Poltergeist activity in my parents' house - objects moving on their own

My parents live in a Victorian semi in Harrogate and over the last six weeks, genuinely bizarre things have been happening. It started small - doors closing on their own, which I attributed to draughts. But then it escalated. Last Tuesday, my mum's favourite mug flew off the kitchen counter. Not fell. Flew. My dad watched it happen.

Since then: glasses have moved across tables, the telly changes channels on its own, and there's this sound like scratching in the walls. I stayed over two nights ago and I heard it myself. It's not mice or rats - I know what those sound like.

My parents are getting properly scared. My mum wants to call a priest, my dad thinks we should get the house checked by a surveyor. I don't know what to do. Has anyone dealt with poltergeist activity before? Is there anything we can do that isn't completely mad?

Before you do anything paranormal, get a structural survey. Settling Victorian properties make all sorts of sounds. Scratching could be settling, groaning pipes, etc. And the moving objects - do you have young children or teenagers in the house? Poltergeist activity is often psychokinetic energy from adolescents, even if they don't realize they're doing it.

If there's no explanation after structural checks and you're certain about what you witnessed, contact a paranormal investigator. There are proper groups in Yorkshire who investigate without any religious bias. They'll come in, document everything with equipment, and rule out mundane causes. Better than calling a priest straight away.

Could check if anyone died in the house? Victorian semis in Harrogate often have some history. Look up the property history - you might find something. If there is a spirit, they usually want acknowledgment or help with something specific.

The mug flying - how do you know it wasn't knocked somehow? I'm not being a skeptic for the sake of it, but that's the kind of thing that has a physical explanation 99% of the time. And teenagers genuinely can cause poltergeist phenomena without knowing it.

My advice? Document everything with photos and video. Keep a log of what happens and when. If there's a pattern, that's useful. Then either get a paranormal investigation team or a structural engineer, depending on what the evidence suggests. Don't let your parents panic before you know what you're dealing with.