What’s Watching You?

Things With Eyes

Okay, we’re staying on the spooky train. We talked about whether your house is haunted, but now I want you to look around your house.

Specifically, I want you to look at the things that are looking back at you:

• The dolls

• The photographs

• The portraits

• The artwork

• The weird little figurine you found at an antique store that you just had to have

Where did these things come from?

• Did you buy that toy at Goodwill?

• Did you inherit the doll from your grandmother?

• Did that piece of artwork come from a relative?

• Did you find that amazing old portrait at a really cool antique store?

• Or did something come with your house and you don’t actually know where it came from? Because sometimes, I think we bring home more than the object.

Let’s Get Personal

I have to be honest. I’m afraid of a couple of things and one of them is dolls.

This is a deep-seated, rooted-in-childhood kind of scaredness that comes directly from my grandmother, who collected dolls. There were a lot of dolls, and when I was little, I didn’t really understand why they bothered me so much. I didn’t know what I was feeling, but now that I’m older?

Dude. There were spirits in those dolls.

You know that feeling of eyes watching you as you move around the room. You walk past and feel like you need to look back. Sometimes you don’t want anything to do with the doll, but you still find yourself looking at it and sometimes it’s the opposite. BUT something about it makes you gravitate toward it.

I believe objects can hold energy and that spirits can become attached or connected to them.

And dolls? They have faces, bodies, AND eyes. Sometimes those eyes feel like they’re looking right back at you.

There Were These Dolls...

Recently, I went into a business that had received a donation. There were dolls, a dollhouse, a puzzle and some other children’s things. The dolls immediately got my attention. But what really interested me was what seemed to happen around the kids.

They were being pulled toward them.

The kids kept gravitating toward the dolls and seemed to be having feelings and behaviors around them that weren’t typical. It felt like the dolls wanted their attention and kid you not, my sweet little girl finally had enough. She looked at the doll and said:

“NO MORE.” Then she held her fingers up in a cross, told it, “You stay there,” and disconnected herself from the dolls.

It was the creepiest thing EVER.

And I was basically like... Yep. We are clearing this space!

There Was the Dollhouse

Because apparently the dolls weren’t enough they had to have a dollhouse. People in the office space had been hearing footsteps. They would hear what sounded like feet going up and down the stairs and then into the room where the dollhouse was.

They’d go into the room... Nothing.

And inside the dollhouse were two photographs. To me, those photographs felt connected to the children in the photo. People could hear them talking, too.

“Meh. Meh. Meh.”

Just like annoying little kids. Honestly, even spirit kids can apparently be annoying.

What About Your Artwork?

Dolls are the obvious creepy ones, but what about the things hanging on your walls? Have you ever had a portrait where the eyes seem to follow you or a photograph you can’t stop looking at? Maybe there’s a painting in your house that you love, but you’ve never really understood why you love it or there’s one that makes you uncomfortable every single time you walk past it.

I have found in my work that spirits seem to be attracted to some artists, especially when the artist is deeply feeling what they’re creating. There is so much emotion in art.

• Love

• Grief

• Anger

• Joy

• Fear

• Longing

I experience a spirit as becoming connected to that artwork or photograph, but it doesn’t automatically make it bad.

Comforting Eyes

Most of the spirits I’ve come across connected to artwork aren’t doing anything particularly scary. They’re just watching as they are curious and just hanging out.

I actually had a client who liked having one in her house because she said it made her feel safe. She felt like she had another set of eyes watching over the house and it felt very maternal. The photograph had actually come with the house. She found it tucked away in a cupboard. Which, obviously, I thought was very cool that the house liked having the photograph there, too.

So yes, eyes can be SUPER creepy. But eyes can also feel comforting.

Where Did It Come From?

That’s why I think the history of the objects in our homes is so interesting. We fill our houses with things without always knowing where they’ve been.

• Thrift stores

• Estate sales

• Antique shops

• Family members

• Things left behind by previous homeowners

• That random box somebody gave you because they were cleaning out their grandmother’s house.

Objects have histories

When something in your house gives you a strong feeling: good or bad. I think it’s worth getting curious about it.

• Where did it come from?

• Who owned it before you?

• Why are you so drawn to it?

• Why does it make you uncomfortable?

• Do you feel different when you’re near it?

• Do you feel like you’re being watched?

• Does everyone in your house react to it differently?

And most importantly... Does it feel like it’s just an object?

Because sometimes I don’t think it is. I believe the way we experience these spirits can also be influenced by the emotion or experience that drew them in. Some feel heavy, angry, playful or protective. So take a look around your house tonight. Look at the things with eyes and pay attention to how you feel when you look back at them. Maybe they’re just eyes or maybe somebody is watching you.

And Grandma, if you’re reading this from wherever you are; “I’m sorry. I got rid of your dolls. They were too creepy for me.”