8 People Who Shared Unforgettable Childhood Memories

Childhood memories can be full of mysteries that defy explanation, leaving us unsettled by strange occurrences we can't quite comprehend. Whether it's encounters with unfamiliar people or eerie sensations of the paranormal, these moments often stay with us as we grow up, sparking curiosity about their origins. Thankfully, many find online communities where they can share their experiences without fear of judgment.

• My friend and I were hitting each other with pillow cases (why? I don't know.) We swung at each other, both hold tightly onto our cases. We hit each other simultaneously and at the end of the swing, we look at our hands, and we're holding each other's cases.
  They just switched, neither of us left like anything was ripped from our hands or that there was any exchange or anything. They were just suddenly swapped. We have no idea how it happened, it doesn't make any sense. If I could see a recording of anything in my life, it would be that moment. © Broship_Rajor / Reddit

• Once upon a time I was at a family friend’s house and went to their toilet. For some reason I decided to open the lid of the box part of the toilet, and for some reason there was a large live crayfish in there just chilling. © SuperGIoo / Reddit

• When I was 9, I fell down the stair leading from the second to first floor. A woman walked up to me and asked me if I was okay, I thought she was a friend of my grandma's. I told her I was okay. And then I asked my grandma in the other room who her friend was.
  She had no clue who I was talking about. I saw this woman multiple times. Finally, my mom took me to the previous owner of the house, and she showed me a photo of her grandma, it was the woman. © Unknown Author / Reddit

• I woke up in the middle of the night and I looked in the corner of my room and saw a hooded figure next to my dresser. At first, I thought it was just some clothes hanging off my dresser, but then it turned, and I saw red eyes staring at me. I immediately jumped out of bed and turned on the lights. There were no clothes hanging off my dresser.
  I would have just brushed it off as a bad dream, but then I saw my dog staring at the corner. I was outside of the room and I kept calling her to come out, but she would not stop staring where I had seen the hooded figure. She did not react at all to me calling her, and so I finally just went back in my room and yanked her off the bed.
  I slept in the living room the rest of the night, and my dog slept in my parent's room for the rest of her life. © baronjohnson / Reddit

• I have a vivid memory of laying on my living room floor, I must have been about 10, and stressing about how I was a lesbian and how would I tell my parents and that I’d never have children. I remember thinking to myself, “I’ll have to deal with this later,” got up and carried on with my life. Only just remembered this a year or so ago. By the way, I’m not a lesbian. © whatwouldbuffydo / Reddit

• When I was a kid, my dad would take us to a giant lake, with a big sandy shore, like a landlocked beach. I was wading in the shallow end, when I felt something brush through my fingers. Being 7, and wishing it was a real beach, I thought, "Maybe these are sea plants!" Then realized that was stupid.
  As I squeezed the tendrils that were brushing my hand, they squished and sunk, and I felt bones through the soft, squishy mass. Finger bones like I was holding the hand of a child my age. I got out of the water, sat on the shore, and told no one.
  A year later, my sister said she thought a boy had been kicking her under the water, but when she grabbed at the foot, it felt cold and squishy, and she also told no one. © Bathysphere710 / Reddit

• When I was around 7, I was lying down on my bed with a recorder in hand. Then my hand with the recorder suddenly closed in, and the recorder was gone, never found it again. RIP recorder © VeryRoomy / Reddit

• We were 8, and our school had a rule that boys must wear a cotton vest under their white school shirts. One day, Tom came to school without it. The teacher said, “If you're so desperate to show off your body, do it in front of everyone,” and started to rip the shirt off his body.
  That's when we were all horrified to see the faint outline of a bandage across Tom's lower back. It wasn’t a scar or anything horrifying—just an ordinary bandage, the kind you'd see after a scrape or minor injury. The class collectively exhaled, the tension easing.
  The teacher, realizing the drama she had caused, quickly looked embarrassed. She took a deep breath, trying to regain control of the situation. "Tom, you should have said something if you were injured. I’m very, very sorry."
  Tom wiped his eyes, "It’s nothing serious," he mumbled. "I just hurt myself playing football yesterday. I didn’t wear the vest because the bandage itches." Then he pulled his shirt back on with some help from a classmate.
  The room settled, and we all exchanged quiet glances. At that moment, we realized that sometimes we make assumptions too quickly. What had started as a humiliating situation turned into a moment of understanding.

Childhood memories often linger with us, but some are better left in the past. In this article, we’ve collected nine stories from people who shared childhood experiences they’d rather forget.