Incredible..

I wouldn't believe this myself, if it wasn't staring me in the face with its creepy little pink eyes. I don't know what to say; I'll elt you look at the pictures and decide for yourself.

I suggest reading the entire blog in chronological order to get the most benefit - click here to go right the way back to the beginning!

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tin coffin...

ITS A COFFIN. I found bones in there, a whole freaking skeleton, carefully laid out.

This is just... so far beyond the realms of bizarre that I'm .. stuck for words.

It's not just bones though, there's four little trinket-type things in there with it.. offerings? mementos?? and the whole thing's on a little bed of... get this.. HAIR.
Human hair, I think - loads of matted clumps, like you find in a hairbrush or that gets caught around the hoover spools.


The little objects are an aged mustard spoon, a brass button, a tiny pearl and a 5 cent French coin.



The coin is especially useful, as it dates the creature - 1917.

I think I'm beginning to be able to connect a few dots... it's getting more and more strange, yet exciting.

1. There's essentially a whole graveyard under the house, which shows that these creatures have been around for a good half a century, at the LEAST.

2. They seem to have developed complicated customs involving burying their dead that seem to indicate a strong famial or community-based attachment. This makes me think they are far more intelligent than your standard rodent, perhaps even self-aware

3. Yet to have survived so long in what seems to be an isolated group/area is very surprising and baffles me.. I keep coming back to what Mr. Lyman said in passing in that first conversation.. about Mr Kimball leaving his possessions 'to the pixie folk'.. Maybe he was aware if them, and how special they are. That would explain the (justified!) wariness of dogs, and the fact I was unwaware of them until his death - they would have to come looking for food if he was no longer a source..

hmmm... I need to know more; the curious part of me wants to rip up the floorboards and hunt them down, but at the same time I don't want to disturb this habitat of theirs that has provided their home for so long...

All I know is that I must find out more. I want to go back to the basement and have a proper look, see if I can find any evidence for any of this. It would be great if I could find a better-preserved body as well...

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BURIED TREASURE IN THE BASEMENT!

It worked!!! I suspect this is more to do with the amazing pink doughnuts than my incredible charm, however.. heh. anyways.

This is getting more and more bizarre. Noone can say I'm just getting carried away now.

What happened:
- after bribing befriending the furniture clearers, they unlocked the basement for me.
Wow, that place is scary.
Think bare floorboards, cobwebs everywhere, pervading damp. The fact that the light switch wasn't working just enhanced the feeling of impending doom. I had to go fetch a torch, AND use the light on my phone, AND keep the door open just so I could keep myself calm enough to stay in there!!

- the space was obviously used as a storage area - there were boxes upon mouldy boxes of god-knows-what, stacks of books, even a big old dusty mirror.The worst thing was the SMELL, though. It wasn't just damp, it was like... I don't even know, like something rotten...



I seriously felt like i was being watched, like the creatures were all gathered in the shadows, scampering past when my back was turned. or like the ghost of Mr Kimball was standing just behind me, disapproving. shudder.

so, i'm kind of slowly making my way through the room, half looking for a flutter of movement somewhere in the shadows, when I manage to trip over a loose floorboard. Ouch. Torch goes flying!! Not one of my finest moments, admittedly, but it actually turns out to be a stroke of serendipity, because the dislodged board allows me to see into the space below the floor.

now i only have a crappy light from my mobile phone, but I can see something glinting from down in the depths.



...AND I FIND...



..TINS!!.... (sorry about the terrible washed-out phone-flash pic, I took another one with better light nearer the door..)


There were loads of them, stacks of these old, crusty tins, and a few jars..!
It's THE WEIRDEST THING.
I took a whole bunch - most of them were sealed with wax, but this St. Julien tobacco one wasn't, so I can have a look inside. It kind of rattles... I'm gonna clean it up a bit, then crack it open and update...!

