What would you do if you saw a ghostly form curled up right next to your child on the baby monitor?
When Laura Haigh checked her baby monitor, all she expected to see was her 18-month-old, Sebastian, taking a nap. The toddler was indeed sleeping peacefully — but snuggled next to him was a second, shadowy figure.
‘Ghost baby’
The ghostly form, the mum-of-four said, was small and childlike — as though another child had joined Sebastian in his cot.
Image Credit: Mercury Press and Media Ltd
Laura’s partner, Dean Evans, raced upstairs to check on the toddler. “Sometimes he brings a teddy to bed with him so at first I thought it could be that,” the mum explained. “But this just looks weird.”
All the worried dad could see in the cot was Sebastian, sleeping alone. The spooky shape, however, remained on-screen for four hours and even moved about.
Image Credit: Mercury Press and Media Ltd
Usually a cynic, Dean was unnerved by the inexplicable ‘ghost child’, Laura said.
“He usually says ‘don’t be silly’ about anything like this. This has opened his mind a little but he doesn’t like to talk about it much. He just kept asking on the night ‘has it gone yet?’ as he was a bit freaked out.”
But the mum took an unusual perspective on this baby monitor sighting, pointing out that Sebastian remained unharmed. ‘I have not picked up anything that should make me uneasy. Sebastian slept fine all night and at one point even appeared to cuddle whatever it was.”
“If he is not distressed by it then that’s good. If it meant harm then it would upset him.”
Baby Sebastian and Dean. (Image Credit: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)
The family claims that there have been past instances of unexplained happenings, such as pictures turned upside down. “We sometimes hear children running around upstairs when there is no one upstairs or even when the children are not even in the house,” Laura shared.
‘Someone wanting to play’
Laura and Dean aren’t the first parents to see strange forms on their baby monitor. Last year, Jade Yates shared footage, captured on her monitor screen, of an eerie shape hovering over her daughter Ruby. The video went viral, garnering more than 2 million views.
Fare to say I won't be sleeping vary well tonight, who believes in goasts I didn't until about 5 mins ago, this is a video thru my baby monitor of ruby in bed but ruby is the white sleeping baby in the front top left of the cot, in her room with the door shut and know body else in there, well so I thought u make up Ur own Mind one freaked out mumma right hear.
Posted by Jade Yates on Saturday, 23 January 2016
What she saw, Jade said, seemed to be a baby older than Ruby and an adult. And like Laura, she didn’t perceive the ‘ghosts’ as necessarily threatening.
“I don’t think they are nasty as the adult looks to be so attentive,” she wrote. “Ruby was not unsettled at all but she does wake every hour or so at night, maybe this is why. Someone wanting to play lol.”
The mum watched them on the monitor for around 20 minutes. “Fair to say I won’t be sleeping very well tonight. Who believes in ghosts, I didn’t until about 5 mins ago.”
What’s going on?
Some ‘paranormal activity’ which parents have caught on baby monitors can be attributed to creeps of the earthly kind. Baby monitors are easy prey for hackers, and there have been cases of parents being frightened by spooky voices coming through — only to realise they were victims of a cyber attack.
Strange visuals, however, are somewhat harder to explain. One commenter on Jade’s video suggested that it was a perfectly ordinary case of stray dirt:
“Well it’s not a ghost as they don’t exist,” the sceptic wrote. “It’s likely to be a hair or cobweb strand somewhere near the camera lens. Anyway, get your duster out love I’m sure it’ll all go away.”
Just as mythbusters have debunked glowing orbs in flash photographs as the work of dust or small insects, these ‘ghost babies’ may simply be evidence of grime. If you ever find yourself in this situation (touch wood), the most rational recourse you have is probably to clean your monitor’s lens thoroughly.
Of course, which of us can stay logical when face-to-face with uncanny figures, especially when they are this close to our tots? For more drastic measures, you might want to change your baby monitor, shift your bub to another room, or seek the advice of a religious leader.
Mums, what do you think is the cause of these apparitions? Have you ever seen anything unexplained on your baby monitor? Let us know in the comments!
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