I'm convinced my house is haunted. I suspected as much when the doorbell started randomly ringing. At first I thought the neighborhood kids were doorbell ditching, but when it started happening in the middle of the night, I knew it had to be a ghost.

In a panic, I turned to trusty Google for information. I found a list of signs that determine whether or not your house is haunted.

Unexplained noises » I constantly hear raspy breathing that isn't mine.

Lights turning off and on » My kitchen lights turn off and don't come back on.

Unexplained shadows » This one really freaks me out. Every night, while lying in bed, I see scary shadows dancing across my bedroom window.

Cold or hot spots » Rooms throughout my house have different temperatures.

Unexplained smells » My house never smells like warm ginger cookies, but instead musky smells permeate the house.

Items disappearing and reappearing » My car keys are never where I left them.

The feeling that someone is there » I came home one day to find that my mail had been brought inside and my backdoor dead bolted. Clearly my ghost is a sucker for safety.

Strange animal behavior » Daisy the pug is always barking at what appears to be nothing.

All signs point to ghost. After completely freaking myself out, I thought maybe I should at least try and explain each phenomenon before hiring someone to hold an exorcism. Call me crazy, but I'd much rather spend that money on shoes.

Unexplained noises » I own a pug. Her breathing has always sounded like death.

Lights turning off and on » Light bulbs burn out and need to be replaced

Unexplained shadows » Fall is always windy, which explains why the tree branches move and cast shadows on my windows.

Cold or hot spots » Upon further inspection I found half of my heating vents were closed. Oops.

Unexplained smells » Again, I have a pug. They are infamous for emitting foul odors.

Items disappearing and reappearing » I constantly misplace my keys, wallet, sunglasses and purse. I guess I'm a little scatterbrained.

The feeling that someone is there » I called my landlord and found that someone had indeed been inside my house. His dad came over and replaced the motion lights.

Strange animal behavior » Pugs are strange. Enough said.

Maybe I don't have a ghost, after all. This should be a relief, but I'm going to miss the little guy. I got used to the idea of having someone around, and was looking forward to assigning him some household chores.

Sarah Nielson can be reached at snielson@inthisweek.com. Follow her daily on Twitter (twitter.com/sarahbellum) or read her blog (sarahnielson.com).