Try to survive, and don't turn around

It's 3:33 AM. You wake up for no reason. Then you hear it: footsteps upstairs. Slow ones. Which would be fine, if you didn't live alone. A door creaks open down the hall, the air suddenly feels ice cold, and when you finally dare to look into the hallway, there's someone standing at the end of it. Pale. Barefoot. Staring right at you. Congratulations, your house is haunted. Or is it?

Rule out the boring stuff first

Before you call a priest, call a plumber. Most "hauntings" have a very earthly explanation. Old houses creak when the temperature drops, pipes knock, drafts slam doors and make curtains move on their own. Tree branches tap on windows like fingers. And that cold spot in the hallway? Probably a badly insulated wall, not a lost soul. Some explanations are less harmless, though. A leaking heater or stove can fill your house with carbon monoxide, a gas you can't see or smell. It gives you headaches, makes you dizzy and confused, and can even make you see and hear things that aren't there. That's not a ghost trying to reach you, that's your house trying to kill you.

💡Tip: hang a carbon monoxide detector near your heater and bedrooms. It's cheap, and it's the only ghost detector that actually works. Headaches that disappear when you leave the house? Get out and get it checked.

Okay, it's definitely a ghost. Now what?

Rule number one: don't make it worse. Don't pull out a Ouija board "just to see what happens", don't ask "is anyone there?" into the dark, and absolutely don't read strange words out loud from an old book you found in the attic. Every horror movie ever made starts with someone being curious. Keep the lights on, stay in the rooms that feel normal, and whatever you do, don't follow the pale figure down the hallway. Nothing good has ever waited at the end of a dark hallway. Heard a noise in the basement? It can wait until morning. And if you really have to go and look: never alone, and never with a flashlight whose batteries are "probably fine".

💡Tip: never split up. Two people in one room are a sleepover. One person alone in the attic is the opening scene.

Know when to leave

Some ghosts are harmless roommates. They move your keys, turn on the radio at night and sigh dramatically in the hallway. Annoying, but livable. Others aren't. Doors that lock by themselves, scratches you can't explain, words written in the condensation on the bathroom mirror, and a voice that knows your name: that's your cue. If the house tells you to get out, get out. Don't go back for your laptop, don't try to "reason" with it, and don't spend the night "to prove it's nothing". Grab your keys, your phone and whoever lives with you, and sleep somewhere else. You can always come back in daylight, with friends, and a lot more courage.

💡Tip: keep a bag with your charger, a change of clothes and your keys near the front door. Whether it's a ghost, a gas leak or a fire, you want to be able to leave in ten seconds.

Did you know?

The Winchester Mystery House in California was under construction almost nonstop for 38 years, until the owner, Sarah Winchester, died in 1922. The result: around 160 rooms, staircases that lead straight into the ceiling, and doors that open onto a wall. According to legend, she kept building to confuse the ghosts of people killed by Winchester rifles. Historians think she probably just really liked building. Either way, it's now one of the most famous "haunted" houses in the world.