I've spoken about my experiences growing up and seeing the ghost of a little girl. I've spoken about it freely on here and with an open mind..and I have discovered a lot of things that the "little girl" could have been by being open to the different viewpoints offered.
So...I am no longer convinced that I saw ghosts as a child. And you know what? I'm not convinced I didn't either. But being open to those possibilities has helped me put a lot of it in perspective. This little girl was something that haunted me for a very long time..long after I moved out of that house and long after I ever saw her again. Now, I can look at the experience and realize that (a) maybe it wasn't a ghost and (b) if it was a ghost..it meant no harm and certainly never meant for me to obsess about her for the next 30 some odd years of my life.
But I cannot thank that little girl enough. Why? Because as a child I had friends, but never felt that we had much in common. It's not a lot of fun to hang out with a kid who wants to talk about the Ford/Carter debates at the lunch table. And that's the kind of kid I was. So I kept a lot to myself. This little girl was always there for me. She listened, when no one else would. When my parents split up, she listened to my pain.
I never thanked her. And I would like to take this opportunity to do so.
Seems odd doesn't it? To say "thank you" to something that may have been the product of a child who didn't quite fit in. But I do thank her. For listening when no one else would of course, but also for opening my mind to the possibilities of the paranormal. To want to learn more about what exists after this life. It's a journey that I have been on for a very long time and I don't regret a minute of it.
I would love to hear ANYONE'S thoughts about what causes children to see spirits or to think they see spirits. And yes, that includes the natural explanations as well as those who believe children are more in tune with the paranormal. As long as no one claims to be a know it all...because all of it is theory at this point.
I look forward to opinions on this.
I never had imaginary friends or ghosts as a child. In a few of the studies its shown up to 65% of children have imaginary friends, super hero's to ghosts. They also claim its usually a first or only child or they use it as an escape from a change in their life they don't like.
More information.
I am curious as to peoples place in family, example I was in the middle of two sisters and one brother.
I was the oldest of two children at that time. My sister was a baby when we moved in to the house and I was about five or six...I mainly remember that it was right before kindergarten started. You know..that could have been some of it too! I know I was terrified about starting school.
Thanks for that link by the way! =)
I am of the classic American upbringing and as a child was not introduced to any eastern beliefs. I had no way of knowing about or even understanding any of their thought.
But as a child I had a weird sense that I was coming from somewhere that I had been, but never had any recollection of any kind about what or where it may have been.
I think a lot of kids feel alienated...or as you said Roland, feeling as though you came from somewhere else, not really knowing where that is. I think that is why there is so much about the thought of reincarnation. I never really felt like that though..it was more like I was born in the wrong time or something, if that makes sense.
It wasn't just that girl that I saw....there were a couple of others as well. The girl was more consistent. I also remember seeing an elderly woman in the kitchen several times, always walking the path from the kitchen to the pantry. Now, when I got into paranormal research, I was convinced this woman was some kind of residual haunting..because she followed the same pattern. That is one I've not been able to find a possible explanation for, other than some kind of hallucination. It was a very old home (1885) and could have had undetected mold or something..although it would seem to me that others in the home would have suffered as well. My father NEVER saw anything..or if he did, he didn't tell us. My mother did see a few strange things, but she wouldn't talk about it much as she was on the skeptical side as well. My little sister later told me she also saw what she thought were ghosts there..but could that have been an impressionable child listening to her very weird older sister and remembering what I said?
Maybe I'll never know the full truth about it. I can't investigate the place, and I'm not sure I would want to..I would have a very hard time being objective. Plus thirty years have passed since I even lived there and the home is in a neighborhood that has gone to hell. Considering all the work my dad did on that house, to see it now is just too sad..it's not kept up and what could have remained a beautiful home is now a slum. But I still look for reasons and explanations for what I saw there, because I would like to know if I actually saw ghosts.
I look forward to more opinions on this!
I have always wondered the same thing about kids and the paranormal. I like to think that kids have a very open mind and it plays a role in what they experience. But at the same time It could also be other things such as an overactive imagination or maybe a combination of both. I would love to know the definite answer but I don't think anyone will, at least not anytime soon. To me the paranormal is a giant puzzle, with the solution perhaps being right in front of us but yet we can't see those whole thing.
When I was younger I would always feel like I was being followed or something was in the room just watching me when I slept or was trying to sleep. Of course I would be afraid to be left alone in my room at night and usually ended up running to my parents room at like 2 in the morning. Sometimes I thought I saw things or thought people where talking to me. I dunno what caused it but it was rather terrifying. Then one night when I was about 6 or 7 if I remember right I was laying in bed terrified. I don't really remember everything, but I vaguely remember watching a women wearing this what looked like a glowing white dress walking over to me bed and touching me I immediately relaxed and feel asleep from that point on all the negative stuff really went away for the most part.
