My dd is very upset by some paranormal thing 'following' her, please advise

[lottieandmia]

We are on the last day of a holiday in Devon and dd2 has told me throughout the holiday she keeps seeing a see through figure which has a derby hat and a long coat but no face and keeps approaching her with red and yellow lights. if she moves, it moves in front of her.

I know this sounds crazy but she is really upset, not at all like this at home and my dm has seen the ghost of a little girl on this holiday too.

She does not want to go to bed. Is there anything I can do to stop her seeing it? She's 9. We are going home tomorrow so hope that will be the end of it.

[allthingspossible]

Mmm, I think in general terms ( as well as this subject) the people that only view things in black and white are the more aggressive in their opinions when making their point.

Interesting that some posters are equating seeing things as a pre- requisite to having mental health problems ( obviously I must be a basket case then . I myself find that very delusional on their part, personal opinion. Also the poster that said and " never mention it again" dismissing the child and her feelings.
As you were

[bootsycollins]

Arw your poor dd, that sounds terrifying.

[OhDearNigel]

Ffs. Schizophrenia is a lot more serious than a 9 year old thinking she has seen a ghost on holiday.
A doctor would laugh you out of the surgery and anyone suggesting you need to seek professional advice is surely having a joke

[AgentZigzag]

Perplexed, it's having a dig because you're arguing against one extremely implausible answer to what's going on with another extremely implausible suggestion.

Do you genuinely think the OP should consider taking her 9 YO to see their doctor because you think she might have schizophrenia?

Was that serious advice?

Or have you chosen one stereotypical symptom of schizophrenia to get across just how ridiculous you think people are who say they see/believe in ghosts are?

[SinisterSal]

Hope it works out ok lottieandmia. Hoping you both sleep well tonight, you go home in the morning and that's an end to it. She probably is just a bit freaked out away from home, strange shadows, maybe met some other kids with tall tales and it's all jumbling up in her mind.

[MrsHoarder]

Lottie I just want to reassure you that at about that age I "saw a ghost" repeatedly on holiday in a cottage. I am a complete sceptic and have no MH problems.

Given I have occasionally hallucinated due to severe sleep deprivation since , I think the excitement of a large group holiday plus too much chocolate over Easter was too much for me.

I'm sure your DD is fine and after a calm night in her own bed it will all be pretty much forgotten about.

[Quaffle]

Oh FGS.

It's rude and unreasonable to suggest that ONE of the MANY reasons for this child seeing things COULD be MH related.........but the many ridiculous posts assuming that the reason is paranormal, they're perfectly reasonable and worthy of consideration??

Laughable.

[AgentZigzag]

It's shit if the person isn't actually suggesting it seriously Quaffle, and just using MH as an example to show the OP how ridiculous they think they are.

That the explanation of her seeing a ghost is on par with taking her to the doctor because she's got schizophrenia, and equally as implausible.

[perplexedpirate]

Agent, I never mentioned schizophrenia.
Are you confusing me with another poster?

[lottieandmia]

I am quite sad about it as the children have had a lovely time here, playing together and I have actually got on well with my parents too (which hardly ever happens!) She is obviously afraid though as she won't leave my side. But when we get home and she sees her pets again I think she will be ok.

[SinisterSal]

I am sure she will be. Hugs to you both

[AgentZigzag]

You're right, you widened it to include other MH problems Perplexed, it was Cote who suggested schizophrenia.

[oopslateagain]

Oh FFS.

A 9yo thinks she's seen 'something'. It could be overactive imagination, it could be simply eyes playing tricks, it could be any number of things. We have no evidence that ghosts/spirits/paranormal stuff exists. But we also have no evidence that they don't.

The OP simply wants suggestions on how to handle it, not a huge discussion on whether her DD has MH problems.

OP, don't raise the subject at all. If your DD wants to talk about it, listen but don't react IYKWIM - neutral "uh-huh" answers, as if she were talking about a boring tv show. If she's really distressed at home, worrying if she'll see it again, just sort of brush it off like "Oh, that was at the cottage - we're home now," and then distract her with a book or something.

