The Eyeless Boy

In my life I have had several paranormal experiences starting as a young child all the way up into adulthood. I've heard my name being called by a disembodied voice, been touched by an invisible being, I've seen glasses thrown to the ground, and more. One event however, stands above the rest in my mind’s eye. I grew up in a traveling carnival; It was an interesting childhood to say the least. When I close my eyes I can see the fluorescent lights of the rides and games and I can still smell the enticing aroma of the funnel cake in the air. Also, now and then I get a craving for a real fair corn dog. The frozen ones you can buy in the store are just not the same. To me the carnival is the prettiest at twilight; when the sun rays are golden pink in the sky and the matching lights on the rides and games seem to shine brightly along with the sun. This is the scene of one of the most memorable and mysterious experiences of my life.

This was a very busy night for the carnies working; people were crowding the mid way everywhere you looked. My mother had stopped to talk to someone and I held onto her hand to wait patiently for us to move on. As I waited I watched all the people rush around the midway and teenagers seeking out the biggest rides to go on. Parents carried all their prizes and candy as their kids worked on their ever growing sugar rush. I'm not sure how long I stood there just watching. Five minutes maybe? Anyways, for some reason a woman and a young boy caught my attention. The woman was tall and slender and she was holding the hand of a boy about my age. I noticed that they had nothing in their hands. No food, candy, prizes, or ride tickets. I don't even remember seeing the woman with a purse or bag. That was not the strangest thing about them though. What caught me off guard was the fact that even though they were walking right toward me, so close that I could reach out and touch them. Despite this and the fact that they were walking under some bright lights they seemed distorted. I couldn't make out any distinct features. It was like they were blurry silhouettes of two people.

When they passed by me, I turned my head to continue watching them walk away. In my young mind I really wasn't sure why I was watching them so intently; why I was so fascinated by them.The woman and boy walked about ten feet or so away from me and the atmosphere shifted. The sounds of the midway dissipated. The talking, screaming, the loud sound of the rides, and the beckoning calls of the Barkers all became muted all at once. The greasy smell of fried food and the sweet essence of cake faded. The strangest thing of all however was the fact that the mid way seemed to be put on pause. The carny workers were frozen in mid pose and the visitors seemed no longer able to move, including myself. I didn't (or couldn't) move my body at all. If I am being honest, I don't think I tried to move. Even the odd woman and boy seemed to be planted in place, still hand in hand. Suddenly the boy did make a move. He turned his whole body to the left but still seemed to keep a hold of the woman's hand with his own left hand. Why did he turn around? Well to look directly at me of course.

When he turned to look at me I finally got to see what he looked like. He had a pale complexion with short brown hair. His frame was thin and he had extra long arms and he was slightly taller than me. What is most ingrained in my memory of him was the fact that he did not have eyes at all. There was skin over his eye sockets. He was close enough for me to see the blue veins under the skin where his eyes should be. His face was expressionless and he did not make a sound. He just stared at me. The woman stood still with her back to me and I never got to get a good look at her.

As the boy stood there staring at me I remember not really being afraid, but feeling flabbergasted and I really wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I just stood there with my mouth gaping as this odd boy and I intently examined each other. I got the sense that this boy was keenly interested in me, maybe because I could see him? I'm not sure how much time passed. It couldn't have been more than a minute or two. Who knows though. As I mentioned before; time seemed to have stopped. The boy then suddenly turned back around and disappeared into the crowd. Everything went back to normal. The sounds and smells returned to as it all was before. I jumped and turned to my mother. "Mom, that boy looked at me and he didn't have any eyes," is all I could say to her. I know that really didn't explain what had just happened but it was the best I could come up with. I was young and at the time really didn't understand what I had just experienced. In reality, I am still not sure what it was that I saw. I've asked various gifted people throughout the years and have yet to be given a clear answer.

My poor mother was at a loss as to what to tell me. I've had a few experiences in the past with such things and she had always believed me. To this day she remembers that night and what I had told her. She did not have that experience but she says she could clearly see the look of confusion on my face and the shock in my voice. Not to mention my sudden outburst of what I had seen. It was not my normal behavior to interrupt adults talking and had calm and quiet the whole time we stood there. So, she did not hesitate to believe that I did see something out of the ordinary. The only thing she could think to say to me at the time; "Are they hurting you? Are they scaring you? I answered negative to both questions. She then continued to say; "You leave them alone and they will leave you alone."

I still continue to research and ask those who are more knowledgeable than I am as to what it is I saw that night. I'm unsure to say it was a ghost of any kind because he was corporal and seemed to be made up of skin, blood, and bone. I may never fully understand what I had experienced for this world is a mysterious one.