The Stereo Ghost

I have lived in this rental house for over 3 years. I do not know the history of it. Since I have lived here, I have had some very strange experiences.
One night, when living alone with my cat, I was sitting on the lounge brushing my cat with a wooden pet brush. I noticed a very hot spot on the floor near me when I accidently placed my foot on it and could not work out what caused it. I decided to ignore this and went to bed, leaving the pet brush on the couch.
I was trying to go to sleep when I suddenly felt something fall and hit the middle of my palm. For a long time, I was too scared to look but when I did, I found it was the pet brush, from the lounge room. I didn't know what to make of it but it scared me. I used to smell odd smells (like aftershave or pipesmoke) but I don't anymore.
My stereo also "plays up" at different times, though it works perfectly most of the time.
Also the video machine sometimes starts on its own. When I am listening to CD's suddenly the stereo will change CD's (it is a 3 CD holder) and begin another song. The stereo will also switch itself on and off again or switch from stereo to radio and back again. It also turns the volume up and down. Sometimes I have thought or said aloud "I might turn the stereo off" (or on) and a few seconds later the stereo turns off (or on).
I have, in the company of friends, told it to turn the volume up and down, which it does as asked. Several friends have experienced this. It appears to like John Denver - it often messes about with the songs on a particular CD. I have checked the CD and it isn't scratched - the songs don't change at the same spot every time and often the CD plays normally with no interruption.
Once my partner (whose music I dislike) was listening to her music on the stereo while she was at the computer. Suddenly the volume turned down so she got up and turned it up. As soon as she sat down at the computer again, it turned down again. This happened a few times until she just laughed and turned the stereo off.
At one time, I said to her "If this is really a ghost, the stereo will come on" and it came on. I then said "if it is real, my favourite song will come on" and the CD player flipped through the 3 CDs and began playing my favourite song, half way through one of the CDs. This spun us both out and proved to her it was no hoax or mental problem. This activity is unpredictable and often nothing will happen for months and then there will be a flurry of occurances. I don't know what is responsible for this activity but it doesn't really scare me - more amusing and annoying than anything.

Submitted by Matthew 23.6.05