Hi all, I really don't post many threads because mainly I like ATS for a good read of what other people have experienced. But unexpectedly, this time I suppose it's my turn.

About a week ago while getting ready for school in the morning, my 12yr old step-daughter was downstairs fixing her hair. We were all upstairs when we heard her run up the stairs and she went up to my wife and said, "look, touch my heart, look how fast it's beating" she went on to say that as she saw a little boy sitting on our coffee table in our living room. She said he just waved hi to her and she ran upstairs startled. She described him as wearing a little round hat and brown vest and that his face looked similar to the main character out of the movie Hugo, about 9-10yrs old or so, pale white. We as parents tried to not to startle her more and told her that maybe she just thought she saw something and even if she had, to not be scared.

Well, this past weekend, my step-daughter spent time at her biological father at his apt and she saw the same little boy again. This time she walked into the bathroom and saw him sitting on the bathroom counter. Again he waved hi and she ran off. She says that he's not scary looking, but that he startles her when he appears seemingly out of nowhere, but otherwise he looks very normal, just very pale.

Throughout our lives, my wife and I have been witness to many ghostly encounters but we never talk about it with our kids, never. Before all this had happened we knew that we had children ghosts in the house, 1 or 2 we suspect, but they had never been seen, only heard.

So what now? What do you suggest we do? My wife told my daughter that next time she sees him to not be frightened and if possible, to ask him what he wants. Is that a good idea? Should we get actively involved with the spirit world like that? Or should we just pray them out?

Thanks for listening (reading), looking forward to your responses.

while i am not an avid ghost believer, as a parent my first response would be to listen to your daughter and help her understand. others will tell you to see a doctor but that last thing a parent should do is have their kid medicated imo. help her deal with the fact and maybe help her to communicate so she isnt startled and maybe you will get more answers?

I would suggest she talk to the boy, especially since he seems friendly.

You mentioned you and your wife have also experienced things... Share that with your daughter. She's old enough to hear and it could be a relief to her.

Then you need to strap a continuously running camera to her clothing and upload the results.

So what now? What do you suggest we do? My wife told my daughter that next time she sees him to not be frightened and if possible, to ask him what he wants. Is that a good idea? Should we get actively involved with the spirit world like that? Or should we just pray them out?

It sounds like you've already answered your own questions - and in a wonderfully accepting and cautiously loving way. Your daughter is fortunate to have you if your thread is any real indication of your worth in home life.
Good luck to all of you - and - peace!

You could move if possible.

Or hire a 'psychic', hopefully you don't get swindled.

Perhaps it's just her imagination?

When I was that age I told similar stories - I wouldn't call them lies but they weren't truths either. Took some growing up before I realized I was kind of lying to myself..

I think some people never make that step and stop believing their own lies.


Anyway, I imagine her "seeing" something is more of a call for help/attention than anything else. Perhaps you should get her involved in music or a sport or something else where she can shine.

About a week ago while getting ready for school in the morning, my 12yr old step-daughter was downstairs fixing her hair. We were all upstairs when we heard her run up the stairs and she went up to my wife and said, "look, touch my heart, look how fast it's beating" she went on to say that as she saw a little boy sitting on our coffee table in our living room.

When I was a young boy, my brother and I had very similar experiences. We would experience VERY similar situations only to run to our parents and get a patronizing pat on the back.
We grew up in a very hardcore christian environment coupled with "smurfs", "astro boy" and "count duckula" on the T.V..
So not only were our brains filled with God, Satan, Demons etc, we also had Scooby doo, ghosts, vampires etc floating around in there.

This time she walked into the bathroom and saw him sitting on the bathroom counter.

We both had very imaginative minds. We'd often be secretly obsessed with an image or a character, and we would "see" them at school, in home, at friend's houses.

A child's mind is amazing. They will only admit what supports their reality most times. I know I did, and 99% of my friends as a child.

As a teenager experimenting with hallucinogens both legal and illegal, I noticed the same situations would occur to a degree. As in, you become lost in an exciting and strange reality, and you become blinded by the situation to the point where you think it is real.

On a psychological level, I would suggest you downplay what your daughter is saying, and just observe.

So what now? What do you suggest we do? My wife told my daughter that next time she sees him to not be frightened and if possible, to ask him what he wants. Is that a good idea? Should we get actively involved with the spirit world like that? Or should we just pray them out?

On an objective level, I suggest you try to rule out all possibilities via any means you can.
IF there is a boy ghost, do your best to PROVE it beyond doubt, and give equal energy and effort to DISPROVE this situation. That's is the only way to get a PROPER grasp on what is happening. Otherwise you are biased.
Don't let emotions get in the way.
Be stringent, and sensible. Don't let ghost stories get in the way of logic.

