Random Grown-Ups Describe Imaginary Friends That May Not Have Been Imaginary (20 items)

• (#1) Insisted Karen Be Treated Like A Real Person

  From bluethundersix:

  "I was an imaginative kid & had several imaginary friends, but my first one was different then the rest. When I was two or three I had an imaginary friend named Karen. My whole family knew about her & I would insist she be treated like a real person, unlike my later fantasy folks. My mom would hear me carrying on whole conversations with her alone & was always a little curious where I had come up with the whole thing, it seemed more complex then toddler pretend. Like I genuinely thought she was a person & that people were being inconsiderate to her by not acknowledging her. Sometimes to humor me my parents would out of the blue be like 'Well, hello Karen!' & I'd glare replying 'She's not here right now.'

  We ended up moving & once we did, Karen wasn't mentioned anymore. Since I was young, I don't remember too much, just a warm feeling like an old friend. My mom asked me about it when I got older, and told her I could confidently remember making up my other later imaginary friends (Howard the Duck & his girlfriend Chuck) but not Karen. She told me she always wondered if I was seeing something she wasn't, but no harm ever came of it so she didn't worry.

  Well I'm in my 30's now and was reading an article about a case that changed how soon you could report a missing person. As I read I realized it was sort of near where I used to live and the girl was named Karen. I didn't think much of it, it was a city, crime happens. As I read further, I learned that Karen's murderer had buried her body in the town I had lived. At that point, not expecting much but rather curious, I texted my mom for the address of our old house. As it turns out, Karen was murdered then buried about a mile & a half from our old home.

  Now, I'm not saying that I'm 100% sure this Karen was my Karen, and the whole thing had happened a little over decade before my parents had even bought the house. My mom had never even heard of the case and it was would have long been out of the headlines. I still haven't found a picture of the girl and sometimes wonder if I'd recognize her even though she died before I was even born. Regardless, the whole thing was a sad story and that young lady didn't deserve such an awful end. If she was my Karen, it's even sadder her spirit lingered and only had a toddler for a friend."
• (#13) They Followed Her Around The Yard

  From Heavensmagick:

  "When I was about five I had a pair of 'imaginary' friends, a brother and a sister, both about seven who only I could see. I lived on a bend in a river half-a-mile down a dirt road, in a wooded area. When I got older, I found out the land we lived on used to be a trading post back in pioneer days. They only showed up when I went outside to play and I remember they wouldn't play on the swing set with me, just play with sticks and rocks in the dirt next to it while I swung, then when I got off the swing set, they would follow me around our yard, but they never traveled outside the yard (we lived on a 160 acre farm)."
• (#12) His Name Was "Tim" And He Lived In The Basement

  From Shaddeauk:

  "At four my parents divorced. My dad, with not many resources, moved into the attic of this comically pink house in the bad side of town. One day he hung a tire swing from a tree in the back yard. I had a lot of fun with that, and I remember this guy living in the basement of the house would hold conversations with me out of the basement window while I played. His name was Tim, he had a yellow jacket and a bright pink helmet every time I saw him, which was every time I went outside.

  Once in a while he would ask me to climb in the window but I always said 'I don't think so Tim!' because I thought it was funny that he'd act really angry and mad. I asked my dad recently about Tim, and he said that nobody lived in the basement and it was used for storage. I don't know if Tim was real or not, but I'm glad I didn't go into the basement."
• (#18) The Little Blond Girl

  From RicottaPuffs:

  "We stayed with my grandparents when I was three for a few months while my family was between houses. I had an imaginary friend, a little blonde girl.

  Years later, though, I wondered about her. I first saw her when she was skipping down my grandmother's hallway. I was trying to nap on my grandmother's bed. She stopped outside the bedroom door.

  The little girl stopped skipping and said, "Oh, you can see me!"
• (#10) Becky Said She Hated Her

  From kaleidoscopeeyes907:

  "I had an imaginary friend when I was five or six. Her name was Becky Reeder, and she was maybe eight or nine, had curly brown hair, and was slightly pudgy. I had her as a friend for about three years. She and I would hang out in the downstairs of my house and color, play with dolls, and sometimes play outside. She would never come upstairs though and I never found out why. She would just go away when I went upstairs.

  One night she invited me to a party, and I was excited because she said I could meet her family. She had a mom and dad, grandparents, an older sister, and an aunt. She told me that the party was by the water (like a 10 min drive from my house), and that it would be fun. I told her I couldn't leave, and she said we could sneak out. I started out the door when my mom heard and came to investigate. She asked what I was doing and I told her that I was going with Becky to a party to meet her family. My mom told me I couldn't go, and I threw a fit because I really wanted to go.

  My mom picked me up and went to take me to bed, but I couldn't stop crying so she brought me into her room to sleep in her bed. A while later I calmed down and was just laying there watching the ceiling when I heard the noise by the bedroom door. Becky was upstairs, and she was standing there. I waved at her and whispered 'I'm sorry.' Becky said 'I hate you', and walked out of the room.

  I never saw her again after that. I've tried Googling deaths in that area or asking around, but nobody knows anything, so it was interesting. I talked to my mom about it when I was older, and she said she was very alarmed because I was so adamant to go to this party, even though it wasn't real."
• (#3) Tom Followed Him Everywhere

  From overdosebabyblue:

  "As soon as I could start speaking, I had an imaginary friend. I called him 'Tom.' I would set places at the table for him, talk to him during long bus rides, ask his opinion about things, and basically treat him like an invisible brother even though I had three other siblings. I don't remember any of this. My mum grew concerned that I wasn't developing socially, so she took me to a child psychiatrist. This I remember. They asked me about Tom and why I saw him, if I saw anyone else in the same manner, and asked me to sort out some stuff with puzzles. I stopped talking to Tom after that.

  Fast forward ten years. After her divorce, my mum gets really into spirituality. I thought it was a load of bollocks, until she played the recording of a particular psychic reading session with me. The psychic was new and really interested in me for some reason. She said she saw a young dark haired man 'watching over me'. She asked if the name Tim meant anything. She asked if I was a Gemini. She asked if I had a large birthmark on my side. All this is correct.

  The psychic inferred that Tom/Tim and I were twins in a past life. The birthmark I carry is apparently how he died, to come watch over me in this life. As a child, I could see him and interact with him, but I lost that gift as I was conditioned not to see him.

  I'm skeptical of such claims, but hearing the psychic pinpoint such information made the hair rise on the back of my head. So, I guess if you're there watching over me, thanks twin bro."

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