Q. "My name is Jacob,I am an eleven year old 5th grade student. My question is, Sometimes when I am lying down or partially asleep, I feel as if I can not move .Just a week ago, I was almost fully awake but I could not move. If it was'nt for the fact that I could not move ,I would have woken up. This lasted for about a minute. I also have another question.Next door,my uncle once lived.He was in a hospital when he passed away and I know it is possible that he could have came to visit me because he only got to see me when I was young.At night or very early in the morning I will become extremly cold and jump up as if I had seen a ghost.Do you think this could be him or another ghost?I live in a very historical area. Thanks, Jacob"
A. What happened to you is called "Sleep Paralysis". (Paralysis meant you can't move.) Sometimes people call it "Old Hag Syndrome" because in the old days people used to think that this happened because a witch was holding you down or sitting on you. Of course this is not true:-) Old Hag Syndrome can happen men, women or kids. In fact, it happens to about 15 percent of the population at least once in a lifetime. It can occur while the person is sleeping during the day or night. It occurs all over the world and has been happening to people since ancient times! Doctors have studied old hag syndrome and have found a way to explain it. When you are in a deep sleep, your brain turns off your body's muscle function so we can't move around too much (paralysis). It does this to keep us from sleep-walking or trying to do the things we are dreaming about. When we are somewhere between a deep sleey and waking up our muscles we will be able to move our muscles again. Sometimes the body takes a bit too long to turn off the paralysis, so we wake up before we can start to move, so for a a few seconds or up to a minute, we are still paralyzed. This would explaine why you felt like you were frozen in your bed! Doctors say there are a few things you can do to prevent this from happening. They are:
Q. "What was it that enspired you to start being a ghost hunter?" Tanya, age 14
A. I always liked scary stuff, ghosts, vampires, stuff like that. When I was a kid I watched all the movies I could. Not the type where they chop up people with chainsaws...but real ghost stories, movies about hauntings, the classics.
As I got older I started to read books about haunted places. I used to visit many many historic places with my grandfather. From reading the books I came to realize that many of the places I visited where I felt very uncomfortable in, or sometimes was really afraid of, were reported as being haunted. I remember going to the bottom of the USS Constellation and actually having to leave because i started to feel panicky. It was years later when I read that it is reported to be very haunted. I think I was in my teens by that time.
When I moved into the house I live in now, I began to see ghosts. Other people saw them in this house too. I joined SJGR to learn more about it and find out what the heck was going on!! Hope this answers your question:-)
Q. "Hi I'm Mitch and Ii have saw many ghosts in my old house in Australia I only got quick glimpses of them but I know it was nothing more tahn a ghost. But one night I was almost asleep and I saw a lady in a black gown floating towards my bed. I was scared but she was nice. I looked up a bit of history in the house and found that the man who built the house had died and so did the lady. Then later after we had moved my mother told me that a lady had died in my bed room. and also i was wondering if when you see a lady ghost if it is true they have no face. could u tell me if that is true?" Mitch
A. First off, sometimes ghosts don't have a face and sometimes they do...everyone sees them differently. That doesn't mean that the person didn't have a face she was alive! You are correct when you say that most of the time you will just get a quick glimpse of them...that's how it is for most people. The lady in your room could possible be the lady who died there, but it could be someone else all together. There are spirits all around us all the time. This is the reason some people have sensitive people, also called psychics, come to their homes. To try to communicate with the spirit and find out who it may be. Hope this helps.
Q. "Hey, I have a question. What if u just moved and u sayed at your new place for a week u feel uneasy? Also in my old house I think i use to see a ghost. maybe my imagination. and the next day my mother found out that people died in there." Alicia
A. Just because people may have died there doesn't mean that there are ghosts there. And feeling uneasy in your new house is normal. It may not be a ghost at all...maybe you just have to get used to it:-) Give it a bit more time and see how you feel, then you can write to me again. Maybe you will feel more comfortable after you've been there a few more weeks.
Q.
"i love your page www.sjgr.org i spend most of my time online there.
i am in the 7th grade. i will be there till january 30,2003. i would like
u to come in to my school for free because thats what it says . ever since
i was a little girl i loved this stuff. i would like to become a "ghostbuster"
and my friends but we are to chicken. that is scary for a 12 almost 13
year old who expirenced someone dear to her die in front of their eyes.
i would like to meet you guys and talk to you personly but i dont
know how to. my mom took your "test" and she is sensitive. well i
got to go. please write back as soon as you get this email. thank
you alot."
lauren
A. If you would like us to visit your school, please give web site address to your teacher or principal. You can give them this phone number also: 1- 877- 478- 3168. Tell them to call to set up a kids lecture.
