GOING BUMP

This is just a quick insert into the flow of [otherwise] UFO CE2p cases in order that I don't forget it. It's about a poltergeist experience within my family.

The background: my mother liked to use nutcrackers to decorate at Christmas time, and one year I created a "game" in which each of her seven kids in turns sent her a present of a nutcracker each week from September to Christmas eve. She accumulated a lot of them and loved it, and over the years the grandchildren would like to come to Gramma's and see all the nutcrackers. When Mother got too fragile to live in that house anymore [which is the current situation], she moved in with one of my brothers and sister-in-laws. Their house is a wonderful old row-house structure which is on the national historical registry list. It is also a site of occasional paranormal manifestations, as people who have read this blog in the good old days will remember.

After Christmas, Mother decided to let any of her kids or grandkids have the nutcracker of their choice as a piece of memorabilia. This was an idea inspired by two of them saying that they would like one or more. This was a perfect idea as the new living space had no room to display them all anyway. So one after another nutcrackers got chosen and left for Michigan, Ohio, Texas, New York, Florida, and scatterings about West Virginia. Quite a few were still left and some were set on a small table in Mom's kitchen, looking fairly much like the illustration above.

Just this past week, my sister-in-law was coming out of Mother's bedroom into that kitchen. The nutcrackers were at the farther end and she was looking in that direction. No other person nor animal was about. With a loud whack the nutcrackers suddenly sprayed all over the kitchen floor just as if something like a nutcracker-sized bowling ball [invisible, of course] had hit them. Startled, my sister-in-law, who keeps track of these events, went over to the table and no explanation was forthcoming. As always with these things, it was like a momentary burst of "mischief" followed by nothing else. There was nothing to do but gather them back up and go on with the day...somewhat more amused.