The Mystery of the Black Eyed Kids
Somehow, the phenomenon of the eerie Black Eyed Kids (from here on known as BEK) slipped under my radar during my formative years as a paranormal junkie. Apparently, strange pairs of children with deep, unnatural black eyes have been ringing people’s doorbells for decades. They’ve been linked to UFO appearances as well as ghosts.
People who encounter BEK get an immediate creepy vibe from the kids. It’s more than just their otherworldly eyes. They talk like they’re from another time and place and exude an undercurrent of menace. Their main goal seems to be to get you to invite them inside. They’re just kids after all. What’s to fear? Just who they are and why they show up asking to use phones or for directions to places that don’t exist is anyone’s guess.
Photo courtesy of epicparanormal.com
I first heard about them about a year ago on Jim Harold’s Paranormal Podcast. I’ve been intrigued ever since. Today it’s easy to dismiss them as teens popping in some contacts and playing a practical joke. But what about encounters with BEK in the 50s and 60s? Custom, cosmetic contacts were not something easily attained by anyone, much less local jokers.
Again, no one has any idea what’s behind BEK. But it is enough to give you pause the next time your bell rings at night.
Are BEK news to you, or is it something you’ve always known about? What are your theories? Too bad In Search Of isn’t around to whip up a creepy episode. Anyone have Leonard Nimoy’s number?
I’m going to write more about BEK in the coming months, but I thought I’d start you off with an excellent post I found on the Para-Rational blog. If you’re going to cut your teeth on BEK, this is the place to start. Here’s a taste and feel free to click over to read the rest of the post.
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After combing through the storied about Black Eyed Kids that I can find, there are several traits that seem to commonly apply to run ins with Black Eyed Children.
They Travel in Pairs – Most encounters with Black Eyed Kids are with two of them. Why this is, I can only surmise as they need two to take down their prey? One is usually the speaker while the other stands by silently. Could it be that one is focusing on their mental attack while the other is verbally communicating with the chosen victim?
Black Eyed Kids Appear in Youthful Form – The normal situation is for the Black Eyed kids to apprear as a pair of kids in the 10 to 16 year old range. Reports of younger kids are less common and there are a few reports of them appearing as adults as well.
The Insist on Getting Your Permission – Another universal trait is that they need your permission to enter your home, your car or to help you with something. In some way you must invite them into your life. Why? This sounds like a classic vampire trait, could this be where that part of the vampire legend came from? Every story so far has come from people that have refused. I am guessing those that said yes are not around to tell their story.
Black Eyed Kids are Psychic – Another common element among Black Eyed Kid Stories is that they seem to be able to know what we are thinking and will show it by answering questions before we ask them, or by anticipating our actions. This is very bad, because that means they are in our heads. This also mean that they are able to do the next thing to us.
They Can Compel Our Actions – Commonly when people encounter Black Eyed Kids, they find themselves opening doors for them, or moving to help them without consciously deciding to. All indications are that they Black Eyed Children can compel our physical actions to help them achieve their goals.
Their Eyes are Completely Black – This is obviously where Black Eyed Kids got their name. When victims break their trance, they quickly realize that the beings in front of them have completely black eyes. No white, just bottomless, black orbs. Some debunkers have claimed that it could be kids with contacts or with the condition of Mydriasis. If it was just this one trait, I might work with that theory, but this goes well beyond just having black eyes!
Their Clothing is Unusual and Drab – Another common element is that their clothes look old fashioned or even hand made. This goes along with their strange manner of speaking showing that they don’t seem to have a grasp of human mannerisms. This reminds me of the stories about the Men in Black that appeared in Point Pleasant in the 50′s and 60′s.
To read the entire post, please click here.
Hunter Shea 
I have read stories about BEKs – but have never run across them. I normally a pretty stable guy and much doesn’t freak me out, but seeing them in person would push me.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I have just been completely FREAKED OUT and am holding my breath. No serious. I’m feeling very weird right now. Maybe because I am a mom and these are kids. I have serious jeebies. I have seen the black eyed thing on some shows, but usually they are adults with a demon….like there was a brother/sister combo on Heroes if you watched that. Wow, I am not sure I want to read any more on this bro. I have hair standing on end.
There’s no greater compliment you can give a horror writer than telling him something he put out there gave you the creeps! LOL I admit, there something about evil/odd kids that amps up the scares.
Very creepy indeed!
It’s nice to see creepy kids getting the proper attention. I’ve got to read up on the non-fiction regarding them. So far, I’ve read one very good fictional piece, titled (obviously) Black Eyed Kids, by Ian Rogers.
I have to check that book out!
You may find this interesting.
Wow that is creepy and cool at the same time. I’m sure they will be in my nightmares. Thanks! LOL 😀
Figure I might as well stick my oar in since Jason was kind enough to mention my story, “Black-Eyed Kids.” When I wrote BEKs, I didn’t know very much about the phenomenon, just a few mentions on websites. It seems to be fairly recent, and as was mentioned in the post, it seems to be a modern twist on both the Men in Black with a twist of the vampire mythos thrown in for good measure (i.e., the BEKs needing permission to enter a dwelling).
Mostly what I was fascinated about the BEKs was their ability to instill fear. In some cases the person having the encounter doesn’t even see their black eyes at the time, but only remembers them afterward. Very strange indeed, and very freaky. In other words, great fodder for fiction!
They’re a horror writer’s dream. We can all agree that creepy kids (The Exorcist, The Shining, The Omen, etc) give more chills than any one creature, real or imagined. It’s a wonder they still fly so low under the radar. By the way, I recently picked up your Every House is Haunted. Looking forward to reading it.
Thanks, Hunter! I hope you enjoy the book. There are some story notes over at the website http://everyhouseishaunted.com if you’re interested in checking them out after you finish the book.
Thanks Ian. Keep up the great work!
I came across a show, “Mysteries and Monsters In America”, on a channel named “Destination America” (http://press.discovery.com/us/da/programs/monsters-mysteries-america/) and in the shows opening, it has “Black Eyed Children” – so I assume they’ll do an episode on them creepy bastards.
I saw that, too. Lokoing forward to it. Didn’t they also have something like a cowsquatch? LOL
Ahh yes, the infamous “Sheepsquatch”. I’ve never heard of that, but Google gives it about 6,000 references.
That’s it! Sheepsquatch. I just saw one today about Goat Man. I kept thinking of Goat Boy from SNL.
HAHA – I do a mean Goat Boy!
The BEC phenomenon is pretty creepy, but I have noticed that there are a lot of people who claim to have seen apparently normal people’s eyes go all black. I saw it once myself in about 2002 or 2003.
Being a friendly sort of person I was talking to a half-Yemeni youth who I had just met about what some Russian al-Qaeda types had just done in the Beslan school massacre, but rather than being shocked he just smiled and started to trying to justify it in different ways – as he was talking his eyes went completely black.
Pretending I hadn’t noticed I made my excuses and got out of there, but I know something. They aren’t just in the woods.