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People Are Sharing The Most Unsettling Things They’ve Noticed As A Kid About Another Kid’s Family, Here’s 35 Of The Creepiest Stories
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat—parenting is incredibly hard and it’s full of challenging surprises. So we try our best not to judge parents for small mistakes. Everyone makes them after all. However…, some folks raise their kids in such a bizarre and unusual way that it’s making us consider whether someone should have called child services. Or at least if some grownups should have had a candid chat with the parents about what the ever-loving frick is going on in their homes.
Reddit users opened up about the creepiest things that they noticed about other kids’ families when they were small, in a very peculiar thread on r/AskReddit. ‘Weird’ isn’t a strong enough word for the type of behavior that wouldn’t feel out of place in our favorite ‘Goosebumps’ books or on TV in ‘The Twilight Zone.’ (Shout-out to R. L. Stine for scaring the bejesus out of us, time and time again.) 'The Addams Family' seems relatively tame in comparison to these real-life families.
Scroll down for what might be the weirdest things you’ll read all week, Pandas. And if you happen to recall anything similarly unsettling from other people’s homes in your childhood, you can tell us all about it in the comments. A small note of warning: some of these stories aren't for the faint of heart. If you'd like something lighter that will restore your faith in humanity, you should read our article about the most wholesome teachers ever right here.
Bored Panda got in touch with parenting blogger Samantha Scroggin, the founder of 'Running Outside in Slippers,' for some insights. We had a chat about what parents can do for their kids to always be honest with them, how the community should intervene in families' lives when the kids are being neglected, and how to avoid judging other parents for small flaws or differences in how they raise their children when they're not harmful. Read on for the full interview
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I grew up in Pennsylvania, and a family that commuted from another state moved in a few homes down from us. The kids from the family were not really my age(much younger), so I didn't really hang around them too much. Their dad always struck me as a little weird, and I wasn't really sure about him. One day he just starts coming home dressed up like a professional wrestler, went even to the length of having tattoo's and such. He put on probably 40 lbs and went from being some skinny white dude to being a muscle bound freak of nature. Grew his hair out into a mullet, I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then after about a year, I saw him come home completely clean cut and in a suit. Apparently he was an undercover cop busting an underground professional wrestling league.
Parenting blogger Samantha is a firm believer in letting parents get on with parenting their own way, unless laws are being broken. It's respecting people's choices up to the point that children are being harmed or neglected.
"We all need to stay vigilant when it comes to the care of children. If any of us even suspect abuse, we need to report that. That said, if the children are safe and cared for, and no laws are being broken, I say let parents parent how they see fit," she said.
"We have different experiences and beliefs, and that will reflect in how we raise our own kids. We can judge all we want, but we should practice restraint in staying out of other families' business. Because we wouldn't want someone poking their heads into our lives telling us how to parent our kids," Samantha added.
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#2
This one has a happy ending.
My dad was a contractor and I made friends with one of his employee's sons because we'd always end up on the job site with our Dads. The first time I slept over at his house I got there after dark. The house was a giant one-room log cabin. The kid had like 5 siblings and all their bedrooms were just sectioned off with walls made of clothes lines and sheets. Even the bathroom didn't have walls. It was just this massive structure with a maze of hanging sheets everywhere. It made me really uncomfortable that night.
Fast forward to the next morning when we go outside to play. We walk out the back door and there's a giant mansion in the back yard. Actually it was more like this cabin was in the front yard of a mansion. Turns out the dad had bought the land and built a cabin for the family to live in temporarily while he built their dream home. He gave every member of the family some awesome feature in their new room and it remains one I'd the coolest, most unique homes I've ever been in.
We're all still friends to this day and I would describe them as the most loving family that I know.
#3
I grew up in a horrible housing estate in london called the Aylesbury estate, I lived on the 12th floor of a high rise block. I made friends with a boy called Nicky who was from Greneda and he was black, he lived with his mother and father (or so I thought). I went round his place to play with a new fire engine I bought with birthday money, His house was so strange, every single light in the house was red, every fucking bulb. His mothers bedroom had a bolt lock on the inside for some reason. I saw his dad for the first time but something was a miss, HE WASN'T BLACK. He was 100% white. I was creeped out for a while, I went round his place again the following week and the man he called dad had changed he was a completely different man and the same happened again and again. Here's where it get's really fucked up, His mother died and he went into care, I sked my mum why he didn't live with his 'dad'. It turns out his mother was a prostitute and had convinced Nicky that his dad was shapeshifter. SHE CONVINCED HER SON, HIS DAD WAS SHAPESHIFTER when they were just customers. This was about 40 years ago. I never saw Nicky again, sadly.
Samantha told Bored Panda that she makes it a priority to have an open relationship with her kids. That way, they feel comfortable coming to talk to her about anything.
"If they had a bad dream or even a yucky thought they can't shake, I'll be there with them and we'll talk it through. I think working to be non-judgemental and staying calm even if your kid might be overreacting helps cement your child's trust of you as a parent. Believe that they are being truthful of their perception of events," she stressed that parents ought to build their kids' trust in them.
