12 People Whose Childhood Eerie Memories Still Send Shivers Down Their Spines Today

Kids encounter strange occurrences just like adults do. Sadly, their accounts are frequently dismissed when shared. Yet, some fortunate ones have parents who witnessed the bizarre events alongside them, offering validation and comfort. Eventually, these children grow up and choose to unveil their tales, leaving us all intrigued by their eerie childhood memories.

• One time my brother, his friend, and I saw lights in the sky that darted around like UFOs. We went to get my mom, and she was totally nonchalant about it. «Yep, those are UFOs,» she said, and went back in the house. Her response was so subdued that we figured she was humoring us, and they weren’t actually UFOs. Years later, I asked her about it, and she said she had to force herself to act calmly because she was terrified. © funky_grandma / Reddit
• When I was 6 or 7, I was out with my mom. When we returned home, as I was walking towards my room, I heard someone say «Hi.» So, 6-year-old me said «Hi» as well. I thought it was my dad, but when I went to my parents’ room, it was empty. The thing is, my mom also heard someone say «Hi,» so I wasn’t hallucinating. It never happened again, and I still don’t know what happened that day. © majesticba***ack / Reddit

• When my family went to the Georgian mountain region, we rented a cottage. Two bedrooms, so my brother and I took one and our dad took the other with his girlfriend. I woke up in the middle of the night to three figures in the room, all standing in various places, none of which were visible from the entrance of the room. I woke my brother up, and we screamed for our dad, but when he came into the room, he refused to look at the figures and just told us to hide under the covers. It wasn’t exactly confirmed, but his refusal to look where they were standing after begging him was telling. It still scares my brother and I. © doctorjason42 / Reddit
• I’m a parent of toddlers and kids now, and I have a creepy story from last year. We were driving with my then three-year-old son in the car, and stopped at a red light next to a cemetery. Out of nowhere, my son looked over at the cemetery and said, «There are people laying down there, and they can’t get up.» My wife asked my son what he was talking about, and he pointed to the cemetery and said, «All of the people laying down in the park are stuck.» My wife and I just looked at each other in silence, completely freaked out. At this point in our son’s life, there had been no deaths in the family, and we had never discussed death with him. I’m still creeped out when I think about it. © flyzapper / Reddit
• When I was young, I apparently had a few odd interactions with animals. I would know a person had animals before we went in the house, they tended to come over to me before my parents, mostly just little things that were probably explainable by me, a fairly observant little kid. The one that sticks out to my parents though (telling it the way they do) is we went to a new car garage to have them work on our car. As we pull up, the owner has a big old black Labrador laying in the middle of the lobby. The guy informs us the dog is comfortable with people, we can pet him if we want. I shake my head and say, «He’s sad, though.» Dad looks at me and asks why I think that. I reply, «He lost his ball, he’s sad now.» Dad said the owner went pale, stared at me for a minute, and then looked at dad and said, «He’s had a favorite ball for ten years that just went down the sewage drain yesterday and I couldn’t get it back out.» © Nybear21 / Reddit

• When I was a kid, my mom used to work at a small grocery store, and she went there before breakfast to get fresh bakery goods when she had the afternoon shift. Then she used to wake me up for school, and ask how I slept, and I used to tell her what dream I had that night (if any). One morning, I told her I dreamt that two guys broke in to the store, and they left a red screwdriver on the floor. My mom was shocked because there really was a break-in that night, that is why she couldn’t buy stuff for breakfast that morning. I then went to school, my mom did the afternoon shift and in the evening, when she came home, she told me that the police really did find a screwdriver on the scene, which belonged to the burglar(s). My mom made me fill out a lottery ticket the next day but never won with it and I never had such dreams since then. © _garo_ / Reddit
• When I was a small kid, I had a bad night where it sounded like someone was in my room. The grunting was later identified as my mom snoring, but one thing in particular that stood out was that it sounded like my neighbor was talking, only he was in another country at the moment. I also would see apparitions of a man walking around at night. When I was a bit older, my mom said, «Oh, that must’ve been your great-great-uncle. He still walks around to check on the family.» Surprisingly though, I wasn’t creeped out. © Unknown author / Reddit
• I don’t remember this, but my mom tells me about it. I was close to my grandma until she died when I was two. We used to play this game where she’d go «Shh, listen!» and we’d shut our eyes and get quiet and just listen to the world. Well, when she died I didn’t go to the funeral since I was 2, and afterward mom takes me to the cemetery to take me to her tombstone to explain some stuff. When we get there, as mom’s parking, I suddenly go, «Shh! Listen!» and cover my eyes and go quiet. Mom doesn’t think much of it, but then she gets me out of the car, and I just book it into the cemetery and somehow end up finding some family tombstones, not my grandma’s, but she’s close by. I had never been here before, I couldn’t even read the tombstone names. My mom says it freaked her out. © Unknown author / Reddit

• My mom said that I used to have «premonitions» when I was little, under the age of 10. My great-aunt and great-uncle were like grandparents to me and used to come visit in the summer from Mexico (to the US). I would miss them terribly, then they would go. One year, when they were leaving, I cried and cried. My mom said, «Don’t worry! They’ll be back next year.» I remember sobbing and throwing a small child fit. Apparently, I said to my mom, «No, you don’t understand! Tío (great-uncle) is NEVER coming back!» She kept trying to reassure me they’d be back next year. I kept repeating, «He’s never coming back!» Sure enough, he passed away and never came back. My mom said it was really creepy. © geekgirlweb / Reddit
• When I was around 11 or so, my mom and I were going about 40 miles outside of town for a typical orthodontist appointment. The trip typically took about 35 minutes, give or take a few for traffic. However, this one time I kind of zoned out while being driven and upon arriving we both remarked, «Wow, that was fast.» We were earlier for my appointment than usual, despite leaving at a consistent time for each appointment. Upon looking at our vehicle’s clock (and confirming with a watch my mom had on) it had mysteriously taken us only 10 minutes to drive the usual 35-minute distance. We have no recollection of anything happening during those 10 minutes, and it never happened again, but it left us with a very weird feeling. We still wonder what we drove through to this day. © Texan92 / Reddit
• I don’t actually remember this, but my mom told me about it. My grandfather died when I was a year old. Prior to his death, he loved to play with me and would make me laugh in this very specific way. The night he died, my mom heard me making noise. So she goes in assuming I’m crying, but I’m not. I’m staring at the ceiling, laughing hysterically, just like my grandfather used to make me laugh. She’s still convinced he came to say goodbye to me. © alkakfnxcpoem / Reddit

• Okay, I’m not even joking when I tell this story. So, I was around 5 at the time, and my parents were driving on the highway with me in the back seat when out of nowhere, in broad daylight, my mom screamed. I looked out the window and saw one large wing followed by a claw-like foot. It was huge and reptilian. This might be my 5-year-old brain exaggerating memories, but my parents saw it too. My mom was the only one who saw the full thing, and she swears to this day that she saw a Pterodactyl, and if my memory is right, I did too. © Unknown author / Reddit

As youngsters, we stumble upon enigmatic occurrences that linger in our minds well into adulthood, igniting a fascination with the unknown. From uncanny encounters to inexplicable sensations, these memories persist, fostering online dialogues where people can freely exchange their stories without worry of criticism.