new to forum - suggestions to calm things?

[katydid]

I happened upon this forum through a google search, and I hope you guys will be able to give me some suggestions. I have been living in my house for approximately 10 months now, and we have been suspicious that there is a ghost for some time. My husband and I have both heard noises upstairs when noone is up there -- like someone possibly walking around. We also have had the pots and pans bang together on the pot rack several times with no wind or movement to make them move. Picture frames have been turned over on tables. My husband swears he has seen a dark shadow move through the house at night. The worse part for me, and the part that makes me seek help, is what happens when my husband is not home.

About three months ago, while my husband was working a night shift, I laid down to go to sleep. We have one of those "touch" lamps, where you just tap the base of the lamp to turn it off. I turned off the lamp, and about 30 seconds later, it turned back on. I turned it off again. A minute later, it was back on. This time, however, when I touched it, it would NOT turn off. No matter how hard or soft I touched, the light would not turn off. I ended up flipping the actual switch on the light, and it turned off. The light has not malfunctioned in any way since this happened and it has always turned off.

Currently, my husband is out of town. Last night, our home phone quit working. This made me a little uneasy, so I went to bed with the television on so that there would be light in the room. About an hour later, I jolted awake. The light was back on, and the television was off. I turned the light off, and about a minute later, it turned back on. So, I unplugged the light. About a minute later, the door to the bedroom started creeking open about 1/2 inch at a time.... creek....creek....creek.....

Now, I would like to point out that I have 2 dogs, and neither acted like anything strange was going on. However, they have in the past started growling and barking in the middle of the night, acting like they are convinced someone is in the next room.

My question is this: Do you think I have a ghost? If so, do you have any suggestions for something I might say or do to try to calm things? I don't necessarily feel like I want to get rid of the ghost - but he/she seems to act up more when I'm home alone, and that makes me pretty uneasy. I will only be living in this place for another month and a half, as we are moving for a new job. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!