It’s just one of those things. Kids we are even more likely to see and hear ghosts than adults. Many children are natural Mediums. This ability starts to shut off in us is when we realize that talking about Ghosts makes most adults uncomfortable. The old “it’s just an imaginary friend” explanation starts to seem like the way to explain it away. It can leave young people in a vulnerable place with no one to talk to. I was lucky to have my intuitive grandmother to talk to. In hindsight, I appreciate her even more now. I eventually had to learn how to clear out these unwanted spirits. Not all experiences are with negative spirits though.
Both of my parents experienced ghosts as children, so genetically it just seems to run in my family. My dad grew up in Washington State. When he was young, he was at a neighbor’s farmhouse with his older brother. They were talking with their friend when they saw the front door swing open and close all by it self. Next they heard the sound of boots walking through the room towards the kitchen and then apparently exit through the kitchen door, as it also swung open and closed by itself. They ran home and I don’t believe ever went back.
I’ve seen ghosts and spirits for a long as I can remember and I was spooked a lot. For a good part of my childhood, my family lived in Claremont, California. Even though the main drag is named “Indian Hill”, I didn’t realize that Claremont had been home to the Serrano (highlander) and Cahuilla Indians. After the Spanish settled in the area, the Indians were mostly wiped out by small pox. The spirits that lived on the land before can haunt even newly built homes years later. I just never felt comfortable living in Claremont, even though on the surface it was a beautiful, quaint, college town.
My room always had an eerie feeling and I didn’t get too many good nights sleep. I stayed awake as long as I could and I slept with my closet light on hoping for protection. I saw shadowy figures and felt that prickly Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) sensation. I remember being in a panic one night because I could hear a voice calling my name out of my closet. At first it was a whisper and it got louder and louder until I cried and ran out of my room. Later, after we moved, my mom and brother both told of being woken up and seeing a woman dressed all in brown standing over them. Then she disappeared.
When I was 11 or 12 years old I became more bold and lead ghost tours for the neighborhood kids in our hallway. My sister reminded me on her last visit that we called this “Dark-In-Doors”. We would shut all of the doors and turned off the lights. There was almost total darkness, even during the day. It was pretty dark, but I could see and feel the spirits in there with us. The truth be told, most of my ghost tours usually ended up with one of the neighbor kids running out of the house screaming!
My experiences lead me to spend my early years trying to overcome my fear and learn how understand who these spirits were and why they were there. Along this line, I also learned how to clear negative spirits from my environment. Many ghosts are just confused or have unfinished business and really just need to cross over. Occasionally there are dark spirits looking to feed on fears and draw energy to manifest. Children are easy targets. After going through these experiences, I always listen to young people and help them with these problems!
Every so often in my practice a concerned a parent will bring in their teenager or preteen who is really going through it with ghosts. In one case a client brought in her granddaughter, whom I’ll call Hannah, to see if I could help her. She was extremely sensitive and her trouble had escalated due to stress brought on by her parents divorce. Both parents were not listening to her complaints of seeing and feeling a shadowy spirit. I could relate to her issues and knew she was not sleeping well. The front room in her dad’s house made her feel especially afraid.
I tuned in and described a cranky old man that had lived somewhere around her house. I could tell he had died and just didn’t want to move on. I could see him hanging around his wife, moving things and generally being a nuisance. He was still trying to affect her life. It all became so disruptive that his widow had yelled at him to leave. I said that he was the type of guy who would call the police on the neighborhood dogs and yell at the kid if they dared go in his yard. A look of recognition came over Hannah’s face. She said it sounded like Mr. X, who died two years before and had actually sprayed her dad with the hose.
I told her that he had initially gone across the street, but their dogs had barked at him. He then settled in at her dad’s front room to hang out. I psychically told him to move on and I gave her some methods to clear him out as well. I told her to bring her dog with her when she stayed at her dad’s house (even though the dad didn’t like it too much) and this alone would help to deter Mr. X from hanging around. Just listening to Hannah and validating her experiences helped. Also knowing the identity of the spirit made it a lot less scary for her. After that, things dramatically improved for Hannah.
If you or your children are experiencing hauntings and scary experiences with unwanted spirits, the act of telling them to leave can really help. Mentally ask your guides and angels to help the ghost cross over. Prayers and rituals can add to your intention to clear your home by giving you a physical way to express your intention. These include the Native American ritual burning of sage (I personally prefer the smoke form sweet grass) and blowing the smoke into the corners of the room(s) you are clearing. Other methods such as putting blessed crystals or religious medals in the corners, placing a line of sea salt, forming a perimeter around the area, sprinkling holy water, burning incense or even spraying Fabreeze will work! You can use any thing that you feel comfortable with as your ritual. It not the specific method you use. The real power is in your intention for a safe and “grounded spirit” free zone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from an expert, it’s like learning to live with a parasite… It’s just not necessary, you don’t need to live that way. We all deserve a good nights sleep and to feel safe and protected in our own homes!
