For our first episode, the subject is that of Black Eyed Kids. BEKs terrify experiencers with their solid black eyeballs and odd behavior. It is a fitting start to our journey into the unknown. Credits: Cassandra Harold is your host. EM Hilker is our principal writer and researcher with additional writing by Cassandra Harold. Jim Harold is our Executive Producer. Unpleasant Dreams is a production of Jim Harold Media. Sources and further reading: Dying for more stories of alleged BEK encounters? Please see the following articles: 16 Terrifying Encounters with ‘the Black Eyed Kids’ compiled by Chrissie Stockton 10 Terrifying Stories About the Black-eyed Children compiled by Lyra Radford  Witness Reports: My Friend Died After Meeting Black Eyed Children by Greg Newkirk Witness Reports: I Let The Black Eyed Children into my Home and Now I’m Slowly Dying by Greg Newkirk Dying for more analysis of the phenomenon? We recommend these books as an excellent starting place: The Black Eyed Children, 2nd ed. By David Weatherly  The Chilling, True Terror of the Black-Eyed Kids: A Monster Compilation – Second Edition By G. Michael Vasey And, of course, the following article by the excellent Ryan Sprague: Can we Come In? The Lore of the Black Eyed Children by Ryan Sprague You can find EM Hilker's full article that this podcast was based upon HERE and a transcript of the podcast version below: PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Whether it’s throughout the internet or around campfires, whispered furtively from friend to friend behind pints of ale in the darkened corners of a pub, or scribbled into journals late at night, incidents of encounters with Black Eyed Kids (BEKs for short) appear to be increasing in frequency. “Black Eyed Children” were virtually unheard of until the late 1990s, but stories of encounters with these creatures are becoming more and more common as time wears on. In addition to allegedly true accounts submitted to websites and in chat rooms across the internet, Black Eyed Kids and the lore surrounding them have inspired a short, a full-length movie, dozens of books, both fact and fiction, and yes... even a tote bag. But what are these mysterious children, and where did they come from? Are they just tall tales to be told around the campfire, or something far more sinister? There is no consensus on what a Black Eyed Kid actually is. Experiences with these entities run from encounters on roadsides to forests to fields to the very front door of the experiencer. Regardless, there’s always a feeling of strangeness and terror in the air. The black eyed child or children always ask to be let in. And always, the experiencer finds themself gazing into a disquieting pair of preternaturally, entirely black eyes. The first written modern account of the Black Eyed Kids was penned in 1998 by Texan journalist Brian Bethel.  But Bethel wasn’t just the individual who coined the term “black eyed kids.” Two years prior to his publication, Bethel found himself approached by two boys, roughly between the ages of 10 and 14, as he sat in his car and filled out a check for a nearby drop box. Mr. Bethel’s account tells of a sudden and unexplained overwhelming sensation of illness and unease that heralded the arrival of the boys. The lead boy’s increasing urgency to gain permission to enter his car was unsettling, nearly as much as  his own horror at realizing that both boys had pure black eyes -- not merely very dark human eyes but eyes lacking sclera, iris, and pupil. Their disappearance haunted him as he (wisely, it would seem) sped away into the night, shaking and deeply afraid. Author and researcher David Weatherly sought to find earlier cases of encounters with Black Eyed Kids, pre-dating both Bethel’s account and the advent of the internet in general. The earliest written first person account he uncovered of a Black Eyed Child was the experience of a teenaged boy named Harold in the 1950s, no relation to Jim, I assure you. Harold was out for a walk by