Never enter an old uninhabited house at night, for spirits and ghosts tend to take up residence. You risk being possessed by a Dybbuk who inhabits their old home or angering a spirit who lives there. Capped Jesters and House Gnomes have a particular fondness for living in old buildings, sometimes even sharing a home.

If you wish to move into an uninhabited house, you must do so with care. First give the spirits a gift of bread, salt, and sugar. Then sweep the cobwebs, burn juniper, and hang amulets enclosed with the prayer for the home and garlic. It is best if you move in only after a year of bringing gifts to the spirits, cleaning, and burning juniper weekly. If you fail to supplicate the spirits of an old house, then they may destroy your belongings, blackmail you, or kidnap your children.

Commentary #

A year is a wildly unnecessarily long time. Just bring gifts and negotiate to ensure the spirits’ needs are met. That is part of our job as Rafa. I would recommend garlic and juniper in the case of Dybbuks or Gilguls. -Rafa Shai