my son George has always had the strangest friends I'm not sure why but in his earlier years he always attracted what would be considered the weird kids I've got a ton of stories about this but there's one that kind of sticks out like a thorn he was in the fourth grade and we had just moved due to my husband's reassignment so George was new to his school he had always been an outgoing and friendly kid so my husband and I weren't particularly worried about his ability to make new friends we were transitioning well as a
family and everything was going well with him at school I was beyond pleased the first time I met all of George's classmates parents as they all seemed like upstanding honest people a few months after the move I got a call from George's School in the middle of the day requesting one of his parents come in to discuss an incident involving him and another student my husband was at work so I assumed the responsibility and agreed to meet with the principal after picking up my son I remember feeling a mixture of anger and confusion anger obviously
I mean my son had probably been in a fight which I'd need to punish him for should I find out he was the antagonizer but confusion as well physical altercations were very uncharacteristic of George which made this more concerning to me my as I was walking him to the principal's office he refused to answer any of my questions about the situation which was also very unlike him usually he was extremely talkative and what you'd call an oversharer so his silence was somewhat unsettling I figured he was either embarrassed or scared so I didn't think much
of it the principal asked that George sit in the waiting room outside his office so that's where I left him after closing the door the principal directed me to a chair in front of his desk which is where I sat down he began asking me questions about George the kinds of questions you'd expect how is his behavior at home does he listen does he talk back is he respectful you know things like that I had nothing but positive things to say George was an extremely well-b behaved and respectful boy and that's not the mother in
me I was just telling the objective truth eventually the principal told me why I had been called in apparently George had gotten into a brief altercation with a classmate after recess a boy named Sebastian I asked about the circumstances of the fight and this is what I was told they had been the last two students outside and they were walking up the stairs together seemingly out of nowhere George pulled an eraser out of his pocket and struck Sebastian over the head with it causing him to fall to the ground and start screaming I was baffled
it was totally unlike George to do something like that without being provoked Plus plus I had heard about the Sebastian boy before George spoke fondly of him like they were close friends I asked the principal more questions but he didn't seem to have the answers and ultimately admitted that no one had seen the incident but both boys had independently confirmed details of the story he then said that George wasn't in trouble as a little fight wasn't too uncommon he told me that he just wanted to inform me and that no further action would be taken
which definitely calmed me down after that he excused me so I left George was still silent about the whole thing as I drove him home and only opened up to me right before bedtime admittedly I had grown frustrated with him for not talking to me which was probably why he quit the silent act he told me that Sebastian had tricked him I asked him to elaborate and he told me that they had been playing make believe Street Fighter as per Sebastian's instruction George had pulled out an eraser for a KO move of some sort out
of nowhere Sebastian fell to the ground and pretended to be really hurt he then whispered in George's ear that he'd seriously hurt him if George didn't pretend like he'd attacked him so that's what George did and all the teachers assumed it had been a real fight rightfully so I was pretty pissed my little boy had been taken advantage of and falsely accused instead of going to the school I decided to handle things myself that night I went through the school's directory and found Sebastian's mother's phone number she introduced herself as Maggie I was kind of
taken back by how sweet and genuine she sounded on the phone she told me she had heard about the incident gotten the real story from Sebastian and already reprimanded him I thought it was kind of odd that Sebastian would have told the truth to his mother so soon but I was happy I didn't have to do any convincing she then went on to say that Sebastian had always had some minor behavioral problems growing up and he'd sometimes think and act like another person entirely I actually started to feel bad the more she told me it
seemed as if he wasn't fully in control of some of his actions Maggie suggested that the boys schedule a sleepover to make up for the whole thing and become better friends which I thought was a great idea she offered a host and I was appreciative of that that weekend I drove over to her house with George who had returned to his bubbly talkative self Maggie invited me in and the two of us got to know each other over some wine while the boys played in the basement like I said before Maggie seems like a completely
upstanding person and I really enjoyed her company I ended up staying for a few hours and the time flew by eventually I just had to ask about Sebastian's Behavior as it had been bugging me for a while her entire demeanor changed and she lowered her voice a bit she told me that he often had trouble making friends and that he's seen a few doctors all of whom think it's something he'll outgrow soon she went on to say that he's gotten much better at controlling himself and the fact that he was being more social at school
was a good sign I didn't inquire much more than that I just wanted to make sure my son would be safe for the night Maggie promised me George would be in good hands and that Sebastian didn't have a history of getting physical or violent more so just acting strange that was enough reassurance for me this woman was clearly genuine and it actually felt kind of nice knowing that George would be helping Sebastian learn how to make friends eventually it came time to leave so I went downstairs to say goodbye to George the two boys were
