IF You Believe in Ghosts and Spirits, Read This...

My grandmas mom was harassing her after she finally passed (after being miserable for 5 years) she would poke my grandma and mess with her sheets, my granny finally got pissed off and was like "Mom, stop, I know you're hear just don't touch me!" haha. It worked. You don't have to be mean just be like "Look, level with me, the kids are getting freaked out so can you lay off when they are around? Have a good day!" Eventually it'll get better :)

We have a little boy ghost at our house. My husband was 1st to notice. He pointed it out to me. Then, of course, the kids started noticing. The kicker was when my very cynical 18 yr old daughter came and stayed a week with us. She asked if we had a ghost and started telling us all the same things we have seen.

What my husband did was exactly what you said. He talked to him right out loud. He told him he was welcome to stay, so long as he didn't harm or scare the kids. He has had more than a couple talks with him actually. He talks to him the same authoritative way he talks to our son. He's told him the rules. "Don't scare anybody or break anything or there will be consequences." He's told him to "settle down, stop it right now, we aren't in the mood to play today". He's also tried to help him go to the light, told him it was ok and there were people on the other side waiting for him. Sometimes he just wants to be acknowledged. He'll keep opening the door over and over until finally I say - "Ok ok Johnny, I see you, now settle down!" Then he'll stop. So far, he hasn't left, but he hasn't caused any problems either.

I'm a psychic/medium, I have 3 resident ghosts. Since you smell the patchouli it probably is your SIL. I would simply call her by name and tell her she is scaring the kids and if she wants to visit please stop moving things. You can call her non-verbally, just think about her and say her name in yor mind. She is probably watching over your family from the other side. Thank her for caring about you and watching over you. If she wants to continue to move things ask to to only do it if one of you is sick or in trouble.

I am sensitive too...complertely understand. The thing I did...as gramps usually appears in a form and I can make out his face. And usually when I'm alone or everyone is asleep. The first appearance about a year after he died I was pregnant with my daughter, visiting family and all alone in my parents house. It was late at night...I saw him through the window...after I realized (about 10 minutes) who it was I said "Gramps, you are scaring the hell out of me, can't this wait?"...and he left. Came back again months later but doesn't scare me like it did the first time.

My daughter is really sensitive...as a three year one day I heard her talking to someone...
I asked her "who are you talking to?"
she replied "that lady in the pictures"
Me "what pictures"
her "mom, it's just my grandma that died" It was said in such a way that she sounded just like grams...I think she was repeating what grams said.

And once in while I feel her and him over my shoulder...when I really needing that extra something during the day. Or when I random U2 song comes on and I know she's playing it for me.

I would contact someone who specializes in this. You may need to have a cleansing of the house and may need to let the spirit know that it is ok and they can go to the other side. Since you say it is the perfume of your sister inlaw and the fact that the pictures of her brother and her mother are the ones that are being disturbed. You need to find out if it is her so she can be addressed. The house that I grew up in was formally that of an alcoholic. My mom tells us of how they cleaned out 2 garbage bag fulls of vodka. I would be downstairs and hear someone walking on the third floor where the attic and bedroom was. We also joked around it was the vodka ghost. Best of luck.

If you're not being threatened, just talk to it. If it's family, it may not realize that it's frightening the younger child.
If you're worried about the kids hearing you, go in your room and shut the door.

One of our houses had something in my son's room. It was a brand new build that we had built on a former farm field. He'd hear something going through his things. He even saw it. It looked like "Yoda", kind of (a creepy version from what he described). It would open and close the closet, walk around his bed looking for something. It would go through his papers constantly looking for something. It never hurt or touched my son but would hide when I came in the room. It only came at night time. One time my son saw it walking around his bed looking on the floor and under the bed for something, my son was so scared and we'd already gone to bed. He prayed "Dear Lord, please make it go away!" (prayed silently not out loud.) The thing immediately looked at my son and disappeared. We was about 10 at the time. We only lived there a year and then we moved. I suggest you talk to your pastor or someone at church and ask for advice. I don't think it's family. You're not going to hurt anyone's feelings. Good luck!!

Okay if you don't feel threatened or afraid then I would tell your kids that you think it's your SIL. And I agree that it sounds like it probably is if she often wore patchouli (which I find totally ironic after your hippie post the other day!). I would just say to them that hey sometimes people we love come to check on us and that SIL has come to check on her brother and make sure they are all okay and when we notice that she's here we can talk to her or we can go on about our day, whatever feels most comfortable.

Can you try talking to them when the kids are asleep? Maybe just try it on random nights so you're covering your bases! Or when something happens maybe make a conversation out of it so that it can be "heard" by them. I don't know, I don't really know how spirits listen, if it's the same as us or not! ;)

My other thought was that maybe the SIL (or grandma) wants you to tell your MIL that they are safe and okay. Have you talked to your MIL about any of this stuff? Maybe they are hoping for you to be the message giver and that's why they keep coming back or knocking off pictures of her. In the end, if you feel like you really need to get a better grasp on it I'd call a medium.

I think acknowledging her/them can help. In college I lived in a house where I am sure the former owner - "Minnie" lived. It was a little frightening at first, but then we (myself and my roommates) just spoke to her pretty regularly. That helped. We told her when we got freaked out, but we also just became pretty comfortable as having her as the 5th roomie. :) I understand why you don't want to address them in front of the kids - maybe when they are out of earshot or napping or something.