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baked goods & bribery

OK, the plan is to take some tea & tasty treats to the flat clearers and persuade them to let me poke around the basement before they start clearing it. Fingers crossed!!

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Silence is broken, strangest noises yet

As you can see, it's pretty damn early in the morning. I've just got back from documenting the weirdest noises yet..



so, yeah, I am pretty excited. Now I know that they TOOK SOMETHING to the basement, and I plan to find out what it was.

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Surprise visit from Pest Control

I got a knock on the door at about 11am this morning. A team of house clearers have arrived to start removing the furniture from downstairs, so I thought it might be one of them with a query, or something. But no, it was a guy from 'Rokill', sent by Mr Lyman in response to the recording I emailed him.


That's him, checking out possible entry points (turns out there's more than I realised).
I told him about the mouse in the Trip-Trap, and he seemed to see this as conclusive evidence that I've got a mouse infestation and that he'll find the external entry point, seal it off, and then all my problems will disappear..
I mentioned that the mouse should have been ALIVE, and that it smelt long dead, but he just looked at me like I was a right weirdo and said that sometimes the stress of being confined in a small space causes mice to have a heart attack and die. He assured me that there was nothing unusual about this and anyway, -how else could it have got there?

I decided that it might be best not to tell him about my theories regarding large, hairy, scheming creatures, since he was already giving me the 'have you taken your meds' eyebrow raise.
Hmph.

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Something smells fishy.. (or at least unpleasantly pungent)

There's definitely something not quite right about all this. I know, I'm doing the looking-for-trouble thing again, but just hear me out:
- it's DEAD. It's in the humane trap! It's not supposed to DIE!?! And not only that:
- I just removed it from the trap, and it SMELLS. I know dead things do that, but it smells like it's been dearly-departed for a good few DAYS. it was really horrible, I thought I was going to gag.
- I already decided that the evidence points towards larger critters (see the footprints in the bloodstains, amplitude of noises)
- there's no way this tiny little thing created the pawprints in the blood trail - it has three toes, for a start! (though I suppose blood stains aren't the most accurate guage of this)
I took a photo, for your viewing pleasure.. it looks way too NEAT, you know? it just seems... weird.
WARNING: FOLLOWING PHOTO NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART


So where does this leave me...? I guess I'm going down the 'something planted this mouse to put me off the trail' route. Which sounds ridiculous, but think about it:
the run-in with Scamps means that I'm aware of the existence of these creatures, they know this and are getting scared I'm going to realise they're more intelligent perhaps than your average mouse. They're worried I'm therefore going to get more proactive in my hunt for them, so they plant a dead mouse they found somewhere in their travels in rodent-land to make me second-guess myself and believe that the measures I already have in place are enough.
That suits them because they're clever enough to avoid all that, so as long as they sporadically feed mice into my traps, they can go on living their merry little lives while I think I'm tackling the problem.

Very clever! And it nearly worked! But I'm a step ahead..

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CAUGHT A MOUSE!!!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN THE DINING ROOM TRAP JUST NOW!!!


Well.....
I feel kind of embarrassed, now. Like, I've been making all this fuss and entertaining all kinds of ideas about exotic rodents and communities of humanoid creatures, and... they're just MICE after all.

It's kind of an anti-climax, you know?? I was almost hoping it would be something different and exciting... oh well. At least now I KNOW, and can stop getting all sentimental and just get rid of them like I know I should.

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silence.

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sketched out a few ideas

I was thinking more about what I know of this creature, and trying to visualise what it is I'm dealing with.. wow, I wish Scamp could talk.
For one, there's this weird hair-ball. I didn't look too hard at it (it was pretty disgusting), but it was dark-brownish in colour, and quite matted. Though that could have ben because of the blood. *shudder*
So I'm thinking long-haired? Or maybe it has a bushy tail.. Or even a little mane??

And the structure of the footrpints (two large and two small, thin paws) show it's on all fours (of course, this one was injured so I only had three prints..)