laughing and playing Battleship it looked like they were really getting along I kissed my son goodbye and drove home the next morning I went to go pick him up when I got to the house he was waiting near the door with all his stuff and a smile on his face I assumed the night went well I said good morning to Maggie and packed George's stuff in the car as we were driving away though he started balling out of nowhere I asked him what was wrong in a concerned voice and what he told me was quite
literally jaw-dropping George said that everything was going well until it came time to go to sleep the boys had set up their sleeping Arrangements in the basement two air mattresses side by side everything seemed normal when they went to bed but at some point in the night George woke up he wasn't sure why at first then he heard something whispering it was coming from the bathroom the door was slightly open and there was a strange flickering light inside not like a regular bathroom light as George described it it seemed more like a candle light he
listened closer and realized it was Sebastian talking but he wasn't just talking he was having a full conversation George thought maybe he was on the phone or something but the more he listened the weirder it got so Bastian wasn't calling himself Sebastian he was calling himself Mr Jim George felt Frozen it was like Sebastian thought he was someone else and he wasn't talking to anyone just the mirror then the candle went out everything was dark again George squeezed his eyes shut pretending to be asleep a long time passed and then he heard the bathroom door
Creek open his stomach dropped when he heard Whispering again this time right above him it went on for a while George didn't understand the words it didn't even sound like English he just lay there too scared to move eventually Sebastian went back to bed like nothing happened in the morning he was totally normal again George didn't dare ask him about it when George told me what happened I was horrified my gut told me this wasn't just a case of childhood imagination something was wrong I didn't know what to do but I knew I had to
tell someone I called Maggie first At first she laughed it off saying subastian has always been a creative kid but as I pressed her her voice faltered eventually she admitted that his so-called behavioral problems were more serious than she let on one psychiatrist had even suggested he was showing signs of multiple personality disorder they had already moved twice before she told me in a hush tone because Sebastian had been kicked out of school I was stunned Furious even why the hell hadn't she told me this before why would she put my son in danger like
that then she did something unexpected she begged me not to notify the school I didn't know what to say part of me wanted to respect her wishes but Another Part Of Me knew that something was very wrong I blurted out okay and hung up the phone before she could respond I told myself I'd make my decision by the end of the week but I never got the chance that Monday Sebastian Fallon attacked another student at recess it was serious enough that the school sent out a statement to all the parents though they kept the details
vague by the end of the day I found out that he had been expelled I tried calling Maggie but her phone had seemingly been disconnected the situation was incredibly unsettling just days ago we had spoken and now suddenly she was unreachable I didn't even know what I wanted to say to her just that I wanted to say something there were no other numbers or emails in the school directory just that one number that was now disconnected a few days later the Curiosity got too overwhelming so I bit the bullet and drove to her house when
I arrived it was completely vacated no moving trucks no sign of a rush departure just gone it didn't make sense how could they have left so quickly I tried looking them up searching for any trace of them online I found nothing no forwarding address no mention of them anywhere it was like they had never existed at all that was a long time ago and George wasn't too badly affected by it in all honesty I think he's mostly forgotten about it I haven't though I often think about what could have happened to my son that night
in that basement or what kind of things that kid Sebastian has been doing since my upbringing was a little unorthodox I grew up in a Southern Baptist household the kind where we didn't believe in ghosts but were absolutely certain about demons Let Me Explain If something strange happened it wasn't a spirit or wandering Soul it was something darker something biblical I never fully bought into it but the message was drilled into me from a young age rejecting demons meant rejecting scripture itself my mother though was different Faith was optional for her she wasn't atheist or
agnostic just indifferent she'd say things like God and I have an understanding whenever I pressed her about church while I leaned into religion as a source of structure and stability she drifted further from it it was one of the many things that widen the gap between us I won't sugarcoated my mother struggled with addiction mental health issues things she never wanted help for some days she was functional others she was downright insane I tried not to take it personally but it was hard looking back she definitely had schizophrenia or some kind of adjacent condition but
before you say anything about my family being neglectful of her mental health it was a different time back then one afternoon I had a nightmare so vivid that I still remember every detail to this day in the dream I was lying in bed when my mother stormed into my room screaming in a fit of rage she grabbed me by the wrist and started shaking me violently I woke up in a pool of sweat my body still rigid with fear but before I could shake off the dream it happened again except this time I wasn't asleep