#4
In middle school, I was friends with this one kid who's mom had some serious self esteem and projection issues. I remember one day she picked us up from school because my own mother was ill, and proceeded to ask her son everything he ate that day; not just his packed lunch that she had made him, but snacks and what not. When he admitted to buying fries during lunch, she proceeded to scream at him, calling him things like unhealthy pig and almost sobbing at the very idea he might get fat, despite the fact that my friend was literally the most active, physically fit player on the baseball team. If this wasnt awkward enough, she stared me directly in the eye and said "See Evan? What if you get fat, and the only wife you can find is a girl like HER?"
I threw my backpack at her. Me and Evan werent allowed to hang out anymore, partially for that, partially because I told my mother about his nutcase mom.
#5
When I was in 1st or 2nd grade I was at a friend's house and forgot to turn off the lights when I left the bathroom. My friend's dad lost his shit. He cussed me out, made me stand in a corner, and wouldn't let me leave until I wrote "I will not forget to turn off the lights when I leave a room" 100 or so times.
It was my first and last time going to that friend's house.
Foxxy (The Original) 2 years ago (edited)
Geez, controlling much. If he is willing to do that with someone else's kid for something so small, makes me wonder how far he goes with his own family.
#6
During primary school I was involved in an out of school program that required travelling to another local school. Because my parents worked during the day they arranged for me to be picked up by the mother of one of other children in my class. We went back to their place were I was to wait until my mother came to pick me up.
While I was waiting her son picked up a book and his mother turned to him and said, "What have I told you about touching your step fathers stuff?" She then grabbed him by the ear and pulled him over to his bedroom shoved him in and locked the bedroom from the outside with a heavy bolt. I can remember hearing him screaming from the other side of the door. I can't remember exactly what she said to me but it was something along the lines of this is the way it has to be.
I told my parents and needless to say I never got a lift home with them again. Also a few months later he was removed from his parents after he set fire to his bedroom.
Many people find themselves drawn to weird and creepy tales, even if they make them feel scared or disgusted. That’s because human beings have a fascination with the mysterious and macabre. Fact or fiction, we’re often enthralled by the dark spectacle. Yearning to learn more while at the same time terrified of what we’ll discover.
Writer and Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Doug Murano, the founder of Bad Hand Books, previously explained to Bored Panda why people have such a fascination with scary stories.
“I suspect that most of us—regardless of our spiritual beliefs—have a longing for something beyond this life. Human beings seem to be pre-programmed with this urge," he explained to us.
"So much of horror and speculative fiction grapples with death and what happens after we die that I can't help but believe much of our interest in such stories is an expression of a longing for experiences and existences beyond our perceptions," he told Bored Panda.
#7
When I was 8 I took a trip for a month to Alabama to visit my friend and his family. His parents were extremely catholic and had VERY strong on contraceptives. One day while I was there, we took a "family trip" to the grocery store and poked holes in condom boxes. I didn't realized what is had done till years later. I still feel really bad about it.
#8
It was a blended family with 4 girls and 1 boy. The house had 3 rooms and a den that had doors on it--it could easily be a makeshift bedroom.
They crammed all 4 girls into the smallest room, and gave the boy his own room. Her stepdad worked the night shift, so he'd sleep in the den, which was right by the front door, and scream and occasionally beat her and her sisters with a belt for coming home from school and waking him up when he slept RIGHT NEXT TO THE HEAVY FRONT FUCKING DOOR. She was instructed to play outside and not come in every day till 7-8pm.
The issue is that we lived in Arizona where it is hot as fuck, so these kids are out in 110 degree weather in the desert not allowed to cool off or get drinks. It was insane.
I hated her house and always invited her and her little sister to my place, where we could play games in the AC and access the kitchen freely.
#9
In High School, I was hanging out with a friend and she needed to stop by her apartment to pick up something. She was hesitant to let me inside but I needed to use the bathroom. The entire apartment from what I could see was empty- no furniture, no art on the walls, no anything. I asked her if she lived with her parents or if they just moved or something and she said, "no, this is where we've lived since I was in 3rd grade." Then I said that we should get some food to take with us since she mentioned that she was hungry earlier. She said that they didn't have any food. She could tell I was confused so she walked me to the kitchen to prove it. There were about 200 bottles of liquor sitting on the counters. She opened the fridge and the freezer and they were completely full of liquor. She opened all the cupboards- every one of them filled to the brim with bottles of liquor. She said, "my parents don't really eat, they just drink"
Update: (Someone asked if she turned out okay.) Yes, actually. It's a small town so even though I moved away, my Mom has remained close friends with her. She is happily married now with a bunch of kids (many of whom are adopted) and a beautiful home and a great job that she loves. Sometimes I see her when I visit during the holidays and she's always glowing- very healthy and happy. From what I've heard through my Mom, she has mentioned that her abusive childhood has helped her to be more sensitive and compassionate toward others, and as far as I know, her and her husband are completely sober now (she used to get drunk often in high school).
An Unpopular Opinion. 2 years ago
I'm glad the kid turned out alright, that sounds like a tough life, especially when you're a kid
"Great horror stories thread a precarious needle: They maintain a sense of the truly inexplicable while creating a world and a narrative that provides enough answers to ground the story,” the writer and editor explained that the very best horror stories have to always leave some mystery for the audience to grapple with later.
“Over-explanation kills most horror, which is why the shark is scariest when you only see the fin; the alien is most terrifying when it's lurking in the shadows; the killer is most monstrous when he's masked," he said.
