My mom passed away at a fairly young age this past fall - since then we have been cleaning out our old house. We had moved when she was sick, and she was very sad about losing her house to foreclosure, though it had not actually happened yet. A few weeks ago I was sorting some things in the basement, which is still very full of all of our old belongings. I was sorting through some clothes, talking to her about them, asking why she had 7 of the same white sweater, things like that. Therapeutic, as I am still having trouble dealing with this. This was the first time I was at the house by myself since she passed away, but it was a nice sunny day outside and I wasn't expecting anything weird. I've never experienced anything weird either, and am a pretty rational person, so I wasn't looking for anything either.
I have to go on sunny days because there are no utilities on in the house. No electric, no gas, no water. They were all turned off for non-payment back in the fall. The house is freezing, which is another reason I wait for warmer weather. So in addition to light from outside, I had my iphone on a shelf with the flashlight app on while I sorted the clothes. Suddenly I hear a familiar appliance come on, but I am not surprised since it's a familiar sound from living there, and realize it's the water heater - but it occurs to me all the times I have come back there since, I have not heard the water heater or the furnace. I know the electric is off since the lights don't work, but was thinking maybe the gas was left on somehow, although I doubted it. I looked at it for about 20 seconds just frozen, wondering if something could explode from it turning on with no water or electric. And as I'm standing there, my flashlight app shuts off. Then turns back on. Shuts off, then back on. That has never happened using that app. I had a little over 30% battery. So I figure, maybe this is my mom? So I go back to what I was doing, just to see if anything else will happen, as my phone continues to occasionally turn off and back on again.
I decide to work until my phone hits 20% and leave, since I am freezing and my hands are getting numb. I get a text from a friend so I shut off my flashlight and text him to tell him what's going on, and I went upstairs for a minute, then back downstairs again. He told me to check to see if the water heater was hot, and it was. Then, at 16% battery, my iphone POWERS OFF. This has never happened before or since. I take it out to my car to charge it, and it's immediately at 8%. So something drained the power.
A few days ago I went to the house to work on some sorting with my friend, and I felt the water heater to see if it was warm from coming on since then, and it was ice cold. They aren't legally allowed to turn off the gas in PA between Oct and March, so that couldn't have changed.
Any thoughts on this?