I staked a claim in an abandoned house but didn't cover the whole house. I put a straw bed in the unclaimed part of the house. After finishing the palisade, repairing the house, etc, I logged out. When I logged back in there was a hearthling sleeping in the straw bed. I put a spruce bed in, immediately logged out and logged back in, and there was a hearthling in the spruce bed. (I also moved a skeleton away from the front door to under a tree. When I logged back in the skeleton was gone

)
I expanded the claim to cover the whole house but the hearthlings were still there after a full day (the palisade gate was closed the whole time). Then I destroyed the two beds and the hearthlings disappeared. Can anyone explain what happened? Did I see a ghost. The prior owner left a runestone saying he had been killed. There are several hearthfires in the compound but they aren't logged in.
I can tell you I won't be sleeping there anytime soon.