Objects that Disappear and Reappear in Strange Places
Tuesday September 25, 2007 8:11 AM
It happens to everyone: you put an object down or put it away, only to discover later that it has mysteriously vanished. You search everywhere but it is nowhere to be found. Then later you find it, but in a different and often unusual location. The wallet you set down on a bedroom dresser shows up in the middle of your living room floor.
Imagination or forgetfulness? In paranormal research, it's a genuine unexplained phenomenon called "jotts" or "just one of those things."
Jotts have been studied and cataloged for years by Mary Rose Barrington of the Society for Psychical Research in London. Barrington coined the term "jotts" and divided them into types.
The most common is the "walkabout," things that disappear without explanation. They reappear, sometimes quickly and sometimes years later, either in the same spot where they disappeared, or in a place totally bizarre to you. Why would your watch vanish and show up inside a tool box in the basement?
Then there's the "flyaway," objects that disappear and never come back. The "trade-in" occurs when something disappears and is replaced by another object that is completely unknown to you. And the "windfall" is a reverse flyway — an unknown object that mysteriously appears.
Most jotts involve small objects, such as car keys, wallets, eyeglasses and jewelry. Larger objects such as books, tools and appliances also can be "jottled."
No one knows what causes jotts or why. Pesky spirits have been blamed, as well as slips of time and space. Whatever the cause, there's a playful, trickster nature to it. If something disappears, try this: demand in a loud voice for it to return. You may get it back in a hurry.











Comments (15)
My favorite boots disapierd one winter
day, I demanded their return in a loud,
strong voice. They were returned, they
came flying at me out of nowhere. If
you do this, be ready to duck!
Posted by Spiritcat | November 19, 2007 3:10 AM
Posted on November 19, 2007 03:10
Crazy!... I have been missing a bunch of things... I search for them everywhere but they never show up... Like one of my mittens... had vanished.. lterally Poof!.. and i couldn't find them no matter how hard i tried.... I keep loosing stuff soo quickly... sometimes it's me... Other times i wonder what it is... Especially when i find them in places i know they shouldn't be and places i wouldn't put them.
Mind you i never tried that!
Posted by Anytsa (keero if it's easier) | December 18, 2007 2:58 AM
Posted on December 18, 2007 02:58
I missed a pinky ring I bought in Orlando. It was my favorite ring. I just dissapeared, and I really searched for it. Almost a year later I decided to dust out my computer. I opened the case and there it was...my ring.
Posted by Cryinbrian | December 29, 2007 9:38 PM
Posted on December 29, 2007 21:38
Well, I lost a pie once. My Mom gave it to me to take home, and when I got home it was nowhere to be found. We thought she might have it in her fridge but it never turned up. I thought maybe I left it on top of my car as I drove off, but I would have noticed when it fell off as I accelerated. It became a joke between us, whenever anything disappeared: "It went to pie heaven."
Well, now I just lost some pills. They are important pills and very expensive--for my hypothyroidism. I always leave them on a shelf above my sink, as with all my pills. I KNOW I took some from the container yesterday around three pm. This morning they were gone. Weird. I wonder why some entity would want my pills!
HEY!! I JUST NOW tried shouting out "I WANT MY PILLS BACK!" thinking the whole time, how absurd, of course that's not going to do anything. And still looking in weird places like under an armchair cushion. And then, I am looking at the pill shelf again, and...Whoa! There are the pills! This is so mind blowing! They. Were. Not. There. This. Morning. Wow.
Posted by Geoff | January 3, 2008 4:16 PM
Posted on January 3, 2008 16:16
Wow, I constantly have things disappear and I never thought to yell about getting them back. I think I will try that because nobody else in the house EVER loses anything and I can put something down and the next day it is gone and no one will admit to touching it! Sure would be nice to stop having ONLY my things go missing!
Posted by Krissy | January 9, 2008 5:23 AM
Posted on January 9, 2008 05:23
I live in a college dorm and my roomate kept finding tank tops that doesn't belong to either of us inside her drawers. This is so freaky because she actually locks up the drawer with a master combo lock. In fact today she locked it, went to work and when she came back there's a navy color blue tank top, nicely folded on top of her milano cookies. Is it a sign of something? Can we ask the spirits to stop giving us stuff?
Posted by Anonymous | January 20, 2008 6:42 AM
Posted on January 20, 2008 06:42
when I was 13 I was making a collage for a school assignment and had to leave my desk for a minute. When I returned my scissors were missing. I was alone in my room. My mother was down stairs making dinner. No one else was in the house. I proceded to look everywhere for them. I removed everything from my desk and wiped it off with a cloth. Then I went down to talk to mom. She had no idea what I was talking about when I asked her about the scissors. So I went back up to my room and there they were no more than 5 minutes later, lying right in the center of the desk!
