Missing: A Collection of Short Horror Stories

The Farmer

My mother in law was a very funny and cool woman. She and my wife were really close and sadly, she passed away when our son was about 4 months old. Flash forward a few years. We live in an old 1930s era craftsman house in Pasadena, CA. Our son is about 3.

I was giving him a bath one night and he starts looking over my shoulder, not at random stuff, but at something. A moment passes and he asks me why Grandma calls Mommy a funny name. Long pause. I asked him what he meant thinking he was talking about MY mom. He then says why does Grandma call Mommy ****** (My mother in laws nickname for my wife). I was really set back by this. My wife and I never used the nickname, it was just what her mom called her since she was a baby. I asked him where he heard that. His reply:

"The Farmer told me"

I asked him who the farmer was and he replied "his friend." I tell my wife this story later and she's of course reduced to tears over the whole nickname thing. We both know there is no way for him to know this and we just kinda marvel at it.

Flash forward to the next weekend and my son is playing in his room. My wife is at work (retail) and I'm home (I worked M-F).

I hear him start talking like he's having a conversation. He's saying things like "yes" "no" "I don't know that" then some laughing. I go into his room and ask him what he's doing and he says playing. I ask with who. He says The Farmer.

At this point, I'm already thinking about the fucking Exorcist movie and Captain Howdy. It's a little unsettling. I ask him where the Farmer is. He says he left when I came in.

THE FUCK. So my wife gets home and I tell her this and now she's just as weirded out as I am. We have no idea what do and figure if it happens again we'll do something.

A few days later in the middle of the night we both over hear our son saying the following: "Grandma says you and I can't be friends anymore."

Wife and I go check on him, both of us a little freaked. He's just sitting up in bed. I ask if he's ok and he says yea, Grandma says I can't play with the Farmer anymore.

He never once mentioned the Farmer again. Not ever. He's 13 now and doesn't remember any of it. We do though