NIA JONES tells us about the frightening and debated urban myth concerning the black eyed children
The black eyed children are pale, mysterious and seemingly insidious creatures who resemble regular children between the ages of about 6 and 16, some people believe them to be vampires, ghosts, inter-dimensional beings or even extra-terrestrials.Some sceptics claim that the black-eyed kids are merely ordinary children who are lost or homeless; or maybe ill, hence their unhealthy demeanour.
But reported encounters with these black eyed children differ around the world.
In Britain black eyed children encounters have happened during the daytime, Cannock Chase in Staffordshire has borne witness to several sightings of a black eyed girl. Cannock Chase is an area famous as a nature reserve and beauty-spot – it has a long reputation of strange and paranormal activity, reports of UFO’s, big cats and phantom black dogs.
Black-eyed girl in Cannock Chase
The author of the book UFO’s Werewolves and the Pig-Man, Exploring England’s Strangest Location – Cannock Chase Lee Brickley says that his aunt encountered a black-eyed girl on Cannock Chase in 1982.
Lee Brickley’s story:
“In the summer of 1982, my aunt was 18 years old, and she and her friends would often meet on Cannock Chase in the evening time, probably in much the same way many teenagers still do today. One evening, just before dark, she heard a little girl frantically shouting for help. Rushing to locate the sound, she stumbled upon a dirt track and caught sight of the girl; about six year’s old running in the opposite direction. When my aunt caught up, the girl turned around and looked her in the eyes, and then ran off into the dark woodland. Her eyes had been completely black with no trace of white. There was a police search but to no avail. At the time, no-one had any reason to believe anything paranormal was going on. The girl certainly appeared to be of flesh and blood.”
In 2013, a woman and daughter contacted Lee Brickley to say they were walking on Cannock Chase and saw the same black-eyed girl witnessed years before in very similar circumstances. As with previous sightings, the child “has coal-black pits for eye sockets”.
Mother and daughter’s story:
“We instantly started running towards the noise,” she said. “We couldn’t find the child anywhere and so stopped to catch our breath. That’s when I turned round and saw a girl stood behind me, no more than 10 years old, with her hands over her eyes. It was as if she was waiting for a birthday cake. I asked if she was OK and if she had been the one screaming. She put her arms down by her side and opened her eyes. That’s when I saw they were completely black, no iris, no white, nothing. I jumped back and grabbed my daughter. When I looked again, the child was gone. It was so strange.”
Black-eyed children in America
In American reports the black eyed children only appear at night or when the sun has just gone down, they knock on the doors of unsuspecting people and request in monotone and whispeBlry voices to use occupant’s phone or toilet, saying phrases like “ Please let us in, this won’t take long.” Another scenario involves a small group of black eyed children approaching a person sitting alone in their car; they ask for help or demand a lift somewhere. People who encounter these children feel a tremendous sense of fear and notice that something is drastically wrong with the children’s eyes. A fairly famous account was relayed by writer Brian Bethel, this inspired many to come forward with their stories – in 1998 he encountered the black eyed children in Abilene, Texas.
Brian Bethel’s story:
“Right next to Camalott Communications’ old location is a $1.50 movie theater. At the time, the place was featuring that masterwork of modern film, Mortal Kombat. I drove by the theater on the way into the center proper and pulled into an empty parking space.Using the glow of the marquee to write out my check, I was startled to hear a knock on the driver’s-side window of my car.I looked over and saw two children staring at me from street. I need to describe them, with the one feature (you can guess what it was) that I didn’t realize until about half-way through the conversation cleverly omitted. Both appeared to be in that semi-mystical stage of life children get into where you can’t exactly tell their age. Both were boys, and my initial impression is that they were somewhere between 10-14.
Boy No. 1 was the spokesman. Boy No. 2 didn’t speak during the entire conversation — at least not in words.
