Dear David: The Twitter Ghost Story That Terrified the Internet

In 2017, Twitter froze as an eerie tale unfolded—a ghost story unlike any other, spun in real-time. Illustrator and writer Adam Ellis claimed his New York apartment was haunted by the spirit of a deceased child he dubbed “Dear David.” What followed was a chilling series of tweets that kept readers on edge, blurring horror fiction and reality. But was “Dear David” a true haunting, or an elaborate internet hoax?

It began on August 7, 2017, when Ellis tweeted:

“So, my apartment is currently being haunted by the ghost of a dead child, and he’s trying to kill me.” 

He detailed disturbing dreams, starting with sleep paralysis—a green rocking chair at his bed’s foot, a child with a huge, dented head staring from it. In another dream, a girl at a library warned that the child was “David,” dead after an accident in a store. She cautioned that David appeared at midnight and followed a strict rule—he’d answer only two questions. Ask a third, and he’d become angry.

On August 10, Ellis put the warning to the test. In his next dream, he said, “Dear David, how did you die?” David replied, “An accident in a store.” Ellis continued, “What happened in the store?” David answered, “A shelf was pushed on my head.” Then, without thinking, Ellis asked, “Who pushed the shelf?” David didn’t answer—he only stared at Ellis, his expression darkening. Ellis woke in a panic.

The terror spilled into waking life. His cats gathered at his front door every night at midnight, staring at something unseen. His rocking chair creaked on its own and Polaroids of his hall came out pitch black despite lights being on, while pictures taken with a phone were fine. Audio clips captured faint thumps he swore weren’t pipes. He moved upstairs to a larger unit after the tenants moved out, hoping for an escape from the strange events. But the disturbances followed—flickering lights, strange sounds from the empty flat above, and a nanny cam video of the chair rocking solo. He tried a salt circle around his bed—a folklore trick—but the thumps only got louder.

Things escalated. Ellis tweeted about waking with unexplained bruises and feeling exhausted and sick. At BuzzFeed, where he drew comics, colleagues noticed him unraveling—sleep-deprived, jumpy, muttering about David. Later, the creepiest came: photos he found on his phone, taken while he slept—David’s warped face, stringy hair, malformed ear, inches from his own near his bed Technology still refused to work properly—phones froze, apps crashed. Then, suddenly, it stopped. By February 2018, he posted: “Things have quieted down.” No more updates, just comics and cats. Had he escaped, or had something darker silenced him?

Ellis’ saga became an internet phenomenon, amassing over a million followers by late 2017 and dividing believers and skeptics. Unlike a polished ghost story told in hindsight, Dear David unfolded in real-time—tweet by tweet, with photos and videos adding to the eerie suspense. Some found his cats’ midnight stares compelling, citing the belief that animals can sense spirits. X users chimed in, insisting, “Cats don’t lie.” Others suggested a more scientific explanation, pointing to sleep paralysis—a known trigger for hallucinations—that could have shaped Ellis’ encounters. Some even linked his experiences to abduction lore. But it was the sleep-shot photos, grainy and unsettling, that had believers convinced, calling them the “smoking gun” evidence.

But skeptics had doubts. The timing seemed suspicious—just as updates faded, a movie deal hit. As a digital artist, Ellis had the skills to manipulate images—critics on X mocked the “David” pics as “doll props”. No neighbours or cops confirmed disturbances—and the upstairs noises stayed his word alone despite pleas for tenant corroboration. Some argued it was too neatly structured—with many claiming the whole event had been faked. Ellis never aggressively defended it, but he didn’t admit a hoax either.

In 2018, BuzzFeed Studios quickly seized the opportunity, greenlighting a film adaptation with a script by Mike Van Waes. Directed by John McPhail, it starred Augustus Prew as Ellis, Andrea Bang, and Justin Long as his boss. Filmed in Toronto, production wrapped in December 2021, and the movie hit screens on October 13, 2023. However, the plot took a significant departure from the original story—Ellis wasn’t just haunted by a ghost but faced a demonic David born from online trolling. Critics were unimpressed, and audiences pointed out the film’s stark differences from the real events that had captivated Twitter. Ellis remained silent—his last Dear David tweet, posted on December 15, 2019, linked to a Bustle recap. After that, nothing.

“Dear David” is modern folklore—Twitter created it, and a film that sealed its legacy. It’s a testament to how social media blurs fact and fiction, a 2010s ghost story for the digital age. Whether a genuine haunting or an expertly executed viral thread, it set a precedent for online storytelling. Want the full tale? Check: Dear David Full Scary Twitter Story. Haunt or hype, it’s a chilling reminder of how the internet turns whispers into legends.