"My professional expertise is limited to fiction, but I'll say this: I've seen enough real magic and wonder in the world to make me think twice about whether the supernatural is real—and I think that's a healthy thing. It's perhaps less important to believe any given tale than it is to remain open to experiences while leaving room in your head and in your heart for belief,” Doug noted that the world is far deeper and weirder than people sometimes think.
#10
They would rather trust prayer over medicine.
And then one of them died.
#11
Went to this kid's house. He wanted to go to a near by playground. Mom told us we'd have to wait until she was finished with whatever she was doing. 6-7 year old kid pulls over a chair, stands on it, and slaps his mother straight across the face with force. She is quiet for a second or two, then says "Ok, get your coat."
Went home and thanked my Mom for being her for about 12 hours straight.
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
I’m guessing kiddo observed this behavior and he didn’t just start doing it out of nowhere one day. Some kids seem to be born without empathy glands, but still.
#12
When I was about 12-13, I had this friend who lived in a house with her mother and 4 other sisters. One day I went to her place while on my period, and ended up using her washroom to change my tampon. I put the used one in the garbage can--which had a lid--completely wrapped up in toilet paper. Later in the night, right before dinner, we're all sitting at the table waiting for their mother, when we suddenly all hear her screaming from the bathroom "WHO HAS THEIR PERIOD?!? WHO USED A TAMPON??!" she came rushing down and all the sisters denied having theirs. I ended up sheepishly coming clean, to which she said "AND YOUR MOTHER LETS YOU USE TAMPONS?! DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT THAT DOES TO YOUR BODY?!" She then proceeded to make a whole dinner conversation out of why tampons are horrible for me, and why they've "ruined my purity forever" and bragged about how her daughters would never use anything so "primitive". Needless to say I never went there ever again.
I thought it was so weird and WTF-y because the only way she would have seen my used tampon is if she had actually gone through the garbage, looking for something incriminating. The thing is, thats totally something this woman would do, to try and find something to yell at her daughters about.
Abby Harrison 2 years ago
wow. using tampons "ruins" ur purity? thats just stupid. also holy crap op using tampons rite off the bat at young age. i couldn't figure out how to use them. so i just used depends till i was abt 16.
Meanwhile, psychologist Lee Chambers explained to Bored Panda that human beings are practically hard-wired to be fascinated with stories about dangerous, dark, and disturbing things.
"When considering why the darker side of humanity and entertainment are so compelling, we have to first look at our evolutionary journey as human beings. For the majority of our existence, we were prey and always hyperaware of threats to our safety, which created a negativity bias that we are drawn towards," he went into detail during an earlier in-depth interview.
"In today's safe and often sanitized world, we are rarely threatened significantly, and the ability to explore evil, frightening and gruesome entertainment is one of the few ways we can visit this part of humanity while remaining safe and comfortable.”
#13
When I was around 8-9 years old, there was a girl in my neighborhood that hardly anyone ever saw, outside of school. She was maybe a year younger than me. I tried talking to her a few times, and she was very, very shy. She was never allowed at other kid's houses. Reasonable, I guess. There were a lot of questionable people in our town. However, no one was allowed over at her house, either. Not even in her yard or on her driveway. This was because, in her words, her parents "didn't like kids." Okay. One friend of ours managed to see into her house a few times. Apparently all the furniture was always covered in plastic, and everything was dark.
We went maybe a month without seeing her outside of school, which was normal. One weekend, a friend and I saw her walking down the sidewalk and she told us that her father had died. Her mom told her that he 'started bleeding from the inside after he ate some crayons she didn't clean up,' and that it was her fault for not cleaning well enough.
She lived in the same house until after high school. She hardly ever spoke and when she did, it was just a whisper. She sort of seemed like a small child a lot of the time, with how she acted and pronounced words. If I weren't just a clueless kid then, I probably would have said something to someone.
ChickenNugget 2 years ago
yea... all kids deserve parents but so many parents don't deserve kids :(
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Tamra Stiffler 2 years ago
It seems like an entire community failed this child. A huge part of me feels like someone, somehow should have seen something, done something. I realize, though, that it's not always easy to see. Poor girl.
Mrs. Jan Glass 2 years ago
There was a boy like this in our neighborhood, who lived in the creepy house with the creepy adults. He smelled, his clothes were filthy, and he masturbated in public, so we all avoided him. Obviously as an adult, I can recognize that this kid must have been living with constant abuse and trauma, but in the 1970s, we didn't even have the language to talk about any of this.
Foxxy (The Original) 2 years ago
What the actual f**k. What a horrible thing to say to your child.
HarriMissesScotland 2 years ago
Not a mother. A person who gave birth to her then tortured her.
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Rabbit-Of-ill-Portent🇺🇦️ 2 years ago
A grown @$$ man. Ate crayons. That were left out. I hope someone put a bullet in that b!tches head
Jackie Lulu 2 years ago
Lies to her kid to purposefully make her think she killed her dad??m
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Kelzbelz79 2 years ago
Poor poor girl, I dread to think what became of her but I honestly hope she somehow broke free of that horrible situation and is now somewhere living her best life free of that woman who was labeled "mother" 💔
Stephanie Raymond 2 years ago
Wow, if the grown ass man is eating crayons.... No, not the 6-7 year old's job to control dad's PICA
winterknights 2 years ago
For every day I do not think about how crazy people can get, there's a new story reminding...
