more of a medium modern AU, where I keep much of the base OP lore and history, but shrink the 'active' world down to just a few islands. The overall tech level and societal developments are much closer to what we have now and I do away with most of the political plot. I haven't yet decided if Devil Fruits still exist, but if they do, they are much more rare and are kind of a thing of legend most people don't believe in. Only very select few people would know about them and the curse associated with them.

So lets get into it, I've got plenty of thoughts on Mihawk, Shanks and how their relationship plays together in a more modern world. (And because Rosinante is also one of my favourites, and I can't seem to not smush them all together, there is a CoraMiShanks bit at the end too.)

- Mihawk -

Basic weaponry is a bit more in line with modern expectations in this AU, but that will never ever stop Mihawk from being a swords guy. Mihawk is the authority on fencing, especially in historical context. He's basically got a PHD in swords, identifying them, maintaining them, using them. He's filthy rich, not just because he won every fencing tournament there is, but also because he straight up inherited that half maintained castle outside of town along with stupid amounts of money from an uncle everyone thought already died decades before Mihawk received his testament.

These days Mihawk only competes in the highest level tournament once a year to defend the title (his 'rivalry' with Shanks makes the news every time) and otherwise spends his time at home, reading, drinking, occasionally taking small sailing trips with his beloved Hitsugibune, and of course training his swordsmanship. Everyone thinks he's just living it up big in Kuraigana castle, but the people in town know that he just wants to raise his kids in peace.

Where did the kids come from? No one knows. They're definitely not his though. Anyway, turns out that Mihawk is really good with kids, so it takes barely a couple years for the whole town to load off their kids with him during holidays and days off school. (Look, Zeff runs a busy kitchen, and as much as Sanji tries to help, he's still too young for the holiday rush. Garp has to leave on Marine assignments at the most random times, and his bum of a son has vanished to who knows where years ago, and the grandkids are friends with Zoro and Sanji anyway and can do with burning out their energy running around the woods behind the castle. Bellemère has to leave on those assignments with Garp most of the time, so Nami joins the fray while Nojiko mostly plays with Perona. Mihawk usually leaves the teen girls be on their own, especially since Robin showed up a while ago to join them [she seems to stay on her own, and Mihawk keeps an eye on her in case she needs additional help, but Crocodile seems to have that sorted already]. Usopp's mom is still sick, and she's grateful to know her son is out there having fun with his friends while she tries the next medicine with horrible side effects.)

The kids love Mihawk. Mihawk loves the kids too and to much of his dismay, the kids know it. He is a figure of authority to them, but also a person of trust, who they can approach with problems and worries when their usual parental figure is unavailable or out of reach. Given that Mihawk is pretty much always around, he begrudgingly accepts his new job as free childcare provider for the town (Garp tried to pay once. They all realised very quickly they get much farther by paying in favours, food, or doing little odd jobs because that old castle always needs something done).

Mihawk promised to teach Ace and Sabo to sail this summer, and with Luffy insisting to bounce around them, he already plans on doing more swimming and child fishing than actual sailing.

- Shanks -

Shanks is still a pirate, but it's all on a much smaller scale. He's still got the 'Red Emperor' epithet, but his reputation is much more Robin Hood of the seas. The Red Force gets into small tussles with other pirates more often than the Marines, and really, as long as they have food and alcohol on board they are all perfectly fine just sailing and enjoying their freedom. No one ever knows where the Red Force is at any given time, but they are known to show up when natural disasters strike, not to plunder the remains, but to help the people rebuild long before the Marines get around to offer their help (once the Marines show up on the horizon the Red Force clears out, a couple shots are exchanged, none of them ever hit). Garp tried to yell them into joining the Marines more than once, really Shanks could even stay captain and keep his ship and crew, he just needs to fly the Marine flag, but they all simply laugh and wave as they go off again to who knows where.

However, there is one week every year, where everyone knows exactly where the Red Force will be. Shanks won't ever miss his chance to duel Mihawk in the grand fencing tournament a couple islands over from Mihawk's home. As opposed to Mihawk, who has his fixed position as defending champion, Shanks fights his way through the other contenders every year. He leans into the pirate reputation, taunting opponents, refusing protective gear, tiptoe-ing the line to breaking the rules. The people love to hate him, it's a spectacle every time. The grand finale inevitably is a duel between Mihawk and Shanks, even after Shanks lost his arm (he sat out for a year and people thought that was the end. They were very relieved when Shanks made his over the top entrance again the year after).