So.. thoughts?? Am I letting my imagination run away with me?? Feel welcome to offer any more sensible suggestions, because I'm getting quite freaked out, here.

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feeling sympathy for the creature?!

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DRAMA!

Oh my GOD, today has been exciting.

My best friend Claire came round for a study session - she brought her (adorable) golden retriever puppy Scamps, which she wasn't able to do when Mr Kimball was still living below. He was really strict about pets, he said they were vicious & uncontrollable, and a danger to all living creatures.. it sounds a bit extreme, but I guess he had bad experiences as a child (my mum did and now she won't go near dogs, even if they're those tiny ones with legs about as long as your hand).

That's Claire and Scamps - isn't he gorgeous??
So, today was supposed to be a nice, leisurely day of chatting with my BFF and doing some much-needed studying, but it ended up including a high-speed chase, fighting and blooood!!!
Scamps, who's always a bit like a four-legged Red Bull, was a bit jittery from the beginning, I guess he could sense the wall-critters even though they weren't making any noises - or at least, not on their previous scraping-bumping-scratching scale. But about an hour in, he just went BESERK - he started barking & growling and suddenly careered off into the kitchen. Claire and I, bumbling humans that we are, were too slow to catch the action, but there was a pretty shocking crime scene in front of us.

Scamps was sitting in the middle of the floor, whining. He'd obviously actually caught a rodent that was in my kitchen, because there were blood stains around his mouth and, more shockingly, this double line of scratches on his nose:

Claire says they're fairly deep but nothing too serious, apparently he's a serial cat-botherer and has been scratched much worse. I still feel TERRIBLE though - and it makes these creatures a lot more real (and kind of scary).
The blood trail left (now I know for sure how they're getting in) was pretty interesting, it gives me a vague idea of the scale of creature I'm dealing with.. it seems like whatever-it-is was dragging a leg, but the footprints I can see are WAY bigger than what you'd expect from a mouse or rat. This would make me think squirrel, except that there are line marks that indicate a thick, rat-like tail.


Oh, and another weird thing - there was a blood-stained hunk of hair on the floor that Scamp must have dislodged (I feel kind of sorry for the creature), which is quite baffling. Am I dealing with some exotic long-haired rodent?

Maybe it's giant mutated rats O_O

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The results of the food experiment are IN!

And it's pretty exciting!!
(Am I enjoying all this a bit too much??)

It's been five days and, as you can see, THERE IS INDEED SOMETHING EATING MY FOOD. It is official.

I took some closer photos of the more curious examples:

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Trip-Traps and Pest-Stops

I've decided to try the DIY approach. Following yesterday's trap talk, I went out and bought 4 more Trip-Traps (and some more cheese!) and have placed them in strategic locations around my flat:

under the bin!

under the shoe cupboard by the front door

in a dark corner of the main room

behind the TV (to avoid dangerous wire gnaw-age)

under my wardrobe

And, finally, the verdict on the Pest-Stop 2000 sonic repellant:

IT DOESN'T WORK.

That's £18.69 down the drain.. If anything, it irritated them and exaccerbated the problem. I could swear that when I turned it on, they just made MORE NOISE just to spite me. Little bastards.

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Exciting packages!!

I go for weeks without receiving anything more than the monthly bills, but today Royal Mail was smiling gently down upon me. A package from my parents was part of the haul, and I wasted no time familiarising myself with the contents:



I also finally received the Pest-Stop 2000!! I can't wait to try it out but, typically, there are no major noises to be heard so I'll have to wait until later to contribute my two cents to the does-it-work discussion.

Keep checking for updates!!

