12 Nannies Share Their Creepiest Experiences on the Job

Being a nanny is more than just looking after children—it’s an unpredictable journey filled with heartwarming moments, unexpected surprises, and, at times, eerie encounters. Here are 12 real-life nanny experiences from our readers, ranging from the bizarre to the unforgettable.

1. The child who knew too much.

One night, as I was putting a child to bed, he suddenly whispered, “You won’t be here long. The last one left because of the man in the closet.” A chill ran down my spine. Trying to brush it off as the ramblings of a sleepy child, I checked the closet. It was empty.

The next morning, he mentioned it again with the same eerie calmness. When I asked his parents about it, they laughed it off. But that night, a deep unease settled in me, and I knew I had to leave. The next day, I quit, unable to shake the feeling that something or someone was lurking in the shadows.

2. The baby monitor that spoke back.

One evening, while watching an infant sleep, I heard crackling sounds from the baby monitor. Assuming it was just interference, I ignored it until a deep, gravelly voice spoke through the static: “Put the baby down.”

Frozen in fear, I listened again, the voice was still there. Rushing to the baby’s side, I found him undisturbed. Later, the parents discovered that their monitor had been hacked. Even after learning the explanation, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been watching us all along.

3. The child who outsmarted me.

I was babysitting a 6-year-old who loved puzzles. One evening, I set up a new one for him and left to make dinner. When I returned minutes later, he had completed it perfectly.

Praising him, I was caught off guard when he giggled and said, “I saw you do it last night.”

Confused, I told him I’d never done that puzzle before. He insisted he had seen me solving it in the exact same way. It left me wondering if kids notice more than we think.

4. The time mix-up.

After finishing a babysitting shift at 8 PM, I went home. The next morning, the child’s mother asked why I had come back at midnight. I was stunned. I had been asleep at home.

She explained that she heard someone in the kitchen and assumed it was me grabbing a late-night snack. But when she checked, the kitchen was empty. We never figured out who or what made the noise, but she installed security cameras the next day.

5. The child who remembered a past life.

One afternoon, I was playing outside with a 5-year-old when he suddenly looked up at the sky and said, “I used to live up there before I fell.”

Laughing, I asked what he meant. He looked me in the eye and replied, “Before I was your Tommy, I was someone else.”

He described vivid memories of people, places, and experiences that seemed beyond his years. I don’t know if it was just his imagination. Or if there was something more to his story.

6. The forgotten door.

While caring for a child, I noticed a door in the house that was always shut. One day, curiosity got the better of me, and I asked about it. The parents exchanged glances before saying, “We don’t use that room.”

Later, the child led me to the door, knocked, and whispered, “It’s for the old lady.” When I asked the parents again, they admitted an elderly relative had lived there before passing away. The room had remained untouched in her memory.

7. The child who knew what was coming.

A 4-year-old boy repeatedly mentioned “the lady with black hair” who was “coming soon.” Every few days, he added more details.

A week later, an unexpected visitor arrived—a woman with long, dark hair. The child had never met her before, yet he grinned and ran to her like he had been expecting her all along.

8. The baby’s early words.

A baby I was watching had just started babbling. One night, as I rocked him to sleep, he mumbled something unclear. I asked him to repeat it, and he softly said, “Don’t worry.”

Such a simple phrase, yet the way he said it—so calm, so reassuring—sent chills down my spine. Maybe it was just baby talk, but it felt like he knew exactly what I needed to hear.

9. The unexpected guest.

While babysitting, I noticed the child kept offering snacks to an empty chair. I asked who she was feeding. She smiled and said, “My friend, Danny. He likes crackers.”

Assuming it was an imaginary friend, I mentioned it to the parents. Their faces went pale. “Danny was my brother’s name. He passed away when he was five,” the mother whispered.

10. The lost stuffed animal.

A little girl I babysat lost her favorite stuffed rabbit. We searched everywhere but couldn’t find it. She was devastated, so I promised we’d keep looking.

A few days later, she came running up to me, clutching the rabbit. “You found him!” she squealed.

I hadn’t. But it was sitting right in the middle of her bed, clean and perfectly placed. Neither parent had found it, and neither had I. We still have no idea how it got there.

11. The child who vanished.

At the park one day, I momentarily lost sight of the boy I was watching. Panicked, I called his name. A woman nearby pointed toward a tree.

I ran over and found him standing there calmly. “I was playing hide and seek,” he said.

“With whom?” I asked. He just smiled and replied, “A friend.”

12. The surprise reunion.

While babysitting, a little boy pointed to a photo on the shelf and said, “That’s Grandpa! He comes to tuck me in sometimes.”

His parents later explained that the man in the photo had passed away before the child was born. They had never spoken about him to their son before.

Whether these experiences are due to sheer coincidence or something more mysterious, one thing is clear: being a nanny is never just about childcare. These moments remind us that sometimes, the surprises happen when we least expect them.

If you’re ready for more nanny experiences, look here.