Ilaria Cangialosi, Contributing Writer
On a crisp Texas night in 1996, aspiring journalist Brian Bethel of Abilene would endure the unthinkable. Whilst driving his vehicle, Bethel came to a halt in a nearby parking lot to write a check.
Preoccupied with his business, Bethel failed to acknowledge two young boys approaching his car. In fact, it wasn’t until they tapped on his window that Bethel felt an intense wave of gut-wrenching fear overwhelming his senses. Once he rolled down his window, the older boy began to ask Bethel if he and his brother could get a ride to the nearby movie theater.
The more he interacted with the young boys, the more Bethel felt weak, fearful and absolute dread. He couldn’t quite grasp why he was feeling this way until he peered into the black and empty eyes of the two young children.
“It was like I was staring right into the face of evil,” he said.
The young journalist encouraged the two brothers to return home; it was too late for children to be out. What seemed innocent in the beginning began to transform into something eerie and potentially sinister. The two brothers grew persistent and aggressive in their demeanor, as they demanded entry into Bethel’s vehicle.
“We can’t come in unless you let us!” they cried.
Frightened of what was to come next, he fled the scene, leaving the two young boys alone in the chilly night.
Although the legend of black-eyed children originated in Texas, sightings of them have been recorded across the world. In 2014, the United Kingdom began to experience a peculiar phenomenon in the county of Staffordshire. At one of their local haunted pubs, civilians witnessed these children lurking in the shadows of the night. In fact, these alleged sightings were further investigated by ghost hunters who believe these creatures are either extraterrestrials, vampires or ghosts.
The black-eyed children typically take the form of young boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 16. Although people have a certain idea of what these beings are and what they entail, no one truly knows where these mysterious children come from or how they appear.
While certain conspiracy theorists believe that the black-eyed children are aliens, others insist that they’re far more malevolent creatures who derive from the haunted abyss of the undergrounds.
What makes this urban legend even more terrifying is how normal the black-eyed children appear at the beginning of each person’s encounter. The only thing we can validate from these alleged experiences is the immense amount of anxiety, dread and fear individuals exhibit when in the presence of these supernatural creatures.
Legend also has it that if one were to welcome them inside, bad fortune would arise among those who allow the children into their personal space. Beware of each knock, beware of each tap and beware of who you allow entry to your home or vehicle because it might be a trap.