Mike_The_Nike 1 year ago
wtf???? you realise that you are blaming INTERNAL BLEEDING on a (most likely) SEVEN YEAR OLD saying that her dad ATE CRAYONS ?????????? WHAT THE F**K????
#14
I was friends with a girl growing up and she didn't come from a very clean home. All the time there were clothes in huge piles all over her bathroom floor. Okay, whatever. But for some unknown reason no one in her family EVER flushed the toilet. They would sit, shit, and just go on with their life. Every once in a while when the bowl got too full, someone would just try to flush thus resulting in week old shit and piss pouring out in the floor all over this laundry. Nine times out of ten they would kick around these clothes then just leave the scene. They constantly bought new clothes. The worst thing this was all just completely normal to them.
#15
When I was in first grade, I remember I had a friend whose only friend was me. He smelled a bit, but he had a Genesis. He would always come over to my place for a night or so, but one day I asked why I had never seen his place. At first he was reluctant, and told me he was very poor. He had to share a bedroom with his brother and his folks appreciated the fact that they were saving money some nights by sending him here. Ouch. No big deal, we don't have to see your place man.
Eventually though, I did. He brought it up sheepishly, and I gave in. It was a very small place inside, unsurprisingly, occupied by him, his little brother, and their single mother. It seemed to be just a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. No judgment. Good times were had. That night, however, I woke up and needed a glass of water. It was sort of dark, and I took a wrong turn. I discovered that it hadn't been my imagination earlier that day: the house did look bigger on the outside. I didn't know where I was anymore. I had left the bedroom, but I was no longer in the kitchen, or the bathroom, nor was I in his mother's room. Where the fuck was I, exactly? I was lost. Total darkness. I must have been making some noise, because just then, some light came on in the distance. It was his mother. Before I could process how far away I was from this light, I heard, "Get out of there right now!!". I hurried around a corner and through a doorway, back into the kitchen by way of some side door I hadn't noticed in the daytime. Not another word was said. I went back to bed, but lay awake for quite a while. I had accidentally explored another wing of the house--probably the other 70% of it, at least. There were at least three other rooms, with massive furnishings under white sheets. There had been dust everywhere. I could feel it on my hands and arms. At some point I noticed my friend and his brother lying awake as well, simply looking at me. Of course... their mother had to have awoken them. I whispered, "Um....." but my friend already knew. He whispered back, "That's.... our dad died in there. We don't go there. Ever."
According to the mental health expert, it’s no surprise that stories and media that are all about the stranger, darker aspects of the human condition are so fascinating.
“There is a level of novelty to it, it removes boredom quickly, and it helps us to discover our emotional limits while understanding the minds of those who go beyond social norms and potentially gaining knowledge of how we might avoid being victims ourselves. They also offer closure, with many stories ending with the mystery being solved, and the criminal being brought to a level of justice," the psychologist said why, for example, true crime shows are so popular as a genre.
The psychologist stressed that some people find it “comforting” when they see evil things being done on-screen to someone else.
#16
Had a friend in high school. He lived down the street and rode the bus with one of my best friends. He was a nice guy but it was easy to tell that he had social problems(didn't know how to interact with other kids). No one was allowed to his house even though he would tell us all the time he was going to ask if we could come over. He told us he wasn't allowed to watch TV and the only one in the house was in his parents room. He wasn't allowed to come out but I think for an hour or so after school his parents were still at work so he would sneak out and come over to my friends house. He would eat as much junk food as he could get away with there and sometimes steal some in his pockets (we never said anything because we knew he probably wasn't allowed to eat anything his parents didn't give him). One day he asked us to come over after we got off the bus(I was riding the bus home with my friend to spend the night.) and said we could hang out for a little while. His room didn't have anything in it except for a bed some dressers and an empty bookshelf. He said his mom took all of his books away because she found out he snuck out once. Then it got weirder, he took a football from his parents room so we could play catch out back. There were giant holes dug all over the back yard, like 10 of them. When we asked him about it he told us that the first time he got caught coming over they took his books away, and after that every time they caught him they would make him dig the holes as punishment. It was heartbreaking, he knew he was going to get caught but still came over just to probably get a little bit of a normal life. A couple months later he was absent from schooll for a week or so and no one knew what was up. The middle of the next week he called up my good friend out of nowhere and told him that his parents caught him again and his dad beat him up bad. He said he ran away and tried to go to my friends house but no one was home. He went a couple houses down and and begged to call the police. He said he wasn't going to be living with his parents anymore and we never saw him again. The only phone number we knew of was his parents, who apparently moved out of the house a couple of months later. Forgot about him until this thread, I hope he's doing alright.
#17
A couple of friends down the street had just moved across country from Georgia to California, and they were different in a lot of ways. The creepiest way, though, was when my friend poured a box of econo brand Raisin Bran for breakfast and it was loaded with cockroaches. He proceeded to remove each roach with his hands, and then pour milk into the bowl with the now de-roached cereal and eat it. I freaked the fuck out, and his dad came in and basically called me a little bitch and then poured himself a bowl of roach bran and did the same thing.