They have long abandoned the actual fencing rules and equipment during the finale. People clap and scream when Mihawk steps on stage carrying Yoru, the black blade just as legendary as his own reputation. Shanks never fails to grin and deliver a witty one liner (the people's boo is part of the performance) and then they lunge. Watching that fight is exhilarating. No protective gear, real blades, and two absolute masters going at each other with a force that would leave less competent fighters with the gravest of wounds. It's every bit as real as it is a performance. Everyone knows Mihawk will win before they even start, and the people can recognise a small collection of moves that they build in every time, the more flashy and wide swipes that could easily be punished but never are. It's not simply about Mihawk winning and Shanks losing, it's about witnessing a piece of history being brought back to life right in front of their eyes.

The fencing tournament has always been held within the context of the summer solstice, and with Mihawk and Shanks putting on their show its become a part of a bigger festival that focusses on celebrating history and old rites, the origins of which aren't always known anymore. Every year after the finale they throw a huge feast, traditional food all over, as historically accurate to a long past pirate era as it can get (Mihawk makes sure of it, that history PHD has to be good for something), dressing up accordingly is very much encouraged. Shanks and Mihawk keep carrying their blades and play up their daring villain and chivalrous hero act and no one thinks twice about drinking with the Red Hair Pirates (they have amazing stories to tell). Usually Mihawk ends up in the middle of a group of kids and answers all kinds of history questions, all professor like, but in his full on historical get up. Shanks catches a glimpse of him and sighs dreamily and all the people he's jokingly been flirting with and threatening to kidnap as part of his role know that they're talking to a very much taken man. They enjoy his company anyway and talk to him about what it is like to raise a kid out at sea as they watch Perona and Uta tease Zoro in the distance.

What people don't know, is that the Red Force winters. Pretty much everyone aside from a volunteer skeleton crew leaves the ship for home during the winter months.

No one in town mentions to outsiders that the Red Emperor stays with the Strongest Swordsman up in Kuraigana castle. Why would they? They're great with the kids. And Uta singing with Brook during the Baratie winter solstice celebration sells out the house every time (the townsfolk get a cheeky 50% off that day, it's a community event after all [except for Mihawk. His filthy rich ass can pay double and wouldn't notice {he does pay double. He does notice. He does not care}]).

- Rosinante & Law -

Because I can't help myself and I love thinking about Rosinante together with MiShanks, this story's active events that would make up a proper fic make it a CoraMiShanks story, which starts with Cora-san and Law arriving in town. (Rosinante is genuinely a situational mute in this one, and Law's illness is a bit less horrifying, and potentially cured/managed with medicine.) They're on assignment from Doflamingo who heard that there's a spot that has gone unfilled in the island's underworld and wants to take full advantage of the opportunity to weasel into Crocodile's operations.

Little does Doffy know that: a) Corazón accepted the assignment so he could get away from him; b) Corazón insisted on taking Law because he's still working on getting Law's illness cured; [c) {depending on if Devil Fruits exist} Corazón may have secretly taken the Ope Ope no Mi on his way out;] d) Dracule Mihawk personally checks out every newcomer in town and seems to know much more than he reasonably should; e) Dracule Mihawk loves kids and bonds with Rosinante in a single meeting that included him pulling Law out of a lake; f) gods damned Dracule Mihawk directly protects Crocodile's operations in a infuriating 'someone will do it so I pick the smallest evil' mindset and Crocodile is so damn smug about it; g) fucking Dracule Mihawk decides to keep Rosinante and Law under his protection; h) and WHERE DID THE FUCKING RED EMPEROR COME FROM???

Doffy is seething at his plans foiled. Crocodile laughs at him, tells him to go pound sand and uses the opportunity to poach a couple of Doffy's operatives. Doffy has no choice but to retreat and plot his vengeance for later.

[hyunpic]

why did i wake up in cold sweats at 5am just to see hyunjin in a see through white shirt [wet too cause he’s sweating so much]

[dramatic-dolphin]

that prev post about immortality really makes me wish i could write like ANYTHING about my vampire ocs because one of them is just the funniest thing.

like there's whispers and rumors among zhe vampires that say "immortality is a curse, not a blessing...... you may seem alright in the short term, but after a certain age everyone goes insane...... the human brain is not equipped to handle eternity....." and as we meet older and older vampires it's correct. they're strange and not quite right in the head, and the older they get the more so, until they are nearly incapable of change or lose their identity altogether. and then we meet The Eldest, a legend among vampires. five thousand years old, they say, he was there when Egypt was unified, they say.

