[Born Again]

Yes this is long, but bare with me:

Let me begin by saying that this is somewhat embarrassing, being I'm not the type to pay much attention to such irrational affairs. This isn't an attempt to gain attention, but nonetheless, a last resort. Now said.

My family recently moved to the St. Louis area, my current standing, and purchased a semi-new house in a large subdivision. Now a bit of my house's background information, it was built in the year 1997, and already four families have lived here. I know that one of the owners was a Baptist minister and another was an architect. (If that is off any importance) We've only been living here for about four months now and nothing has seemed out of the ordinary, until the last three weeks.

My bedroom sits off from the rest of the family's, in a finished basement, to be exact. The kitchen and dining area lie right above it, along with a fireplace. (To accompany any possible resolutions)

Now to the point:

For the past three weeks, I've been experiencing some rather strange and unexplainable happenings, physically exhausting and emotional they be. Some might call it "ghostly encounters," skeptics might call it "Paranoid Schizophrenia." Whatever it may be, it has been keeping me in a dire state.

I will begin with the first occurrence:

It seems to happen only after midnight until the wee hours of the morning, EVERY NIGHT, a time when both of my parents are asleep. Scattered running and stomping, right above my bedroom, or, in the kitchen area, which is hard-wood-floor. Our walls and ceilings are very thin, so I can here everything that goes on upstairs. I also must include the fact that I sleep with a very noisy fan, this gives an idea of how loud it is. From hearing my parents footsteps, I've gathered an accurate knowledge of how each of them walk, this is not them. I've also questioned them about being up at night, they always deny. It seems as time goes on, the stomping and running appears louder, now effecting my sleeping patterns. It's as if someone is standing in one place, deliberately making the noise. Also, I know they're not wearing any shoes, as shoes reflect a "muffled" like side. It's barefoot, because I can hear the heel pounding on the floor.

The first time I heard this, I expected one of my parents had gotten up to retrieve something from the kitchen, or my mother went on the patio to smoke. I asked myself, "Why would they be making such a racket?" So I ignored it the first three or four times. When it continued, I then became suspicious. On the first night when I noticed the running and stomping became louder, I gained the courage to climbed up the stairs to the kitchen and inspect. And so expectantly, no one was there. I continued this for a few nights.

Now onto the second occurrence:

I am often lazy about picking up random trash items in my room, especially cans. On that particular day, I had an estimated seven cans sitting on various shelves and tables. It was approximately 2 am that night, and I was in my room watching television. I then got up and went to the bathroom, which is right next to my bedroom. I returned back about ten minutes later and shockingly found all of the empty cans lying on the floor, in the same pile. The cans were originally in different places on shelves, as I had left them. Now how in the hell did they all fall into one place? And most of all, how in the hell did they fall? I didn't even hear anything. I refused to go back into my bedroom that night, so I finished the night off, without sleep, in the living room. I didn't even bother mentioning anything to my parents, for they are extreme skeptics themselves. I also have a lot of pride, it seemed senseless to utter such things.
(So yes, I have a complicated relationship with my parents.....bleh.)

Still confused by the unexplainable occurrence, I slept on the couch for the next two days. Since then, nothing but the running and stomping has occurred.

Yes, there is more:

I recently purchased a dog, which now sleeps with me every night. For the past three nights, since I bought him, he has been spontaneously growling and barking for no apparent reason. He is pretty timid already, but he has to be seeing something to be barking and growling so frequently. I like to think of him as a guard dog, we'll see. Since then, I sleep with the tv on and with the door open.

You guessed it:

Now I'll describe some of my emotional or mental experiences that have been occurring.

I've noticed that I've been experiencing uncontrollable urges to hurt or inflict pain. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm no sociopath. This just happened last night, and it's what really set me off. It was like a foreign entity invading my conscious, forcing this urge. It was like I had to release it in order to make it go away, so it resulted into a cruel treatment of my dog. When I noticed what I was doing, I quickly stopped. It was like I "regained" conscious, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I grab my dog and went upstairs. I have no idea what I am capable of doing now, is this me?

Some minor events:

These occur off and on: I have an obsessive-compulsive thing with doors, lights, etc. They always have to be closed or shut. In this case, I always keep my closet and bedroom doors shut, along with the lights off.
Sometimes I will walk into my room and find my closet door wide open, with the light inside it on, knowing that I did not cause this. And sometimes I'll go to sleep and wake up with my tv on or off, and the door open or closed, not as I left it per say. It appears to have a rational explanation.....but it keeps happening.

Right Now:

I'm sitting in my room at this very moment, my mother in the next room, watching my tv fade on and off. I'm not surprised.

I still haven't mentioned anything to my parents, and I have no idea if they're experiencing the same things. I'm lost on what to do..