BY HMONGTALES STAFF
HmongTales: Strange Disappearance – The Stranger in the Garage is based on a true story from California
This is the story of a Hmong family and their 8-year-old son, who mysteriously went missing for a week after walking into the garage.
This strange disappearance story happened in Northern California during the late ’90s. One afternoon while the family was about to have lunch, their eight-year-old son mysteriously disappeared. The family didn’t know he was missing until his mom noticed she hadn’t seen him for a while. The mom searched everywhere in the house for her son, and once she realized he wasn’t there, she ordered her husband to get in their car to search all the nearby streets. After searching for hours without success, the family feared the worst and eventually called 911 to report their son missing.
For the next few days, relatives and local law enforcement searched and patrolled the street, hoping to find the young boy wandering around.
After a few days of searching with no sign of their son in sight, the family began to lose hope and fear for the worst.
On the fifth day of the son’s disappearance, a family relative suggested to the boy’s father that they should seek a shaman for help. He informed the father that a shaman could perform a ceremony and ask their ancestors to help locate the son.
The father agreed with the relative’s suggestion and called upon a Hmong shaman to come and perform the ceremony the following day. After the ceremony was completed, the shaman revealed to the parents the shocking discovery of what he had uncovered.
According to what the shaman saw, he explained to the parents that their son was still alive but hidden from view. He informed them that he had met a deceased family relative while he was in the spiritual realm.
After talking to this person, the shaman concluded that he was responsible for their son’s disappearance. This mysterious person explained to the shaman that he was infuriated with the boy’s parents and wanted to punish them for neglecting him. When the shaman asked where the boy was, the person told him the son was inside the house.
After explaining his encounter to the parents, the shaman suggested that they make an offering to please the deceased relative, and in exchange, he would return their son. The parents agreed to the request and asked the shaman to help, to which he agreed. Later that day, the shaman returned to the house and completed the offering ritual.
The following day, while walking into the garage to grab supplies, the sister spotted the missing son sitting on a chair, holding onto an empty plate. Surprised by her brother’s sudden reappearance, the sister quickly ran to the living room and informed her parents. The parents promptly rushed to the garage and saw their son sitting on a chair.
Baffled by the sudden reappearance of his son, the dad asked him where he had gone these past few days, to which the son confusingly answered that he hadn’t gone anywhere.
Shocked by the boy’s answer, the dad informed his son that he had been missing for almost a week, and they’d searched everywhere for him. Thinking he was in trouble for something he didn’t do, the son cried out that he hadn’t gone anywhere and had been in the garage the whole time. Stunned by the son’s reply, the dad asked him for his side of the story.
The son told his dad he was walking to the kitchen to grab a plate of food when he heard someone knocking on the garage door. He then walked over, opened the door, and saw an older man standing there. The man told him he was his grandpa and asked him to bring him some food because he was hungry. The son then headed into the kitchen and got a plate of rice and chicken his mom had finished grilling earlier. He then brought the plate of food to the man, who was now sitting on a chair inside the garage. He handed the plate of food to his “grandpa” and watched him eat half before being offered the rest. After he was done eating, he turned back, and his parents were there.
Disturbed by their son’s story, the dad asked how long he had been in the garage. Without hesitation, the son replied, “Not very long. Just long enough to finish the food.” The dad noticed something strange about his son; he kept looking at something next to him while telling his story. Puzzled by this, the dad asked his son, “Where did this man go?” The son turned to his side, looked up and pointed at something, and said, “He’s right here.” Frightened by the boy’s answer, his parents grabbed him and rushed out of the garage.
Terrified by this strange experience, a few months later, the family decided it was best for them to move away, as far from this house as possible.
According to rumors, some people believe the son saw his deceased grandpa in the garage. They believe the grandpa hid the son to punish the parents for various reasons. Some also believe the son left the house, got lost, but eventually found his way back home. Other rumors suggest that he was kidnapped and returned after the abductor realized they might get caught. What do you think happened?
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