# Yikes! The furniture moved! What would you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2013, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959 "2013-09-16T10:23:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/21 "2013-09-16T22:03:42Z")
Freeze and realize how slowly time moves. I live in an old house alone. Awhile back I was in the bathroom late at night and over my shoulder in the mirror over the sink I see 2 distored red dots “looking” at me. I froze; mind racing. In the 20 seconds it probably took me to turn around it seemed like an eon passed in my thoughts. The new coffee maker has one little LED light, reflected in a window, in an otherwise dark house by the right combonation of angles reflected onto the mirror. Moved the coffee pot an inch on the counter and all is well. The froze mind racing thing happens whenever I hear an odd noise. It takes a second to figure it out, but that second can really strech out when the mind is in hyper speed. The day the coffee table moves and a rational explination doesn’t come to me, I fear I’ll be mentally locked up a long long time. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/22 "2013-09-16T22:21:30Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > No biggie. Any run-of-the-mill ghost/poltergeist/demon can handle your puny little coffee table. Not for nothing are they called ‘supernatural’. Cite? 😃 And BTW, if they don’t have normal physical restrictions why would they be fucking around with coffee tables when they could just pick up the house and put it down across the road? ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/23 "2013-09-16T22:25:33Z")
I’d see if the people in the talking video frame sitting on it moved it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/24 "2013-09-16T22:28:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’d recommend going to bed and dealing with it in the morning. Heh.I know that’s how I’d react…because last night my unplugged-for-a-day quarantine fish tank’s filter seemed to made horrible noises twice, and after I looked at it for a minute I turned off the light and went back to bed. Turns out it was really probably my white noise machine a couple of feet away from it committing suicide since it’s not working anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/25 "2013-09-16T22:30:55Z")
I’d check for obvious signs of hidden wires pulling it along, try to figure out which of my friends with access to my apartment set me up, when suddenly I’d realize that (a) none of my friends have keys and (b) _I don’t have a coffee table,_ at which point I’d check to make sure I was in the right apartment. In either case, I’d leave. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/26 "2013-09-17T00:01:52Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > And BTW, if they don’t have normal physical restrictions why would they be fucking around with coffee tables when they could just pick up the house and put it down across the road? Variety of reasons here: 1. You are not important enough 2. You are not bad enough - the really badass people get to meet the bigger ones 3. All the biggest ones are currently resident in the corridors of power, worldwide, and are unavailable for trivial scarejobs 4. The smaller ones can just about handle coffee tables and maybe a cupboard, that’s about it ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/27 "2013-09-17T00:08:02Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > BTW, if they don’t have normal physical restrictions why would they be fucking around with coffee tables when they could just pick up the house and put it down across the road? Devil’s advocate: not having “normal physical restrictions” != can do anything they want. At least, not without _defining_ “not having normal physical restrictions” that way. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/28 "2013-09-17T00:52:37Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Variety of reasons here: > > 1. You are not important enough > 2. You are not bad enough - the really badass people get to meet the bigger ones > 3. All the biggest ones are currently resident in the corridors of power, worldwide, and are unavailable for trivial scarejobs > 4. The smaller ones can just about handle coffee tables and maybe a cupboard, that’s about it 1. This must be the case, because my furniture always stays right where I left it. 2. You’d think that we skeptics would be among the badass people worthy of impressing. Where’s the challenge in scaring someone who already believes in you? 3. See #2. The real badasses do not operate in the corridors of power. 4. This just proves my point. If I’m not important enough or badass enough to rate a major manifestation, and if the biguns are all seated at the right hands of rulers, those little leftover demons and whatnot are not going to be able to move my massive, overloaded coffee table. > [@Leaper](#): > > Devil’s advocate: not having “normal physical restrictions” != can do anything they want. At least, not without _defining_ “not having normal physical restrictions” that way. Well, since we lack a better definition, let’s go with “can move a house.” This makes more sense than “is supernatural but can only move small items of furniture.” ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/29 "2013-09-17T06:03:45Z")
I would have a heart to heart talk with whatever is occupying my house along with me. I do this frequently in my condo, where I live alone but often see or sense some other entity sharing the place with me. I explain that I harbor no ill will towards it and express my hope that it harbors no ill will towards me. I finish by telling it that it is welcome to share the place with me and hope that it welcomes me as well. So far my approach seems to be working although I’m not really comfortable putting this in writing. This is not a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/30 "2013-09-17T07:25:30Z")
This happened to me - it was a sofa, not a table. The cause was an earthquake\* - so my first assumption would be that - and I guess I’d get to a doorway and wait there. ETA: I realise the OP said earthquake would not be a readily apparent cause, but it would be my first assumption nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/31 "2013-09-17T14:36:58Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I would have a heart to heart talk with whatever is occupying my house along with me. I do this frequently in my condo, where I live alone but often see or sense some other entity sharing the place with me. I explain that I harbor no ill will towards it and express my hope that it harbors no ill will towards me. I finish by telling it that it is welcome to share the place with me and hope that it welcomes me as well. So far my approach seems to be working although I’m not really comfortable putting this in writing. > > This is not a joke. Wow, this is amazing. On rare occasions, I have _felt_ the presence of people I knew, though they were not there physically. Used to experience this more intensely in my younger days. It was always someone I knew, never a presence that I could not relate to someone. Over time, this has diminished. Now it almost never happens. But never have I “seen” an “entity” sharing my home. \*That \*would freak me out for sure. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/32 "2013-09-17T15:38:10Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > It is late in the night. Your house is silent, the kids are away, the spouse is visiting the in-laws. You are reading a book. Suddenly, there is a harsh noise; you look up, and the coffee table is moving! It screeches to a halt, having moved closer to you by several feet. No cause is readily apparent. > > You freeze in terror and then > > … 1. Go “When the hell did I get a coffee table?” Call a doctor because apparently I’m having blackouts in which I buy furniture. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/33 "2013-09-17T18:03:51Z")
In order to placate my fear, I would get angry and threaten it. Yell at the “ghost” that if he harms me or kills me, I’m going to turn into a ghost too and beat the shit out of it for the rest of its afterlife. Then angrily move the coffee table back where its supposed to be and tell it to fucking stay there, or else there’s gonna be trouble. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/34 "2013-09-18T17:45:58Z")
Nobody else does this? ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/35 "2013-09-18T18:20:43Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Nobody else does this? I have not yet begun talking to the furniture. If it makes you feel any better, I suspect it will happen any day now. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/36 "2013-09-19T15:16:30Z")
Get the video camera rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/37 "2013-09-19T15:55:43Z")
“Hey! What have I told you about running around in the living room?” ---
**Author:** ![chowching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@chowching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowching)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/38 "2013-09-20T06:49:41Z")
I would stop taking those medicines. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/39 "2013-09-20T08:18:10Z")
1. Remind myself to pick up my Kindle from the repair shop. I don’t actually read books anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959/40 "2013-09-21T02:56:18Z")
1. Move (leaving the coffee table behind and keeping a large axe at the new place) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-the-furniture-moved-what-would-you-do/668959.md?page=3)