So, you remember 2017. Everyone was obsessed with fidget spinners, "Despacito" was blasting from every car window, and for a few months, a guy named Adam Ellis convinced half the internet that a dead child was trying to kill him. It was the "Dear David" saga, a Twitter thread that basically pioneered the modern digital campfire story.
It started with a simple, terrifying tweet: "So, my apartment is currently being haunted by the ghost of a dead child and he's trying to kill me."
That’s a hell of a hook. Adam was a writer and illustrator for BuzzFeed at the time, known for his quirky, relatable comics. But suddenly, his feed shifted from "relatable millennial struggles" to "I have photographic evidence of a demon in my bedroom." It was gripping. It felt real because it was messy. People were refreshing their feeds at 3 a.m., terrified for a stranger in New York.
But then the hype died down, a movie happened, and the dust finally settled. Now that we’re sitting here in 2026, looking back at the "Dear David" phenomenon, the question isn’t just "was it real?" but "what actually happened to Adam Ellis and his ghost?"
The Making of a Legend: Dear David Adam Ellis Explained
If you weren't there for the original rollout, the lore is pretty specific. Adam claimed he started seeing a boy with a misshapen, caved-in head sitting in a green rocking chair at the foot of his bed. This kid was David. Eventually, Adam "met" a girl in a dream who told him the rules: you can ask David two questions if you start with "Dear David," but if you ask a third, he’ll kill you.
Adam, being Adam, asked the third.
The haunting escalated from there. He posted photos of his cats staring at the front door at exactly midnight. He shared grainy, overexposed shots of a small figure standing in his hallway. He even recorded sounds of "static" and movement while he slept. The internet went into a collective investigative frenzy. People were brightness-adjusting his photos and finding "faces" in the shadows—classic pareidolia, or something more?
The thread gained him over a million followers. It was the ultimate viral success story. But as with everything that goes viral, the backlash was inevitable.
The Movie That Changed Everything (And Maybe Not for the Better)
For years, the "Dear David" movie was stuck in development hell. It finally clawed its way out in October 2023, produced by BuzzFeed Studios and Lionsgate. Augustus Prew played Adam, and Justin Long showed up as a sort of caricature of a BuzzFeed executive.
The movie was... a choice. Honestly, it didn't land.
Critics and fans mostly agreed that the film lost the "magic" of the Twitter thread. On a screen, David looked like a standard CGI horror trope. The tension of the "is this real?" aspect vanished because, well, it was a scripted movie. It currently sits with pretty dismal scores on most review platforms.
The real kicker? Adam Ellis recently revealed—back in late 2024—that he didn't even get paid for the movie's release. Because he was a BuzzFeed employee when he wrote the thread, the company owned the intellectual property. He’s been pretty vocal about the frustration of seeing his personal (or creative) trauma turned into a studio film while he stood on the sidelines.
Was It All a Hoax?
Let's be real for a second. Adam is a professional storyteller and illustrator. The "Dear David" thread had perfect narrative pacing. Each tweet ended on a cliffhanger. The photos were creepy but just ambiguous enough to keep you guessing.
Critics like Rick Paulas pointed out early on that the story was "a bit too tidy." The way Adam captured David in photos was exactly how a horror storyboard artist would frame a shot.
When asked directly, Adam has always maintained that the events were real. He told TheWrap that he wasn't interested in convincing anyone—he just wanted to tell his story. He even pointed out that if he were faking it for clout, he would have updated way more often than once every few weeks.
There's a theory that Adam was actually suffering from sleep paralysis. It’s a terrifying condition where your brain wakes up but your body stays "locked" in REM sleep. People often hallucinate shadowy figures—the "Old Hag" or, in this case, a boy with a dented head. It explains the "shambling" David and the feeling of being pinned to the bed.
Whether it was a ghost, a creative writing project, or a medical episode, it changed the way we consume horror online.
Where is Adam Ellis Now?
Adam left BuzzFeed in early 2018 to go independent. He’s doing quite well for himself these days. He’s a successful comic artist with several books under his belt, and he’s been a lead plaintiff in a massive copyright lawsuit against AI companies like Stability AI.
He also did a stint on a Travel Channel show called Trending Fear, where he traveled around investigating other people’s hauntings. It was a bit of a full-circle moment, though it only lasted one season.
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He’s mostly moved on from the "Dear David" era. His Instagram is full of his signature comics—social commentary, weird humor, and the occasional spooky drawing. He doesn't talk about David much anymore. It’s like that chapter of his life is dead and buried, even if the internet refuses to let it rest.
Actionable Insights: How to Handle Your Own "David"
If you find yourself in a situation where your cats are staring at doors and you're seeing things in your hallway, here’s what you actually need to do:
- Check for Carbon Monoxide: Seriously. CO poisoning causes hallucinations, paranoia, and a feeling of being watched. Buy a detector before you buy a priest.
- Consult a Sleep Specialist: If you’re seeing figures at the foot of your bed, look into sleep paralysis. It’s manageable and much less scary once you understand the science.
- Secure Your Digital Rights: If you’re a creator, read your contracts. If you write something viral while working for a big media company, they likely own it. Talk to a lawyer before the movie deals start flying.
- Practice Skepticism: In the age of "Analog Horror" and ARGs, remember that the goal of social media is engagement. Just because there's a photo doesn't mean there's a ghost.
The story of Dear David Adam Ellis is a time capsule of a specific era of the internet. It was a time when we still wanted to believe the world was a little bit weirder than it actually is. David might not have been "real" in the physical sense, but the fear he inspired in millions of people? That was as real as it gets.