I am actually not very comfortable sharing my experiences so openly, but my curiosity got the better of me to find out more about one type of spirit that I have seen. A brief background - I have experienced two types of spirits. One is what you would call the "shadow people", which are rather well-discussed here. However I have yet to read anything on the other type.
I have only seen this type twice. They are grayish, had grey hair too, child-sized, had imp-ish sharp facial features and appeared to me when I was in a semi-conscious state coming out of sleep. They looked very solid and tangible.
The first was a female, and the background scenario was in a dream. I would leave out the details of our communication as it may be personal to her. Generally it seemed like she needed help and I was able to do so. I know it wasn't a dream because of the chills I got from her, which lasted until I got up and got active for my usual day. That chill was not a weather-like coldness but rather derived from a feeling we get when interacting with someone else. Anyway, that was my one-off interaction with this "girl", I had never known her before and I have never seen her after.
My second experience with this type was a male. Before seeing him, I had felt a cheeky presence staying under my bed for maybe a year or so. It would make ticking noises frequently, as if someone was bouncing toy marbles on the floor. The presence was especially strong when I sat on the floor (of course). I ignored it mostly, until it started disturbing me in sleep. After I placed a charm in my room to ward it off, the activities of the presence ceased although I could still feel the presence. Finally after a few weeks, this "boy" appeared to me. He just roused from the feet of my bed, looking at me while I stared back in my half-awake consciousness. We didn't communicate directly but I knew he was bidding farewell. After that morning, the ticking noises under my bed stopped and my room felt generally presence-free.
The content of my stories do not matter to me. I only narrated them because I believe that exploring their motivation may be helpful in understanding what their species are about. I believe in the presence of spirits and ghosts all around us and I am not surprised to occasionally bump into one if conditions are ripe. My question is: can someone give me any insight about what these grayish, impish-looking spirits are?