Death Knocks

by Stephen Wagner

Updated August 14, 2017

An old superstition says that if you hear three knocks that seemingly have no cause, someone you know will die. Silly, right? Like many superstitions, however, the phenomenon of death knocks might have its roots in people's real-life experiences.

ROOTS AND REINFORCEMENT OF THE SUPERSTITION

Superstitions persist for many reasons. If you think that three knocks predict a death, you will be more attentive to news of a death after hearing three knocks and then connect the two events.

When someone close to you dies, you might think back over the past few days or ask others if they heard three knocks. In these cases, there were likely many other instances where knocks couldn't be associated with deaths and vice versa. But you have validated your superstition.

One variant is that bad news, often of a death, will be received in either three days, three weeks, or three months. With the variable time frame, it is easy enough for a matching occurrence to be ascribed to the knocks. In other cases, repeated, unexplained knocking is heard. When someone dies weeks or months later, it is connected with being foretold by the knocking.

When three knocks are heard on a door and then nobody is there, but it is followed quickly by a call notifying the household of a death, that someone did come by to inform them but they left before the door was answered would be suspicious.

Although you may not believe in the superstition, these stories can be entertaining ones to tell around the campfire or at other times you share spooky tales.

 Consider the cases below, told by those who have actually heard the foreboding knocks and were shocked by their grim aftermath.

DEATH KNOCKS IN WINTER

"One cold and very snowy evening, we were all gathered in the living room when suddenly we heard a very loud pounding on the front entry door. That door was sealed with weather stripping in the winter and we never opened it after that was in place, and the door wasn't lit at night.

"The pounding was loud and insistent, so my mother went to our side entry door and called out to whoever was knocking to walk over to the side door. She called again and there was no answer. She turned on the outside light over the front door and peered out the window with the intent of motioning the visitor over to the side door for entry. There was no one there, and there were no footprints in the freshly fallen snow. My mother turned to us and said, 'This means that there will soon be a death in the family.'

"My dad, being the skeptic, suggested the noise was the wind blowing something against the door. The next morning we got the call that our Uncle Charlie had passed away unexpectedly." —Hensnckicks

THREE DEATH KNOCK WARNINGS

Christopher (all names are pseudonyms) notes three incidents in his family.

• As a child, he and his grandmother were startled by three loud knocks "that seemed to come from nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time." His grandmother's sister passed away that evening from a heart-related ailment.
• His father heard three or four huge bangs within the walls and thought, "the whole damn house was going to come down." His brother died from a cocaine overdose just hours later.

• His dog was violently ill and he had called a veterinary ambulance. He heard three sharp knocks on the apartment door, but nobody was there. The vets arrived 15 minutes later, but the dog died an hour after that.

FAMILY EXPERIENCES MANY KNOCKS

Neal reports multiple incidents of death knocks heard by various family members.

• In the 1920s, his grandmother heard three loud knocks on the front door while she was in the kitchen, but nobody was there. Three days later she learned that her mother had died back in Germany.
• In 1973, Neal's parents were awakened by three loud knocks on the front door with nobody there. They received a phone call about an hour later that his uncle had passed away.
• In 1979, at his father's funeral, his aunt noted that they had heard three loud knocks on their storm door about the time his father passed away.

• His mother heard three loud knocks on her front door with nobody there. Three days later, his brother was murdered.

DEATH KNOCKS AT THE HOSPITAL

Alan tells of his family waiting at a hospital as their mother neared death. They began to hear "almost other-worldly knocking" seemingly from the window behind his mother's bed. Ten minutes later, they heard it again, but more insistent. He went into the hall to see whether somebody was pulling a prank but saw nobody. Ten minutes later, his mother passed away.