Boy No. 1 was slightly taller than his companion, wearing a pull-over, hooded shirt with a sort of gray checked pattern and jeans. I couldn’t see his shoes. His skin was olive-colored and had curly, medium-length brown hair. He exuded an air of quiet confidence. Boy No. 2 had pale skin with a trace of freckles. His primary characteristic seemed to be looking around nervously. He was dressed in a similar manner to his companion, but his pull-over was a light green color. His hair was a sort of pale orange. They didn’t appear to be related, at least directly.
“Oh, great,” I thought. “They’re gonna hit me up for money.” And then the air changed. So, there I was, filling out a check in my car (which was still running) and in a sudden panic over the appearance of two little boys. I was confused, but an overwhelming sense of fear and unearthliness rushed in nonetheless.The spokesman smiled, and the sight for some inexplicable reason chilled my blood. I could feel fight-or-flight responses kicking in. Something, I knew instinctually, was not right, but I didn’t know what it could possibly be.
I rolled down the window very, very slightly and asked “Yes?”
The spokesman smiled again, broader this time. His teeth were very, very white. “Hey, mister, what’s up? We have a problem,” he said. His voice was that of a young man, but his diction, quiet calm and … something I still couldn’t put my finger on … made my desire to flee even greater. “You see, my friend and I want to see the films, but we forgot our money,” he continued. “We need to go to our house to get it. Want to help us out?” “Uh, well …” was the best reply I could offer.
Now here’s where it starts to get strange.
The quiet companion looked at the spokesman with a mixture of confusion and guilt on his face. He seemed in some ways shocked, not with his friend’s brusque manner but that I didn’t just immediately open the door.He eyed me nervously.The spokesman seemed a bit perturbed, too. I still was registering something wrong with both.“C’mon, mister,” the spokesman said again, smooth as silk. Car salesmen could learn something from this kid. “Now, we just want to go to our house. And we’re just two little boys.”That really scared me. Something in the tone and diction again sent off alarm bells. My mind was frantically trying to process what it was perceiving about the two figures that was “wrong.”
“Eh. Um ….” was all I could manage. I felt myself digging my fingernails into the steering wheel.
“What movie were you going to see?” I asked finally.“Mortal Kombat, of course,” the spokesman said. The silent one nodded in affirmation, standing a few paces behind.“Oh,” I said. I stole a quick glance at the marquee and at the clock in my car. Mortal Kombat had been playing for an hour, the last showing of the evening. The silent one looked increasingly nervous. I think he saw my glances and suspected that I might be detecting something was not above-board.
“C’mon, mister, let us in. We can’t get in your car until you do, you know,” the spokesman said soothingly. “Just let us in, and we’ll be gone before you know it. We’ll go to our mother’s house.” We locked eyes. To my horror, I realized my hand had strayed toward the door lock (which was engaged) and was in the process of opening it. I pulled it away, probably a bit too violently. But it did force me to look away from the children.
I turned back. “Er … Um …,” I offered weakly and then my mind snapped into sharp focus.For the first time, I noticed theireyes.They were coal black. No pupil. No iris. Just two staring orbs reflecting the red and white light of the marquee.At that point, I know my expression betrayed me. The silent one had a look of horror on his face in a combination that seemed to indicate: A) The impossible had just happened and B) “We’ve been found out!” The spokesman, on the other hand, wore a mask of anger. His eyes glittered brightly in the half-light.
“Cmon, mister,” he said. “We won’t hurt you. You have to LET US IN. We don’t have a gun …”
That last statement scared the living hell out of me, because at that point by his tone he was plainly saying, “We don’t NEED a gun.”He noticed my hand shooting down toward the gear shift. The spokesman’s final words contained an anger that was complete and whole, and yet contained in some respects a tone of panic:
“WE CAN’T COME IN UNLESS YOU TELL US IT’S OKAY. LET … US …. IN!”
I ripped the car into reverse (thank goodness no one was coming up behind me) and tore out of the parking lot. I noticed the boys in my peripheral vision, and I stole a quick glance back. They were gone. The sidewalk by the theater was deserted.”
So what could the black eyed children be and what are their motives? Are they possibly some kind of demonic intrusion? But in my mind, one question remains, what became of those who complied with the black eyed children’s requests?
