“My house is haunted,” the lady whispered on the phone. “The hallway lights flicker, but only at 3 AM.”
I don’t charge for exorcisms, but I do charge for troubleshooting. I showed up, expecting a loose neutral or a failing dimmer. I spent two hours testing every connection. Everything was tight. Voltage was steady. I was starting to believe in the ghost.
Then I heard it. Scritch. Scritch.
It was coming from the wall. I put my ear against the drywall. Chew. Chew. Zap.
The lights flickered.
I cut a hole in the drywall near the noise. Inside, I found the culprit. A squirrel had found a warm spot next to a Romex cable. He’d been using the hot wire as a teething ring. Every night at 3 AM, he’d gnaw a little deeper until he brushed the copper, got a mild zap (which flickered the lights), and backed off.
The ghost wasn’t a poltergeist; it was a rodent with a death wish. I evicted the squirrel, patched the wire, and told the lady her house was clear of spirits. She seemed disappointed. I was just glad I didn’t have to call a priest.
*Note from the owner: At Huntsville Wire and Home, we believe in total transparency. Not every electrical job is a textbook case, and the reality of the trade is often grittier (and funnier) than what you see on TV. These “Field Notes” are true stories from my years in the trenches. I share them not to scare you, but to show you the respect electricity demands—and the lengths we go to keep your home safe.*
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