12 People Share Creepy Childhood Stories That Are Sure to Give You Goosebumps

Some childhood memories are sweet, filled with warmth and joy. But others? Not so much. There are times when kids experience things that simply can't be explained — moments that stay with them, lingering in the back of their minds long after they've grown up. Even as adults, they still can't shake the feeling that something strange really did happen. Here are a few of the creepiest childhood stories people still can't explain.

• All our relatives gathered to celebrate my grandmother's 70th birthday. As grandmothers often do, she raised her glass for a toast and said, “I love you all. Thank you for coming. This may be my last birthday.” Just then, my little brother, who was about five years old at the time, cheerfully reassured her, “Don't worry, Grandma! Your last one will be when you have two eights!”

• My mom passed away when I was three. That night, while my dad was with her and the ambulance workers were there, my cousins came to pick me up. As they carried me out of the house, I saw people everywhere — figures standing in the rooms, lingering in the hallways. I did not recognize them, but I knew they were family, and I could feel their grief.
  Years later, I asked my dad who had been there that night. He told me no one had come except my cousins. There had been no family in the house.
  I have had other strange experiences connected to my mom after she passed, but this one has always stayed with me. © paradoxkittens / Reddit
• When I was little, I had the same nightmare over and over. I’d be at my grandmother’s house — it was always dark and cold. I’d walk down the hallway, but before I could reach the end, I’d freeze. A tall man in black would appear. I could never see his face, but I knew he was looking at me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t escape.
  After months of this, I finally told my mom. She burst into tears. She had the exact same dream. Same hallway. Same man. Since she was a child. And when she told her mother about it back then, my grandmother had said the same thing — it had haunted her too.
  I’m 26 now and haven’t had the dream in years. But I still feel sick when I think about that house. And I’ll never walk down that hallway again. © 1996smh / Reddit
• Back in middle school, I was walking home across a bridge when I heard someone call my name from behind. I turned around, expecting to see someone but there was nothing. No one was there. I shrugged it off and kept walking. Then, out of nowhere, a woman pulled over and rolled down her window. She looked panicked. She asked me to check if the kid who was near the bridge was okay. I just stared at her. There was no kid. No one else had been on that bridge with me. I was completely alone. © Embarrassed_Gift_707 / Reddit

• My sister had an imaginary friend named Sally, but she only ever saw her at my grandparents’ house. She would play with her all the time, running up and down the hallways, talking and laughing like she was with a real person.
  One afternoon, as we were getting ready to leave, my sister refused to go because she was having too much fun with Sally. My mom, thinking nothing of it, told her that Sally could come home with us. My sister ran down the hallway and had a full conversation, trying to convince her friend to come along. When she came back, she looked disappointed and said Sally wasn’t allowed to leave.
  Curious, my mom asked what Sally looked like and how old she was. Without hesitation, my sister described a seven-year-old girl who had an accident outside the house a few years before my grandparents bought it. © tresjoliessuzane / Reddit
• When I was four or five, I had a dream that the small pine tree outside my bedroom window flew into my room and twirled around like it was dancing. When I woke up the next morning, my floor was covered in pine needles. © Just-Examination-136 / Reddit
• When I was young, my great-grandfather passed away. That same day, everyone gathered at my great-grandparents' house to comfort my great-grandmother.
  While my brother and I were put down for a nap, several people saw his ghost standing over us. He was watching over us, telling us that he loved us and wanted us to have a good life. © ima-bigdeal / Reddit

• When I was around 9 or 10, I was getting ready for school while my friends waited in my house. My mom was in the kitchen when I saw an old man walking down the stairs wearing a long brown coat and a top hat. He walked straight into the kitchen. I asked my mom who he was, and she just stared at me — there was no one there. None of my friends saw him either, even though they were right beside me. So creepy. © Unknown Author / Reddit
• It was late in the evening. My mom had already put my younger brothers to bed, and we had all gone to our rooms. Suddenly, I heard noises coming from the kitchen downstairs — someone was clearly there. But it wasn’t my mom, and besides my brothers and me, there was no one else in the house.
  The sounds were unmistakable: heavy, slow footsteps, aged and deliberate. Objects were being moved, drawers and cabinet doors opened and closed methodically, as if someone was searching for something. I lay frozen in my bed, barely daring to breathe. The wooden floorboards creaked. The footsteps were labored, stopping every couple of steps with a heavy, raspy exhale — like an old man struggling to walk.
  Suddenly, my terrified mother rushed into my room. “Did you hear that? Someone's in the house. Someone’s walking.”
  Heart pounding, I stepped out of my room and peered up the stairs — nothing. That meant whoever it was had to be downstairs. My mom and I cautiously moved through the house, checking every room, every corner, both upstairs and down.
  But there was no one. The doors were still locked, the windows intact. Yet my mom confirmed she had heard the same sounds — objects shifting in the kitchen, footsteps on the stairs, and that eerie, heavy breathing.
  Neither of us slept a wink that night.
• My sister and I shared a room, and during a bad thunderstorm one night, she got scared, so we decided to share a bed. We both still had our teddies and soft toys, but there was not enough room for her dinosaur teddy. I reached over and placed it on the floor.
  A loud clap of thunder shook the house, and when we turned back to say goodnight to the teddy, it was gone.
  We searched everywhere, but we never found it. © empathicsparkles / Reddit

• Back in elementary school, I was waiting for the bus at the end of my driveway when a car pulled up next door. A man got out, whistled, and — out of nowhere — a raven soared down from the tree and landed on his arm. Without a pause, he got back in the car and drove away. I told people what I saw, but no one ever believed me. © lbl51879
• I remember a strange incident from my childhood. One day, I came home from school and found my mother in the kitchen, dressed in a bathrobe, cooking. I started talking to her, but as the conversation went on, I suddenly realized — this woman, who looked exactly like my mother, wasn’t really her. Her voice had strange intonations, her facial features were nearly identical yet ever so slightly off, and her eyes… they weren’t the same. A cold wave of fear washed over me. Still, I forced myself to act normal, pretending not to notice.
  Without betraying my panic, I excused myself, walked calmly to the bathroom, and locked the door. My heart pounded as I sat there in silence, waiting.
  Then, after what felt like an eternity, the front door opened, and I heard my real mother’s voice call out, “Hi, I’m home!”
  To this day, I still don’t know what I saw, but I have never felt fear like that again.

Unsettling stories often emerge from young children, who share strange accounts of their supposed “previous lives.” While we can never verify the truth of these tales, they can be deeply perplexing or even frightening. The stories featured in this article are bound to make a lasting impression, potentially shifting the way you view the world.