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Food experiment & REVELATION

Following on from my disheartening discovery yesterday that the creatures ARE actually getting into my flat and eating my food, I decided to do a bit of further investigation. I'm going to keep track of the food bits I throw away (and add some more to establish what it's actually going for if anything.. and just to make it a more rounded experiment!) and then a couple of days later I'll take it all back out and see if anything's been eaten, and if so what.
I mean, it is still possible that I'm just being characteristically paranoid. I was telling my friend Claire about it earlier today, and she said she has a habit of unconsciously picking at bits of food, such as crumbs on a plate, and it's possible I do the same. After all, it's a little hard to swallow that simple house rodents would eat around the food rather than the item itself, I think I'm imbuing them with human qualities of subterfuge.

Anyhow, here's what I spent most of the day constructing.. these creatures are at least getting all the major food groups into their diet thanks to me *eyeroll*:



And whilst bin-diving for bits of food I could use, I also made a startling discovery about how the creatures could actually be getting in! I used my phone to film it, to make this thing a little more multi-media and exciting, plus you get to see my lovely face!



Sorry about the horrible quality (and I SWEAR I don't sound that posh in real life!), but hopefully you got the point: there's a massive freaking hole under my built-in cupboards, and the floor of my bin cupboard lifts right up, like a trap bloody door. I'm going to keep it like that while the experiment runs its course, but straight after, I'm gonna tape that bitch right up. Hopefully, without food, they'll be forced to find other lodgings!

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THE CAKE IS A LIE

I'm sure you remember my delicious (if slightly lopsided, baking FAIL) cake from a couple of entries ago?
Well, I have naturally been hacking away at its spongy bulk, and this afternoon when I went to get some tea and cake (I know, I'm an old lady inside) something just seemed a bit.. weird.

So, of course, I took a photo to document it. I'm considering changing my name to Nancy Drew.



It's not the little chunk in the bottom that made me suspicious, because it's a pretty crumbly cake and bits just come away as you cut. I probably made that; no, what's strange is the NEATNESS of it all, given that it IS such a crumbly cake.
There's not a SINGLE CRUMB on that plate.
It's as though it's been licked entirely clean, but whatever was doing it didn't want to leave any trace!!

I am so perplexed. And a bit upset, to be honest - I had thought the wall-critters weren't actually entering my flat, which I took as a bit of a relief - you know, it could be worse type of thing, at least I don't have to worry about germs and contaminated food.

SIGH.

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RESEARCH POST

I've been having a poke around the internet, and some things stick out as particularly interesting or relevant, so I'm gonna record them here so for ease of reference.

I found this forum on www.DIY.com with lots of people with similar stories to mine:

This shot shows how incredibly old the posts all are now though. I looked for ages, but there is no CURRENT forum for pest control, where people are actually receiving responses, which is a little disheartening. (I also like this screenshot because of the adverts: Google has inundated me with pest control services, and then, randomly, at the top, there's an ad for Kath Kidson, surely the antithesis of rodents and household disharmony in general?? lulz.)

This story in particular struck a chord:

This person went on to describe their battle with unhelpful professionals, landlords and neighboiurs, which eventually got resolved after a lot of persistant emails and letters. They had to actually send recordings evidencing the extent of the noises to her property manager before he took serious action, which gives me inspiration for my own situation. Maybe Mr. Lyman will take me seriously if I sent him solid proof of what I'm having to deal with..

I also found this about the sonic repellent devices, which worries me!!:

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So you think THIS is just pipes??

I decided to take the initiative and try to prove that what I'm hearing is way beyond just standard household creakings. I got my mobile phone out. Yes, unusually large rodents, MY PHONE. I clearly mean business.

But yes, this IS significant because I remembered that I can record sound on it, and send this incriminating evidence to the unbelievably obtuse Mr Lyman, and then maybe he will actually start taking me seriously and get some surveyors round to help.

Of course, getting a decent recording was the next step; sod's law says that as soon as I heard sounds and fumbled my phone into recording mode, they seemed to stop. Very frustrating!! But eventually I managed to get a pretty decent recording of some of the louder thumps and bumps:

http://www.supload.com/sound_confirm.php?get=736880296.wav

I bought some earphones, which has helped  a little, but it's still impossible for me to get even three hours of unbroken sleep at night. I've been taking naps in the middle of the day (when they're less active) out of desperation, which I haven't done since I was 5!!