#18
As a 12 year old, my 12 year old friend showered daily with his mom and dad.
Felipe Pereira de Sousa 2 years ago (edited)
When i was 16, i had a seizure. My father got so paranoid carefull he wanted to be with me all the time, including during shower. He slept in my bedroom for almost 6 months. He never got to be with me in the shower because i didn't let him. What i'm saying is... We don't realy know s**t about people just because we read one line about them, told by someone who was 12yo back then, in a website called bored panda.
“It can take us on an emotional rollercoaster, have us trying to solve the puzzle and test our fear in a controlled way. The permission to explore evil is powerful, as we so rarely get the chance elsewhere, and in itself, it is healthy and normal in moderation," he said. However, consuming too much dark media can have negative effects on your physical and mental health.
"The challenge we face is the fact that consuming too much of this can desensitize us, and cause us to become less empathetic to the suffering of others, more fearful of our own environment, and potentially be more likely to use aggression ourselves. It can also cause us to be triggered by our own previous adverse experiences, make it harder to manage our own emotional balance, and increase our stress levels, so moderating our consumption is something we should have front of mind, even when we get embroiled in the latest series that is pulling us in.”
#19
Had a best friend when I was elementary school age who lived right next door to me. Their house was small but nice. The parents were both doctors, and extremely hardcore Catholics. Like the kind who light candles in their walkway and pray to the Virgin Mary before leaving for the day. Going to his house sucked because it was full of old heirlooms and antiques that you weren't allowed to touch. Like old chairs you weren't allowed to sit in and china dolls sitting above the fireplace that were creepy as hell. Turns out they aren't fit for raising kids, but they felt it was their Christian duty to have them. They had one, my friend, and decided no more. They were both too involved in their careers to deal with their son, so he spent a lot of time alone at home. They were very strict about he homework, and if he ever made a grade less then "A" then he would be grounded for weeks. He grew up and played high school football to please them with his manliness, but then turns out he is gay. They were not happy about that.
#20
It wasn't "creepy", but I always felt bad for my friend down the street. Him and I were best friends growing up, his dad was cool and normal but his mom was super weird. She made him dress like an old man all the time, dress pants and button up shirts and loafers. One day I went over to his house to play and he answered the door in a Batman t-shirt and blue jeans, I about shit myself and asked if his mom knew what he was wearing. One day he was playing at my house and his mom showed up at the door holding a pair of scissors and saying he needed a haircut. He stepped outside and she cut his hair right on our front porch and left, didn't even sweep it up after she was done, just left a pile of hair there.
We stopped hanging out when we were like 11-12, and he got really weird by the time we got into high school, very old man like, just like his mom had raised him. Still wore casual dress clothes and came to high school every day with a cup of coffee in one hand and using a cane to walk. Then he ended up going off to college. He came back with long hair, a leather jacket, and piercings all over his face. When his mom saw him she broke down into tears.
Carol Emory 2 years ago
Glad he discovered his true identity. We saw it a lot with Japanese exchange students when I was in college. They go a little "wild child" when they get away from strict rules and dress codes.
#21
An all girl's foster family I was with for a large portion of my childhood: They would buy those huge bags of cheap cereal, but once they bought a huge bag of puffed corn (salty snack) and forced us to eat it as cereal with milk. WTF. Also they had a trampoline as well as an above ground pool. But we couldn't just say "Do you want to go jump on the trampoline?" You would have to say "Do you want to go leap for the lord?" or "Do you want to go tread for the trinity?"
#22
I had a friend who's mother would make her wear her cloths for a week before washing them. (She was smelling very bad) That family had 5 beautiful girls but the parents wanted a boy. The Mom would go to Church every morning to pray for a son. What was weird is that every kid in the family were also praying for a brother. It's was all they would talk about and it was feeling like a strange cult. Finally prayers were answered and the Son was born. Then we changed school and lost touch. About 15 years later, I saw her in a bus. The first thing she told me was: " Did you know I have a brother now ?" It was so weird that I couldn't say anything. WTF!
#23
They froze every one of their dead house pets. Every. Single. One. Something along the lines of 4 cats and 4 hamsters and a dog in their basement freezer. I was shown this by my then girlfriend at age 15. The relationship did not last past a week after that. She is a rich horse girl. I don't want to know what they'll do with her horse...
#24
2nd grade. I went to a neighbor's bday party. Ate 2/3rds of a hot dog and tossed the rest. Friend's dad literally made me eat it out of the garbage. Stopped the party, picked it up, handed it to me, got this wild-eyed sneering look on his face and started screaming about how he "Worked for that" and I "was going to eat it" and "respect his hard work" and "don't waste it." Yeah, the dude was fucking loaded. He could afford to lose 35 cents worth of chicken toes and pork snouts, but apparently the insult (from an 8-year-old) was too grave for him to accept.
Man, fuck that guy. He passed that shit onto his kids, too. They were all insanely status-conscious, constantly buying new shit whenever our family did... we kids built a rickety "tree-house" out of 2x4s? They hired a bunch of day-laborers to build a house on stilts for their kids. We got chickens? They hired day-laborers to build a picturesque chicken coop. We got a computer? They did. We got a nintendo? They got super nintendo.
I didn't realize people like that actually existed, but they totally do.