Q. "I saw a movie thet the ghost sucked a kid into a tv. I askd my dad if thgey can do that for real but he sais he didnt know and not to watch movieslike that. so i am asking you if they can. .my sister said they can kill you." Justin
A. Your sister is not correct. A ghost can't kill you and it can't suck you into a tv or radio or microwave oven. Ghosts can't suck you into anything. Some people like to be scared. They think it's fun. So the people who make movies make them extra scary so lots of people will go see their movies. They can make a ton of money that way. If you want to watch a scary movie, just remember that the people who made the movie also made up the whole story and the people in the movie are just actors. Most of the time the ghosts and other monsters you will see are just people wearing great make-up, but they also can be cartoons or movies made with a computer. Sometimes on channels like The Discovery Channel or The Learning Channel you may see a TV show about a real ghost, and they will tell you it is a true story. If you watch one of those and have any questions just email us again and we can explain it to you so you won't be afraid. TV shows like Fear on MTV or the ones on FOX are made to scare people. These are not true at all. Hope this helps:-)
Q.
"dear ghost investigator can you help me? my house is haunted. please
help . one question can A ghost hurt me 
I need to know please I can tell you one reason why it is haunted
the day we first moved in we were all looking around to see the house
and what was supposed to be my room and my room is new and every thing
but I went in and saw A man siting on my bed and he looked up at me and
waved at me and disappeared and since the day I moved in I
never saw him again and i now sleep in my moms room at night
because I am allways scared please help me well please write back
bye your friend natalie."
A. Don't worry, ghosts can't hurt you. The man you saw may be somebody who used to live in your house before. Maybe he misses his house and stops in to check on things. If you see him again, just ask him to please leave and he probably will:-)
Q. "hi Im nick Isee many ghost sicnce befor and even more after my sister died. AM I CRAZY!"
A. Your sister may be stopping by to say "Hello". You are not crazy at all!! Lots of people can see ghosts, especially kids!
Q.
HELLO
IT`S ELISABETH I LOVE YOUR URL 
HEE []
AND I LOVE GHOSTS!!!!! BYE
A. Thank
you so much, Elisabeth:-)
Q. thanks,
Anneheei
love you
hee
i love ghost stories!!!!!!!!!!!!
Q. "Can ghost hurt you and can spirits protect you and/ or save your life? Debbie"
A. Ghosts can't hurt you. I have heard stories of ghosts saving lives. I have a friend who has a little boy with asthma. One night, the ghost of a woman came in her room and told her to wake up, and pointed to the little boy. He could hardly breath and needed his asthma medicine. Maybe that ghost saved the little boys life. I heard another story about someone who was asleep when the ghost of a man rode in the bedroom on a white horse. The horse kept banging his feet on the floor so the sleeping person would wake up. When she woke up, the smell of gas was very strong through the house. That ghost saved the whole family!!
Q. "Hi, people at my school say that there are ghosts hauting my school. Some say that they are spirits of girls who died in the girls locker room. Some girls say that they have seen doors slam hard, heard loud scratching noises and stuff that I haven't heard of yet. Do you think that this is true? I don't know what to beleive. Cheryl"
A. I have heard of schools being haunted. Any building can be haunted! There are rumors od hauntings going around in lots of schools. Somtimes this is true and sometimes not. Sometimes people in the neighborhood start the rumors just to scare kids. They think it's funny. Sometimes these stories start around Halloween. In any case, if there is a ghost in your school it will not hurt you so don't worry about that. I wouldn't believe any stories about people dying in your school unless your parents or teachers tell you the stories are true. Even if someone did die in your school, that doesn't mean there is a ghost present.
Q.
My name is Rebekah.. I am 13 years old. I believe my school is haunted.
I recently took a picture while at homecoming. A strip of light went down
the side of the picture. Nothing could have reflected. Also I took pictures
of a friend as a joke. There is a light covering her mom's face. Nothing
could have reflected there either. A friend and I also believe we are mediums
because we both felt spiritual presences in different rooms at the same
time. We also both felt faint because of it. I don't have any money but
if you could please help us I would be greatful. I'm not sure if any of
this is evidence of a haunting but it could be. My other friend said that
she was in the gym (which is where the homecoming pictures were taken)
and was plugging up an electric cord and she said it felt like someone
was holding her back. A friend and I took pictures of every room except
the gym just a few weeks ago to do our own little ghost hunt. The pictures
have not gotten back to us yet. We are not sure what kind of ghost these
are. There was also a case where in the bathroom (where we took one of
the pictures in the dark) where we both thought we saw a person standing
there and we ran out. This school is pretty old and about 4 people (students)
have died and some teachers. Along with some of the builders. We are just
wondering if there is some kind of portal open somewhere that leads to
the spiritual world, and does it cause a threat of a possible demon? A
firned of mine said she was there after dark one day after a basketball
game and they saw a door close by itself. It would truly help me and my
friends if you could help us but I doubt you will for free. We need to
do this behind the principals back because she doesn't not believe us no
matter what. But anyway I just thought I would tell you this information.
