Matthew had always dreamed of living in New York City. When he landed his dream job in Manhattan, everything felt like it was finally falling into place. The energy, the culture, and the endless opportunities—NYC was everything he imagined it to be. He even found an apartment through an old fraternity brother, Greg, who welcomed him as a roommate. It seemed like the stars had aligned.
For the first few weeks, life was good. Matthew explored the city, crushed it at his new job, and enjoyed the buzz of his new life. But then, things took a strange and unsettling turn.
One night, he woke up gasping for air, feeling like he had been holding his breath for hours. Confused but not alarmed, he brushed it off as just a bad dream. But when it happened again the next night, and the next, he started to worry. His mornings became groggy, his nights filled with restless waking—his body screaming for air.
He visited the doctor, fearing something was wrong with him. But after a check-up, everything came back normal. The episodes, however, got worse. One night, he woke up on the edge of his window, gripping the frame to stop himself from falling out. It was as if he had been sleepwalking. His heart raced as he pulled himself back into bed, terrified.
Matthew confided in his roommate, Greg, who looked at him with a mix of concern and recognition. “You know, you’re not the first to experience this,” Greg said. “The last three roommates moved out after having the same thing happen to them. They all woke up at night gasping for air, sometimes trying to open the windows or doors, like they were in a trance.”
Greg explained that the previous tenants believed the apartment was cursed. The strange occurrences, the feeling of suffocation, and the nightly terrors all pointed to something dark. Out of desperation, one of the roommates had even paid for a medium from Brooklyn to come and “cleanse” the space. The medium claimed there was a restless spirit in the apartment—trapped between worlds, trying to escape. Despite the spiritual intervention, nothing improved. One by one, the roommates left.
Matthew’s sleep continued to deteriorate. The eerie feeling that something was wrong with the apartment gnawed at him. He began to fear the night, dreading the inevitable moment when he would wake up gasping, reaching for the window, wondering if he’d fall. He was on the verge of breaking down, desperate for answers, when a chance encounter shifted everything.
One evening, after another sleepless night, Matthew ran into an old acquaintance who had heard about his situation. “You know,” the friend said casually, “it sounds like it could be something with the air in your apartment. Have you ever thought about getting it checked?”
The suggestion was so simple, yet it had never crossed Matthew’s mind. He had been so focused on the supernatural that he never considered a more practical cause. Determined to get to the bottom of it, Matthew contacted us.
When we arrived, we immediately got to work, placing air monitors around the apartment. We tested for carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter, and other potential air quality issues. As we analyzed the results, it became clear that Matthew wasn’t dealing with a ghost—he was dealing with dangerously high levels of CO2 and poor air circulation. The lack of proper ventilation was causing the buildup of carbon dioxide, leading to his breathing difficulties at night. The elevated dust and small particle matter in the air further worsened the situation.
CO2 poisoning, while often slow and subtle, can cause symptoms like shortness of breath, dizziness, and even disorientation—exactly what Matthew had been experiencing. The lack of fresh air at night was affecting his body, making him wake up gasping, confused, and disoriented.
We immediately set up a plan to fix the issue. First, we improved the apartment’s ventilation by ensuring proper airflow through the space. We added an air purifier to filter out the dust and small particle pollutants that were contributing to the poor air quality. Within days, the changes were noticeable.
Matthew’s nights returned to normal. No more waking up gasping for air, no more sleepwalking toward the window, and most importantly—no more fears of a cursed apartment. The “haunting” had been nothing more than a dangerous air quality issue all along.
In the end, it wasn’t a restless spirit haunting Matthew’s new NYC apartment, but the air itself. Thanks to a simple air quality test and the right solutions, Matthew was able to enjoy his dream job and life in New York City—without the fear of being cursed by his apartment.
The lesson? Sometimes the scariest things are the ones you can’t see—like the air you breathe. If you’re experiencing strange symptoms in your home, don’t overlook the possibility of an air quality issue. It might just save your sanity—and your health.
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