Are Imaginary Friends Ghosts?

As a child, when I returned from the bathroom one last time before bed, I often felt someone in my bedroom. I’d look under the bed, then sneak towards my walk-in closet to take a peek. I saw nothing, but I still felt a presence.

As an adult, when I work on murder cases, I see dead people and hear them talk to me, and it also happens during some psychic readings. My latest work as a ghost tour guide got me to thinking, were those ghosts I sensed as a child?

I know that people swear that when a certain type of butterfly, or a bluebird, crosses their path, it’s their dead mother saying hello. A few months ago, I actually smelled my dead mom’s Wind Song perfume in my front closet, which has never housed any of her belongings. Just in case it was her, I said hello. Then, I heard her voice speak to me, and it wasn’t something she had ever told me before. I believe it was her spirit guiding me.

Many children have imaginary friends. The children I’ve met who do have them, are unusual, artistic and quite sensitive. According to an article in Atlantic magazine, by age 7, 65% of children will have had an imaginary friend. The article says that children with imaginary friends grow up to be more creative than those who don’t.

I never had an imaginary friend. When I talked to my blue stuffed poodle, I had no two-way conversation going on. But the fear I had in my bedroom lasted through my teens. When I lead local ghost tours, about one in four make me feel spooked.

I got nothing for you here, no definitive word. Just ideas, so let me know your own. Right now, I’ll relate to that movie, Clueless.