Sincerely
yours,
Rebekah
A. First off, don't do anything behind your principal's back. This can get you in trouble and that won't help anything. It doesn't matter if someone died in your school or not. There are spirits everywhere. It could be someone who died there, someone who lived on that land before the school was built. or someone just passing through. I seriously doubt that there are any demons there and nothing you have told me makes me think there is one present. If you can take photos in school without getting in trouble take as many as you can. Try to use 35mm cameras and also digital cameras. You can also leave tape recorders running to try to get the voice of a ghost on tape. The most important thing you can do is to ask questions and take good notes. Write down what people see, where they see it, and the time. Look for patterns like people having experiences in the same room all the time or at the same time everyday. This is the best way to confirm your suspicions. I would be happy to look at any photos you get. Hope this helps.
Q. "Hi. My name is Dusty and I think I saw a ghosts or an angel. My Mom and me have seen things before but not like this.It looked like a women with long brown hair. She was looking at the dresser, and had a long white dress on. I think I saw her before, but I'm not sure. Do you think it was a ghost or an angel?"
A. I don't really know if you can tell te difference between a ghost and an angel. Don't forget....angels don't have to be women. The pictures we see of them are usually women but they can also be men! I have heard that people get a very warm and peaceful feeling when angels are around:-)
Q. "Last night i saw a big floting black thing in my door. i saw it for a second then i blinked then it was gone! i had a heat blanket on and i still got cold. it was like i was in a freezer. then i heared a door slam. can you please tell me if it was a ghost and if it is what dose it want. oh yea in december my aunt died and we have these screw-in lights that we put in the window. every night one of the lights would turn off. i rember screwing them in tight. please tell me what that is. -haunted "
A. Well, it may have been a ghost and it may not have been. It could have been only the shadow of someone walking past your door. Maybe you were cold because it is the middle of winter!! If it was in fact a ghost, it may not want anything at all. It could be just passing through. The light in the window could be broken so the light keeps going out. I don't know if there is a ghost in your house or not, but even if there is, it's nothing to worry about:-)
Q. "Hi, im not really a kid, I'm 16 but i thought i would contact you. I'm not quite sure but I think I may have a ghost in my house, perhaps 2. See I myself have seen a little girl and when my mom has been home by herself she has had the tiolet flush. My mom dosen't believe me. She thinks that the man who built our house is the ghost, she was friends with him and loved him like a father. Now she doesn't know im doing this so I'm not really asking for people to go to my house but I would like to know your opinion on my situation. Thank you very much. Amber"
A. There
could possible be a little girl there if that's what you see. Believe is
or not, it's pretty common for ghosts to flush the toilet! I have heard
of this several times before from clients. You didn't really give me too
much info about what is going on, so I can't really say too much. I am
not sure why your mom thinks the man is there. If the only thing
that has happened is the toilet flushing it could be just a plumbing problem
and the little girl you are seeing could be a residual haunting, which
really isn't a ghost at all.
To learn
what a residual haunting is read
this article about residual hauntings.
Q.
"my sister says that she sees things that no one else can see, except my
mom. every morning when I wake up shes in my room sleeping on my floor
because she says she's afraid that they will come. we didn' even get to
do hollween this year because she was afraid and wet her pants after only
going down the block a couple of houses. I say she's just being a baby.
my mom says that just because I cant see it doesn't mean it's not there.
what
do you think? my mom told me it was ok to write to you and ask Micah"
A. I think that it sure is possible that your sister can see things that other people don't. If it's true that she sees things, maybe she should write me or take a look at the web page so she won't be afraid. How old is your sister? You didn't tell me that. if she is very young, it's perfectly normal for her to me afraid on Halloween. Most little kids are afraid at least one Halloween in their lives. I remember my mom dressing me up as a pilgrim when I was in Kindergarten and I only went outside for a few minutes because I saw Frankenstein:-)
If she
really is seeing something she doesn't understand, it's best that she talk
to me or your mom about it. The things she sees are probably not bad at
all! I'm sure she just doesn't know what to make of them. I think if you
tease her and call her a baby it will not help her to get over her fear,
it will probably just hurt her feelings.