Carol Emory 2 years ago
Had s friend that was divorced from her first husband. He was a state patrolman making $85k a year, his new wife was an accountant making $45k a year. He was paying less that $300 a month for child support to my friend as she had full custody of their daughter. The jerk tried to take her to court to have the child support payments reduced because they were claiming bankruptcy. Judge told him "nope" and actually increased the child support payments. I was like "How could they be broke with over $120k in income per year?" My friend replied "Because the money disappears fast when you buy a new car every other year...move to a new house every 5 years...." Meanwhile my friend was surviving just fine in a one bedroom apartment, sleeping on the couch so her daughter could have her own room and driving the same beat up Toyota.....
#25
When I was five, I went to the neighbor's filthy house to play with two kids my age. They had a doggie door but no dog. One of the kids pointed out that that was the escape door for their mother when their father was drinking.
#26
I knew a family growing up and their policy was guests do the dishes after dinner. That's like the opposite of what you do wtf.
Kelzbelz79 2 years ago
Not that strange cos if im invited to dinner I always offer to do the dishes ,however I don't feel it should be expected.
#27
I noticed that all of the rooms in this kids house could only be locked from the outside of the room. I thought that only existed in horror movies.
#28
My best friend's family invited me to stay for dinner one night when I was around age 11 or 12. We sit down to dinner and I asked if I could please have some milk or water with my meal. No. No one was allowed to drink anything while eating their meals. They all had to wait until their plates were clean before they could get a drink. WTF? But, I'm thirsty! She remained my best friend for years, but I never ate dinner at her house again.
They also had 9 cats, one of which had a litter of 6 kittens. Looking back, it is amazing that they didn't have 100 cats, because none of them were fixed. They were concerned what the other cats would do to the kittens, which is understandable. So, they kept the kittens in my friend's bedroom. This was probably not so unusual at first, but two years later and these kittens, now cats, had never left my friend's bedroom. Never. My friend actually moved up to the attic when her older brother moved out, because everything she owned smelled like cat pee and she was embarrassed. Basically, she had to give up her room so that her family could keep 6 cats hostage in there.
#29
When I was around 11 or 12, I was best friends with this girl who lived about a half mile away (grew up in a very rural area so us kids just walked through forests to our friends' houses). We did everything together but I wasn't usually allowed to stay the night at her house. Her dad was 'ill' and divorced from her mom so they lived with her dad's parents. When my mom made sure the grandparents were there the whole night, I was able to stay over. For some reason, I wasn't allowed to stay in my friends room and had to sleep out in the living room. In the wee hours of morning, I heard her dad come into the living room and breathing heavy...he was arguing with himself about cuddling and touching me but his other voice kept saying "no! She is a child and a friend of my child, so no!" I was so creeped out I never stayed the night again..
I later found out her parents divorced because of the worsening of his schizophrenia and the wife was bipolar. He was having a conversation with one of his bad voices and luckily her dad was able to suppress it and kept me safe. Still scary as a tween though. Still confused as to why I couldn't stay in her room...her grandparents were very religious so maybe they didn't want us lesbianing out? Who knows.
#30
When I was about 15 I went over to this one kids house down the street. He was a year older and his front lawn was always cluttered and unkept. I went into his house and just what I expected, the place was unfinished and a total trash heap. I wanted to be polite so I stayed a bit. I met his older brother (like 20 something years old) and he showed me his high powered dart gun with a laser pointer attached. He got really pissy when I tried to touch it. We decided to go downstairs and there was this green shit all over the walls and the kid told me it was some toxic mold that sent one of his friends to the hospital when he inhaled it. He told me this like it was nothing and he wanted me to sit by it so we could play his PS2. I asked why the hell he didn't clean it and he kinda just brushed me off. I told him that it was getting late and had to go home so I walked upstairs and he didn't even say bye. About half way down the street I look back and realize his brothers green laser pointer is aimed at my back (wtf) so I crossed the street and sort of ran home.
#31
I always find it really sad that my neighbors dad sat on his lawnmower from dawn to dusk so he didn't have to deal with his family.
#32
When I was about 11-12 I had a friend that lived in a really big house in my neighborhood. We were never allowed to go to her house, outside or inside. One day, we were riding bikes and I fell right near her house and I insisted we get a napkin from her house to clean the blood. She was really weird about it. I only went into the kitchen and there was a door that was closed, she opened it and yelled that I was in the house. Her mom came in, she was a very pretty woman and was wearing a silk robe. She told us to hurry up and and then sent us on our way. About three months later they were in the news for running an illegal escort service out of their home. Both of her parents went to jail and my friend was sent to Florida to live with her grandma. I can't imagine what her life was like during that time or afterwards.
#33
Went to a friends house and could hardly breathe when i stepped through the front door..they had like 20 dogs/cats and would just let them piss and shit anywhere in the house the smell of ammonia was so strong i could barely breathe, it was so bad that all the floor boards were just soaked with urine and were rotted.
#34
Oh man, almost EVERY day before we got on the bus my friends mom would pretend that he was some male suitor leaving the house. She would run out half clothed and throwing his clothes yelling "oh billy that was amazing! Ohhhhhh billy!" Pretty weird.