Posted by dwight | February 19, 2008 10:09 PM
Posted on February 19, 2008 22:09
Recently, a picture of my old dog vanished from its frame. I was a bit confused, of course, but I figured that I'd find it eventually, and that it must've fallen out or gotten moved. But, today, all the paper in my printer (and there was a good amount of it) is gone. I know it was there last night when I went to sleep, but now it's just... gone. And, a book I recently borrowed from my mom's sewing room is gone as well. I feel like I'm going mental, with things vanishing when I KNOW they were there. It's starting to creep me out to be honest, and I just want my stuff back, with a rational explanation as to where they were.
Posted by Emily | March 17, 2008 12:11 AM
Posted on March 17, 2008 00:11
My Uncle Alex and I were in two diffrent places.He was taking out the trash and I was on the patio when the door suddenly shut!! Our dog Zoe looked in my direction as I came into the house and ran off with her tail between her legs in the opposite direction. I came into the house and Alex asked me where I found this sprayer head that was laying on the kitchen counter. I said what sprayer? This one he replied. I said I've never seen that sprayer before. He said well I didn't put it there. Then he told me he lost it months ago and couldn't find it anywhere but now it unexplainably appears in the kitchen we were both in just moments before.
Posted by Rebecca | April 2, 2008 5:14 PM
Posted on April 2, 2008 17:14
We have had this problem for years but for whatever reason, only my wifes articles are made to disappear. The othere night our Bull Mastiff looked up from where he was laying in the lounge to a spot on a low wall in the dining room and then got up to investigate. Needless to say something in the kitchen had disappeared only to return the next morning. My wife has also been touched on two occasions. Any thoughts ?
Posted by Alf Boyley | April 8, 2008 2:30 AM
Posted on April 8, 2008 02:30
Within the last 3 months on separate occasions I have had a $50 gas card, a book of postage stamps, and 2 tickets to a local amusement park disappear from my wallet. I know I didn't misplace these things and no one would have had access to, or reason to go into my purse for anything. Besides, nothing else was removed, including my money. None of these things ever reappeared, at least not yet.
Posted by Katie | May 31, 2008 9:47 PM
Posted on May 31, 2008 21:47
I keep my daily vitamins and pills in a bowl on the counter. One of the bottles was missing this morning, I looked everywhere for it. It was nowhere. About an hour later as I was leaving for work, there the bottle sat right on the counter.
Posted by Karann | June 13, 2008 6:52 PM
Posted on June 13, 2008 18:52
I got a beautiful cross neckless from my boyfriend and I always put it in the same place. Few days ago I noticed that it is not there and I have been going crazy to find it! I took apart my bed, moved huge kitchen cabinets and NOTHING! I don't understand how could it just disappear. :( Please help. I can't study for my exams because I don't know where it is. That neckless is really really important to me.
Posted by Anna | June 17, 2008 11:09 AM
Posted on June 17, 2008 11:09
all i can say to people who are losing stuff like what they say it could be a mean spirit playing a trick it could turn evil if you scream for your stuff back it'll think you mean battle always have some one around so you dont get hurt.email me at karen.love74@yahoo.com if you want to email me
Posted by karen | July 15, 2008 2:56 PM
Posted on July 15, 2008 14:56
I can only talk about things like this with two close friends or on sites like this because I don't want to risk being called crazy. On a recurring basis (i.e. sometimes once or twice a week) I'll suddenly experience a cold, clammy sensation at the back of my neck or back even though my home is warm and there's not a window open. Also, I've had things disappear and then reappear later. Once, I couldn't find a serrated bread knife in its proper place in my utensil drawer. I checked my dishwasher but it wasn't there. That's odd, I thought, but I wasn't going to obsess over it because I had to leave for work. When I got home from work that night and was about to fix something for supper, I went to my utensil drawer and there the knife was, where it was supposed to be.
I had another experience this morning with an object that has apparently vanished into thin air. The object is an umbrella. I left the umbrella to dry, sitting next to my front door, inside my home. However when I went to get it this morning before heading out to work, it wasn't where I'd left it. I searched everywhere, in closets and even in my gym bag and briefcase, but it is, quite simply, nowhere in my apartment, or at least not in sight. If my experience with other vanished objects holds true, it will turn up.
I've never had the unfortunate experience of having valuable objects, keys or money disappear, so if a spirit is at work, I am presuming it is benign and perhaps trying to communicate with me in a way that doesn't cause me any distress.
Posted by Brian | July 24, 2008 12:20 PM
Posted on July 24, 2008 12:20