101 Signs Your House Is Haunted!

BY

ANDREW

 – APRIL 22, 2012POSTED IN: GHOSTS, PARANORMAL

1. You feel like you’re being watched from a ceiling corner of the room.
2. You see unexplained lights in houses when no one is home.
3. Your dog freaks out over something you can’t see, cowers and runs from the room, or refuses to enter the room.
4. Your cat stares at a certain spot, his hair raises, he hisses and bolts from the room.
5. You see a transparent human form walking around.
6. You feel a weight on your bed, as if someone is sitting there but no one is.
7. You hear someone shout your name.
8. You find physical evidence of footprints that can’t be explained.
9. Electrical devices start operating by themselves.
10. A child’s toy starts moving on its own or if it’s electronic, starts making noise.
11. You see a light colored mist form into any shape and the origin of the mist is unknown.
12. You hear crying of an unknown origin.
13. You smell a fragrance in your home that you don’t own.
14. A picture flying (not falling) off the wall and into the room.
15. You hear the sound of footsteps when no one is there.
16. You see someone who looks as real as you do but as you watch they disappear.
17. You’re physically touched by someone that isn’t there – your shirt or hair is tugged, someone brushes by or lays a hand on your shoulder.
18. More elevated – you’re slapped, pushed or shoved by something you can’t see.
19. A foul odor comes from nowhere and then disappears.
20. Furniture is rearranged – even heavy furniture.
21. Water is turned on or off by itself.
22. You hear music from an unknown source.
23. Lights turning on an off by themselves.
24. More elevated – you see the light switch move when no one is touching it.
25. Unexplained writing appears on a wall, mirror or piece of paper.
26. Objects are missing from a locked box or safe and show up later outside of the secured place.
27. Your doorbell rings but no one is there.
28. You hear doors or cabinets opening and closing by themselves.
29. You SEE a door or cabinet open or close when no one is near it.
30. More elevated – doors or cabinets slamming shut with extreme force.
31. A child tells you they see someone that you can’t. (Children and animals are very sensitive to the paranormal)
32. Faces appearing within inanimate objects and then disappear.
33. You feel a cold spot when there isn’t a reason for it to be cold in that area.
34. You find handprints of unexplained origin.
35. You hear hushed whispers but can’t find the source of the sound.
36. Items disappear and then reappear in an unexpected place.
37. You see a shadow of someone in your peripheral vision.
38. You look into a mirror and see someone else reflected there but when you look into the room where they should be standing no one is there.
39. You see balls of unexplained light.
40. You get a sudden sick feeling in the pit of your stomach and Goosebumps on your arms or a prickly feeling on the back of your neck all at the same time.
41. You get sudden cold chills accompanied by a sense of fear.
42. You feel uneasy in certain areas of your home like the basement or attic.
43. You feel a sudden warm or hot spot in your home.
44. You feel a breeze inside the house when the windows are closed.
45. A spirit orb appears in a photo you’ve taken.
46. A musical instrument plays by itself (piano etc.)
47. A sudden feeling of nausea in a particular room when you’re not sick.
48. You have thoughts that don’t fit your personality when in a particular area.
49. Laughter without a source.
50. You hear sounds of pain, like moaning, but there isn’t anyone there.
51. You hear sounds or smell a certain fragrance or odor at the same time every day.
52. You see unusual things reflected in glass objects.
53. You record voices of people who weren’t present on a tape or digital recording device.
54. You answer your phone and the voice of someone you know that has died speaks to you.
55. Small, flashing lights zigzag around the room.
56. The television set goes berserk for no apparent reason.
57. Light bulbs blow out on a regular basis.
58. The phone rings with a different ringtone that it’s not programmed for.
59. Abrupt mood swings or changes in a person’s character only in specific areas or in places thought to be haunted.
60. You feel frozen to the spot for a short amount of time.
61. Visitors to your home often complain that they feel uncomfortable, couldn’t sleep well or heard and saw things they couldn’t explain.
62. People in your family are consistently having nightmares.
63. You hear tapping on the walls.
64. You’ve seen what appear to be red eyes in the darkness.
65. You’ve awakened to see misty people standing around your bed.
66. There’s blood running down the walls.
67. Unexplained whistling.
68. You have visions of how someone died as you’re falling asleep.
69. If you have a rocking chair, it rocks by itself.
70. An entity tries to harm you by holding a pillow over your face.
71. You hear pages of books or newspapers turning.
72. You’re filming a family event and an apparition appears in the footage.
73. A ghostly voice threatens you.
74. You feel someone breathing on your shoulder or neck.
75. You wake up to find odd marks or scratches on your body that wasn’t there when you went to sleep.
76. Black marks suddenly appear on the walls of your home.
77. You’re alone in the house, and you hear a door slam in another part of the house.
78. You hear scratching sounds from behind the walls.
79. A candle is suddenly blown out when no one is near it.
80. You’re driving down the road, see someone walking on the side but when you look back at them in your rearview mirror, no one is there.
81. You’ve seen objects levitating in the air.
82. You’ve been levitated into the air.
83.You’ve woken up because your bed is violently shaking.
84. Papers are jerked out of your hands when no one is near you.
85. A glowing cloud hovers in the room.
86. The air in certain areas of your house may feel heavy or stagnant even though you try to freshen it up.
87. You become sick with an illness that the doctor can’t diagnosis or treat.
88. You lock a door or window only to find it unlocked or vice versa.
89. You see apparitions while touring a battleground or graveyard.
90. You’re shopping and turn to look at a person nearby you and discover they don’t have a face. You blink, look again and they’re gone or they disappear right in front of you.
91. A woman or man walks up to you in a public place, gives you what seems like a message and then disappears.
92. You look up at a house from street level and see someone standing in a doorway or window when you know that no one is home or the home is empty or abandoned.
93. You see a single light and hear a train coming down the tracks when the tracks are no longer in use and the train never really goes by.
94. You hear someone breathing in an empty room.
95. The radio in your car turns on or off by itself.
96. You hear screams or ghostly activity at specific times every day – usually at night.
97. A “lady in white” is seen walking down your hall or steps.
98. You see a dark colored mist that forms inside and takes the shape of a person.
99. The batteries in your flashlights, cameras, phones etc drain very quickly when in areas that are thought to be haunted.
100. You wake and feel a pressure on your chest that doesn’t have a medical reason.
101. You sit down in a chair and it feels like you just sat in someone’s lap – but the chair is empty.

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