People Describe The Creepiest Things They’ve Seen Families Do (Thinking It’s Totally Normal)
Typical family traditions may include singing certain holiday songs or enjoying a game night. However, some people have such creepy family traditions, you may never want to visit their homes. After reading these Redditors' stories of bizarre encounters with seemingly normal households, you'll be thankful your family tradition involves playing Monopoly instead of wearing matching poodle skirts.
Freaky family secrets can appear especially weird to outsiders, but to families embracing their unusual traditions, nothing's amiss. For example, they may find it endearing to keep late pets or older family members preserved indefinitely. Likewise, is it that strange to adhere to strict rules about bodily functions or "mandatory cuddle time?" While these tales may portray families as outlandish, keep an open mind: To these households, their "odd" traditions are simply an opportunity for quality bonding time.
One Child Had An Awfully Special Quilt
From Redditor /u/Wawawawawawawa27:
I was babysitting for a girl and noticed weird furs on her bed. She explained to me very matter-of-factly that they were her cats. Her parents skinned her pet cats after they died (presumably of natural causes) and put the pelts on her bed. That was the only time I babysat for them.
The Kids Were Forced Into Mandatory Cuddle Time
From Redditor /u/NotABoss0814:
I hung out and played with these three siblings. They were all pretty normal kids, but the mom seemed kind of clingy. During the summer we would play outside a lot; baseball, hockey, go karts, swimming, the norm.
Every single day at about 12:00 pm, the mom would call the kids back to the house, one at a time. They would have to go inside for about a half-hour, and would then come out while the next kid would go in. Never thought too much about it, until one day I was actually in their house with them and found out why she called them.
She had mandatory cuddle time with each of the kids. They would lie on the couch and she would spoon them in the quiet for about 30 minutes each. Weirdest thing I've ever encountered.
There Was A Baby In The Closet
From Redditor /u/wanttoplayball:
This was not my experience, but my aunt's. It was back in the 1950s when my aunt was a teenager.
She was hired by a couple to babysit. She'd never babysat for this couple before, but she was impressed because they were fairly wealthy and lived in a big house. The two small children (around five and six years old) were well-dressed and well-behaved. My aunt spent the day with them, fed them, played with them, etc. That evening she got them ready for bed. The parents were due back later that night.
My aunt heard some sounds coming from an upstairs closet. The children were in bed asleep. She opened the closet and found a crib, and in the crib was a baby. Both the crib and the baby were filthy. I think my aunt woke up the children and asked them about the baby, but their answers were vague. I don't recall my aunt having any luck getting information about the baby from the two older children.
My aunt cleaned the baby up. She washed the bedding. I remember her telling me that the baby didn't really make much sound other than the little grunts that had drawn her attention to... the closet. She probably tried to feed the baby, but I don't remember that part of the story.
According to my aunt, the parents came home, paid her, thanked her, took the baby, and the dad drove her home. She never babysat for them again, and she has no idea what happened to the baby...
They Really, Really Liked Plates
From Redditor /u/EastLondon12:
I knew a girl in high school whose parents were obsessed with dinner plates. They had such a huge collection of collectible plates in their house that every room was full of them on display. Their entire house was basically a library set up for these things. Her bedroom was a mattress on the floor surrounded by display cases of plates. You couldn't even lean on any wall, they were all like this.
The last time I went over there, I knocked one off the wall by mistake. I caught it and it didn't even break, but my God the rage her dad flew into was f*cking horrifying. He was inches away from punching me. Never went back! They tried to nervously laugh it off like, "Haha, good ol' Dad being funny, hahaha!"
The one time I asked my friend why they had so many, she want on a passionate tangent about all the cool plates they had and why they were so awesome. It went on for an hour. I never asked again because hearing about neat dishware for an hour was like torture.
This Family Watched The Same Disturbing Movie Repeatedly
From Redditor /u/Happykittykat:
Something that I have witnessed for years only began to hit me as the realization slowly unfolded. A family that I visited frequently (all adult children who still live with their parents) would coincidentally always have the same movie on every single time I visited. They all huddled around as though they are watching it for the first time.
Once, when I actually stayed over for a longer duration, the TV was finally turned off when the movie ended, only to be turned on again and the "play" button pressed for the same movie. I finally realized that this movie is watched multiple times a day, every single day, almost like a ritual, and all the members of the family react the same way to the same scene repeatedly as if they have never seen it before.
...for all those asking what movie, it was called Just Ask My Children [about a couple accused of child exploitation].
This Family Kept Their Pet Dog Forever
From a former Redditor:
The parents of one of my sister's friends stuffed their dog. He was a little old dog when he died and they stuffed him. Now it's in their house like a teddy bear.