Attic Light Turns Off By Itself

[presidente]

I was at a relative's house last month, an older man. We noticed a water spot on the ceiling. He, myself, and a son in-law were going to go take a look in the ceiling. When he pulled the string on the door thing that has the ladder in it to walk up into the attic. When he opened it, the light was on but turned off. We both saw the light.

We climb up there. We weren't sure if we spotted where the water was coming from. Everything looked dry. We wondered if the pan for the A/C unit up there had filled up in the summer and he'd just now noticed it. he said he thought the roof actually went further than the the edge of the roof on the inside. It looked like that might be the case. I didn't measure rafters with a tape measure.

So later, he tells me this theory of his that there were people going up in his roof, having sex. He said something about them being 'church people.' I know he has had a couple of bouts with some kind of mental illness in the past, paranoia that nearly broke up his marriage at the time, even fear of people under the stairs, people after him on the road, at least a couple of serious bouts with paranoia many decades back. Also, he listens to conspiracy theory videos on telegram, believing in med beds that will make our bodies 30 year's younger, a new quantum currency evaluation that will make one Zimbabwe dollar and one Iraqi dinar worth one US dollar (or something like that), that Hillary Clinton, Biden, and a bunch of other politicians were executed in Guantanimo and that they have doubles wearing mission impossible style masks, that we are all going to be rich because of Trump and getting all the millions owed to use for selling our birth certificates, and returning to a previous form of our constitution before the United States became a corporation. There is all kinds of other stuff like that.

He thinks the people who go in the roof sneak up with a ladder, the neighbor is in on it. They wipe out the tracks from the frosty dew, and he thinks he saw where they wiped them up. He knows it sounds crazy, but told me I saw the light. I'm more likely to think a demon was flicking the light switch and fueling paranoia than 'church people' breaking into his roof to have sex.

I'm wondering about the light in the attic. I told him I was more inclined to believe it was demonic than people in the roof. I suppose it is possible that the light was just on the edge of flicking, nudged by the shaking that occurred when we pulled down the ladder to go into the attic. He said he'd heard people talking up in the ceiling. Again, I'm more inclined to think it's demonic or a light that was just somehow right on the edge of getting switched off.

If anyone has any wisdom to address this specific situation, I would appreciate it.

 

[Gideon300]

I was at a relative's house last month, an older man. We noticed a water spot on the ceiling. He, myself, and a son in-law were going to go take a look in the ceiling. When he pulled the string on the door thing that has the ladder in it to walk up into the attic. When he opened it, the light was on but turned off. We both saw the light.

We climb up there. We weren't sure if we spotted where the water was coming from. Everything looked dry. We wondered if the pan for the A/C unit up there had filled up in the summer and he'd just now noticed it. he said he thought the roof actually went further than the the edge of the roof on the inside. It looked like that might be the case. I didn't measure rafters with a tape measure.

So later, he tells me this theory of his that there were people going up in his roof, having sex. He said something about them being 'church people.' I know he has had a couple of bouts with some kind of mental illness in the past, paranoia that nearly broke up his marriage at the time, even fear of people under the stairs, people after him on the road, at least a couple of serious bouts with paranoia many decades back. Also, he listens to conspiracy theory videos on telegram, believing in med beds that will make our bodies 30 year's younger, a new quantum currency evaluation that will make one Zimbabwe dollar and one Iraqi dinar worth one US dollar (or something like that), that Hillary Clinton, Biden, and a bunch of other politicians were executed in Guantanimo and that they have doubles wearing mission impossible style masks, that we are all going to be rich because of Trump and getting all the millions owed to use for selling our birth certificates, and returning to a previous form of our constitution before the United States became a corporation. There is all kinds of other stuff like that.

He thinks the people who go in the roof sneak up with a ladder, the neighbor is in on it. They wipe out the tracks from the frosty dew, and he thinks he saw where they wiped them up. He knows it sounds crazy, but told me I saw the light. I'm more likely to think a demon was flicking the light switch and fueling paranoia than 'church people' breaking into his roof to have sex.

I'm wondering about the light in the attic. I told him I was more inclined to believe it was demonic than people in the roof. I suppose it is possible that the light was just on the edge of flicking, nudged by the shaking that occurred when we pulled down the ladder to go into the attic. He said he'd heard people talking up in the ceiling. Again, I'm more inclined to think it's demonic or a light that was just somehow right on the edge of getting switched off.

If anyone has any wisdom to address this specific situation, I would appreciate it.

I would investigate the obvious first. Switches can get worn and vibration can make them operate intermittently. If you have wooden floors, vibration from just walking around can do it. I worked with an electrician and I have some electrical knowledge from my electronics apprenticeship.

 

[presidente]

I would investigate the obvious first. Switches can get worn and vibration can make them operate intermittently. If you have wooden floors, vibration from just walking around can do it. I worked with an electrician and I have some electrical knowledge from my electronics apprenticeship.

It's funny. This relative of mine was a master electrician. Everything looks pretty sturdy. The switch looked fairly new.

