Objects moving in my daughter's bedroom - started after we moved house

I'm not sure whether to feel silly posting this or genuinely worried. We moved to a house near Ashford in Kent about four weeks ago, and for the past three weeks, we've been experiencing... well, objects moving in our eleven-year-old daughter's bedroom.

It started with small things - her pencils falling off her desk when nothing had touched them, her wardrobe door opening when we know it was closed. But it's escalating. Yesterday her alarm clock was found on the other side of the room. The day before, her bookshelf had books pulled out and scattered.

Our daughter seems fine about it mostly, though she's sleeping worse. I'm trying to be rational about it - drafts, vibrations from nearby traffic, something settling in an older house. But we're all unsettled. Is there a difference between standard poltergeist activity and something that requires actual intervention?

Honestly, the first thing to do is rule out environmental causes. Get a structural surveyor round to check for subsidence or settling. Older houses near roads can be affected by vibrations from heavy traffic. Check for loose floorboards, drafts, anything mechanical. Once you've ruled out the boring stuff, then you can think about anything else.

It started with small things - her pencils falling off her desk when nothing had touched them

Desks aren't level. Vibrations cause things to roll. A light tap can send stuff cascading. I'm not saying nothing's happening, but there are loads of explanations that don't require poltergeists. Check your floors with a spirit level. Check the desk specifically.

The escalation pattern you're describing - starting small and building up - is interesting. Has anything emotionally significant happened recently? Moving house is stressful for kids. Some research (dodgy, I know) suggests poltergeist activity correlates with emotional disturbance in adolescents. Might be worth checking in with your daughter about how she's actually feeling about the move.

If this is genuinely poltergeist activity and not mechanical causes, you've got a few options. Some people have success with cleansing rituals - salt lines, sage, whatever resonates with your beliefs. Others find that the activity stops once the emotional triggers are addressed. No need to call in specialists yet - start with the practical checks and the emotional support.

Keep a detailed log of when things happen - time, what moved, where it ended up, weather conditions, what your daughter was doing/feeling at that moment. After a few weeks of data you might start seeing patterns that point to explanations. Keeping the log itself also helps you stop catastrophising - you'll see how rare the events actually are.