I’m not one to be afraid of things that go bump in the night. I did not even believe in boogeymen or monsters as a child, though I did like the TV shows and movies and comic books that featured them. I guess my parents instilled in me a penchant for being grounded in reality. I have to admit though, that the one odd exception to this rule in our household was keeping up the whole Santa Claus myth. Somehow or another, it took me until eight years old to realize it was all phony! I actually have no regrets in that regard, it was fun while it lasted. However, there is a sound that I had been hearing during the night this past December, that made me half fancy that Santa Claus had come to finally prove his existence to me after all! Joking aside, the sounds were originating from my furnace and they got me genuinely scared. Not scared that there was paranormal activity going on, but that there was something seriously wrong with my furnace and I might lose it before long unless I call someone out to address the situation. You don’t mess around with a broken furnace around these parts in the winter time, unless you enjoy the prospect of freezing to death in your sleep that is.That might be a bit extreme, but nevertheless, I was going to get down to the bottom of what was wrong with my furnace. I called out an HVAC technician pronto and he arrived and started rooting around my system. It turned out that there were some faulty mechanical parts that needed replacement, but other than that, nothing serious. I was overjoyed that I wouldn’t be freezing this Christmas!