Did you have an imaginary friend as a child? Child psychologists believe this is perfectly normal for kids and even teens. Studies show that imaginary friends are a useful tool for children who are trying to understand the adult world. Many children with imaginary friends develop better linguistic skills than those without because they are constantly expressing themselves.
But, when taken out of context, these imaginary friends can sound downright demonic. Here’s what happened when one reddit user, a new mom, asked other users what the most disturbing thing their kids have said about imaginary friends. The responses were bizarre.
starlinguk: “When my boy was 4, his imaginary friend would sit in the corner of the room when you switched off the lights and light the room with red glowing eyes.”
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MidnightXII: “He said the ghost was called The Captain and was an old white guy with a beard. The kid would tell his mom that The Captain told him when he grows up his job will be to kill people, and The Captain would tell him who needed to be killed. The kid would cry and say he doesn’t want to kill when he grows up, but The Captain tells him he doesn’t have a choice and he’ll get used to killing after a while.”
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BrownXCoat: “Anyway, fast forward two years later, the wife and I are watching the new Amityville (the one with Ryan Reynolds) and our daughter walks out right when dead girl goes all black eyed. Far from being disturbed she said “That looks like Kelly.” “Kelly who?” we say “You know the dead girl that lived in my closet.”
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trethompson: “One day she was asleep on the couch while I was watching her, and she woke up and started yelling at her rabbit for no reason. One minute she was knocked out, the next, she’s awake, glaring at her rabbit, yelling, “No! You can’t do that! That’s bad! Don’t do it!” repeatedly. I asked her what was wrong, tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn’t listen.”
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ritzcharlatan: “My little brother’s imaginary friend, Roger, lived under our coffee table. Roger had a wife and 9 kids. Roger and his family lived peacefully alongside us for three years. One day, my little brother announced that Roger wouldn’t be around anymore, since he shot and killed him and his whole family.”
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TravelsWithTheDoctor: My son from the age of three always tells me about the “creeper man” who lives in my mom and dads bedroom. He brings it up after he visits them. I made the mistake once of asking what he looks like. My son said “Oh, he doesn’t have a face.”
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caybesbond: “When my mom was younger she had an imaginary friend named Shaggy. When she was finished with Shaggy, she “chopped him up and put him in the fridge.”
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themightyspin: “My folks’ farm surrounds a cemetery, and my dad and my niece were walking down there. My niece (4) looks up and says “What’s that boy doing up in that tree?” There was no boy, but she insisted there was and could describe him.”
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NiceColdPBR: “They always spoke of a man in an Easter Bunny costume, and they were terrified of him. One day I was babysitting, and one twin was in the shower…when all of the sudden, he said, “you need to go check on Matt.” Seconds later, Matt yelled, “He’s in here!!! He’s in here!!!” I ran upstairs, and I had to check every room before he would calm down.”
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Rcrowley32: “My daughter used to tell me about a man who came into her room every night and put the sign of the cross on her forehead….My daughter looked right at a picture of my husband’s father (who has been dead for 16 years) and said ‘That’s the man who comes into my room at night!’ My husband later told me his father would always do the sign of the cross on his forehead when he was young.”
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y0m0tha: “When my brother was little he acted like he had angels talking to him every second. One day my mom overheard him say,”I can’t kill him! He’s my only dad!”
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powerpuffranger: “When my brother was just learning how to talk he grabbed one of those small toy hammers and crawled onto the sofa where my dad was sleeping. He then leant in close and whispered one of his first sentences… ‘smash daddy’s head’ right into his ear.
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ella1993: “While waiting for him to come downstairs his sister came up to me and said, “Icy told me to ask you if you know when you’re going to die.”…So I played along and said, “No, of course not! No one knows that. Hopefully when I’m very old.”The girl shook her head sadly and said, “No, Icy wants me to tell you it’ll be tonight.”
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(via Reddit)
I know that imaginary friends are supposed to be a good thing, but some of these could have been monsters created by Stephen King or HP Lovecraft. If my children ever mention their imaginary friends, I’ll have to sleep with a nightlight.
