Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Possessed Clocks

So far, this one is behaving, but old clocks have a tendency to do freaky things.

Years ago, living in Boston my husband had a tacky Virgin of Guadalupe clock he picked up at a junk shop in Chelsea. When I moved in with him, the clock which never ran as he hadn't bothered with batteries began to move incrementally. I noticed that the time was off by a few minutes, went to adjust it, and found no batteries. That was strange, but a coincidence that the time it was at was close when I decided to check. Perfectly reasonable explanation.

A week later, I'd unpacked the antique clock that had been in my dad's family for years. It didn't run, having been knocked off a mantle several decades earlier. I set it up, and (you guessed it) when I glanced at it , the clock was set to the exact time as the other clock. Freaky, no?

At some point, the clock must have been jostled, and ran for a short while on some residual winding from god knows when. Moving does that sort of thing. We joked about possessed clocks, but really didn't (and still don't) take it too seriously.

In passing, I mentioned to our downstairs neighbor what had happened, and he looked ashen.
"You too?" he whispered. Seems his clocks would never keep time for more than a few days, often displaying similarly odd behaviour. Further conversation with the occupants on the first floor yielded similar stories of odd clock doings.

It should be noted that we lived very close to the airport, and though the building was old and sturdy, it did have a bit of sway that we'd feel in storms, or if a plane flew particularly low over the house on approach. I still chalk it up to movement, with some odd coincidence tossed in, but our neighbours were seriously unnerved by it.

I suppose somewhere in the back of my mind I remember this, and hesitate to purchase old clocks. Some people get creeped-out by dolls, for me it is clocks.  I did hang this clock, but I've yet to plug it in. It reads 2:25. I'll be keeping an eye on it for a bit before I work up the nerve to run it.

7 comments:

Curtise said...

Now, clocks and watches seem to be a focus of other worldly activity, I know several people who report freaky happenings around them. Yeah yeah, I know it's not really paranormal shite, obviously. But they are great stories! And that's a great item, it looks like part clock, part chopping board. And if I were a wandering spirit seeking a clock to possess, I might choose that one...
Nah, clocks aren't creepy, they are cool! I have an old sunburst clock which is completely random, sometimes goes, sometimes doesn't, fails to keep time, but looks fab. The things I find.. not creepy exactly, but they are just not to my taste while other people seem to love them, are taxidermy creatures. Their little glass eyes and mockery-of-life poses make me sad. xxxx

Radostin said...

Super creepy, it has changed in the photo and now reads 2:35! Help!

Jayne H said...

Odd clock doings and strange knocker doings - spooky

Goody said...

@Radostin
Ha! You're right. I am so screwed.

Goody said...

@Northern Mum
I still haven't plugged it in.

Goody said...

@Pastcaring

I want to be taxidermied when I croak. They can put me on wheels and move me from room to room (though I'm sure they'll just keep me in the kitchen and laundry room to be true-to-life).

Pity they don't allow it for humans.

Sue said...

I do like a good story and that one was good, nothing like an old clock behaving odd to freak peeps out. But I must say I love your comment about being taxidermied and put on wheels!!! That would be the ultimate thing to freak people out. I would park you at the front door to welcome guests!!