'I asked parents the spookiest things their kids ever said and I may never sleep again.'

It came out in 1999, but we will never forget that creepy line from the psychological thriller The Sixth Sense when the young boy turns to Bruce Willis and says "I see dead people."

Why do children seem to have these unsettling insights? Perhaps their developing minds, unburdened by adult scepticism, can perceive what we cannot.

Many believe that children exist in a liminal space — their innocence and openness allowing them to connect with spiritual realms that become closed to us as we age.

So, we asked the Mamamia community to share the most disturbing things their children have ever said, and the responses were genuinely chilling.

Watch: Bad parenting confessions. Post continues below.

Ghostly visitors.

"My young child was in a room by herself, looking at the sofa and saying, 'Oh good, you are here. I was hoping to see you again'. No one else was in the room." - *Maya.

"When my nephew was young, he always talked about his other family and how, when he was in bed one night, the police came and shot him and his body flew out the window. He described the old-fashioned car they used to drive, how he had a different mum, and how he used to live in Africa. He could see spirits when he was younger, too." - *Zahra.

"My son had lots of ghostly experiences when he was young. We had the house spiritually cleansed twice and rarely feel or see anything these days. He's 22 now, but when he was about five I was driving, and he was just staring out the window with his nose practically on the glass. I watched him in the rearview mirror and asked what he was looking at. He said "all the people". I said there was no one there, and he said "Can't you see them, they are everywhere". I got the Sixth Sense chills." - *Emma.

"My four-year-old ran screaming from our office a few weeks ago and said the creepy person tried to grab him. I questioned him about it, and he said they are always standing in the shadows, and he is scared to be in rooms by himself. Then a couple of weeks later, I was putting him to bed, and he was pointing at the ceiling and said, 'look, do you see that?' I said 'no, what are you pointing to', he said 'the floating lights'. He kept asking me if I really couldn't see them." - *Charlotte.

"A couple of weeks ago, I was in a campground bathroom with my baby boy and four-year-old girl. She was making funny faces in the full-length mirror when she suddenly stopped and said, "Who's that?" I assumed she was just looking at my reflection in the mirror, so I said, 'It's me!' Then she said, 'No, I mean who's that?' And this time I assumed she meant the baby, so I said, "It's your baby brother!" Then she slowly pointed off to the left of us and said, really quietly, 'No, Mum…who's THAT'. There was no one else in the bathroom with us." - *Talia.

The infamous "I see dead people" scene from The Sixth Sense. Image via Buena Vista Pictures

Family connections.

"Not long after my father-in-law passed years ago, my toddler was helping in the garden. He was chatting away to someone and I asked who he was speaking to. He said Grandad. I gently reminded him that Grandad was in heaven now, and he didn't skip a beat and said 'No he's not, Mum, he's right here next to me'." - *Yasmin.

"My father-in-law died years ago (before I even met my husband). When my twins were around 16 months old, they were waving at a light in the hallway. I asked who was there, not expecting an answer. They both said, 'Poppy G'. I told my husband when he got home, He said that's what his nephew (his dad's grandson) called him when he was alive." - *Aisha.

"My four-year-old told me 'I talked to your mummy last night' I said 'Did you? How is she?' 'Yeah she's good, she's up there mummy watching' and pointed up. My mum passed away when I was 16." - *Talia.

"My daughter was two years old at the time. My grandfather's name was Donald, Don for short, and she never met him as he passed away six years before she was born, and she had never heard me refer to him by his first name. He was always "Pop" to me. One night in bed, she was lying next to me and started waving hello towards the doorway. I observed, and she then said "Hi Don!" And she continued to wave. I looked at her and said 'Sweetheart, who are you waving to?' and she looked blankly at me like nothing had ever happened." - *Sophia.

"My niece used to see an old woman in her room at night, called Rose. She couldn't sleep because Rose was there. The freaky part was that my niece's middle name is Rose!" - *Jia.

Past lives.

"I said to my three-year-old daughter, 'I've never had pecan pie before'. She replied: 'I have. With my other mum. The day we met on the road'." - *Fiona.

