It’s during this time of the year that thoughts turn to ghosts and goblins and spooks. It’s a fun time of year – unless, of course, you fail to give out with the treats and end up getting tricked instead!
And if your basement has never been remodeled, it’s probably somewhat of a spooky place at any time of the year. Many a basement has been the setting of a thrilling, chilling ghost story.
So I thought this would be an appropriate time to consider just what it is about unfinished basements that make them seem so darn scary. Here are a few possible reasons that basements might sometimes seem to be haunted:
EMF
Unfinished basements typically have lots of exposed electrical wiring. Breaker boxes are also often frequently located in basements. And some people are very sensitive to electromagnetic radiation.
So it could be that the increased electromagnetic fields – particularly from the exposed wiring – might tend to make some people a bit uncomfortable. And that discomfort might sometimes be attributed to a haunting. Cover up all that wiring during the remodeling process, and that discomfort goes away.
Isolation
Unfinished basements tend to be isolated, lonely places. After all, who spends time in an unfinished basement? So when people do go down into an unfinished basement upon occasion, the isolation of the place tends to feed the imagination.
Dark and Dank
Unfinished basements are not exactly bright and vibrant locations. They tend to be poorly lit places, with lots of shadowy, spidery areas and murky corners. They also are often sort of dank smelling, with maybe an occasional critter making an unwelcome appearance.
Basements like these seem like purpose-made settings for a good old-fashioned haunting!
One Other Possibility…
Of course, there is one other possible reason that basements so often are thought to be haunted…
Maybe they sometimes ARE haunted!
After all, if you were a ghost just looking for a place to have all to yourself to avoid the obtrusive, annoying living, where would you go? An isolated, unfinished basement would be just about perfect, wouldn’t it?
I’m not saying that ghosts exist, of course. But maybe I’m not quite saying that they don’t, either.
Who knows – particularly at this time of the year?
P.S. Whether or not your basement might be a favored ghost hangout, it was really intended for the living. We’ll be happy to help you convert your basement from a hangout for haunts into a center of family fun.
And we’re not a bit afraid of any haunts that might be hanging out in your basement; they’ll just have to move on to more suitable hangouts when we begin work.
But if you have some great ghost stories to tell about your basement, you might save them until we’ve finished your basement renovation. Once the job’s finished, then tell us your scary basement stories. We just kind of prefer it that way!