the door barged open and there she was just as she had been in my nightmare same expression same unhinged anger same words it was like the dream had been some kind of Prophecy I barely managed to push her off and yell for her to stop and then it was over she left as suddenly as she had entered and when I confronted her the next morning she had no memory of it she seemed confused even a little hurt that I was so shaken I told myself it was a coincidence some bizarre overlap between my subconscious and
her moods but part of me wondered if it was something worse a few weeks later I heard her screaming from the backyard it was a strange sound not a panicked scream or even a distressed one the scream sounded more excited I don't even know if that makes sense but that's the best way I can describe it I rushed outside and froze at what I saw my mother was standing in the yard grinning holding a massive 7ot long snake in her bare hands that was terrifying enough on its own but there's something you don't know which
made it even worse my mother had a lifelong phobia of snakes she couldn't even look at them on TV without recoiling but there she was gripping one like it was a toy she said come here in motion for me to grab the snake I took a step back shaking my head I literally said Mom what the hell but the look in her eye told me she couldn't even understand the words I was saying she just smiled wider and tilted her head like she was trying to scare me I couldn't deal with it I turned and
ran back inside slamming the door behind me my heart was pounding I peaked out the window and saw her still standing there holding the snake like an offering eventually she let it Slither onto the ground and walked back inside as if nothing had happened later when I asked her about it she Shrugged like I was making it up she told me I must have had a strange dream and refused to entertain me when I continued to ask about it that was nothing compared to what I'm about to tell you though that winter my church held
an overnight lockin I was relieved to go church was my escape a place where I could be around predictable normal people my mother dropped me off completely sober and even kissed my forehead before driving away at around 430 a.m. just as we were settling into sleep a loud knocking echoed through the chapel we all sat up glancing at each other the knocking moved traveling around the building in an impossible way at times it sounded like it was coming from multiple directions at once it wasn't wind it wasn't an animal it was rhythmic circling the chapel
like someone or something was trying to break in the pastor the only one with a key was asleep in his office and hadn't heard a thing I ran to wake him and as as soon as he stepped into the chapel the knocking stopped he opened the front doors and literally stumbled back in fear standing there barefoot and sweating in the freezing air was my mother her clothes were disheveled and her hair was Dripping with sweat her lips were moving but I couldn't hear what she was saying she didn't acknowledge the pastor her eyes locked on
me immediately a slow unsettling smile stretched across her face as she walked toward me I wanted to run the pastor tried to hold me back Whispering stay here but I felt completely powerless like I had no choice but to go with her I climbed into the car afraid that she was going to do something but she didn't the drive home was silent she didn't speak didn't explain she didn't answer when I asked why she was there when we got home she stopped in the doorway and just stared at me she stood there silently watching me
as I walked to my room I closed the door locked it and lay awake for hours listening in the morning she was in the kitchen cooking breakfast she was cheerful and clearly oblivious to what had happened the night before she jumped back when she saw me saying she was just about to pick me up from the church I felt the blood drain from my face she had no memory of knocking on the church doors no memory of driving me home it was freaky I expected someone the pastor a church Elder even one of the chopon
to say something about what had happened but no one did it was like they didn't know what to make of it or worse they didn't want to that's kind of the way people treated my mom back then that was decades ago she's gone now but her memory is something that will never leave me for Better or For Worse I don't know if I believe in demons or the supernatural anymore but I can't explain what happens the logical explanation is that she was suffering from mental illness maybe addiction withdrawal or maybe something else entirely but the
memory lapses the Eerie timing the way she acted like a different person some nights it still haunts me I tell myself there's a rational answer for all of it but even now I'm not sure I believe that my eldest son started sleepwalking when he was about 8 or 9 I had heard of kids going through phases like that so I wasn't too concerned at first it was just one of those things a little unsettling sure but nothing I thought much about I'm a pretty light sleeper so none of my kids have ever been able to
sneak around the house at night without me knowing that's actually how I first figured out about my son's habit most nights I'd wake up and find him standing in the hallway outside my bedroom walking slightly on his heels shifting his weight from foot to foot his eyes would be open but they weren't seeing anything that was the one part that always got me for any of you who have lived with the Sleepwalker you know exactly what I'm talking about his gaze would pass right through me empty and distant like he was looking past me into
something I couldn't see it was always extremely strange and I never fully acclimated to finding him like that sometimes he'd Mumble something under his breath words too soft and slurred to understand other times he wouldn't make a sound just standing there breathing in that slow steady way that somehow made it even worse I gently guide him to bed Whispering his name telling him everything was fine he never seemed to remember any of it in the morning things escalated a few months after I made the realization that he was a sleepwalker one night I woke up