"Our four-year-old daughter told us her family had died, and she was sent to us. Around the same time, we were in a cemetery in Ireland visiting my husband's grandfather's grave. My husband vaguely remembered where it was and as we walked up and down rows searching, our daughter was already standing at the headstone." - *Isabella.

"My son always talked about his 'born dad' from when he was under three. One day he recalled a detailed account of him being a truck driver. And how he used to live where two rivers meet. It's warmer there. He used to drive his brother's truck too. Very adult language for such a young kid. He would share lots of sad stories, including that his sister couldn't swim so she died. And when I mentioned a turtle, he got really excited and said 'oh, Mum we used to eat them' And then gave me a detailed account of how they prepared it in his village." - *Kim.

"My three-year-old asked 'When was I an old lady and died?' I said, 'I don't think you've ever been an old lady, have you? What was your name?' She said 'Manu!' I asked her 'How did you die?' She said, 'I broke the glass and banged my head and I died'." - *Carmen.

Unexplained knowledge.

"My nearly four-year-old daughter was learning about what an author is and what an illustrator is at daycare. I told her I used to work at a place that makes books. She said 'yes I remember seeing you there. ' I reminded her it was before she was born, and it was just mummy and daddy. She said 'And I was there, there were lots of tiny children, you remember their names? I said 'No, what were their names?' She said 'there was lots of tiny children and a girl called Strawberry, and I picked her up.' When I was at my old publishing job, I had lots of little stuffed animals that went with the books. I also had a strawberry shortcake doll. They all sat together on a shelf behind my desk. There is no way she would have known about this." - *Lou.

Premonitions and unborn siblings.

"My two-year-old was in the back seat saying 'broken trailer' repeatedly on a country road. Sure enough, five kilometres up the road, a car with a jack-knifed trailer was stuck in the ditch beside the road. The same kid also told us our friend 'has a baby inside her' before they'd told anyone." - *Natalya.

"My youngest was in the back in her car seat so she couldn't see much. We were driving up a hill when she said 'watch out for the sign'. Later, as we climbed over the crest, I saw a road sign in the middle of the road." - *Kate.

"There was a boy at my work who was nonverbal. One day he put both his hands on my stomach, looked me in the eyes and then rested his head there. All extremely out-of-character behaviour from him. I was about 12 weeks pregnant but hadn't told anyone (and I was wearing a very baggy shirt)." - *Marlee.

"When I was pregnant with my twins, a little girl (around six years old) saw my belly and asked, 'Are you getting a baby?' I just smiled and said yes. She was staring at my bump and suddenly her eyes widened. 'Are you getting TWO babies?' I have no idea how she knew. It was as if she could see right through me. That was nearly 12 years ago, and I've never forgotten it." - *Lucy.

"My three boys always talk about their sibling who's still waiting to be born. A girl called Lucy (a lovely name but never on my baby lists). They discuss it like it's a fact. 'When you pop out Lucy…' or 'when that girl still in your tummy comes out'. They also talk about knowing each other before they were born and time in the womb." - *Chiarra.

Birth core memories.

"From three years old, my firstborn would often talk about being in utero. He would say, 'When I opened my eyes in your tummy, everything was a pink-ish/red-ish colour. It was warm. I could hear your voice. I didn't know you were my mum but I knew I loved you'. He's now 11 years old and still describes this experience with the same details." - *Nia.

"When I asked my daughter at age three if she remembered being born, she told me 'it was very hard, and I had to get through your bones'. It was a very challenging 21-hour posterior labour, and she was born sunny side up." - *Charlotte.

The verdict.

Whether you believe in past lives, spirits, or just that children have incredible imaginations, there's something undeniably eerie about these stories. Is it possible that children, with their uncomplicated view of the world, can access realms that we adults have long since closed ourselves off from? Or do they simply lack the filters that we've built up over years of rationality?

Whatever the explanation, I think I'll be sleeping with the lights on tonight.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Feature Image: The Sixth Sense via Buena Vista Pictures