I also decided to follow the advice of andersenmom and invest in one of those sonar rodent repellents. I ordered the excitingly named 'Pest Stop 2000' from Amazon:

For £18.69, it's amazing value if it can actually deter these creatures.
However, I have my doubts (always the optimist.. lol) due to the sheer sound of the noises seeming to indicate that I'm dealing with something bigger than just mice or rats?? Maybe even squirrels?

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called Mr Lyman, the new landlord, earlier, here is a fairly accurate transcript (be sure to admire my dazzling phone manner):

[phone rings twice]
ROBOTIC PRERECORDED LADY: You have reached the office of Lyman & Co. LLP. I'm afraid all our telephones are unavailable at the moment, please hold the line and you will be seen to as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
[loud classical violin music for about 30 seconds]
SIMPERING FEMALE VOICE: Good afternoon, Lyman & Co. chartered accountants. How may I help you?
ME: Hello, er. Can I speak to Mr. Lyman?
SIMPERING FEMALE VOICE: What's your name, please?
ME: Lucy McGrath.
SIMPERING FEMALE VOICE: And what is this regarding?
ME: I rent out the second floor of his uncle's house in Brighton, er, I mean the house his uncle used to own. I thought I should--
[phone rings a few times]
ME: ..oh.
MALE VOICE: Hello, Miss McGrath?
ME: Yes, is that Mr. Lyman?
LYMAN: I'm glad you got the letter we sent, is there a problem?
ME: Um, first of all, I wanted to express my deepest regret about Mr Kimball, I didn't have much contact with him, but he seemed like a very interesting gentleman..
LYMAN: oh.. well I appreciate your concern, but to be honest I had very little contact with my uncle myself. My mother -his sister- fell out with him shortly after I was born - we always thought the man was a little wrong in the head, if you know what I mean? You know he left his estate to, and I quote, [tone of disbelief] 'the pixie folk'?
ME: oh, uhh.. I thought he didn't leave an official will?
[pause]
LYMAN: [in tones reserved for small children or the mentally infirm] Er.. generally, we treat things that don't exist as being outside the realm of official documentation.
ME: [awkward giggle] Heh, of course, uh, I meant..
LYMAN: Listen, I'm very busy at the moment - old Kimball's left me with a stack of legal paperwork to sort out. Was there anything else?
ME: Oh, right. Actually, I've been having some problems with noises in the ceilings and walls, it's been going on for a couple of weeks now and I'm finding it hard to concentrate. I think it might be rodents of some kind..
LYMAN: Noises in the walls? It's an old house, it might just be the sound of the pipes settling. I'll have them looked at when I get the house surveyed. Like I say, I've got a lot to sort out right now but if you could be patient for another few days, I'll be sending the surveyors round to have a look.
ME: I'm pretty sure it's not pipes, I've been living here a while..
LYMAN: Perhaps not, but I'm sure you'd rather rule out all possibilities before jumping to conclusions?
ME: well, yes, I suppose...
LYMAN: Brilliant. I'll be in contact soon then, please don't hesitate to call if you have any queries. Have a good day, now.
ME: uh, right, er, you too.
[click and dial tone]

Since the new landlord doesn't seem to be taking me very seriously just yet, I called my parents, who have dealt with mice infestations in the family home up in Croydon. They suggested I start laying mouse traps and try and talk to a professional pest exterminator - apparently some people do free consultations and advice, which would be awesome.

In an effort to cheer myself up, I made CAKE!!!:

As you can see, I couldn't wait long enough to take a photo before tucking in!

It's not just cake that helps though, it made me feel so much better being able to talk to someone who understands the gravity of the problem and actually wants to help - that's why I really value the comments I get on this blog, as well - it's so uplifting just knowing I'm not alone, and that there are some friendly people around to offer some support. :) Thanks so much, I really appreciate your time.

