People Reveal Their Favorite Childhood Memories Which May or May Not Be Real

Everyone has that one favorite childhood memory they love sharing — even if there is a small chance it never happened.

The accuracy of childhood memories has long been debated, with studies proving that the brain is likely to fill in the gaps when it comes to events that happened so long ago. However, despite the proof that those treasured memories from your adolescent might not be 100 percent true, there is no convincing some people that they took place. 

On reddit, users shared their weirdest childhood memories that their family and friends claimed never happened — and it's a real mindf--k. How can something you remember so vividly just be a figment of your imagination? How? 

Keep reading for some childhood memories we believe took place, no matter what anyone says. 

"My brother managed to get his head stuck in the scrollwork of an iron/wood banister at a hotel, and in the ensuing panic I wandered off to this wonderful place where there was a table full of cookies and candy. As I'm eating the cookies and the candy and whatever I can find, some really angry adult yells at me, picks me up, and carries me out of this amazing room filled with sweets.

"I was about 3 or 4 years old. I think I crashed a wedding or a bar mitzvah's dessert table while my brother was being extracted from the banister. It was amazing — my parents claim it never happened."

—@dainty_flower

"There was an old couple who lived on the other side of my backyard fence, they had grandkids who were a bit older than me or younger than me so we weren't friends. When I was three or four years old I met a kid who was visiting them, across the fence, he told me they were his grandparents and I would talk with him through the fence, it was awkward and we would mostly just sit there and play with our own toys in silence or just look at each other for hours, a lot like the two kids in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. 

"His name was Brian and every time I played with him, his grandfather would give me a weird look. We moved cities shortly after and years later I brought it up with my brothers and my mom and they don't remember the neighbors having a grandkid my age, they remember the older kids and the younger ones but not anyone my age, they don't remember me ever playing with anyone out there, they don't remember anything about it at all. It still freaks me out to think about that."

—@cxmilxs

"I remember when I was a child there was this fountain in my city that had some kind of spikes at the bottom (some elements of a construction). And I vaguely remember that once my mom and I were passing by the fountain and there was no water in it, but there was a man lying there in a puddle of blood, pierced by the spikes as if he had fallen on them accidentally. And my mom was like 'Oh, let's go, let's go.'

Now, I asked her about it when I got older and she said, 'What? This never happened!' I guess she wouldn't lie about it and it's not something she'd just forget, so maybe it never happened, indeed. Not sure why I remember this though."

—@houlada

"I vividly remember going to see my dad in hospital after he had been in a car accident. I remember the bruises on his chest from the seatbelt and his old school hairstyle. He had a hip to ankle cast as he had broken his leg in three places and I remember that leg wasn’t covered by the blanket so I could see the cast.

"My mum was actually pregnant with me when this happened so there’s no chance I could remember it. However, I’m convinced my mum has got her dates wrong." 

—@the_fourth_child

"I woke up from a bad dream and went to go sleep with with my parents. On the way to their bedroom I had to pass the front door which had a big window next to it. Two guys were trying to break in and when they saw me, they knocked on the window to get my attention and motioned for me to unlock the door.

"My mom said it was a dream, but to this day, the image if those two guys at our front window is as real as any childhood memory I have.

"This happened over 40 years ago."

—@fuzzy_merkin

"My very first vivid memory is false. I got a shape sorter for Christmas. When my parents left the living room, my older brother walked over, picked up a block, and threw it in the fire.

"I was reminding my mum about this in my early twenties and she laughed. We didn't have an open fire, and my older brother couldn't walk yet.

"I still think he did it."

—@Seyr

"I'm tellin' ya, this is true. I was at home with some cousins over for lunch. We were sitting in our living room which was in sight of the front door and front gate beyond that. I saw a newlywed couple go up to our gate, the man opening it for his bride very nicely, and walked up and into our house. My aunt went up and explained that this is our house, and they walked off. 

"No one who was there has ANY memory of this event, but it is very vivid in my mind."

—@thedampone

"I am maybe 4 years old. I follow my sister up the outside stairs of our apartment building to where a man is sitting on the top step. He is cleaning a handgun and I don't know him, so I am afraid. My sister chatters away about the gun. 'How does it work? What's that part for? Can I hold it?' I'm frozen — I want to not be here, but I don't know what to do. I have to wait for my sister, she's the oldest, she should know. The man gets up, puts the gun inside his jacket, and looks at me.

"That's all I remember. I have no idea if this happened or if it was a dream, but the memory doesn't feel like a dream. My sister doesn't remember it at all, so... it must have been a dream, right?"

—@SuzQP

"I remember waking up early on a Saturday morning when I was 4 or 5. I walked out to the big area behind our backyard and saw a hot air balloon taking off.

"The rest of my family says it was impossible."

—@Matsuyama_Mamajama

"I was about 7 years old when this happened. My grandma took me on a walk with her friend and right when we were crossing a bridge, a shark jumped from the water and ate my grandma's friend. 

"I never gave this much thought until some years ago, when I remembered this and thought how ridiculous it was. The thing is, I never saw my grandma's friend again..."

—@kookie4653

"That when I was about 10 I was at my aunty and uncle's house in Sydney for Christmas and my cousin who’s a hairdresser PERFECTLY straighten my crazily curly long hair, which takes over an hour. One of my presents that morning was new pajamas and I put them on and went to walk out into the garden to show my mum my new pajamas and tripped and fell into their pool, soaking my new PJ’s and ruining my perfectly straight hair (to my cousin's dismay).

"I literally have such a vivid memory of it happening but I brought it up to my mum once and she doesn’t remember it, so I have always questioned myself."

—@kttyfrncs

"A crow once grabbed a cookie from my hand and flew away. I'm sure it has happened, but I doubt it sometimes."

—@Wherethetop

"My most vivid childhood memory is not real.

"I remember leaving the hospital after I broke my arm in a wheelchair and there was the most beautiful bright sunset I had ever seen. There was also a few rainbows and flocks of bats flying in the sky.

"According to my mom it was early afternoon and raining. I can still see it so clearly though."

—@banterdisaster