Who are the Black Eyed Children?

I heard mention of a curious thing the other day.  Black Eyed Children.  No, they are not victims of child abuse or a new rock band, but rather a strange new topic of discussion.  Well, new to me anyway.

The story goes that these Black Eyed Children (or BEK’s for short) go about in pairs or small groups, are usually aged between 12 and 17 and always seem to be male.  People have reported being approached by these strange children when they are getting into their cars, when they are at home or even when they are out skateboarding.  Far from being loutish and riddled with teenage angst, BEKs are polite, confident and eloquent as they request a ride home because they’ve ‘lost their bus money’ or knock on someone’s door because they ‘need to use the phone’.  People who have encountered BEKs report feeling a sense of dread and this feeling increases when they realise the children’s eyes have no whites or irises – they are completely black.  People do not seem to notice the BEK’s unusual eyes immediately, which is odd considering eyes are the first thing you tend look at when you talk to someone, although I have heard that if people are frightened of something, the first thing they do is look away, so perhaps that’s why people aren’t noticing the eyes until later.  It’s a possibility.

From the accounts I have read so far, it would appear that encounters with BEKs occur mainly (if not entirely) in America.  If anyone has an English account, or indeed an account from anywhere else in the world, I would be interested in hearing about it (same email address as usual: weirdworld@hotmail.co.uk).

According to The Black Vault.com, stories of BEKs began to appear in January 1998 when a chap called Brian Bethel reported being accosted by two BEKs when he got into his car (read Brian’s original account here).  The children said they wanted a ride home but Bethel felt uneasy about the whole thing and refused.  He reported that the children’s eyes were completely black, although he didn’t notice this until halfway through their conversation, possibly because of some kind of ‘mind control’ being used by the children.  When he refused them access to his car they became annoyed and more insistent with their demands.  Although this belligerent kind of behaviour would not be out of place with any average teenager, it would appear that no threats of actual violence were issued, just a strange persistence that they be allowed into the car.   Bethel reported that he really struggled to refuse them.  BEKs also seem to have a strange ability to just ‘disappear’ without a trace when people manage to defy them or call the police.

BEKs reportedly appear at dusk or at night and this, in conjunction with their ‘requests’ to be let into people’s cars and homes, is reminiscent of vampire lore: they can’t enter without permission.  Another account of BEK’s trying to gain access to someone’s home can be heard towards the end of Jim Harold’s Paranormal Podcast (no. 106 – Real Vampires with Brad Steiger), although I’d highly recommend listening to the entire thing because Jim’s podcasts are entertaining and full of interesting bits and pieces and interviews.  You can download these podcasts free from iTunes.

Looking at BEKs’ behaviour in a rational light, it is not unusual for criminals to just walk up to their victims and demand they hand over their bag/phone/car keys.  People are sometimes too shocked and intimidated to do anything but handover whatever it is the criminal wants.  The implied threat of violence is there even if they’re not waving a knife in your face.  Perhaps it is the same with these BEKs – people are surprised and intimidated at what they are being faced with and for a moment they find it difficult to say no.  And then, fortunately, sense kicks in and they realise they can say no, after all, they are only kids.  And what of the strange eyes?  Well, obviously they could be wearing contacts.  All black contacts are readily available these days and it’s possible that as these kids only seem to appear at dusk when the light is beginning to fail, people don’t immediately notice the eyes, especially if they’re wearing a hoodie top or a baseball cap.

My final question is, has anyone actually given into these kids and, if so, what has become of them?  In the Paranormal Podcast mentioned earlier, Brad Steiger says that he knows of a couple of accounts where people have let these BEKs in and have been unable to get rid of them, to the point where people have been forced to move.   Surely a quick phone call to the police would sort that one out?

As mentioned earlier, BEKs seem to have a knack evaporating without a trace when their plans are foiled, but again this could be explained away by the fact that most kids know their neighbourhood area like the back of their hand and know all the little shortcuts and hidey holes that adults and police might not so they can effectively ‘disappear’.

Some people believe these BEKs are demons, vampires or even aliens.  Others believe they are a new urban legend or perhaps they are just badly behaved kids out causing mischief.  If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them.

Nicola

weirdworld@hotmail.co.uk

©Nicola Kirk and http://www.nicolakirk.wordpress.com 2010