An urban legend that exploits our fears of an obstructed gaze and the deeply unsettling idea that the youngest of our species are out to destroy us, the lore of Black-Eyed Children, or Black-Eyed Kids, is a modern construction. Powered by the ever-broadening influence of the Internet, B.E.K stories began circulating in the final years of the 20th century, but the “evil spawn” child archetype of the horror genre and hundreds of years of social expectations of childhood inform these unsettling monsters. Find out how the Black-Eyed children challenge biological impulses and cultural expectations—and learn why you should never blindly open a door to a stranger, even a small one.