# What are some reasons a light could turn on by itself?



## ohgodits2014

So basically, there's this room in my house where the light mysteriously has been turning on by itself. When it first happened I assumed I just forgot to turn it off (which is unlikely because I'm anal about a lot of things and turning off the light before I leave the room is one of them, but whatev). The second time it happened I was more annoyed at myself for making the same mistake two days in a row, but secretly I also thought "Ghost!" so I decided to conduct an experiment of sorts and of course nothing happened (much to my disappointment and relief). But just when I was starting to think I was letting my imagination run amok, I went to that room and found the light on again, and quite frankly this is creeping me out. 

I guess this is a good time to bring up that months ago when I was in this room just sitting at a desk I distinctly felt my chair being pulled back. (I thought it was an earthquake, but it wasn't.) Nothing weird even happened since then except for the light thing so if there is a ghost it has proven to be a pretty quiet one. Of course, word on the street is it's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for.


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## zomgz

I would take the light and plug it in to another room somewhere with a different outlet and see if it still happens. Could just be a loose wire somewhere, who knows.


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## Neptunus

^ This. It's probably faulty wiring. 

If it's one of those brass "touch lamps," they tend to be sensitive to vibration. A large truck driving past the house, or someone walking in the same room can activate them.


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## ohgodits2014

I would try to move the light, but it's stuck to the ceiling. I guess I _could _try to take it apart and move it to a different room, but that would be too much work.


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## PickleNose

If you're using CFL bulbs, it could be something electronic in the bulb itself causing it. 

If it's a hardwired light connected to a switch, maybe something is wrong with the switch. They're cheap and pretty easy to replace (hard to do it wrong if you see how the old one is wired). Just make sure you turn off the power. 


Otherwise? I have no idea. But I'm 99% sure it isn't a ghost. If none of this works, you should call an electrician because fires aren't cool and bad wiring can easily cause a fire.


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## Anxieux

Does the switch flick as well? Or is it just the light?


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## sarafinanickelbocker

Neptunus said:


> ^ This. It's probably faulty wiring.
> 
> If it's one of those brass "touch lamps," they tend to be sensitive to vibration. A large truck driving past the house, or someone walking in the same room can activate them.


^ We have one of those touch lamps and it turns on sometimes when we close a door in a nearby room.

Also, I had an old lamp (like 1950s) that would turn off and on by itself. It was the wiring I'm sure.


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## Neptunus

^ I have an antique brass lamp that I made into a touch lamp with a special socket. It can be very annoying when it turns on in the middle of the night! It's convenient though, which is why I keep it. 

OP, your problem could also be a loose bulb not connecting properly.


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