Unexplained smell...could be paranormal? Part II November 13, 2009 (via our website contact form) - see related questions on antiseptic smell and unexplained smell
Question: Hi! I'm hoping you can assist me. Over the past week I keep smelling the lingering scent of cinnamon as I'm laying in bed. It come and goes but, is very strong. I read in a google search (this is how I found your site) that it may be associated with the deceased. I don't recall any of my deceased relatives having a special connections to cinnamon and I've lived in my home for almost 20 years without noticing any scents. Might you be able to give me a little more insight to the association with the deceased? This doesn't scare me. It's actually quite pleasant! Just very, very strange that it's sooooo strong and I can't figure out for the life of me where it could be coming from. Any help you could afford me would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Thank you for visiting our website and for your question. You are correct that often smells are associated with hauntings. Unfortunately, smells also difficult to investigate because they are hard to pinpoint even if you know they are not paranormal in origin.
In your case, given the context of no other events taking place that seem to be paranormal, I would have to be quite skeptical. With just a smell alone, even though you don't know where it is or how it got there, I would not assume it is a ghost. You may have rubbed up against something or stepped on something that has the cinnamon smell. Something may have gotten into your pipes or ducts and is being activated by a heater or something like that. A small amount of a potent substance like cinnamon could pervade an entire room. It "comes and goes" because you get used to the smell so it "disappears" (much like we don't smell our own perfume after a while). Then you leave the room or adjust your position or the airflow changes and you smell it again.
As scientific investigators, we would try to debunk the smell by finding the source. But...not finding the source does not automatically mean it is paranormal, it just means we can't find the source. Unless we have other evidence to back it up, it's just an unexplained smell.
Good luck in finding your cinnamon source and definitely let us know if you start experiencing other events!
Follow up: Thanks for your quick response! The reason I asked was because years ago there were very odd things happening in the house. Chairs rocking, running footsteps, the foot rest on the babies high chair swinging. Daughter said there were children there, etc. but, nothing really in over... wait a minute. In early August my Mother was ill. (I didn't know it at the time). I kept thinking I was seeing a older woman out of the corner of my eye. Always in profile as I'd turn around. Just thought it was a car or someting outside and that I was losing my mind. I didn't think any thing of it until I went to Ohio and saw the same thing in the hallway at my parents house. Not scary at all. Haven't seen anything since. Oh well... maybe it's my subconscious playing tricks on me cause I wanted a cinnamon broom for Halloween and no one was selling them!