The study of AGN variability on timescales longer than human lifetimes can provide important information about the black hole – host galaxy interaction and coevolution. The discovery of an extended emission line region (EELR) associated with the nearby galaxy IC 2497, the so-called “Hanny’s Voorwerp” (HV), provided us with a laboratory to study AGN variability over 100 kyr timescales. HV was illuminated by a strong quasar, but the quasar in IC 2497 significantly shut down in the last 200 kyr. Thanks to its recent death, we can now explore the host galaxy unimpeded by the presence of a quasar dominating the observations. On the other hand, the Voorwerp preserves the echoes of its past activity. Citizen scientists taking part in the Galaxy Zoo project assembled a sample of low-redshift galaxies showing EELRs similar to HV. In this talk I will show how these objects can help us understand what happens when a quasar shut down and its accretion state changes, and ultimately what effect this could have on the host galaxy.