[SolidGoldBrass]

Oh FFS there are no such things as ghosts. Grow up, the lot of you.

OP, the most likely explanation is that your DD has read something/seen something on TV/been told ghost stories by someone else, and her imagination has gone into overdrive, helped by the excitement of the holiday. The most sensible thing to do would be to reassure her that, when we are tired/overexcited/in a strange place, we sometimes see things that aren't there, but it's nothing to be frightened of. With a much younger child, OK, I would advocate a bit of 'parental magic' ie using a 'ghost spray' or giving her a 'lucky charm' of some kind, but 9 is a bit big for that sort of thing.

[AgentZigzag]

Oh FFS!

[SinisterSal]

Pipe down SGB, you are being rude.

[perplexedpirate]

Actually Agent, that wasn't me either. While i did mention it, MH issues were being discussed way before I first posted.
But anyway, lots of different conditions can cause hallucinations. Could be psychological, could be physiological, could be an eyesight issue, could just be an over-active imagination.
Thing is, I am still of the opinion that its better to get these things checked out to rule out anything serious. Obviously I'm not advocating running to the doctors every time a child says something at odds with reality, but when a 9 year old is too afraid to sleep in their own bed, IMO that needs investigating.
I don't see what it is that's so inflammatory about that, really.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

But it's not her own bed. It's a strange bed, in a strange house, in a strange place, outside the child's normal routine. There are a load of more likely reasons than MH issues.. And to even suggest schizophrenia is either ignorant or insulting and possibly both.

[perplexedpirate]

Dione, can I please make it very clear, I didn't suggest schizophrenia.
I said it may be a MH issue.
If you read my last post, I also say it may be a whole bunch of other things, and that's why I suggested professional advice.
And if you really are insisting on splitting hairs, for 'own bed' please read 'the bed to which the child is currently assigned'.

[UnstoppableCousCous]

She could easily be making it up to get attention. Not in a manipulative way, but because she feels like being close to mum and so has come up with a story which validates this. I agree that 9 is not very old, and I can remember having similar thought processes at that age. You ask WWYD and if it was my child I would be sympathetic to her emotions and feelings but be very firm about the fact that ghosts probably don't exist and that she is safe. I would probably indulge her a little bit, re being close and cuddles, because I would believe that this is what she in fact wants.

I very much enjoy the 'spooky' threads on here but it has to be said that the vast majority of the stories are either 3rd hand accounts from people who may well be just telling them for effect or urban legends that I have heard before. In particular, it was found that the 'long thin man' story was copied and pasted from a fantasy fiction website.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

Perplexed, I am well aware of who posted the schizophrenia suggestion. I would like to point out that a child who is frightened on holiday is miles away from possible MH issue. The own bed post is not "splitting hairs". The fact that she is in strange surroundings may actually be the reason that she is a bit frightened. I can't believe that you recommend professional advice before the child actually gets home.

Children see stuff/get scared all the time, but feel free to rack up to your GP anytime yours think there's a ghost in the wardrobe/monster under the bed. Personally, I would suggest that some reassurance and possibly a bit of parental magic should do the trick.

[Adikia]

No idea what it could be/what caused it but I can remember getting scared by a similar thing when i was about 9 on holiday in the new forest, my parents made a fuss of me, let me sleep in with them, then when we left Dad told me it couldn't follow us home because it wouldn't be able to keep up with the car and didn't know the way to our house, I never saw it/imagined it again.

[AlbertaCampion]

Ah yes, because schizophrenia is such a common/valid diagnosis for a 9-year-old child on the UK.

OP, what drivel you have had to endure on this thread! Unusual for the battiest posters to be the anti-woos.

[headinhands]

'Allthings' I am offended with the suggestion that people who have hallucinations are deranged.

[perplexedpirate]

Dione, please read my posts before replying.
I didn't suggest that the OP go to the GP before they go home (aren't they going home today? How would that happen? They're in Devon, not Gallifrey). I actually said 'if this persists.
It is very boring to keep having to point out what I actually wrote.