Weird activity in my house (again)

[MozzchopsThirty]

At the risk of sounding totally insane we have spirits in our house.

Dd (21) has always heard people talking at night, going up and down stairs, walking the landing etc
After my divorce it got worse and lights were going on and off, doors closing etc.
I had a priest round who blessed the house, then a clairvoyant 'cleaner' which made things much better.

Now things are starting again, dd hearing things and now ds1 has told dd he often feels like there's someone in his room.
Last night I woke to him screaming from his bedroom that there were people whispering outside his room and walking along the carpet! He was too afraid to even come out. Now ds1 is a no nonsense rugby playing teen who is certainly not hysterical at any time. He ended up sleeping with his sister (he'd generally rather die than this!)
There was also a cross knocked off a shelf and down the back of cupboards in ds2 room when I was here alone.

Don't know what to do? Do I get cleaning lady back?
Are we all going crazy?
(Sorry didn't know where else to post this)

You do not have spirits in your house. If your child is hearing things and waking up screaming, you need a doctor, not a woo charlatan.

Tell them to go into the light

When I was a child I would often hear whispering in the silence. Not sure why. It was always the same. Like may people in a room, none of what they were saying was discernible. I think that kind of auditory hallucination in not uncommon in the quite. Same for the sound of knocks and footsteps. Small noises can sound much louder. The 'spirits' don't seem to do you any harm so I am not sure why you are so bothered by it. Just check your attic to make sure that there are no animals etc living there and look into better soundproofing if your house is semidetached. If it is soirits after all they're not hurting you so what does it matter?

I spent years being scared in my childhood home and then I realised that it was all nonsense and strangely all the things that terrified me went away.

In the past, in times of anxiety, I regularly got weakened by the sound of someone ringing the doorbell during the night. This happened in many places including many where there wasnt a doorbell.

The mind is a very complicated thing.

I'm not denying that you are experiencing things OP but it's not real.

Wise advice from don Quixote. I sometimes hear things, it is called being not quite awake.

If you are going to get anyone round, at least get someone from one of the relgions that don't charge.

Go back to the priest and tell them that there is still a problem. There are stages that we work through from prayers by the parish priest to referring onto the specialists. I've never had to go beyond the first stage but I'm aware of who I would contact if the problem didn't go away.

thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts what are you implying? There are stages that we work through from prayers by the parish priest to referring onto the specialists.

What does that mean? I know you are a member of the clergy.
Are you suggesting there are some type of demonic forces at work here?
These "stages that we work though" - is this public information?
You suggest you have a set policy for and procedure for dealing with this type of problem.
'I've never had to go beyond the first stage What is the "first stage"?
And what is the "second stage"? Is there a " third stage"?
Who is that person you contact if the problem doesn't go away?

I would like to see a copy of your policy on this. Can you post it here?
If not why is it not transparent? I assume it is covered within the freedom of information act.

I doubt very much that demonic forces are at work. In common with most priests I've been called out to houses where weird stuff is happening. We do a lot of listening to people and history and pray. If the weird stuff continues then there are specialists and this website gives details www.cofe-worcester.org.uk/mission-and-ministry/specialist-chaplaincies/deliverance-ministry/

Cailleach, you sound surprised. The Christian church has rituals and rites for all sorts of spiritual situations. As do other religions and belief systems. People can ask what is involved before deciding to participate. Mainstream Christian churches are usually pretty eager for people to only participate when they have fully acknowledged and accepted what they will be undertaking.

Do you have carbon monoxide detectors? If not, get them ASAP and check you aren't all being slowly poisoned.

Sometimes strong electrical fields can cause wired phenomenon too. Get wiring checked, re. The lights.

Weird not wired.

There's a lot going on here but "Spirits" isn't one of them. They do not exist except in someones mind. The brain is very complicated and if you dont take charge of it, it will take charge of you. You are not your brain because you can direct your brain, you can install fear in your kids by what you say and do, that's how phobia's develope.you don't need a priest, you need a psychotherapist to get to the bottom of this.

WaxOnFeckOff I kept hearing a doorbell the other night/early hours of the morning in my half asleep state. It turned out to be a bird which was tweeting at a similar (but not identical) pitch and rhythm! Weird how the brain translates things into whatever it subconsciously interprets them as.

Anyway, I don't "believe" in ghosts, spirits etc but I do have a huge irrational fear of them, even though the logical part of my mind knows they're not real. It's so bad I've had to have cognitive behavioural therapy for it, and we had to buy s new build house as I get spooked too easily in old houses!

I definitely think children and teenage brains are wired up differently and they are a lot more likely to experience unexplained phenomena. As a kid I remember seeing insects swarming in my dark room when I was lying down in my bed at night. When I got older I found out things like this are actually fairly common.

The Guardian - Childhood hallucinations are surprisingly common – but why?

I'd get a traditional Catholic priest. One who uses Latin. Will make all the difference

Yeah. Latin will make all the difference

Yeah. Latin will make all the difference

You sound sceptical but some people find prayers/services in Latin really special. Our subconscious is a curious thing.

I can hear my neighbours and it sounds like they are going up and down my stairs not theirs and walking around in my rooms - not theirs. For ages I kept thinking someone else was in the house but it's just the way my house and next door are linked.

I've been in your shoes OP. I believe you. This stuff most definitely happens. When it happened to me, once the final thing happened which couldn't have been down to anything or anyone else, I went straight to my priest (Catholic) and he came that day. Sorted.

The Guardian article is good

some people find prayers/services in Latin really special

But that's only language. It's the meaning that counts surely, if you believe in these things.
Why would the language make any difference? Especially if the ghosts don't understand Latin

Who knows, Herat. But often people like the atmosphere and experience that comes along with Latin services. As I said, our subconscious is a curious thing.

And language is a powerful theme within Christianity. Words are said to be 'spirit'.

Ponder it's not the subconscious though, is it? It's the conscious.

The subconscious is always active, Herat. People can often not consciously understand all of the Latin but still find the effects of a service conducted in Latin rather profound. They might not consciously be able to fully reason or even verbalise exactly why they feel as they do. This is why I think it appropriate to reference the subconscious.