The Blacked-Eyed Children are usually groups of children with pitch black eyes who are seen either begging to be let inside of a victim's home or hitchhiking on the sides of desolate roads. At first glance, they may induce a feeling of paranoia but allowing them into your home/car might solidify why you'd develop such a fearful response.
Appearance[]
The children can vary in ages, usually between six or sixteen years old. They can also vary in attire (usually outdated to the current year), hair color, hair length, etc. The only prominent feature to these children are the eyes which remain pitch black with a slight shine to them. In most sightings, they'll be paired into twos, threes or even fours of equal gender (one male and one female for a group of two).
Personality[]
During most encounters with these entities, they lack any hostility towards the victim. In fact, they seem relatively polite when first meeting them. When encountered on a front porch, they'll ask to be let inside for particular reasons (e.g waiting for their parents). If denied, they will get progressively get more agitated until the victim allows them inside or another interruption occurs. Once let inside, they will remain quiet and eerie until another event occurs to cause a distraction. In some interpretations, they'll cause this event themselves physically and/or supernaturally (e.g asking to go use the bathroom only for the power to go out).
After they have left, there is usually the worst case scenario that occurs for whoever allowed them to hitch a ride or enter the home. For example, in one case, numerous pets had been missing for several weeks or found dead shortly after, the victim(s) suffer(s) from an incurable disease, etc.
Origins[]
Most sources indicate that the legend originated from 1996 postings written by Texas reporter Brian Bethel on a "ghost-related mailing list," relating two alleged encounters with "black-eyed kids". Bethel describes encountering two such children in Abilene, Texas in 1996, and claims that a second person had a similar, unrelated encounter in Portland, Oregon. Bethel's stories have become regarded as classic examples of creepypasta, and gained such popularity that he published a FAQ "just to keep up with demand for more info about the new urban legend". In 2012, Brian Bethel told his story on reality TV series Monsters and Mysteries in America. He wrote a follow-up article for the Abilene Reporter News, describing his experience and maintaining his belief that it was legitimate.
During one week in September 2014, the British tabloid Daily Star ran three sensationalistic front-page stories about alleged sightings of black-eyed children, connected to the sale of a supposedly haunted pub in Staffordshire. The paper claimed a "shock rise in sightings around the world". Alleged sightings are taken seriously by ghost hunters, some of whom believe black eyed children to be extraterrestrials, vampires, or ghosts.
Urban Legend Story #1[]
In the snowy town, within the middle of nowhere of Vermont, an elderly couple heard the sound of three loud knocks on their door. They opened the door and saw two children, a boy and a girl.
"Our parents will be here soon, may we come in?" The children did not make eye contact and just stood there in the doorway.
The elderly couple were hesitant but after a while, they let the boy and girl inside. The kids settled on the couch while the wife made some hot cocoa and the husband asked them questions that went unanswered.
The wife returned and noticed that her cat was scared and angry with the children.
"May we please use the restroom?" one of the children asked the wife.
The wife looked at the kids and she finally saw them. The children's eyes were as black as a starless universe.
She directed them to the bathroom and returned to her husband who was covering his face with his hand.
"Did you see their eyes?" she asked as she turned to him.
The husband then show her his hand full of blood from a nosebleed. The power suddenly went out and the house turned as dark as the kids' eyes.
The wife headed to the restroom and was confronted by the voice of the kids at the end of the hall uttering, "Our parents are here".
The kids then exited the house leaving the door wide open. The wife then noticed that there were two men at the end of the driveway. The men were very tall and slender; the wife waved but did not receive the same friendly gesture. The two men and children then drove away together in one car.
The power then came back on a little later after the kids left. Throughout the next week, weird things happened in the house; three out of four cats went missing and the fourth had been found dead in the pool of its blood. The husband continued to have nosebleeds and finally went to the doctor, where he was diagnosed with very aggressive skin cancer.
Trivia[]
- There is no official creator of the urban legend. However, there was the first reported case of the children by a Texan man by the name of Brian Bethel in 1996.
- Other stories detail that fatal consequences may occur if direct eye contact is made or the victim refuses entry to their home/car.
- From the popular cartoon show Adventure Time, there is an episode dedicated to this urban legend titled the "Blank-Eyed Girl".
- There used to be an indie flash game titled "Shadow Tag" by early 2010 to 2020 where the player is tasked with escaping black-eyed children using their car and other resources.