Black-Eyed People in Texas, Nebraska

The early July sun beat on 19-year-old Dallas Adams as he pumped gas into his car at a convenience store in Lucas, Texas.

A man and his son stood at the pump opposite Adams, a woman at her car was behind him. When the gas nozzle clicked Adams placed it back onto the pump and went inside the store. Things were different when he came out.

“There was no line in the gas station,” Adams said. “I bought cigarettes and walked out but when I came out my car was the only one there. I had only been in the gas station for maybe two and a half minutes. As soon as I noticed everyone was gone I felt scared but couldn’t figure out why.”

Then he saw the man standing by his car. As Adams walked by him, he noticed a smell, like the man hadn’t showered in weeks.

“He looked like an average guy but when I looked at him I felt scared like my life was about to end,” Adams said. “I went to my car and looked at him – he was staring at me.”

The man came closer to Adams as he stood at the driver’s side door, walking in long steps.

“I need a ride,” the man said, the force in his voice striking Adams like something physical.

“It scared me to death,” Adams said. “I said, ‘what?’ And he said, ‘give me a ride.”

Then Adams saw what frightened him.

“His eyes were completely black. No whites, no nothing, just black,” Adams said. “When I was talking to this thing I could smell its breath, which was horrible.”

Adams worked up the courage to ask where the Black-Eyed Man wanted to go. The man simply replied, “just give me a ride."

“I said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t,’ then he took a few steps toward me,” Adams said. “His walk was kinda odd, but stopped as this conversation was happening.”

But what terrified Adams was the man’s eyes.

“I couldn’t take my eyes off of his,” Adams said. “It was like they were sucking me in.”

As Adams stood, watching the strange man with the black eyes approach him, something broke whatever held Adams’ gaze. Adams hopped into his car and sped away.

What did Adams’ see?

“This is really troubling me cause I’ve had dreams about this man every night since the day it happened,” Adams said. “

Black-Eyed People have been in the popular culture since two approached journalist Brian Bethel as he sat in his car in 1998. The encounters are usually the same. Black-Eyed People are usually children to young adults who use language and assertiveness that would seem to be beyond their means. But the most common thread is their eyes; black, without iris or whites, and dead like a Hollywood vampire’s.

What these people may be – aliens, demons, practical jokers – is a matter of debate. However, the reports continue. Like this report from Omaha, Neb.

A little girl, about five years old, brown hair in a ponytail ran around the play area at the Westroads Mall, but Debbie Rife knew something was wrong with the child.

“I saw her eyes and just thought something was weird, different, off about her, so every time she ran past my way I tried to figure out what it was,” Rife said. “Then I realized that there was little to no difference in the shading between her pupil and iris. So of course I kept staring, only not trying to be obvious about staring.”

If there was any white to the girl’s eyes, Rife said it wasn’t noticeable.

And the odd little girl kept following Rife’s seven-year-old son.

“I was waiting for something weird, spooky or crazy to happen like a scene from ‘Carrie’, but really nothing happened,” Rife said. “She followed (her son) around for a little bit and kept saying, ‘Hi, hi, hi,’ and something about she wanted to marry (him). He said she was funny, but also creepy.”

Then there was the screaming girl.

“I didn't hear anyone else notice the child,” Rife said. “The only thing I did notice was that another little girl kept going up to her and doing this scream thing. She did that to her a couple of times until her mom came and told her to stop that and then she didn't bother the (Black-Eyed Kid) again.”

Online poster Thaisa, saw a Black-Eyed Person on a train in early May – and the horror haunts her.

“I have seen one of them and now wherever I go I don’t look into people eyes,” Thaisa said. “You can see something strange, sense something different. I did not feel scared until I saw this person’s big, entirely black eyes, no white inside it.”

As Thaisa watched, this man, who fidgeted on the commuter train, moving nervously from seat to seat, locked eyes with her, and his eyes changed to black within seconds.

“I turned my head immediately from fear,” Thaisa said. “I tried to rationalize this event. I thought I might have had a hallucination in the middle of the day.”

She looked at the man again and he still glared at her. Big, entirely black eyes stared into hers, and a fear like sleep paralysis gripped her.

“This person was sitting just opposite me in the train and was observing me for 35 minutes,” Thaisa said. “Clearly it wanted to make contact but I did not respond.”

The man eventually reached his stop and Thaisa felt like she snapped out of a spell.

“When he left the train I felt such a relief,” she said. “I felt like the biggest disaster was behind me. I was shaking for a couple hours after.”

Copyright 2010 by Jason Offutt

Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt, P.O. Box 501, Maryville, Mo., 64468, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”

Jason’s newest book on the paranormal, “What Lurks Beyond: The Paranormal in Your Backyard,” is available at Jason’s blog, from-the-shadows.blogspot.com.