I’m a skeptic about all things paranormal. Unfortunately for me, my children are not. There have been several instances in my parenting career that make me question my own skepticism.
C1’s relationship with the past
- Grandpa Henry and Ruger
My son (C1) was 2.5- years old when it started. We had just moved to the farm. Unfortunately on move-in day our family dog, Ruger, ran out on the road and was killed. The kids were at daycare at the time and had never been to our new home. We decided to just not mention anything at the time. With all the commotion of the new farm, Ruger was not brought up by our son either. Our daughter was only an infant at the time.
Two-weeks passed. We were driving home from the hardware store and my son started chatting to himself in the backseat. He started naming farm equipment he had not been taught about and other intricate aspects of farming. When we questioned him about the conversation, he said he was talking to “Henry”. I laughed and didn’t think much of it. We arrived home and were eating dinner. C1 chimed in once again. This time I was alarmed. C1 said “Ruger died. She went on the road and died. She’s with Henry.” I was speechless. My husband and I racked our brains of how he knew those details and who Henry could be.
Many days went by and C1 continued to talk about his conversations with Henry. He even went as far as to tell us that Henry really likes our porch swing.
I eventually brought all of this up to my parents. My father reminded me that my Grandpa’s name was Henry. Grandpa Henry passed when I was 10-years old. I had a very limited relationship with him due to distance. The next time I brought my kids over, my father has multiple old family photos pulled out. All were group photos. Without prompting C1 looked at the pictures and exclaimed “There’s Henry!”, he paused “Great-Grandpa Henry!”. My father and I just stared.
My Grandpa Henry had lived in rural Indiana. He was a farmer.
- Ruger
Back to our family dog. She was a booger, but she was our booger. Losing her so unexpectedly was very difficult. Hearing she was with my Grandpa Henry was comforting. C1 would say that Ruger was sleeping under his bed to keep him safe. A little creepy, but whatever.
A couple months passed and we brought a new dog into our family, Oakley. Oakley was home for a few weeks and C1 was once again chatting away. This time he was saying good-bye. He told us that Ruger “really likes Oakley” and “she can go now”. He has not spoken to her since.
- Jacob
So our farm is old. Our house was built in 1920 and is at least the second home on the property. There are abandoned foundations throughout the property, hinting at an elaborate past.
About 6-months after our move C1 started talking to and about Jacob. I just figured he had an imaginary friend. He would play with Jacob for hours and would ramble on about their adventures.
Then one day we were at a sporting goods store and C1 became overly excited. He found an old- fashioned looking cap gun. He exclaimed “It’s just like Jacob’s gun!”. I was flustered to say the least. Weeks later my mother was watching the kids while my husband and I went out. When we got home my mother could not find her car keys. C1 laughed and said “Jacob’s so funny, he’s playing with you!”. C1 pointed to a nail by the porch roof. Behold, my mother’s car keys. There was no way my 3-year old had been able to place the keys on a nail 8-feet in the air.
It has been 3- years and my son still talks about Jacob. There have been times where both my husband and I have seen and heard things on our staircase that are unexplainable. So far all I have to do is tell Jacob to quiet down and go to bed and everything calms.
C2’s past lives
My middle daughter (C2) talks about her “Other Mother” frequently. The stories can be mundane, such as what Other Mother liked to eat or activities they would do together.
Some stories are chilling. Specifically C2 talks a lot about Other Mother’s death. The details can become clouded, I mean she’s 3-years old for God’s sake. However the gist of the story is that Other Mother went into a place with a lot of bad men. The bad men had weapons but the Other Mother did not. C2 then describes how Other Mother was beaten and killed.
She has not been exposed to any sort of media that would make this story appear normal. The darkness of this memory creeps into her play at times. She frequently has pretend play that involves her escaping a dangerous situation after Other Mother is killed the storyline is unsettling at best.
Now not all of her stories are dark. She recently recounted her life as both a puppy and a marshmallow. So I guess all of these stories should be taken with a grain of salt.
Now I do have one more kid. Once C3 can talk we’ll see what she comes up with.
Tired Not Dead 