I didn't give it much thought for many years. When I hit puberty things picked up again, and I was eventually diagnosed with a chemical imbalance they they thought was the source of the my many issues. I ended up being medicated for roughly 7 years when I became used to the doctor I finally opened up and talked about some of the stuff I experienced or thought I experienced they ended up telling me there was nothing wrong with me medically anyway and I started the process of getting off the drug.
After everything my parents then ended up telling me that there have been other family members in our family who have saw things and described the same stuff as I did. Unfortunately my grandmother passed when I was really young so I never got the chance to ask her about it and my dad said talked about there being long dead family members. Needless to say I wished they would have mentioned it years earlier.
I still get that being followed feeling presently or the feeling someone is standing over my shoulder of slightly behind me and I still see stuff sometimes or feel them. What really got to me once or really made me think was when someone else asked me what was following me around.
Again after all this it's still hard to say if there is something really there or just the remnants of a of a child's long drawn out history of a possible chemical imbalance, for me though I like to think there is something more there, something to look forward too, either way though it has made me who I am today and I am grateful for that.
This is a very interesting thread! I don't recall having any experiences with imaginary friends or what not as a child but my youngest daughter from the age of about 18 months (maybe younger) till about 4 years old would talk to and tell me about the man in the corner and other various "spirits"
Now I am very open to the ideas of the paranormal so I never told her they were not "real"
Because lets face it...I don't think 18 month olds have imaginary friends but I don't know for sure. At that age, she would point to the corner and giggle and say "man"
My husbands family (including my husband) all have various gifts of some sort ( I have witnessed hubbys and MIL's) so I dont doubt for one moment that Madison has it too and that what she saw was real.
Thanks so much for your thoughts! I know, it is hard to think about an eighteen month old child having an imaginary friend. This is the stuff that keeps me looking! Whether my case was actually paranormal in nature or not..there are these little things (such as what you mentioned, WM) that add to the questions I have about it in general.
Dax...I can't thank you enough for that eloquent post. A LOT in there that I could relate to, except I was never medicated. Some really good points to consider in your experiences and I appreciate that you shared them here.
I don't rule out the possibility that children are more "in tune" (for lack of a better word) to things that might be paranormal. I certainly know that they are open to so much..they really are little sponges! I also think that a lot of times, it is due to imagination or other issues. That is very possible in my case because I really did feel out of place in so many aspects, even as a child..ESPECIALLY as a child. But as in many things I see..I think there is more than one answer to it.
Keep 'em comin' guys...I have really enjoyed reading opinions about this!
My own theory is that children have not been told "there is no such thing" as spirits (not just ghosts, spirits of all types) or imaginary friends so we as parents do not intervene untill they come up to us to say something.
The mind of a child is an amazing thing...but once you say "Oh there is no such thing" then I think that's when the ability becomes less and less untill it is totaly shut down.
Now I have never told my children "there is no such thing" A. because I believe there is such thing and B. who am I to push my personal opinion and belief on them, they are their own person so they can make up their own mind!
Then again...I have no proof on this so I'm just writing from personal experience and my own set of beliefs LOL
My dad was forever telling me that there were no such things as ghosts, lol..it never did much to keep me from seeing them! My mom wasn't so convinced, but a lot of that was due to a shadow she herself saw as well as some odd occurrences especially in the kitchen. Nothing bad...just odd. And she would always try to make light of it, at least with us kids...and she was very skeptical as well. But as far as the little girl...I'm pretty sure I was the only one who saw her.
The only place I remember actually being scared of was the basement..but again, a lot of that could be because it was ONE CREEPY basement!! Unfinished, with all the dark nooks and crannies to make an already imaginative child a bit on the terrified side!
The only research..and to be honest, I am going to have to do some further looking on my own...that even remotely adds up to this being a possible haunting is the fact that there was a former cemetery whose borders were said to have ended on the street right the one my house was on. Behind that cemetery was a potter's field, where those who couldn't afford burial were interred. But that doesn't prove anything, as the information comes mainly from a book that was written to advertise the hauntings in my area. That isn't to say that it's not accurate..but I would like to see more sources on it than just that. I did find where the cemetery used to be in the old county records, but the borders look like they may have been a bit different.
Either way...it does fascinate me to think that there is even a possibility that I saw what may have been spirits. And if I didn't...at least I have learned a lot about how to research histories, which is what I do for the team I am on, and I very much enjoy it.