Adults Share Some Of The Creepiest Things Kids Have Said To Them – And Honestly, We're Terrified

Let's face it, sometimes kids can be really creepy — and whether it's just their imaginations (or not) they can create some serious nightmare fuel. It’s 3am. Your eyes snap open as you’re rudely jolted from slumber by your 4-year-old standing silently at your bedside, backlit by the hallway light like some tiny, pyjama-clad spectre.“The old man in my closet wants to know if I can come play,” they whisper. Cool, cool, cool, cool. Totally normal. Nothing to freak out about.If a kid you know has ever said something that made you question reality, you’re in good company. Children have an unmatched talent for delivering lines that would make a horror screenwriter jealous. But what’s actually going on here? Are kids tapped into a supernatural frequency adults have tuned out? Or is there a much more down-to-earth explanation?Why kids see what we don’tFrom a developmental perspective, young children’s brains are simply wired differently. “From birth, babies are wired to spot faces and patterns everywhere – shapes in curtains, shadows on the wall, stuffed animals – because that’s how they learn about people and connection,” explains Cam Caswell, an adolescent psychologist and parent coach. When your toddler waves at nothing, they’re practicing social skills with shadows, not channeling spirits.But Amanda Lieber, a medium and intuitive spiritual coach, offers a different take. She says children exist in a receptive or open state far more frequently than adults, and this “flow state” is what she describes as “the realm of spirit”. Because children engage in constant play, they “practically live in this receptive state, which is why they’re more likely to encounter paranormal phenomena”. Additionally, “the minds of children, especially the little ones, have yet to be fully developed and conditioned by their caregivers and society. This makes them more accepting of the things they might see or feel”.Whether it’s brain development or spiritual openness, the creepiest declarations often occur when kids are between the ages of 3 and 7. “Their brains are still learning how to separate what happens inside their heads from what happens in the real world, so what they imagine or dream can feel absolutely true,” Caswell said. Lieber sees this differently. “The younger we are, the more connected we are to our divinity and to the ‘spirit world’ on a vibrational level,” she said. “This is something that gets ‘muddied’ as we get older, when societal belief systems begin to take hold, which is typically around the age of 7.”Caswell reports that, as children grow, their prefrontal cortex and hippocampus mature around age 8 or 9, helping them keep track of where their ideas, stories and memories originate. Kids become more skeptical, and the ghost stories naturally fade.But even as adults, we still blur the edges between imagination, memory and reality. Ever wake up from a dream so vivid you had to stop and ask yourself if it actually happened? The difference is that, as adults, we’ve learned to double-check and put those experiences in context better than kids can.And what about those creepy ‘imaginary friends’? More than half of children create imaginary friends between the ages of 3 and 8, according to Caswell. Some of these invisible companions feel disturbingly real. They make specific demands, share unsolicited information, and have stronger personalities than some adults you know.From a developmental perspective, these companions are typically healthy, acting as unpaid therapists who help kids practice conversation, problem-solving and emotional regulation.“Some imaginary friends feel especially vivid or lifelike because young children have highly active visual and emotional imaginations,” Caswell said. “Their developing brains can create sensory experiences – like hearing a ‘voice’ or sensing a ‘presence’ – that feel real, especially in quiet or emotional moments.”Lieber offers a spiritual interpretation, noting that these experiences may be genuine encounters with a spirit. “The most common experience reported by parents is usually their child seeing or sensing Grandma or another deceased relative,” she said, adding that there are countless reports of children encountering unknown spirits who used to live in their home or the place they are visiting.Either way, only worry if your child seems frightened, distressed or says the “friend” is controlling them.But how can you tell if it’s imagination or something more? Lieber suggests looking for specifics. “A tell-tale sign that your child has experienced a legitimate spiritual encounter is when they can share more tangible details,” she explains – things like the name of a spirit, specific details about their appearance, or “a specific message that makes sense to you or that your child couldn’t have known”.What to say when your kid gets creepyWhen your child says something chilling, your reaction matters. Kids read adults like tiny emotion detectives. Alarm or dismissal signals that this is either scary or off-limits.Caswell advises staying calm and curious. “Check it out together: ‘Let’s look and see what you saw.’ Point out what you notice – ‘Looks like the light made that shadow,’ or ‘That sound was the heater turning on,’” she said. “Your calm presence helps them feel safe and shows them how to make sense of things that seem scary.”For parents who are spiritually inclined or frightened by what their children report, Lieber offers reassurance, adding, “The vast majority of spirit ‘visitations’ are accompanied by a sense of love and safety or neutrality.”She adds that “you and your child have full control over the spiritual encounters you allow into your life”. Parents can teach children spiritual boundaries – it can be as simple as a child saying, “Out, out, out!” to unwanted presences.Adults share their most chilling kid ghost storiesSo what does all this look like in real life? We collected stories from people who heard things from kids that felt less like imagination and more like... well, you decide!‘Who’s that lady?’“My daughter (2) woke crying in the night, which is quite rare for her, so I went in to calm her down. I finally get her to stop crying, the room is pitch black, and she says so seriously, ‘Mummy, who’s that lady?’ I ask her what lady, and she replies, ‘The lady in my room sometimes.’ After that, we got her a night-light, but she’s never mentioned it again!” — Sarah MacklinDon’t go in the kitchen“One night, my son had an experience that still gives me the chills. It was about 3am when he shook me awake with a whisper that a woman was in the hallway telling him not to go into the kitchen. We live in a single-story house, so this concerned me deeply. There was no reason for him to think someone was in that area. He told me she had wet hair and a dress with dark spots on it. He also told me she was continuously pointing to the kitchen doorway. When I stepped out into the hallway, it was silent and empty, but he was squeezing my arm with such strength that his nails actually caused red marks.The next morning, when he told the story again, it was with the exact details, and it shook me. As a therapist, I understand that they often mix fantasy with reality, but this was so specific and so consistent for someone his age that it seemed like he witnessed something real. The fact that he presented it as a cautionary tale and not a dream still makes me consider that night any time I go past the kitchen in the dark.” — Kaila Hattis‘Don’t be surprised if your son starts saying he sees dead people.’“One sunny afternoon, my wife Lauren stepped out the back door when our son, Phoenix, pointed toward the pool deck and asked, ‘Who’s the man standing over there?’ She saw no one and asked what he looked like. Phoenix replied, ‘He’s waving. He’s wearing a blue uniform.’ Lauren’s father had passed before Phoenix was born, and he had spent his life as a mailman in a blue uniform. A few weeks later, we attended a live event with medium John Edward, and during an unexpected reading, he told us, ‘Don’t be surprised if your son starts saying he sees dead people,’ which validated the experience Phoenix had.” — Anthony Mrocka‘Grandma says you don’t need to feel sad.’“As a spiritual coach, I’ve heard many stories of children who talk about a grandparent who passed before they were born, as if they already know them. It’s actually more common than you might think, especially in children under 6, and even more so under 4. One client’s daughter once said that her grandmother was sitting on the patio ‘listening to the birds,’ which was something her mother used to love doing. Another client’s child said, ‘Grandma says you don’t need to feel sad.’ She hadn’t told anyone she was struggling, but she was, and soon after, things did work out.” — Janet Rae Orth‘The lady in blue told me...’“While staying overnight at a friend’s house, I had the most unsettling dreams about a woman in blue who kept appearing and pulling me through what felt like a never-ending rollercoaster. I barely slept and woke up feeling nauseous and shaken. The next morning, my friend’s young daughter asked how I’d slept and said, ‘The lady in blue told me she was in your dreams last night.’ Later, I learned that the guest room where I’d slept, the one with an old, thrifted cabinet, was where the little girl often saw the lady in blue herself.” — Val Blair‘They were scared no one believed them.’“As a spiritual mentor, I was called to a home where a young child kept reporting seeing a man in the house. The parents thought something was wrong with their kid. When I arrived, I described what the child was seeing without any prior knowledge, and the child was visibly relieved to be believed. Then I asked the dad directly if he’d seen it too. He went quiet and finally admitted he’d seen the same figure multiple times but had been denying it. Turned out to be a former homeowner. The child wasn’t scared of what they were seeing; they were scared no one believed them.” — John BrocasThe knock“A friend told me that when she was around 6, their family friend, Mary, used to visit every other Saturday. One Friday night, my friend’s mother came home upset but wouldn’t say why. The next morning, my friend got dressed early and was waiting by the door when someone knocked. She yelled, ‘Mom, Aunty Mary’s here!’ and ran to open it. No one was there. A month later, at the funeral, my friend saw Mary’s photo on the casket – Mary had died that Friday, the day before the knock.” — Stephanie EmmanuelRelated...How To Make Milk Bottle Ghosts for Halloween7 Trending Kids' Halloween Costumes That Won’t Spook Your BudgetThe Real Origins Of Halloween Are Wilder Than You'd Think

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