Dear R.,

I would suggest sending out love and positive energy. Nothing wrong with talking out loud to anything or anyone that might be there -- maybe when the kids are not around -- or sleeping. As long as you don't feel anything that makes you uneasy -- I wouldn't worry about it. Just reassure your children if they ask about it. Good luck.

Sincerely,

M.

I'd say something when the kids are outside playing :)

I am amazed at the number of serious responses this question has received, and none that are dismissive! I have personally never had an experience like the ones described, but have always been very curious as to the possibility. Very interesting.

Lots of advice here:

If you want to communicate with the energies that are trying to make their prescence known, you do not really need to use the spoken word... they are able to understand clearly your thoughs, so you just need to put your thoughs and words clear in your mind and direct towards them.

Before doing anything with energies you may not be sure what they are I would do a couple of things... first call on Arcangel Michael and ask him to protect you, your family and your house and to help you be clear and loving at communicating your concerns.

I would try to have white flowers in the house as frequently as possible and you can put glasses of water during the night, they are known to absorb energy, specially negative energy.

Always be very polite and nice but clear at what you are asking or telling and if you are not really bothered or scared just ask them to make their prescense noticeable in a less frightening way.... maybe making you find white feathers or something that could be a clue or hint just for them and easy for you to recognice.

It is true that burning sage is suppossed to clear energies in the house, also chimes.

And last, I love this candles, they have intention in them, for your issue I could pick the one of "positive energy" or Angels of both.
http://www.crystaljourneycandles.com/herbalmagicscents.html

I would love to know what happens next!
Good luck,

I think the best thing since your kids are already aware of "what" it is would be to tell them "who" it is and tell them since she can't talk she is saying "I love you" in her own way. This would hopefully take the scariness out of the situation.

cleanse your home's energy, I think you can light a white candle and burn sage incense walk around the entire house pray while you are walking through. You may also have no choice but to speak to the spirit to tone it down. I know there is no pattern or time to predict when it's going to happen, but try to get the kids out of the house to free you up to speak directly to the spirit. I don't have the gift of seeing or hearing from spirits, but have family members that do. When my daughter was around 2 1/2 she went through a period when she was seeing a woman. I never figured out who it was, my daughter was never uncomfortable but I encouraged my daughter to speak to the woman. To tell her to leave if my daughter didn't want her present, to my knowledge my daughter never did speak and I don't question her if she still sees her. Good luck and keep posting.

We have something similar in our house. For me I think it is either my husbands bio-mom, whom passed when he was 8y, and/or his brother who passed a week before we bought the house (across the street from the house where he lived).

Ghosts that travel with you can attach to things. For 'mom', I think she arrived when the Aunt gave us her wedding dress and a box of stuff that had been hers. For BIL, he arrived when his son wore his favorite jacket, one that he'd been wearing that day, to the house and left it. The jacket left and he didn't. We were the family that he got along with, so...

For me I try to take it in stride, and talk to my kids 4y (the sensitive one) and 10y about it. The 4y is always playing by herself, but carrying on conversation like she's chatting with someone. She now has a new playmate named 'Posty' that comes and goes, and there have been others.

Hubby is completely freaks when stuff happens. This past week has been bad. We had to install dreamcatchers in the kids rooms because the 4y had mean people in her dreams. Last night, hubby felt someone grab his feet like they were trying to wake him up for something, but no one was there.

Anyway, for your picture problem I would do three things.
1. When the pictures fall, just have your kids pick the picture up and set it at your spot at the kitchen table. No words or reasons needed.
2. When you put the picture back up, just say outloud 'gee, I sure wish these would stop falling down'. or 'gee, I sure wish I knew why these kept falling, the little one is wishes it would stay put.'
3. Move the pictures that fall from hanging on the wall to being in standing frames on a shelf or bookcase. Or even just put them in a photo book. Maybe your SIL is mad at your MIL and doesn't want to see her pic.

I think the purpose is to not make a big deal about it. It is what it is. Maybe watching the movie 'The Sixth Sense' would help?

Good luck.
M.

R.:

I can talk to my sister...I had to do this once - I know people think we are freaks!! (you and I for being sensitive to these things!) however, we had a spirit in our home that wasn't nice...he liked to sit on me at night in bed and it hurt.

It's been about 5 years - I think we used lavender and jasmine candles and walked into each room, closet, bathroom, garage, etc. and asked the spirit to leave....

speak to them and tell them to knock it off they are scaring the kids.
It's your house , take it back.

don't laugh, but I was watching Flipping Out on Bravo and they had to call in a professional, but I have heard/seen that burning sage is a "cleanser."

i would do a cleansing of the home, with sage or copal or frankincense and myrrh, some sort of spiritual incense, and pray to whomever you pray to. kindly ask them to stop scaring your husband and daughter. if that doesn't work, call in a "professional."

Like Mama D said....Contact a medium, or got get your cards read. Maybe you can try to connect with the ghost/spirit. Be sure to let us know what happens!
edit...sometimes it doesn't matter if someone did or did not die in the house you live in...sometimes spirits are connected to a person and will follow you where ever you go. So, the idea that it could be a family member is not unreasonable. I dont know if this would work....but try meditating yourself and talking to the spirit. Asking it to please calm down a bit. Burning Sage is a cleanser...but I don't know if it works for spirits or just negative energy in general. Your spirit doesn't sound negative...so burning sage would just make your house smell real good!