Let me start from the beginning. My mom, brother, and I lived with my grandparents from the time I was born until I was about 4 or 5. I grew to be very close with them both. We lived on our own for a bit, then when my mom and her then boyfriend split up, we moved back in. I was probably 11. Over those 6 or 7 years, my grandma had developed COPD, which is a smokers disease, and became very ill; being in and out of the hospital quite frequently. The first "strange" thing that happened to me was a couple of weeks before she passed, I had a very realistic dream of waking up, going downstairs, and asking where my grandma was. Everyone had the strangest look on their face and told me she had passed away. About a week and a half later, she was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. As I said before, she was in and out of the hospitals frequently, but we had our family come up every time something happened, because better safe than sorry. Anyway, we were all about to get lunch in the lower level of the hospital, when the intercom system announced there was a code blue on her floor. We rushed back up there, and it was her room. There was nothing they could do, and unfortunately, we had lost her.
Before this happened, I hadn't told anyone about my previous dream about my grandma. I told my mom later that day, and she seemed a bit skeptical. That night, my uncle, grandpa, mom, brother and I had ordered pizza pretty late, and were all talking in the living room when both the porch door and front door swung open. Mind you, it is late at night and we live in town so we make sure the doors and windows are locked at night.
Maybe a year or two later, my mom begins telling me that she had strange things happen to her, the tv turning off or on, odd dreams about my grandma, ect. At that point, nothing had been happening to me, so I just sort of disregarded it. Some time after, I began noticing things that just did not make sense. I remember not being able to find the phone, or the remote maybe, and tearing my whole bed apart. It was a mess. I went to the living room to check there, and couldn't find it, so back to my room I went. I walked in, and immediately noticed the item sitting perfectly center on my bed. That was just the beginning.
Soon after the initial incident, the lights in our bathroom would turn off while I was in there. Our bathroom has 2 different switches to control 2 different lights; a set above the mirror, and one large one on the ceiling. Both would shut off. This happened very frequently, but not every time I was in there.
Then, one night, I was on my way to my room from the kitchen, which is just down the hall from me. It was somewhat late, 11-12pm, and my grandpa's room is just opposite of mine, so I can see his door from mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something moving, and as I looked up, it was a perfect image of my grandma walking to my grandpa's room. Though I was not frightened by this, it definitely did take me aback.
Fast forward to the fall of 2013. The light thing is still happening, but I haven't seen her again. I had recently began dating my now fiancee, Caitlin. I had not told her anything about what I experienced, as I am very closed off about this subject. We were getting ready to go to bed one night, and were having a conversation about something when we noticed the channel changing to 222 between 8 and 10 times. While this is happening, Caitlin has the remote in her hand, and is not touching any buttons. That was the first and last time that happened.
That summer, we decided to move to Caitlin's house because of some personal things going on at my grandpa's. I don't recall too much happening at her house, besides the "normal" things I was used to (lights, weird dreams, ect.) Though those things kind of freaked her out.
This past November, we got our own apartment, and now more than ever things have been happening. One night, Caitlin was out cold, and she started giggling in her sleep. I wasn't messing with her, so I asked what she was laughing at. She just continued to laugh without saying anything, so I kept asking. She finally told me that she was laughing at the little boy, and pointed over to the corner. I immediately woke her, and she had no recollection of what had just happened.
Just last night, we were in the shower (sorry for the TMI, however, it is important.) I was getting ready to wash my hair, as she was working her shampoo in, she asked me if I had touched the shower wall behind the shower head. I am pretty small, so if I had touched the wall, I would have gotten a lot of water in my face, which I avoid if at all possible. I told her no, and she pointed to a hand print on the wall. The hand print was very strange looking, as it only had the finger tips, and part of the palm. I tried to put my hand on the wall in a similar manner, and it was very awkward and uncomfortable on my hand. I had also been under the water for quite some time, and the hand print was fresh. When I pressed my hand to the wall, the print disappeared in about a minute and a half.
Since whatever this is has followed me around for years, to different places and around different people, I am not sure what this could be. I, of course, would love to think that it is my grandma, however, I'm just not sure.
For anyone inexperienced in dealing with this sort of thing, the only things I would recommend are generalized house blessings, prayers to help trapped ones move on into the light, and basic, respectful communication. Other than that, it's probably safer to leave anything else to experts.
There is an experienced poster here named Rookdygin with a general house cleansing method that many here attest to. It's under "About me":
Http://www.yourghoststories.com/user-profile.php?user=8155
You can search online for helping trapped souls if you think this may be the case.
As far as experts go, you could contact paranormal groups near you to see if they have a medium or sensitive that does not charge. Be sure to let them know your goals (curiosity/communication?) so they don't come in, antagonize them and possibly make things much worse. Or, they might cleanse the house of all of them, and I might be mistaken but I'm assuming that's not really what you want either.
Spiritualist churches have board certified minister/mediums as well (scroll to Iowa), some better than others. The ones near me have all-message services once a week & free short readings by students after Sunday services:
Https://www.nsac.org/churches.php
Personally, I wouldn't allow anyone to do a seance in my home, but that's just me. I do NOT recommend messing with Ouija boards or anything similar that could "open" you or your home to unknown entities. It's like opening your front door and leaving it that way all the time. It's a recipe for disaster.
As far as communicating on your own, I would simply suggest speaking (via thoughts or out loud) to your grandmother to acknowledge her. If anything is particularly bothersome, let them kindly know and ask them not to do that particular thing again. Or, ask your grandmother to help. She might be able to tone them down if that is what you want.
You don't want to offend them, as they might become upset and do far worse things. Especially since you don't know who (or what) the others are and there has already been mischief. You may have inherited them when you moved into the new house, and they might not even be human spirits. Many cultures believe in the fae (fairies: gnomes, elves, trolls, sprites), nature spirits, and other non-human entities that can take the form of small people and are often mischief makers. If they are one of these, you definitely don't want them declaring war on you! So, don't get angry or spout off at them. One story on here called "My Little Friends" (& follow-ups) is an outstanding example:
Http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=19855
Http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=19899
She has another one called "More Fun And Games", which is the third about her "gremlins". Fun reading; I wish she would write some more! The comments are worth reading as well, if you have a chance.
There are also stories here on YGS where some have seen the spirits of their future children.
I think if they aren't hurting you, I wouldn't poke the bear. Lots of us peacefully coexist with our unseen visitors or roommates. There are even stories where they have scared away trespassers:
Http://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=13044
Bottom line, you might never know exactly who they are unless you get a REALLY good medium, or if they reveal their identity somehow. But there is recourse if you don't want them around.
Blessings & Light,
Lynev