Episode 23 – Children and the Paranormal: I See Dead People
Hello, there! Come on in! This episode, we'll be discussing the connection between children and the paranormal. Why do kids seem to be so much more susceptible to supernatural presence and forces? Is it innocence or coincidence? Imagination or destiny? Are little ones somehow closer to The Veil? Join us as we discuss...
STOP! INSIDE JOKES AHEAD!
If you haven’t gotten to listen to the episode yet, spoiler alert! This post contains lots of stuff that will make waaay more sense if you listen to the episode before or while reading. So if you haven’t already, pump the brakes and listen to the episode or just click above to play so that you can be in on all the shenanigans to follow!
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Produced by Peter Woodward
Listener Story
This episode’s listener story came from Luquilla who told us about her childhood friend, Frank. Frank was a ghost. He started visiting her when she was very young and stayed with her throughout her life, living at her grandmother’s home and remaining there long after she moved out. There was also a scary lady in black at the top of the stairs that gave her the creeps! Pictured above is Frank’s actual gravesite and an image of his real life brother, William!
Luquilla told us she still sees him to this day! Cool!
I SEE DEAD PEOPLE...
On this episode, we have a free form discussion on the topic of children and their seemingly stronger ties to the paranormal. Special guest, Brittiny Smith, Esq. is in attendance as well!
This is my friend...
I've been here before...
Another phenomenon that is associated with children is the remembrance of past lives. There are kids who claim they remember a past life and can, inexplicably, give dates, locations, and details that they have no reason or ability to know.
Jonathan referenced the case of Shanti Devi in India in the 1930s. The girl began claiming at the age of 4 that she remembered a past life. When she was 6, she tried to run away from home to her “real home”, about 145km away.
She made several claims, among them that she lived in a town called Mathura, was married, and had died. She somehow knew words in the dialect of that area and gave her husband’s name. When it was looked into, a man of the same name had lost his wife nine years prior to that time.
Upon hearing about this little girl, the man, a merchant named Kedar Nath, traveled to meet her, claiming he was his own brother to try to catch the child in a lie. Shanti immediately recognized him! After Shanti gave him multiple details she remembered about their life together, Kedar was convinced that Shanti was the reincarnation of his wife, Lugdi Devi.
A commission was even formed to investigate this extraordinary story, and after a thorough assessment, concluded that Shanti was IN FACT the reincarnation of Lugdi Devi!
PERSONAL STORIES
Jeremy
Jeremy gave us several stories about his encounters as a child with the paranormal and unexplained. He talked about a ditch in the backyard of his childhood home that he dreams about and feels a pull toward. The overall feeling is positive when he encounters this place.
He then shared that in a recent dream, he returned to a place that gave him very scary, sinister feelings as a kid: a room in his grandmother’s house. The house is now gone and a vacant lot remains. In Jeremy’s dream, he was drawn to the exact spot in this vacant lot where this room had been. He described a malevolent pull to the spot like it wanted him.
Even as an adult, he said the fears are still there and remembers it very clearly. He was around 4 or 5 years old at the time. The room itself gave him feelings of being intensely uncomfortable the closer he got to it. He described that the room had a water heater on one side and a vanity with a mirror beside what looked like a really average chair. The chair, he said, he wouldn’t/ couldn’t go near. There was something about it that made him afraid.
Later as an adult, when he encountered a chair that looked like the one from his childhood, all those old feelings came back and he was unable to even stay in the same room as the chair.
Jeremy also told us about his son, Levi, and his ghost old man friend. When he was about 4, Levi described having a spirit friend: a ghost man who was old. Levi managed to scare the bejesus out of his aunt one day by walking up claiming to be holding his friend’s invisible hand!
Jeremy told us after hearing about this spirit friend, he and Levi went through the house burning sage. Supposedly after that, Levi never really talked about the old ghost man again.
Jonathan
Jonathan told us about an his daughter recognizing her grandfather she’s never met. His wife Hannah lost her father when she was a teen. When Macy was around 2 years old, Hannah showed her a picture of Macy’s grandfather and she told her mother she’d met him before. In fact, she told her “I met him in heaven before I came here.” Whoa.
We also learned that Hannah, who is currently pregnant with twins, had a paranormal experience a few months ago. She witnessed two men in shiny armor in her home that disappeared as quickly as they came. She got a feeling from them of protection rather than evil or fear, almost like guardian angels. We wondered if maybe because of her pregnancy, that is why she was able to see these things. And one entity for each baby…coincidence? Or actual guardian angels for the twins? Hmmm…
Finally, Jonathan told us about being drawn to a place as a child: his great-uncle’s room at his grandmother’s house. He said he was between the ages of 5 and 10. He described it as a very positive pull: friendly and inviting. In this room, he felt inspired to create art.
His great uncle had been killed in an accident long before Jonathan came along. The room had been kept much like it was when he was alive. Throughout the room were pictures that he had drawn and according to Jonathan, his great-uncle was an artist himself.
Jonathan said he would feel the urge to draw or learn to draw better when he was in the room. Coincidence? Or was the spirit of his great-uncle influencing him? Food for thought.
Peter
Peter told us that he had an imaginary friend that he has no memory of. His mother told him about it, but he does not remember anything. Is this because he was young…or were those memories taken from him?
He also told us about a location fear: his grandmother’s hallway. He described the long, dark hall that no light reaches and culminates with a framed picture of the Pope staring at you. He said he ALWAYS, EVERY TIME he went down the hall, he had to turn the light on and walk fast or run down the hall, even as an adult.
Brittiny
Brittiny gave us a story about a room in her grandmother’s house that frightened her as a child. She remembers feeling the presence of a “black, sucking void” in one of her aunt’s rooms. Below is a drawing she made to illustrate what she remembers. She said the area under the toy chest was where the pull and feelings seemed to be coming from. She reported sickness in her stomach and intense fear.
She refused to set foot in the room after that. She’s also had dreams about the room since as an adult and says the fear is still just as fresh as it was then.
She also told us a story about her brother. During a sleepover at his grandmother’s house, he had a paranormal encounter. He walked past a wooden rocking chair his great-grandmother used to sit in, and actually saw her ghost coming to a standing position from the rocking chair. They made eye contact after which she immediately fell backward, disappearing into the floor. Um…yikes.
He told his grandmother that the lady he saw was wearing a purple dress…which is what she had been buried in.
We also discussed...
Speaking alligator…AKA the melodious Cajun accent
Ant races…and hopefully a nipple sighting
Learning to read like Brittiny…practice makes perfect
Naked ears…but Jonathan’s ears wear jackets in the winter
Pet ghosts and ghost pets…including ghost cats whose function is EXCLUSIVELY to knock things off surfaces.
And finally…Tchoupitoulas
Strange Woods Recommends...
Some cool movies we talked about that you should check out if you haven’t already!
Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Sixth Sense (1999)
Little Monsters (1989)
Alright, Strangers! Another one bites the dust! Hope you enjoyed the episode. Thank you so much for being part of our little Strange Woods fam! Take care of yourselves and don’t forget to Stay Strange!
Peter’s wife. Registered nurse. Uber-fan of The Strange Woods Podcast.