/end cheese-fest..

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some sad news :(

Well, now I know why my landlord wasn't answering when I knocked on his door...
I got this letter through from a Mr. Lyman, telling me --well, I'll let you read it.

He paperclipped a business card to the top as well:

.. rather classy ;)
this new guy seems to be pretty business-like and market-savvy.. I really don't like the sound of the 'small changes' he wants to make; i suspect that, as an accountant, he's fully aware that I'm paying a below-average price and is going to go right ahead and hoist up the rent.. boo. :(
Although it will be worth it if he can get the building fixed up and my rodent problem seen to in the near future.
..I feel kind of mean bothering him about this when his uncle died so recently, to be honest. It kind of puts it in perspective for me: in the grand scheme of things, there are more important things, like enjoying life, to expend my energy on.


Other news: Noises are still bad. I've turned almost nocturnal, passing out in the middle of the day out of pure exhaustion. I really can't go on like this much longer.
PLEASE, if anyone has any advice on how to block it out, help meeeee!

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ARGH, this is so freaking ridiculous.

It sounds like they're doing the bloody River Dance on my head, how is this fair?? It's 3.38am, this is an UNGODLY hour and I REALLY NEED TO SLEEP.
I'm a student (Art History) and right now is dissertation season and I am stressed out of my MIND at the mo. I'm supposed to be devoting my time to the study of outsider art but all I can think about is freaking RODENTS, in the walls, in the ceiling, scratching, gnawing, TAP DANCING. Sometimes there's even scraping sounds like they're dragging stuff around.. >_<

Why is this only happening now (asides from the fact that Fate wants me to fail my degree)??
Tbh, I'm not entirely surprised since my flat is pretty old and rickety - I rent out the upper level of a converted Victorian townhouse - and it's not in a great state of repair:


You can see my bedroom on the top right. :)
The guy who owns the place lives on the ground floor (I call it the ground floor, but the front door is up so many steps it's almost the first storey!). He's an old WWII vet who keeps to himself and only emerges to get whiskey and glare at the world. I've tried knocking on his door to complain a number of times now, left notes and even written a formal letter, but he doesn't reply and just completely ignores me. >_< This just isn't fair, it's happening on his property and I'm paying him to deal with things like this!
That said, he charges a damn good price- I thought I was pretty lucky to find this place.. but of course, there's always a catch.

I don't know what to do, and I really can't afford to pay for professionals myself.. Would local authorities help??

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hello, world

Come one, come all, feel free to peer into the little bubble I call my life. :)

My name is Lucy & I am a compulsive journaller. I've kept diaries ever since I was about 7 years old (although the less said about these, the better!!) However, my big problem is keeping at them!
BUT this time I am DETERMINED to keep this up.. I actually have something to blog ABOUT, and I want to see it through to the end.

THE DEALIO:

Rodents.
I started hearing scratching and bumping noises about a week ago and it's just got worse and worse; more frequent, louder - I'm a really light sleeper (I can't even have a manual clock because the ticking keeps me up.. lol) so this is playing havoc with my sleep cycle.
Identifying these creatures would be a good place to start, but I haven't a clue - I've never seen one (thankfully!), they don't leave pellets or poop anywhere and from what I can tell, there's no obvious entry point where they could be getting into my falt. Tbh, i'm not even sure if they're IN my flat at all, just in the walls, in the ceiling, in the crawlspace between floors..

There are noises throughout the day, but it's worst at night, when I'm trying to sleep. It's driving me insane, I'm basically functioning on coffee and Red Bull and am living in a state of permanent fear, expecting to hear thumps and bumps at any moment.

So I've decided to blog about my pest problem. hopefully it will be helpful to anyone else affected - and if you have any advice, DON'T BE SHY!! PLEASE!! or else my posts will gradually degenerate into the crazed ramblings of a sleep-deprived loon.

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