 

[Lynx]

Sounds like a short circuit to me. Multiple in fact, two different kinds of short circuits.

 

[2ndTimeIsTheCharm]

What kind of house is this and where? If it's something like a townhouse where units have connected attics, etc, it might be possible that someone can hide in in the attic or some small hidden space in the cellar, etc. That is called "phrogging" when someone homeless needs a place to sleep. It happens in touristy areas but can still happen anywhere. You can look up the term "phrogging" to find out more. There are also videos about it on YouTube.

 

[presidente]

What kind of house is this and where? If it's something like a townhouse where units have connected attics, etc, it might be possible that someone can hide in in the attic or some small hidden space in the cellar, etc. That is called "phrogging" when someone homeless needs a place to sleep. It happens in touristy areas but can still happen anywhere. You can look up the term "phrogging" to find out more. There are also videos about it on YouTube.

This is a nice stand alone house in a neighborhood in a small town.

 

[Brasspen]

Sometimes houses settle and it moves around, making creeking noises. I don't know about your light switch.

 

[2ndTimeIsTheCharm]

This is a nice stand alone house in a neighborhood in a small town.

I remember a couple of crime documentaries where culprits managed to hide in theit victims' homes to wreak havoc. The victims never thought that this was ever possible. Neither of the homes were in touristy places too. I'm just putting that possibility out for consideration.

Your suspicion that the house is haunted by demons might also be a possibility.

Or maybe the wiring just loosened even though the light switch looked fairly new. Maybr even the lightbulb might be loose.

Please let us know if you decide to investigate and what the results are.

 

[Lynx]

"There's an extra light switch by the back door in my house. No idea what it controls. I just flip it on and off sometimes when I walk past. Last week I got a letter from a lady in China. She said, that's annoying, cut it out."

- Steven Wright

 

[JohnDB]

Yep,
Good connections in junction boxes are not as easily had as you would like to believe. Especially when mixing solid core wire with stranded. (I am an electrician and rose through the ranks to Assistant project manager for electrical contractors)

The most likely scenario is that the light bulb in the attic is loose in its socket and that the socket is worn out to the point that it cant be made tight anymore.

But as has been mentioned, switches can go bad, barely made joints can, through vibration, go bad too.

Bugs love the heat that electricity creates....those disgusting little spiders and gnats cover bulbs, joints, and switches when they get into them.
Personally, in places like attics, I prefer using dust tight fixtures and switches. (Also often known as water tight....its a classification and UL listed as such) Its often not required, but it does keep things working well in such seldom used environments. I go to my attic like once every 6 months or so. But its dusty because of the vents and dust carried on the wind. Same with spiders and gnats. They are up there too around the vents. And if I left a light on....they would be around that light.

 

[presidente]

Yep,
Good connections in junction boxes are not as easily had as you would like to believe. Especially when mixing solid core wire with stranded. (I am an electrician and rose through the ranks to Assistant project manager for electrical contractors)

The most likely scenario is that the light bulb in the attic is loose in its socket and that the socket is worn out to the point that it cant be made tight anymore.

But as has been mentioned, switches can go bad, barely made joints can, through vibration, go bad too.

Bugs love the heat that electricity creates....those disgusting little spiders and gnats cover bulbs, joints, and switches when they get into them.
Personally, in places like attics, I prefer using dust tight fixtures and switches. (Also often known as water tight....its a classification and UL listed as such) Its often not required, but it does keep things working well in such seldom used environments. I go to my attic like once every 6 months or so. But its dusty because of the vents and dust carried on the wind. Same with spiders and gnats. They are up there too around the vents. And if I left a light on....they would be around that light.

That's worth suggesting for him to check out. I was over there because I was invited to a holiday get-together. I am not sure how old the house is, but it looks relatively new, maybe like it was built in the past ten years. If I didn't know it was older and someone told me it was a year old, I might believe it. The attic was very neat and clean for an attic. I don't know that he's checked switches or boxes. I might suggest it.

 

[JohnDB]

That's worth suggesting for him to check out. I was over there because I was invited to a holiday get-together. I am not sure how old the house is, but it looks relatively new, maybe like it was built in the past ten years. If I didn't know it was older and someone told me it was a year old, I might believe it. The attic was very neat and clean for an attic. I don't know that he's checked switches or boxes. I might suggest it.

I'd check the light bulb sockets first....try just tightening the bulb/lamp within it. Heat and cold over the years cause movement. Tightening it when the temperatures are cold is best....but that's not always what happens.

I've had attic bulbs practically fall in my hands when reaching for the supposedly burned out bulbs. Just vibration and temperature changes cause them to become backed out. So people tighten them unreasonably. That's what wears out the sockets.

I want to put some weatherproof fixtures up in my attic. Its Just low priority at the moment. I got other bigger fish to fry. Like getting my grape vines trimmed, fertilized, and fenced off. (Also tree leaves cleaned up)

 

[Genipher]

How old is he? Might he have the start of dementia? My husband's (Christian) grandmother had dementia and often said men were living in her trees. Scared her pretty badly.