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
One time might be a tone-deaf parent trying to embarrass their teenage child (in poor taste). More than once… maybe they’re not “pretending” anything.
#35
Pour the unfinished drinks--milks, juices, sodas--back into the containers after the meal.
What do you think ?
Carol Emory 2 years ago (edited)
I was actually raised in one of these houses. My mother was anti-social. We were not allowed to have friends over in our house when my parents weren't home. We had a pool table downstairs and I invited the neighbor kid over to play. We had milk and cookies and were having fun when my mother came home from the grocery store. She saw the neighbor girl and started screaming at her to go home while screaming at me for letting her inside. After that...rumors started circulating about how crazy she was. Guess who got to suffer the brunt of that with bullying at school? At 7 years old, I learned to cook eggs. My mother would sleep in every morning and my sister and I would have to be super quiet getting ready for school. If we woke her up, she'd scream at us and hit us. We'd be thrown out the front door and told to get out of her sight. So fun getting picked on at school because your mom is weird then having to go home to that nightmare every day. Que adult anxiety attacks.
Jackie Lulu 2 years ago
When I was growing up we had cat hoarders next door, anywhere from 10 to 20 cats and kittens. Probably more. They were everywhere, all skinny and fleabitten. The 2 boys were undisciplined and did all kinds of crazy things like climbing on the roof. They did mean things to those kittens. Their clothes smelled of cat pee & poo, and the house did too. You could smell it just walking by. After I moved out, Animal Control came and took away all the cats.
Wren Hard 2 years ago
lol my friend who is sorta Christian but doesnt go to church or anything came to have dinner at my house. When we went to say a prayer and all held hands she jumped up and screamed. She thought we were summoning a demon.
Wonderful 2 years ago
My family wasn't religious at all xmas and Easter were about santa and bunnies. When I was 6-7 I went over to my friends house for a sleep over and here fam was the long hair long skirt Christian's. I had a pixie haircut and wore shorts and a tank top. I didn't know they dressed that way for religious reasons I just thought my friend was girly. At dinner I got my plate and instantly started eating. Her mom shrieked at me about how ungrateful I was and yada yada. Then they all prayed. I'd never prayed before a meal. It was really long and drawn out and then finally we ate. Next day I went to church for the first time that I know of. My friend wanted to baptize me so I could play with her in heaven. I thought she wanted to drown and kill me so I kept declining. "I'll put you under water and then you can go to heaven!" I stuck out like a sore thumb with my short hair and knee length dress. We stayed friends but I didn't sleep over ever again. It was like another planet to me.
Load More Replies...
Sally Barry 2 years ago
My parents were both douchebags, I can relate to a lot here. Howvever. My best friend in high school was a bright, smart, funny girl who lived down the street next to the fire station in a flat with her parents. The couple times I was invited into the apartment, it was dark. One bare lightbulb in the kitchen. Totally quiet. Her mother was equally quiet, she looked EXACTLY like the Little Brown Hen in a children's story. Like a Far Side comic. Pointy glasses and all. ... Her father was ancient! Fat and sick, shuffled around barefoot and in boxer shorts with his junk showing, coughing like an alien was going to erupt from his chest. HE never said a word. Hawwwwk...hawwwwwk...spit onto the floor....shuffle off. Jesus F'ing Christos. My friend couldn't come out on weekends as she was supposed to clean the apartment. (her mother made and packaged sandwiches for food machines, all night, slept during the day). I often wondered whatever happened to my friend.
WoodenLion 2 years ago
i went into a guy's house once and it was completely unbelievable to me. there were tiny walkways through the house. couldn't touch a wall if you had to. floor to ceiling.
Tenacious Squirrel 2 years ago
Growing up I had a friend whose home had a locked door to a room. I never knew what was in there or what the deal was, apart from that we were never allowed in that room (and it was always locked with a key). My friend didn’t really elaborate. I found it creepy. Once after staying over I was walking past the mysterious room, her Mum was coming out of it and I saw inside. It was just full of chairs lining the walls, all facing in to the room. I was somewhat disappointed but I still found it creepy. Now as an adult I think it was something quite mundane. For example, her Mum was involved in various community groups/organisations such as the local council. I suspect it was just a room they had for some kind of group meetings and they didn’t want the kids playing in there. Still a bit weird about the lock though, they only had 2 kids and they were relatively well behaved so it seems OTT.
Random Anon 2 years ago
Look I grew up penniless also. You can be poor in wealth but never be poor in your humanity. Maybe some really bad sh!t happened in their lives that made them that way, maybe they were just brought up that way and didn't know better. Still, they have been in society long enough, to marry and have kids, to know better.
i.am.lost. 1 year ago
Listening to all of these stories, I feel so sorry and concerned for those who have encountered this and I'm disgusted by all of these types of wacko and crazy parents. I'm so sorry and I really really hope nothing like this ever happens to young children, because this just sickens me to the core. Hearing these stories just makes me appreciate my mom even more...And on the topic of going to my best friends' homes, their parents have always made sure I was happy and comfortable and even if I denied, they persuaded me to eat (I actually have trouble eating and have appetite issues), which just made me very happy and loved, like they are my second family, just like how my own mother makes me feel. I hope all of you who've been raised by such horrible parents live a happy and amazing life!
