Many children will claim to have a real invisible friend that follows them around, talks to them, gives them advice, and tells them what to do. Most of these are just a harmless exercise in imagination. But sometimes, stories arise of children who made friends with an imaginary figure that turned out to have once been alive. Is the imaginary friend in your family’s life a recurring ghost?
Ghosts are often said to approach children because they’re more open to the paranormal and closer to the edge of reality as we see it. This may be due to their imaginative nature, or it could be related to a psychic connection they have at the beginning of their life. But if a child says they have a friend that seems out of the ordinary, sensitives and psychics have for years proposed a bit more inquiry. Though a ghost isn’t always guaranteed, it’s a possibility.
One of the most peculiar and disturbing stories of a haunted imaginary friend came in the form of a child who started talking about a new friend of his after his family moved into the home of their dreams. The child called his new friend Eddie, and as his parents went about their daily routines, their son would head out into the yard to play with Eddie. One day when they proposed Eddie come home with them for dinner, the child proudly led his invisible associate to the dinner table. And that’s when the family’s idyllic life was shattered and turned into a nightmare. The power would shut off, cups and plates would be hurled across the room, doors would slam periodically and get stuck separating them from one another, and a long series of mysterious dreams would follow them throughout the night. As the family sought the help of a local psychic, she asked them if the name Eddie meant anything to them. She explained that Eddie had died during the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918 and his spirit had been troubled ever since. When he had been explicitly invited into the home, according to the psychic, Eddie had been given a foothold in the home – and wasn’t about to leave. Ultimately it took the family three tries to rid them of the mischievous spirit. After the house was finally at peace they decided to move before Eddie got a chance to return.
Of course not all imaginary friends-turned ghostly turn out quite so dramatically. Often these spirits are nowhere near as powerful and are simply observers looking for contact with a living being who will listen. And just as often they will leave at the first sign that they are unwelcome. Of course the sign is most effective if it comes from the one closest to it – and in the case of imaginary friends that is the child.
But there have been stories of helpful ghostly imaginary friends – including some that will actually impart advice or provide what appears to be real friendship and guidance for a period of time.