Dear David: The Internet Ghost Story That Haunts Us Still
Some ghost stories are passed down in whispers. Others are shared around campfires, scribbled into journals, or buried in books. But once in a while, a haunting is born in real time—one tweet at a time. That’s the case with Dear David, the viral Twitter thread that took the internet by storm in 2017.
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| Dear David |
It started with a nightmare. It ended with the world watching.
Who—or What—Was Dear David?
In August of 2017, cartoonist Adam Ellis (known for his work with BuzzFeed and his distinctive art style) shared something odd on Twitter.
He’d been experiencing sleep paralysis, and during one of those terrifying frozen states, he saw a boy sitting in a green rocking chair at the foot of his bed.
The boy’s head was grossly misshapen—partially caved in on one side, like it had been crushed. Adam described the child as staring at him silently before slowly crawling up onto the bed. It was creepy. But it got worse.
A few nights later, Adam dreamed of a girl who told him:
“You can ask him two questions if you say ‘Dear David’ first… But never ask him a third.”
Naturally, he did.
The Three Questions
In his dream, Adam asked:
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“Dear David, how did you die?”
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“Dear David, what happened in the accident?”
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“Who pushed the shelf?”
That third question, as warned, broke the rules.
David didn’t answer.
He simply glared.
And just like that, the haunting began.
When a Thread Becomes a Story
What followed over the next few months was a real-time account of a haunting, shared across hundreds of tweets, Instagram posts, and even video clips. It read like a horror novel, but played out in real life—or at least, in real time.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most bone-chilling events Adam shared with the world:
1. The Cats Knew First
Adam had two cats, and they were the first to notice something was off. Every night, right around midnight, they would gather at the front door, staring at it like someone—or something—was on the other side.
One of the cats would paw at the door, sometimes yowling, even though no one was there.
He even shared videos of the cats doing this. Viewers watched, equally fascinated and unnerved, as the cats behaved in ways that didn’t seem normal.
2. The Polaroid Incident
Adam, skeptical himself, decided to test things.
He bought a Polaroid camera and began snapping photos around his apartment. When he took pictures of the hallway with his phone, everything looked normal.
But when he used the Polaroid camera, the hallway came out pitch black—as if light couldn’t touch it.
He even tore one photo in half and burned just the black part. It caught fire immediately.
Was it a trick? A glitch? Or something darker?
3. The Green Rocking Chair
One of the eeriest pieces of the story was the green rocking chair, an antique piece that Adam had in his bedroom.
The chair, often seen in his photos, would sometimes rock on its own in the middle of the night. Adam posted video evidence, and while it wasn’t conclusive proof, the timing and buildup gave viewers chills.
It quickly became a symbol of the haunting—something ordinary that now carried an ominous weight.
4. Shadow Figures and Nightmares
Adam’s dreams grew darker and more vivid.
In one, he saw David dragging himself toward him with twitching, jerking movements. In another, he was standing over Adam’s bed, staring with hollow eyes.
He started having vision issues, experiencing what he described as a “flash” in his left eye. It felt like someone was watching him—always just out of frame.
And then came the shadows.
One night, he used an app to record a time-lapse while he slept. The result? A series of photos that showed something—some figure—sitting in the green chair… then moving closer.
In one frame, the figure stood over him.
He posted the images. The internet freaked out.
5. The Knock on the Door
Then came the knocking.
Three distinct knocks, always at 3 AM, always from the other side of the door.
No one was there.
Eventually, Adam left town for work and noticed that when he wasn’t home, the activity stopped. But once he returned, so did David.
And things escalated.
6. David Follows Him
Adam moved to a new apartment. He hoped the change would end the haunting. It didn’t.
He began hearing loud bangs, thuds, and footsteps above him—even though the unit above was empty.
He caught a video of a turtle shell falling from the wall on its own. Later, a decorative glass on a shelf exploded without warning.
And then he dreamed of David again.
This time, David was hanging from the ceiling, swaying back and forth—his dead eyes boring into Adam’s soul.
7. The Final Dream
In the last tweet update, Adam described a disturbing final dream.
In it, he dreamed of being in a room filled with murky green water. He saw David face-down in the water, lifeless… until suddenly, David rose from the tub, lunged at Adam, and climbed onto him.
He woke up screaming.
And then—nothing.
The updates stopped.
For weeks, followers begged for news. Was Adam okay? Was this the end?
He eventually posted again—saying he was fine, that things seemed to be over.
But for many readers, that silence was the most unsettling part of all.
What Made Dear David So Terrifying?
There are a lot of ghost stories online. So why did Dear David hit so hard?
Because it felt real.
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Adam shared everything as it happened, in the same casual, terrified tone anyone would use.
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He used videos, floor plans, photos, time-stamped images, and Polaroid shots to document what was going on.
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His cats reacted. His followers reacted. Even skeptics kept reading.
For many, it was like watching a horror movie in slow motion—except you didn’t know if it was fiction or not.
Skeptics vs. Believers
Of course, not everyone bought it.
Some thought Dear David was a clever marketing stunt.
Others pointed out possible Photoshop edits, staged photos, or inconsistencies in the timeline.
But here’s the thing: even if it was staged… it scared people.
Because at its core, Dear David wasn’t about gore or jump scares. It was about that primal fear of being watched, being followed, being haunted by something you can’t escape.
“Dear David” the Movie
With the massive popularity of the Twitter thread, it didn’t take long for Hollywood to take notice.
In 2018, New Line Cinema picked up the rights. The project moved through development and was eventually released as a film in 2023 titled Dear David.
It told a fictionalized version of the story, drawing from the tweets but adding new elements. Reception was mixed—many viewers felt it didn’t capture the slow-burn terror of the original thread.
But the legend lives on. The tweets are still up. The photos still exist. And if you scroll through Adam Ellis’s timeline, you can still feel that dread creeping in—just like it did the first time.
So… Was It Real?
That’s the question everyone asks.
Adam never fully confirmed whether the haunting was real or a storytelling experiment. And honestly, it doesn’t matter.
What Dear David proved is this:
Some stories don’t need to be real to get under your skin.
They just need to feel like they could be.
Why the World Couldn’t Look Away
Dear David landed at a perfect cultural moment.
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Twitter threads were becoming popular storytelling platforms.
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People were hungry for fresh horror outside of traditional media.
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And the idea of a slow-building, modern haunting—shared one piece at a time—was just too good to resist.
It blurred the line between online folklore and lived experience, giving us a new kind of urban legend for the digital age.
When Skeptics Step Back
And here’s the kicker.
Even people who say they don’t believe in ghosts admit to getting nervous reading Dear David. Some reported bad dreams, or feeling watched after reading the thread late at night.
It’s that strange gray area between fiction and belief—where you say “it’s not real” but still check the shadows anyway.
Because what if?
Final Thoughts
The legend of Dear David may have started as a Twitter thread, but it ended as something much bigger—a story shared around the digital campfire, experienced by millions, and retold again and again.
Whether it was real, fake, or something in between, one thing is certain:
Dear David left his mark.
And somewhere, just out of sight, maybe he’s still watching.
Or maybe he's just waiting—waiting for someone else to break the rules.
To ask that third question. To invite him back.
Enjoyed this story?
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