to a rhythmic tapping sound it sounded like water droplets repeatedly dripping onto a window pane only it wasn't raining outside it was soft barely loud enough to wake me at first I thought it was part of a dream some far off noise that my half asleep brain had misinterpreted but as I lay there the sound continued steady and deliberate it wasn't sporadic like rainfall would be it occurred at regular intervals and always at the same volume I kept listening trying to figure out what it could be it wasn't the house settling and it wasn't the
wind outside it was too precise once I realized the tapping wasn't going to stop I begrudgingly accepted that I'd have to deal with it I sat up and looked towards the door which is where the sound was coming from my husband was fast asleep and I didn't want to disturb him I should mention that I wasn't scared just curious otherwise I probably would have woken him up anyway I got out of bed to investigate when I stepped into the hallway I saw him my son facing the wall his forehead lightly knocking against it in slow
measured Taps his fingertips gently grazed the wall and rhythm with his forehead Taps as if he was trying to walk through it I remember calling his name my voice barely above a whisper he didn't react just kept pressing his head forward knocking it in that Eerie rhythmic way like he was testing something like he was trying to push through I stepped closer but right before I was about to intervene I hesitated something about the way he was moving genuinely sent a chill right through me I gently reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder
shaking him just enough to pull him out of whatever trance he was in he blinked took a step back and then as if nothing had happens let me lead him back to bed he never mentioned it in the morning it happened a few more times but it was pretty infrequent if I'm being honest I figured it was just another strange habit of Sleepwalkers maybe some kind of subconscious response to the wall being there some internal sense of space that his dreaming mind hadn't accounted for and eventually he outgrew it the sleepwalking stopped and the strange
vacant staring in the hallway became a weird little memory that I mostly forgot about that is until my younger son started doing the same thing years later the sleepwalking I mean at first I brushed it off kids go through phases some behaviors repeat themselves it was just so uncanny that both of them started sleepwalking around the same age again though nothing too unusual genetics are a fascinating thing but eventually I started noticing the little details the things that gave me a growing sense of concern it wasn't just that he sleepwalked it was how he sleepwalked
he stood in the hallway shifting from foot to foot his eyes open but unfocused he moved the same way as my older son had with that slow Eerie Rhythm like his movements weren't completely random it was unsettling it felt like I was living the memory of watching my older son do the same thing years earlier but it got worse than that when one night I woke up to that tapping noise again I already knew what I'd see before I stepped into the hallway and I was right there he was forehead pressed to the exact same
spot knocking against the wall like he was trying to step into something that wasn't there it was the exact same behavior my older son had exhibited all those years ago from the forehead Taps all the way down to the way his fingers brushed against the wall I called his name nothing I touched his shoulder nothing he just kept knocking his small body swaying slightly lost in some deep unreachable place and that's when it hit me he had never seen his older brother Sleepwalk at least not that I know of his brother hadn't done this in
years there was no reason for him to exhibit the same exact Behavior not just the wandering but the standing the tapping the Eerie misplaced urgency of it I don't know why but that thought made me feel sick after some badgering I eventually snapped him out of his trance I guided him back to bed and tucked him in like I had done so many times before trying to tell myself that it was just one of those things and then just like his brother he outgrew it just like that no more sleepwalking no more tapping he had
no recollection of it either for years I didn't think about it in all honesty I had forgotten about the whole thing but there's a reason I'm writing this now my sons are away at college now and the house is a lot quieter than what I'm used to because of that my husband and I have to find new things to occupy some of that downtime with a few weeks ago we decided to renovate the house the house is pretty old and we've lived in it long enough that we've decided to change things up new floors new
paint some fresh updates to make the place feel new again it was all minor work nothing too intensive we were stripping the the old wallpaper when we noticed something underneath at first I thought it was just some old backing or maybe a weird stain but as we peeled more away my breath caught it was an old antique style mirror a mirror that had been covered for some reason my first thought was why the hell would someone cover a mirror instead of removing it I felt ridiculous standing there staring at a piece of glass like it
was going to do something but I couldn't help but feel like we weren't supposed to find it like it had been sealed away for a reason and that's when I realized the mirror was positioned in the exact spot on the wall that my sons had been bumping into all those years ago the memories came flooding back and I stood there in shock there was no logical reason they should have known it was there they couldn't have and yet somehow they had both of them had independently been trying to walk into something that was impossible to
see through the wallpaper forget about the fact that they were unconscious I immediately got rid of that mirror but I'm still pretty freaked out by the whole thing there's got to be some kind of rational explanation for this but I can't think of one I still don't know what to make of this I really don't
