Life

This 3-Year-Old Girl's Imaginary Friend Is So Nightmare-ish That All Of Twitter Is Crying

by Mia Mercado

Good day, fellow patrons of the internet. Who wants to be completely creeped out by a spooky thing a child said? Literally no one? Well, too bad, because I read this three-year-old’s description of her imaginary friend and now you have to as well. Sorry, but those are the internet rules: when you see a spooky thing you have to share the spooky thing.

In an issue of Oh Comely magazine, three-year-old Ruby shared a drawing and brief description of her imaginary friend. It’s literally only five sentences long. How creepy can five sentences be? Well, creepy enough to creep out actress Natalie Morales who tweeted a photo of Ruby’s interview. Here’s Ruby’s description of her imaginary friend, Grateful:

“This is my imaginary mum, Grateful. Her yellow eyelashes mean she can see in the dark - she only comes to see me at night-time. It scares me sometimes, but I always want her to come back. She has two babies in her belly. She’s 14 but can never have a birthday.”

Morales succinctly summed up our feelings about Grateful in her tweet: “Ruby, you have a ghost. This is straight up terrifying.”

Ruby’s story has left the internet properly shooketh. (Paranormal Activity who? "Dear David" what?)

Twitter responded with as many scream-face emojis as you would expect. (Side note: the actual official name for that emoji is Face Screaming in Fear. Also, apparently the Samsung version shows a ghost escaping from face’s mouth??? As if this all couldn’t get any creepier.) The tweet also prompted people to share their theories on Grateful, Ruby’s friend/ghost.

Some said "Grateful" sounds like a Puritan name, which would line up with the whole being pregnant at 14 thing. Others noted how articulate and scary Ruby’s whole description is. Stephen King is quaking. For the most part, people were like, “Um yep that’s definitely a ghost.”

Earlier today, Oh Comely tweeted a video to Natalie Morales, showing an extended interview with Ruby about her ghost mom Grateful. The video is for an upcoming issue of the magazine.

In the video, Ruby further confirms that Grateful “can have no birthdays, only nothing. Nothing.” Ruby also explains that Grateful “lights up in the dark normally.” (What happens when she doesn’t light up in the dark???) She goes on to say that Grateful interacts with her by whispering, “Ruby, Ruby.” (Very chill! So normal! Exactly how humans interact!!!) Ruby also notes that Grateful “actually wants to be a person.”

While Ruby doesn’t clarify exactly what that means, we all know what it means: Grateful is a ghost and she wants to find a way to not be a ghost and this is all the plot for Paranormal Activity 17.

Little kids of a habit of saying the creepiest things. Earlier this year, your Twitter feed was likely flooded with people sharing creepy things their kids have said. Ruby and Grateful are just the tip of the spooky iceberg, my friends. Kids are creepy and they don’t even know how creepy they are, in turn making them even creepier.

One person shared that a kid in the pre-K class she taught walked up to her, pointed to her stomach and said, “‘There’s a little tiny baby in there. There’s a little baby right there.’ I was pregnant but hadn’t told my job.” (Not today, prescient fortune-telling baby!!!)

Another tweeted a story that started out sweet, with their child saying, “You’re the best mommy I’ve ever had.” To which they responded, “I’m the only mommy you’ve ever had.” Then, the child responded with, “No [you’re] the 3rd one but I like you the best.” (Nope! No thanks! That’s gonna be a “no” from me, dog!)

Lest you think kids started being creepy in 2018, please enjoy this Reddit thread of creepy kid stories from last summer. Apparently, kids can’t help but say extremely creepy things!

This would all be kind of funny if it weren’t extremely horrifying. But best of luck to you and Grateful, Ruby!