Could the smell up the stairs be paranormal?

Question

I don't want stupid answers just a simple no will do.
In our house there is a different smell on the stairs to anywhere else in the house.
It's a nice smell but we havn't got a clue where it's from.
Could it be paranormal?
I know you all think this is a silly question I was just wondering that's all.

It is only there now and again.

We have no vents near the stairs.
We are only the second people to live in the house. It was all fields before that.
The sent isn't like anything we use.

Answer 1

Could the smell be paranormal? Yes, it could be. However, there is no reason to believe anything is paranormal until *all* possible natural explanations have been eliminated. You have not done that, so why would you jump to the conclusion that it's paranormal?

Answer 2

It COULD be paranormal, but probably isn't. If you want to figure out what this smell is, I would recommend taking note of when you smell it. Keep a small "diary" in which you record time of day, weather, temperature, humidity, and anything else you can think of that might be relevant. Do you have a basement or crawl space under your house? If so, you might want to check that out. Is there a closet or bathroom underneath the stairs (or above it)? Can you label the smell at all (does it smell like perfume, food, morning dew, flowers, brownies, etc)?

Keep in mind, what you find to be a "pleasant" smell might not actually be pleasant to other people (classic examples of this are sweat - some people find the sweat of the opposite gender to be attractive - and certain animals like dogs). Do people outside your family ever smell this, and if so how do they describe it?

Once you start asking a lot of questions, you should be able to figure out where the smell is coming from.

In the areas where the smell seems strongest, you could hold a flame in order to try to detect where the odor is coming from (as even a slight breeze will make the flame flicker a bit). Of course, you also want to be careful incase it is a flammable gas.

Answer 3

No, it's not paranormal. Who knows what was spilled there without someone's notice. You may smell it or not depending on the airflow pattern in the area, which is a function of the flow in your furnace ductwork, which doors are open, etc.

EDIT: It doesn't matter if there are vents near the stairs or not, airflow patterns can change for the above reasons and waft odors quite a distance from their source. Sounds like the first owners might have spilled something. If it bothers you, I'd suggest steam-cleaning the carpet. Another possibility is that the previous owners put air fresheners into one or more of the vents to spread the fragrance around. There are many more possibilities for the cause of a stray smell in a house. In fact, there's so many natural possibilities, a supernatural explanation is going to be thousands and thousands of items down on the list of likely causes. You seem very eager for a paranormal explanation, but that's only going to lead to the power of suggestion influencing your beliefs. Stay rational.

Answer 4

houses can have a lot of odors that come and go depending on the weather. Winds, humidity, heat are all things that can bring out smells or intensify existing smells. Wood absorbs everything from smoke to spills and can last for years. I.E. cedar. Something could have been spilled on them at one time or another, or the rungs could be made of a different type than the wood in the rest of the home. Too many variables.

Answer 5

If it were an unpleasant odor I would suggest looking under the stairs for mildew or something akin to that. But since you say it is a pleasant odor, is it possible that there is a vent near the stairs that may be carrying a scent from another room?
There are reports of "phantom scents" associated with ghosts. But you really need to try to seek out other possibilities before deciding that a spirit is causing the scent.

Answer 6

Hello,

I experienced smell of encens sometimes ... i was sure their was no physical source. Smells of roses or other refined scentors... even ensence. I suspect they were their to increase the quality of the vibration (i was young and was in drugs ... at this time i was stopping ! it took me 1 year ... repeatedly i had these smells) i believe that i was helped by souls or spirits or ... .

Not to say that in your case it is, but it could be !! specially when it is their from time to time. With no other explanation. But to be sure, because smells can come from anywhere, it must make sense ... else you can admit that it is fantasy !! or semething else. (Ex if it is food at noon ... you can imagine that someone is making lunch ! go logically)

A friend going thru dificulties had bad smells like sulfur ... . In this case i thought too a paranormal origin. (it lasted some times ... after some repeated prayers and global appartment cleaning it disapeard ... when cleaning we never found sources for sulfur and sulfur is the smell of the devil)

To be considered as a smell ... it must be persistent and strong ... not subject to any doubt !!! if it is a short smell disapearing quickly ... forget it.

Answer 7

I haven't read all the responses, but yeah, it is possible. You have to rule out other things, but... have you ever been alone in the house when the smell began and got the sense that you weren't (alone)? Ever stood on the stairs smelling that scent and had an image of someone pop into your mind? Or the hairs on the back of your neck or arms stand on end? Or there's an isolated cold spot (not just chilly, but ICY cold) about the same spot the smell is? Little things like that are very subtle indications of spirits. They're just often rationlized away.

Answer 8

If it's a nice scent it could be anything,once I smelled roses,when I opened a ladies web page,she was a Christian.I am a pagan and I thought that was odd.if you can not find a source of the smell,it has to be paranormal.If it's a spirit it's a good one.


(Many blessings)

Answer 9

the smell could be ANYTHING ....have you smelt the floor...usually when you smell an odur from someone who is passed on, it will just appear from no where, usually around you, where ever you might be in the house...and then it will just fade almost immediately...normally if that happens the person who is moved on, wants you to smell their scent, as a sign, they are there, and the scent could be anything associated with that person...usually a scent of a passed on person, will come from nowhere, you cannt locate it, but only smell it around you...

Answer 10

If you search it out well enough you'll find the answer...
there's a reason for everything and nothing happens
without reason...don't write it off as paranormal...this
type of existance do not exist!