...and he's just sitting there wearing jeans and playing candy crush on his smartphone while asking his great-great-great[...]-grandkids what they want for lunch. no, you had mcdonalds yesterday, choose something normal.

[thenixkat]

"

Aitvaras is a nature spirit[1] in Lithuanian mythology.[2] It is also known by other names, such as Atvaras, Damavykas, Pūkis, Sparyžius, Koklikas, Gausinėlis, Žaltvikšas, and Spirukas, and is identical to the Latvian Pūķis. An Aitvaras looks like a white or black rooster with a fiery tail like a meteor. An Aitvaras is said to hatch from an egg of a 9- to 15-year-old rooster. If an Aitvaras dies, it becomes a spark.

In many cases, this Lithuanian creature is described as a bird[3] with the appearance of a dragon outdoors.[4] An Aitvaras will lodge itself in a house and most often refuse to leave. It brings both good and bad luck to the inhabitants of the house, providing its adopted home with stolen gold and grain, often getting the household into trouble.

"

[bibliosims]

free spirits.

[westanovencleaner]

HALLOWEEN. MUST. BEAT. CHRISTMAS.

[witchofthesouls]

Deliciously fucked up way for Team Prime to find out about the supernatural: Have a fae show up in one of the kid's homes. False Artifact preying on Raf's baby/toddler siblings, a Pooka replacing the pet dog at Miko's, or a Kobold decides Jack's place is nice enough to stay. The kids have a feeling something is up but the bots think it's just nothing.

Until they find an old school packet with info that eeriely matches the signs in their respective home. Miko's Pooka Hunting goes a bit awry so Bulkhead ends up seeing her get chased outside the house by something that definitely isn't a dog. Raf barely got one sibling away from being eaten by a False Artifact. Arcee might've damaged the house to grab Jack as he accidentally spook a Kobold.

Cue concerned bot noises upon seeing the packets. I don't think they like the idea of children eating fae in their charges' homes.

Ahhh, this went in a different direction.

Warning: off-screen character death (age-related and car accident), dubcon/noncon body modifications, and underage drinking

Now the Darby household does have a Kobold. It's been following them (and the lineage) for a very long time. Generation after generation, parent to child as the unspoken agreement is held with family traditions, superstitions, and practices that have been ingrained into family lore.

If there's one thing June absolutely misses about her ex-husband, it's his family. While June hadn't cut ties with her own blood, her own kin (even her own parents) never spent time in one place for too long. They welcomed into their home. Treated her well with food and warmth and taught her their traditions as she married a son of theirs.

It's an unfortunate fact of life that time comes for all. Oma survived years of hardship by war and reconstruction, without her beloved husband, and the deaths of her own dwindling family, she died peacefully in her sleep during a visit to see a toddling Jack. His parents, though...

When the call came that his parents were killed in a massive pile-up on the freeway, their lives came crashing down.

Grief manifests in so many ways. June cherishes what was left behind. She uses the quilts and recipes and leaves out a portion of dinner for the 'spirit of the hearth.' Her husband, however, drowned himself inside the hospital; unable to come home and look at the reminders, refusing to do anything with it.

Their divorce comes and it's... amicable. The man who was once her husband stares back with a frozen heart, shrouded by his own grief, and he offers to leave them the house as well. June declines and searches for warmer shadows.

The house is sold. June and Jack move on, and the Kobold follows them.

June is a Darby child, and her son follows her as well. Memories are cherished by them. (Faithfully. Hungrily.) And June dutifully attends to her once-husband's family's traditions: leaving dusty corners, a few dirty plates in the sink, grease on the stove, and many, little things that keep the home running. He may try to escape them, but she won't deny their son the same happiness and joy in it.

Jack was too young to remember his family's faces outside of photos and portraits, but there is a lullaby that follows his dreams, crooning over his head and chasing away his nightmares.

For the longest time, he thought the extra dinner plate was for Oma because it's the same dishes and sweets she once ate, even to this day. Jack was quick to hunt for tidbits about them, and always attributed missing left shoes, misplaced kitchen pens, tipping empty glasses during holidays, and creaking floorboards at night as her mischief. I'm still here, it said. I won't leave.

Jack grew up with the same quilts that consumed him, produce that never spoils (the milk might, but it's easy to make cheese from sour milk), and all the little things that made a house a cozy home.

Much like her own family, June and Jack moved frequently as well. Pests were never a problem for them, nor were mold or leaks. They were strangely lucky in that regard.

