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and two children between 10 and 14 years old were _ where the iris is physically not present. Iris hypoplasia is staring at him. "An overwhelming sense of fear and a congenital and hereditary condition where the iris is so unearthliness rushed in," Bethel wrote in his post. small it's almost unnoticeable. "However, both of these The boys insisted Bethel drive them to their house. conditions are also associated with other eye "Let us in," one said. "We can't get in your car until you —_ abnormalities, usually of the retina, fovea or lens, which do, you know. Just let us in.” cause some level of visual deficit," Bourassa said. Then, as Bethel involuntarily began to open the door, But, unlike the reports of black-eyed kids, in these he saw the boys' eyes. They were black: no pupils, no cases the white of the eye is still present. irises. "Just two staring orbs reflecting the red and white light of the marquee," he wrote. Pranksters Bethel jerked his hand away from the door, shoved the The eyes of some Hollywood monsters, like the car into reverse and shot out of the parking lot. When he vampires in the HBO program True Blood, appear as dead looked into the rear-view mirror, the sidewalk was empty _ black voids. This effect is attained through black sclera and the boys were gone. contact lenses. These lenses cover the entire visible parts Who were these black-eyed boys who demanded entry __ of the eye, giving the appearance that the person wearing into Bethel's car? "I honestly wish I could explain this them has no white or iris. away," Bethel said, 11 years later. "I've tried to come up For Halloween 2007, web application engineer Matthew with any number of scenarios, from my eyes being Batchelder bought a pair of these contacts—which temporarily dilated from the require a prescription—and brightness of the {heatre pos a what pappened during marquee to me just plain not is day wit ack eyes. The sang ties Prope. Mesto Then, as Bethel coasts were urcomiorsbl particular event back into my involuntarily began to imes throughout the day, wbcnssows butts va | pen the door, he saw the J St "elder sad. He daub What did Stacy and Bethel boys' eyes. They were he children described in black- see? 5 a re eyed-kid encounters. black: no pupils, no irises. "|Would) children ages four to 5 be able to wear sclera lenses? There are medical conditions, suppose they could," including drug use, which Batchelder said, "though increase the size of the pupil to the extent that the eye _ inserting the quarter-sized contacts onto your eye is quite looks unnatural, according to Erick Arden Bourassa, PhD, difficult and takes a lot of persistence to feel comfortable Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Northwest enough with the irritation to do so. Possible? Yes. Missouri State University. "There are many conditions Likely that they would? No." Medical explanations where the pupil can be extremely dilated to the point that Batchelder's black sclera contact lenses cost USS128 the iris appears to be absent," Bourassa said. "Andthere per lens. Similar lenses today range from $135 to $349. are a couple of hereditary/congenital conditions where Other explanations for black-eyed kids are more the iris is absent or extremely small." otherworldly. Drugs that result in pupil dilation range from over-the- counter drugs like Benadryl® to prescription drugs like — Extraterrestrials among us albuterol and meclizine, to illegal drugs like B. Moody and her son walked into a Wal-Mart in amphetamines, cocaine and angel dust. Tumours, Lakeside, California, in 1999 when they encountered yperthyroidism and botulism can also cause extreme — something that has terrified Moody for a decade. pupil dilation, although not without negative visual "A woman with a cart turned into the aisle we were on,” effects. Moody said. "In the large basket of the cart was a "While these things I've mentioned will cause {dilated andsome boy-child who appeared to be eight to 10 pupils], they are usually also associated with some loss years of age but who was intently playing with a of visual acuity," Bourassa said. "Think about the last — preschool toy." ime you went to the ophthalmologist and had your eyes The boy, Moody thought, was tall for his age, but her dilated. You weren't blind but there was some loss of | son thought there was something terribly wrong with visual accommodation." im. However, none of these instances obscures the white of "When he looked up, my son was shocked and he said he eye, only the iris. oudly, ‘Mom, look at his eyes'," she said. "I turned and Hereditary and congenital conditions also alter the ooked and his eyes were completely black: no whites, no appearance of the eye. Aniridia is a congenital disorder _ irises. | thought they were like an animal's, maybe a where the iris is physically not present. Iris hypoplasia is a congenital and hereditary condition where the iris is so small it's almost unnoticeable. "However, both of these conditions are also associated with other eye abnormalities, usually of the retina, fovea or lens, which cause some level of visual deficit," Bourassa said. But, unlike the reports of black-eyed kids, in these cases the white of the eye is still present. Then, as Bethel involuntarily began to open the door, he saw the boys' eyes. They were black: no pupils, no irises. see? Extraterrestrials among us B. Moody and her son walked into a Wal-Mart in Lakeside, California, in 1999 when they encountered something that has terrified Moody for a decade. "A woman with a cart turned into the aisle we were on,” Moody said. "In the large basket of the cart was a andsome boy-child who appeared to be eight to 10 years of age but who was intently playing with a preschool toy." The boy, Moody thought, was tall for his age, but her son thought there was something terribly wrong with im. "When he looked up, my son was shocked and he said oudly, ‘Mom, look at his eyes’," she said. "I turned and ooked and his eyes were completely black: no whites, no irises. I thought they were like an animal's, maybe a 60 * NEXUS FEBRUARY - MARCH 2010 www.nexusmagazine.com