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."
• (#7) She Lived There Before

  From fivedollarcarwash:

  "I had loads of imaginary friends when I was a kid, most of which were just personifications of my dolls and my favorite characters from books and TV, but I remember one with a completely unique personality from when I was about nine and living in Virginia. She was called Christine or something similar and as much as I can remember she lived in the house before we moved in, had long pigtails and was close to my age.

  I didn't think much of this until really recently when my parents and I were talking about when we used to live in that house. My mum told me that she used to hear footsteps and a child's voice coming from the upstairs while I was at school, and my dad told me he once found an old photo of a little girl at the bottom of one of the closets while he was cleaning it. Unfortunately he couldn't tell me if the girl had pigtails."
• (#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."
• (#20) Even Made Food For "Splashy"

  From intermag:

  "His name was splashy.

  In kindergarten I told a girl she could most definitely not swing on the swing next to me because splashy was swinging there and she could god damn wait her turn. Needless to say the teacher had a talk with me about that.

  I also used to make splashy 'soup' which consisted of everything I could get my hands on thrown in the food processor/blender and baked in the oven to a crrisp puke like consistency.

  Miss that guy."
• (#14) An Imaginary Evil Twin Named June

  From orabrooch:

  "I had an imaginary evil twin named June who lived in the attic. Whenever I did anything wrong I blamed her, so my parents would make 'her' write apology letters. I'm right-handed, so I used my left hand to write them, thinking this would fool them.

  Twenty years later, I'm playing poker and a dude at the table called me June. I honestly did a double take until I realized he just had forgotten my actual name."
• (#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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