Haunted House? Scary Happenings?

Probably not, but since it's Halloween it seems apropos.  The house seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to our comfort, safety and general existence.  First off, as mentioned before, not a day has gone by in the last 3 weeks when we have had hot water, heat, fully functioning electrical or cooking gas.  And just when one thing gets fixed and we start to get comfortable again, another thing goes.  The hot water came up late on Thursday night and then the heat finally came up for real last on Saturday and we got a solid two days of basking in it’s glory, albeit without cooking gas or fully functioning electricity, when the plumbing decided to go today.  Spooky?  Eerie?  Maybe not, but inconvenient as all hell.  Now we can’t flush toilets until further notice.  It’s like camping.  But as someone I know is fond of saying, “Jews Don’t Camp”

And speaking of Jews, while I am Jewish by birth, I see nothing of interest in the religion (or any organized religion for that matter).  That being said, being Jewish is not only a religious distinction, but an ethnic distinction, so it is hard not to be offended by the anti-Semitic spirit that is haunting our house as well.  The first time a swastika showed up, it was on the plywood bought to temporarily frame out the sunroom.  Eric is of German decent and takes the symbol very personally, as one that has tarnished the reputation of his heritage and personally terrorized his decedents.  We mentioned it to our contractor and he asked his guys about it but none of them seemed to have drawn it or even know what a swastika symbolizes.  Being of Ecuadorian decent, I guess Nazi’s don’t come up too often.  All of our other subcontractors are Polish, so I would imagine they would have some pretty strong feelings against Nazi’s but they didn’t appear to have access to this plywood or any reason to be drawing on it.  We chalked it up to a stupid mistake and let it go. 

Last week the swastika showed up again on the tub framing.  I thought it was just the same one--that the same piece of wood had been reused, but now I am not so sure. 

Just last night Eric noticed this new swastika, drawn in black marker, on the sheetrock of the master bedroom closet.  That sheetrock has been up for day and it wasn’t there before—it was definitely drawn very recently.  Is there a Polish/Ecuadorian reason to draw swastikas?   Is a spirit haunting our house and drawing some sort of conclusion to the fact that I am Jewish and Eric is German?  Or is someone who works here an asshole that needs to be fired?  I am guessing the latter.  All I know is that renovations are uncomfortable enough without have to deal with this crap.   

Potentially offensive photos after the jump...

The first one...

The second one...from far...

From close...

And the third one...this is no coincidence...

Comments

[Andrea]

I pulled this from Wikipedia. So you can feel better and reinvent what the swastika means...

The swastika (from Sanskrit स्वस्तिक svastika, from su "well", and asti "being", thus "good fortune" or "well-being") is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing (卍) or right-facing (卐) direction. The swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Odinism.[1] The Hindu version is often decorated with a dot in each quadrant.

However, in the Western world, it is most widely known and used as a symbol of Nazism (the Hakenkreuz, "hook-cross") and this political association has eclipsed its historical status as the fylfot.

By the way, I hate giving out my email address so I provided a fake one. You could always reach me through my site though!

[Fredericka]

Ugh, how nasty. That would really bother me. I don't even know what to suggest since you've already talked to the contractor. I hope that this offensive behavior stops in your house. It's kind of crappy to think you are paying the person who is doing this (unless it really was a ghost...though I don't know where a ghost would get a magic marker).

[~dana]

Hey Andrea--I read that very same Wikipedia entry back when the first one appeared, as I remember it stood for something less innocuous before it was co-opted, but considering the fact that no one working or living in this house is Hindu, Buddhist, Jainist and/or Odinist, unfortunately I don't think it applies.

Hey Fredericka--thanks for the support!

[The Skirt]

Hm, how many Nazis fled to South and Central America after the war ended?

Have you considered getting a psychic or medium or whatever in to see if there is any weird energy? Or setting up a hidden camera to see who the culprit is?

[~dana]

thanks everyone...culprit found! see http://www.danabushman.com/here_is_the_house/2006/11/mystery_solved.html