I'm with the other members who say to greet him calmly and ask him what he wants. He obviously means no harm.

It has been my experience that people who are fearful of such encounters, should they ever have them, are the ones who have negative experiences. There has to be an opening for that sort of experience to occur. Keep things light and friendly and he will probably go his way before long. They usually do - again, to my experience.

The spirits are quieter in winter, at least where I am. But in the past week they've certainly awakened. Just prior to opening up my laptop here, I noticed a couple of wispy white trails flitting about the room. I sense these things quite normally - sudden cold on one side, feeling that someone sat next to me, feeling someone small sit on my lap - but the visual white is new. I do see other sorts of beings (gremlins, etc) just as a matter of fact. But we've had some noisy visitors this past week and now the new wisps of white. I know: that doesn't seem like a very new way to experience ghosts, but it is to me!

You can talk to your kid saying sometimes some people see this. Dont make a big deal out of it. And don't let your kid put lots of time in it either.
Tell her not to be afraid. If she wants to communicate with the boy that's fine, if she is afraid tell her to say to the boy he have to go away, or simply go to another room.

These type of entities have no power and cannot hurt her. She will develop her own strategies to handle these and future experiences. As parents, always listen to her. If you have no answers, just tell her you have no answers.
Loving her is all you have to do.

Thanks for the responses so far.

The reason I write mainly is because it's happening, not to me nor my wife, but to my daughter. I wouldn't go writing up all the stuff we hear that we consider ghostly, we've lived it all our lives, it's not terribly haunting like in the movies but it's pretty constant. We consider our daughter's story to be true because in the last 4 years that we've lived there we have heard little steps running downstairs while we are all upstairs, and vise versa, we've heard doors closing upstairs and footsteps while we're all downstairs.

A "classic" story in our house is of one Saturday afternoon. The night before, we had bought a flat screen tv and had set it up, we left the empty box downstairs on our tile floored kitchen. That next day, Saturday, my sister in law came over with her 3 little kids, they had all come over because my sister in law was helping my wife with a little project she had going in our game room upstairs. They got to work and I said I'd take all 6 kids (whew, lol) to McDonalds so they could play in the playland or whatever. I took all the kids, got to the playground, and about 10mins later I got a call from my wife asking me how all the kids were. I said "fine" they were all having fun, then she asks me "Hey hun, so did you take ALL the kids?" I said yeah they're all right here in front of me. She said ok, no prob, have fun. Well when we got home and after they all left, she explained that she had called me because after I had left, her and my sister in law started hearing kids playing with the tv box downstairs. She said that they could hear the kids little running footsteps and how they would drag the tv box across the kitchen. She said it sounded like they were playing and at first they thought that I had left a couple of the kids at the house, and that they were hiding from her and her sister. That's why she had called me.

But again, she wasn't scared. I am not scared in the house, I get a little creeped out when I feel someone watching me as I sometimes play PS3 late at night, but I'm not frightened like I have been in other very different occasions. And there have been more incidents but I don't want to bore with the bumps in the night.

I sometimes also feel that our house is perfect for any children ghosts to like, we have 4 bedrooms and 3 of them are children's rooms, with toys, bright colored walls, children's murals, and nice. We also have a loving environment at home. We are not perfect but there is a lot of love in the house and maybe that's what the lost children's spirits are attracted to....?

We are not perfect but there is a lot of love in the house and maybe that's what the lost children's spirits are attracted to....?

Again, prove the ghosts to be real, prove them NOT to be real.
Deny ignorance.
Do everything you can.
Don't rely on emotional responses only. You're an adult. Be smart about your experience.

Originally posted by Noinoi

We are not perfect but there is a lot of love in the house and maybe that's what the lost children's spirits are attracted to....?

Again, prove the ghosts to be real, prove them NOT to be real.
Deny ignorance.
Do everything you can.
Don't rely on emotional responses only. You're an adult. Be smart about your experience.

I agree.

It's disappointing on a site who's motto is "deny ignorance" that people claim to believe the OP based on a single account, and no evidence whatsoever.

I, personally, require more before I will claim to "believe" something. I'm not saying your story is untrue, OP - only that I have never had an experience that would lead me to believe ghosts are a real thing. My opinion and advice comes from my own personal experience. I'm sure others draw upon their own experience as well.

I think a 12 year old should be focused on her future, her friends, all normal things..Not ghosts and spirits. I think she would benefit most from moving her attention AWAY from this and toward something actually productive.