CrazyRedHead 2 years ago
My Grandpa had a mom who cut a FRIGGIN KITTEN in HALF because his sisters were fighting over it.
Carol Emory 2 years ago (edited)
I was actually raised in one of these houses. My mother was anti-social. We were not allowed to have friends over in our house when my parents weren't home. We had a pool table downstairs and I invited the neighbor kid over to play. We had milk and cookies and were having fun when my mother came home from the grocery store. She saw the neighbor girl and started screaming at her to go home while screaming at me for letting her inside. After that...rumors started circulating about how crazy she was. Guess who got to suffer the brunt of that with bullying at school? At 7 years old, I learned to cook eggs. My mother would sleep in every morning and my sister and I would have to be super quiet getting ready for school. If we woke her up, she'd scream at us and hit us. We'd be thrown out the front door and told to get out of her sight. So fun getting picked on at school because your mom is weird then having to go home to that nightmare every day. Que adult anxiety attacks.
Jackie Lulu 2 years ago
When I was growing up we had cat hoarders next door, anywhere from 10 to 20 cats and kittens. Probably more. They were everywhere, all skinny and fleabitten. The 2 boys were undisciplined and did all kinds of crazy things like climbing on the roof. They did mean things to those kittens. Their clothes smelled of cat pee & poo, and the house did too. You could smell it just walking by. After I moved out, Animal Control came and took away all the cats.
Wren Hard 2 years ago
lol my friend who is sorta Christian but doesnt go to church or anything came to have dinner at my house. When we went to say a prayer and all held hands she jumped up and screamed. She thought we were summoning a demon.
Wonderful 2 years ago
My family wasn't religious at all xmas and Easter were about santa and bunnies. When I was 6-7 I went over to my friends house for a sleep over and here fam was the long hair long skirt Christian's. I had a pixie haircut and wore shorts and a tank top. I didn't know they dressed that way for religious reasons I just thought my friend was girly. At dinner I got my plate and instantly started eating. Her mom shrieked at me about how ungrateful I was and yada yada. Then they all prayed. I'd never prayed before a meal. It was really long and drawn out and then finally we ate. Next day I went to church for the first time that I know of. My friend wanted to baptize me so I could play with her in heaven. I thought she wanted to drown and kill me so I kept declining. "I'll put you under water and then you can go to heaven!" I stuck out like a sore thumb with my short hair and knee length dress. We stayed friends but I didn't sleep over ever again. It was like another planet to me.
Load More Replies... Sally Barry 2 years ago
My parents were both douchebags, I can relate to a lot here. Howvever. My best friend in high school was a bright, smart, funny girl who lived down the street next to the fire station in a flat with her parents. The couple times I was invited into the apartment, it was dark. One bare lightbulb in the kitchen. Totally quiet. Her mother was equally quiet, she looked EXACTLY like the Little Brown Hen in a children's story. Like a Far Side comic. Pointy glasses and all. ... Her father was ancient! Fat and sick, shuffled around barefoot and in boxer shorts with his junk showing, coughing like an alien was going to erupt from his chest. HE never said a word. Hawwwwk...hawwwwwk...spit onto the floor....shuffle off. Jesus F'ing Christos. My friend couldn't come out on weekends as she was supposed to clean the apartment. (her mother made and packaged sandwiches for food machines, all night, slept during the day). I often wondered whatever happened to my friend.
WoodenLion 2 years ago
i went into a guy's house once and it was completely unbelievable to me. there were tiny walkways through the house. couldn't touch a wall if you had to. floor to ceiling.
Tenacious Squirrel 2 years ago
Growing up I had a friend whose home had a locked door to a room. I never knew what was in there or what the deal was, apart from that we were never allowed in that room (and it was always locked with a key). My friend didn’t really elaborate. I found it creepy. Once after staying over I was walking past the mysterious room, her Mum was coming out of it and I saw inside. It was just full of chairs lining the walls, all facing in to the room. I was somewhat disappointed but I still found it creepy. Now as an adult I think it was something quite mundane. For example, her Mum was involved in various community groups/organisations such as the local council. I suspect it was just a room they had for some kind of group meetings and they didn’t want the kids playing in there. Still a bit weird about the lock though, they only had 2 kids and they were relatively well behaved so it seems OTT.
Random Anon 2 years ago
Look I grew up penniless also. You can be poor in wealth but never be poor in your humanity. Maybe some really bad sh!t happened in their lives that made them that way, maybe they were just brought up that way and didn't know better. Still, they have been in society long enough, to marry and have kids, to know better.
i.am.lost. 1 year ago
Listening to all of these stories, I feel so sorry and concerned for those who have encountered this and I'm disgusted by all of these types of wacko and crazy parents. I'm so sorry and I really really hope nothing like this ever happens to young children, because this just sickens me to the core. Hearing these stories just makes me appreciate my mom even more...And on the topic of going to my best friends' homes, their parents have always made sure I was happy and comfortable and even if I denied, they persuaded me to eat (I actually have trouble eating and have appetite issues), which just made me very happy and loved, like they are my second family, just like how my own mother makes me feel. I hope all of you who've been raised by such horrible parents live a happy and amazing life!
CrazyRedHead 2 years ago
My Grandpa had a mom who cut a FRIGGIN KITTEN in HALF because his sisters were fighting over it.
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