Bass guitar as totem (supernatural content)

My wife and I recently purchased a historic farm in North Carolina and the first order of business has been to start restoring the farmhouse and outbuildings. The house has some damage from a roof leak, so I have been doing some demolition work in the kitchen.

The old patriarch of the family lived in the house until he died at 100 years old. The house has been shuttered and vacant for probably 10 years, so it feels good to throw the windows open and bring some fresh air and sun inside to chase away the gloom. The only remnant of the previous owner is an old, forlorn armchair that I am eager to get rid of, but something has prevented me from just grabbing it and tossing it. A "vibe," if you will.

So yesterday was a work day and I decided to follow a hunch and begin to prepare the old chair for its final trip out the door. I brought one of my least-used basses (a fretless rat-rod parts jalopy with pickups that have gone microphonic) and placed it in the chair as my proxy as soon as I arrived.

As I turned to go back down the stairs, the old doorbell suddenly rang. Just a "ding!" and then it stuck. I looked around and I was the only person there. I poked around the button at the front door and then the bell assembly. Everything was normal, except for the long ring that sounded. I got a screwdriver and disconnected the bell and the bell rang its final "dong." Hopefully whoever normally sits in that chair understands that things are changing around here.