The Esquivel home does have Others in their vicinity. It's due to the unknown actions of their youngest member. One day when Raf was far younger and playing hide-and-seek with his siblings and neighborhood kids, Raf came across a pitiful, little creature in a drying puddle.

It flopped and croaked, squirming and clawing at the edges of the barely wet concrete of the patio. Scales flaking in dull, resplendent hues, and its side bleeding a sluggish black ooze. It wasn't a fish. Fish had no arms or torsos, nor had his older brother's books on marine life had anything about fish with two tails. Or fish that scream hard enough to make his nose bleed and cry oily marbles that plink on the ground.

To this day, Raf doesn't know what compelled him to step closer but he did. He saw the strange eyes, blinded and pulsing with veins. Later he'll find out about nictitating membranes, but at the moment it was strange to see how a little, blind not-fish stared back at him, mewling something that skittered across his senses and he tasted blood at the back of his throat.

Mama Esquivel was livid over his son's wet jacket and then concerned when he showed the deep bite on his hand and how his nose continued to bleed.

The birdbath in their backyard does get visitors. Raf rises with the sun to watch strange fish-like creatures splash around the small fountain, singing beautifully to coax birds to eat them whole. His sisters think there's a hawk or an owl nearby that hunting down the smaller birds. Raf knows better. He leaves them lizards and newts, dead rats and mice from traps, and leftover meat and nopales that he can carefully sneak away. Much like corvids, they leave him those oily-slick marbles (pearls), carved sea glass that store whalesong, and beautifully intact shells that contain the noise of a howling tempest and the sea at its most furious.

He knows because they explained it to him. Safety, they said as Raf learns to invoke a flashflood and charm to remain inconspicuous and he understands.

"I wish I knew what you're saying to me," a boy told a small fae that was dropped by a red-tailed hawk, far away from any source of water to return home. Its laughter was the sounds of a babbling brook, the river rushing into the ocean's arms. It asked its savior what was the boon he wished for, and the child unknowingly answered. < Wish granted, little Mudman. > And it savagely bit his hand to share their blood for water touched everything and anything, and who else but the fae could bestow the gift of language of any tongue?

Just because Miko is far from Japan, that doesn't mean she doesn't have something attached to her. And of course, it's a cat.

At first, she thought a feral cat lost a match with a cactus or a porcupine and had recently escaped a trap based on all the pins and dragging tail, but not at all. Much to her amazement, it's fast on its paws. Far more agile and durable, she has seen the creature slash massive cacti and easily jump from the ground to rooftops.

The host family she stays at isn't as boring and straight-laced as she once thought. They do enjoy making homemade brews and other fermented goods. They allow the kids to sample it, but only on the weekends and after a good meal.

She gets a little information from her host family. It's a Catcus Cat - a mythical beast; something that isn't real.

Miko leaves a shallow bowl of her own efforts at making mead and other alcoholic beverages, and the Catcus Cat seems to take a liking to the fruitier and sweet drinks.

The Catcus Cat follows her to the Autobot base. Even when she was riding with Jack and Arcee, she was able to spy the beast racing alongside them in the sand, easily keeping pace.

It allows her to pet it occasionally. Purring as it keeps its spines flat and soft, still prickly but leaving no damage. But it prefers chasing games, so Miko cobbled a fishing rod with pieces of raw meat to play 'Fetch' and got a laser to watch it scramble up solid walls and scale cliffsides.

Unlike the Darby's Kobold and Raf's aquatic visitors, the Catcus Cat had interactions with the Autobots. Particularly Arcee and Bumblebee. They enjoy racing in the high-noon sun and dark empty roads at night. It comes along because very few can truly challenge them. And the Autobots think it's a baseline Earth animal. A charming one, even if its yowls are thundering.

Out of all the Autobots, it's Arcee that figured out something is off. Unlike Miko's inability to hide a new car and the Esquivel's already full garage, Arcee can fit comfortably in the Darby's garage. June even partitioned out an area for the Autobot to transform and scavenged large bean bags and thick body pillows as a makeshift bed.

June often works and Jack is either at Knockout Burger or the base after school, so Arcee has no idea how there are fresh meals, hot and ready on the stove as well as how the Pits her pillow nest is fluffed and straightened when there's no one at home!

Arcee thinks there's some sort of weird intruder in their house that likes being domestic, and it drives her nuts that June and Jack are completely nonchalant over the fact.

She's definitely not happy hearing it's been happening for over a decade, and no she doesn't believe it's the ghost of a dearly departed relative!