My mother called me a month after we had both moved to live on our own. I had rented a small apartment for myself, which was my first time living alone. And mom had bought herself an old Victorian home nearby in San Francisco.
"How are you enjoying life as a single bachelor?" she asked playfully over the phone.
"It's great. I've got hot babes all over the place."
"Of course you do, that's why you're on the phone talking to your mother on a Friday night."
"Is that why you called?" I laughed. "You wanted to rub that in?"
"A little bit. But honestly, I miss hearing your voice after I come home from work. You're all grown up now."
"Thanks mom."
"Basically what you're saying is, you miss me too," she replied lovingly.
"You bet."
"So how's your new apartment treating you?" she asked. "Everything good I hope."
"I've got no complaints here. Great view, parking is easy, and there are a lot of really cool people who live in this building. I've made some new friends already."
"That's so wonderful to hear. I'm very happy for you."
"What about the place you're living in?" I asked. "Is it everything you thought it would be?"
"...It's...great. Everything is going well."
I knew my mother all too well. She was like an open book too. She was naturally an expressive person, and it was obvious that something was there, a hint of discomfort that she tried to keep to herself.
"Did I hear a pause?" I asked, trying to gently get her to talk.
"It's nothing," she said defensively. "I love this home and it was worth every penny."
"Come on, just tell me. If there's anything wrong I can come fix it for you. Or I could call a repairman for you."
"I won't be needing a repairman, but thanks for the offer."
"Do you want to move back to the old apartment?" I asked.
"Not really," she replied. "I've lived in that apartment for so long that I need the change of location. Besides, that apartment has already been sold and people are living there already."
"Then what is it?"
"You'll think I'm crazy if I told you."
"If I thought you were crazy, I wouldn't tell you. I'd just keep that information to myself."
"How sweet of you," she tried to joke back. "It's almost my bedtime here. It was good to hear your voice again."
She sounded like her feelings were hurt from being teased.
"It was only a joke mom. Come on, you've made me curious. Tell me."
She paused for a moment. "I think this place is haunted."
Then we both paused from her seemingly random revelation. Could it be? Did she really just say that?
"Haunted?"
"Yes, you heard me; I think this house is haunted."
"And why would you think that?" I asked.
"Because I hear noises at night. Strange noises. They would happen randomly."
"It's probably leaky pipes or rats between the walls. I mean, that place is old. What do you expect?"
"This place has been inspected for everything, plumbing, pests, you name it. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten up in the middle of the night to make sure all the windows are locked or if something was crawling around. I've spent hours during the day trying to figure out what the noises are. And... nothing."
I thought for a few seconds. "There's gotta be a reasonable explanation. I really don't know what to say mom. Maybe you're just overreacting because of how scary your house looks at night. Honestly, that place gave me the creeps when I helped you move there."
"I'm completely serious. The daytime is so quiet I can hear a pin drop. There's no sound except for the cars outside and neighbors. But every midnight to dawn... there are these strange noises."
I thought to myself once again. My mother is very smart woman, so maybe she's right? Maybe her home is haunted. She's not someone to exaggerate or embellish. She's as rational and level-headed as a person can be.
"Have you thought about selling the house and moving someplace else?" I asked.
"It's crossed my mind," she replied. "But a lot of my money is invested here now and I'll probably take a huge financial loss if I try to sell it right away. And I really do love this home. There's something about it that I find comforting, except for what happens at night, obviously."
"Hmmm... tough situation. I'm all out of ideas. But I'm still not fully convinced your house is haunted. Give it a few more days and the noises might go away. Don't forget that no one had lived in that house for months. So the wooden structure is probably just settling in, if that even makes sense."
"I want you to stay with me for a while," she said bluntly and randomly.
"What?"
"It's the weekend. Pack your bags and sleep here on Saturday night. You can leave on Sunday or Monday."
"I don't know, mom," I replied honestly. "That place is creepy."
"But if it's not haunted, then what do you have to worry about? I've already contacted a local psychic who wants $300 dollars for a spiritual cleansing next week. I'm willing to pay, unless of course you can prove that everything is okay."
"Don't do that mom. $300 dollars? That's insane. It's clearly a scam."
"Then come stay with me and prove otherwise," she replied.
"Fine, I'll be there tomorrow and I'll stay for the night. You owe me for this."
"I'll be your personal chef like always," she replied playfully. "Maybe I'll even do your laundry like old times. Will that be enough?"
***
Saturday night. It was the first time in a month that my mother and I had dinner together. After some talking and late night television, we both went to bed. She was going to sleep in the master bedroom, and I was going to stay in the guest room.
"Let me know if you need anything," she said, standing barefoot in the doorway wearing her nightgown.
"You're making me feel like I'm in a hotel," I joked. "A pretty old hotel."
"Think of it as an old hotel, but with charm and character to it. Who knows, maybe if you stay here long enough you'll finally see why I love it."
"No offense, but I doubt that."
She smiled. "Young people these days have no appreciation for art. But anyway, it's nice having you around again. I always feel safe with you down the hall."
"Thanks. I just hope there aren't any ghosts around to ruin our night."
"Did I just detect a hint of sarcasm?" she asked skeptically.
"Maybe. I'll be half asleep tonight listening for any strange noises. That's what you want isn't it?"
She flashed me a stern, yet playful expression. "You do that. Goodnight."
"Night mom."
***
The clock read 1:30 am. A loud banging noise downstairs woke me up. The footsteps coming from my mother's room let me know that she had woken up as well. I got out of bed to see that my mother had turned the lights on.
"Did you hear that?" my mother asked in a low whisper, with a jilted look on her face.
"Yeah, what was it?"
"I don't know. But I've heard it before. It usually happens around this time, in the same way. I'm scared. Are you?"
"Kind of," I replied without shame. "Let's go check it out I guess."
We went down the stairs together as my mother turned on more lights. A few minutes later, she turned on all the lights and I had triple checked everything. All the doors were locked, all the windows were closed, and there weren't any stray animals roaming around. The house was empty and nothing had been moved.
"Got any ideas of what that banging noise was?" she asked.
