Jeepers Creepers, Where'd You Get Those Peepers?

Over the past decade or more, stories of particularly strange encounters with not-quite-human people have been whispered around the globe.

The storytellers are very diverse: a bank executive in Sydney, Australia elevator; a couple at a rest area in Michigan; a Portland, Oregon apartment manager; an anonymous Starbucks customer in an undisclosed location; and most-surprisingly a newspaper reporter in Abilene, Texas.

To the casual observer, the individuals they met or saw wouldn't seem very unusual. Though upon closer inspection, they all had one very odd thing in common: their eyes. They were pure blackness, lacking a pupil or iris.

Websites often refer to these people as BEKs (short for "black eyed kids"). Generally, they are children, between 10 and 18, and are entreating entrance. Be it a ride in a car or coming inside a home or apartment to borrow the phone, they generally grow impatient if denied. Witnesses have noticed a strange, uncomfortable feeling around them... even compulsion, as if under hypnosis.

But who are they? Several theories exist, from the mundane "people wearing black contact lenses" to the obscure, more paranormal "alien hybrids", "demons", and "vampires". The fact that they cannot enter a vehicle or dwelling without the owner's permission lends credence to the similarities with vampire legends. Whatever they are, the people who have reported the encounters have been terrified and shaken by their experiences.

Are they real? Many people say that it's simply an urban legend. Indeed, there is no evidence backing up these stories, which makes them difficult to prove. They were all chance encounters, usually without other people present. No photographs were taken. No traces were left behind.

The most credible encounter was that of Brian Bethel, a newspaper reporter who encountered two strange children outside a movie theater in Texas. his 1998 tale has been the cause of much speculation... and even controversy. Some allege that the tale is fiction, while Bethel still stands by his story. And yes, he's even on Blogger.

The only real way to know for sure is to experience one first-hand. After all, seeing is believing...