Brian gets lots of questions about the black eyed children story. (Called "Evil Kids" here at ghosts.org.) This is his attempt to answer the most common questions surrounding the story.

Brian Bethel's BEK Faq Version 1.0

This document is a preliminary attempt to answer all of the common BEK questions before they're asked. I get at least two e-mails a week about this incident, one of many stories I originally posted to Obiwan's Ghost Story of the Day mailing list and alt.folklore.ghost-stories.

1. What's a BEK?

Black-Eyed Kid. I don't remember who came up with the acronym exactly, but it stems from the first paragraph or so of my original story.

2. Isn't this just some alt.folklore.ghost-stories in joke?

Maybe now, but not in the beginning. A few of the newsgroup denizens have taken what started as couple of highly personal accounts and run with them, blaming BEKs for the lack of quality sitcoms on television and having them spawn in Wal-Mart lobster tanks.

While this is all good-natured fun, and I understand and appreciate most of the humor, it has tended to obscure the origin of the term, my original story and how and why it came into wider use.

3. Come on, dude. You aren't trying to convince me that this stuff is real, are you?

I'm not trying to convince you of anything. You're certainly free to draw your own conclusions about the whole situation, but it is the purpose of this document to separate the original story from the newsgroup in-joke it has become.

It does tend to annoy one when something that was very personal, very frightening and (at least to me) very real is dismissed as a "total fabrication" conjured up for a few laughs. Hence, this FAQ file.

Yes, I do take some of this personally, but I was there, damn it.

4. Where can I read about these BEKs?

You can find my original accounting in several locations.

Direct link to the story on Obiwan's UFO-Free Paranormal Page:

http://www.ghosts.org/stories/tales/evil-kids.html

Please note that the main URL for Obiwan's site is http://www.ghosts.org.

Direct link to the story and another BEK account at the official Undernet #Ghosts Channel site at:

http://www.pinn.net/~royaloak/Stories/black_eyed.htm

In addition, I've seen it posted several places, usually with the headers stripped and uncredited. Please do not do this.

5. Wow that was scary! But that's not real is it?

Yes, it is.

6. Oh, come on. Really?

Yes.

7. Really? It happened just like that?

I'm a newspaper reporter (visit http://www.texnews.com to see some of my daily work on the web), and I pride myself on accuracy and truth. When I tell a story about one of my experiences, I try to convey a sense of what exactly was going on, how I felt and what I saw without added hyperbole or artistic liberties.

So, in short, yes it happened. Yes, it happened just that way. Nothing has been added or taken away. And yes, I really was that scared.

8. Creep-o-rama! So, what do you think they were?

I am still not sure. I don't believe they were vampires, as some have suggested, but I don't think they were just a couple of kids with some freaky contacts, either.

The fear I felt upon seeing both boys was genuine and unexpected. My brain was desperately trying to fill in some detail that was "wrong" about them, and it took me casting my gaze away from them before I finally could look back and realize what was out of place.

I've had several theories posited, none of which are totally satisfying. Do I believe something unnatural was at work? Yes, most likely. The fear is what keeps haunting me, that unexpected sensation of being sized up, somehow unconsciously manipulated and in danger of life and limb.

I've encountered enough strangeness in my life to know that there are some pretty damned weird things out there. (If you have an interest, Obiwan's site (http://www.ghosts.org) has most of my stories archived. Quest around and you'll find them.)

9. Do you really think there was any danger involved?

Honestly, yes. My intuition rarely fails me, and when I don't listen to it, I usually pay the price. Something was telling me I was in danger that night, and even if they really were just two kids with freaky contacts, I am very, very glad that I didn't let them into my car.

10. Do you believe Jon's story? (See the #ghosts channel link.)

Yes, I do. I've had the pleasure of knowing Jon for some time now, and I don't think he'd fib to me. We're good friends, even though we've never formally met (working on that). I have found him to be honest and quite trustworthy, so I have no reason to disbelieve him.

11. Have you ever seen those kids again? Have you ever been back to the theater.

Never again. And I don't particularly want to see 'em again, either.

As an aside, I have been back to that theater several times. I even went to see "Sixth Sense" there with some friends of mine who know the story. So if we can tempt fate that much, I think I'm safe. ;)

As an aside, a friend of mine has shared a story of a strange thing that happened to her in that theater when she was younger, so who knows what sort of strangeness goes on around there?

12. Can I put the story on my web site?

Sure. Just give me credit for it, and don't claim you wrote it.

13. Any final thoughts?

Of all the personal accounts I've released to the wilds of the Internet, this particular piece has been the most popular. It seems to strike a primal chord in some readers that genuinely helps them understand the fear I experienced. I've received several accounts from others about BEK sightings. Some are obviously fake, while others have a definite ring of truth about them.

Even after all this time and soul searching, I'm still not 100 percent certain what happened that night. I do believe that I was in danger, and I do believe that something out-of-the-ordinary was responsible.

Jon and I have done some research that in the end may or may not shed some light on what exactly we both experienced, but until I can say yes or no with relative certainty I'll keep that under my hat, so to speak.

What I can say is this: The experience was one of the most terrifying events of my life, and I have no desire to experience anything like it again.

Thanks for reading,

Brian
brianbet@camalott.com
http://www.camalott.com/~brianbet/ghosts.html

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