When my mother-in-law destroyed the stroller we bought for our newborn son, I was furious and heartbroken. I thought it was one of her usual stunts until she revealed the chilling reason behind her actions.
For as long as I’ve known Diane, she’s had a knack for getting under my skin. I always chalked it up to her personality.
But nothing prepared me for what she did last week. It wasn’t just her words that hurt this time.
It was her actions.
An older woman standing in a living room | Source: Midjourney
Life with my husband Eric has been nothing short of wonderful. He’s understanding and supportive and is my rock in every way.
But there’s one constant thorn in my side. His mother, Diane.
She’s the kind of person who could find fault with a rainbow and wouldn’t hesitate to let you know about it.
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
I was nervous but hopeful the first time Eric introduced me to her. We’d been dating for a few months, and things were getting serious. I thought she’d be excited to meet the woman her son was smitten with.
Instead, her greeting was, “Oh, you’re shorter than I imagined. Eric’s always liked tall women.”
I didn’t know how to respond.
Was that supposed to be a compliment? I thought.
Eric jumped in immediately, trying to salvage the situation.
“Mom, this is Amy. She’s amazing, and I really wanted you to meet her.”
A man talking to his mother | Source: Midjourney
“Well, let’s hope she’s as amazing as you say,” Diane smiled. “Eric has always had a tendency to exaggerate.”
I tried to brush it off, laughing nervously. “Well, I hope I don’t disappoint.”
“We’ll see,” she said with a shrug, already turning her attention back to Eric.
Little did I know, that was just a preview of what was to come.
An older woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
Thanksgiving after our wedding was another eye-opener. I wanted everything to be perfect. It was our first holiday as a married couple, and I invited Diane over, hoping we could bond.
I spent hours in the kitchen, preparing her favorite dishes, decorating the table, and making sure every detail was just right. When she arrived, I greeted her with a warm smile.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Diane! I’m so glad you could join us.”
She barely glanced at me before surveying the dining table.
An older woman inspecting a table | Source: Pexels
“Well, it’s… festive,” she said, her tone dripping with condescension. “Though that centerpiece is a bit, uh, basic. Did you buy it at a dollar store?”
“I actually made it myself,” I said quietly.
“Oh,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s… nice. Homemade, huh? Eric always did like things simple.”
I wanted to respond, but I stopped myself. I didn’t want her to ruin the evening. I thought she’d stop with the comments, but I was wrong.
Every dish I served was met with a raised eyebrow or a backhanded compliment.
A person slicing a turkey | Source: Pexels
“The turkey is a little dry, but I’m sure you tried your best,” she said at one point, patting my hand.
Eric leaned over and whispered, “Don’t let her get to you. The turkey is perfect.”
I smiled weakly, but by the end of the night, I was exhausted and close to tears.
When I got pregnant, I thought things might finally change. Surely, becoming a grandmother would soften Diane.
Spoiler: it didn’t. Instead, her criticisms shifted focus.
A close-up shot of an older woman’s face | Source: Pexels
“You know, Amy,” she said during one of her visits, eyeing the snack I was eating, “you really should be more mindful of what you’re putting into your body. The baby needs nutrients, not empty calories.”
“It’s just a granola bar, Diane,” I replied.
“Well,” she said with a tight smile, “don’t be surprised if the baby cries a lot. He might be used to all that sugar.”
“Mom, enough,” Eric intervened. “Amy is taking great care of herself and the baby.”
A man talking to his mother | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, I’m sure she is,” she said. “I’m just saying, it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful.”
Despite her antics, I tried to give Diane the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she just didn’t know how to show affection. Maybe she’d come around once the baby arrived.
Fast forward to last week.
Our son, Lucas, was just five days old, and we invited Diane over for her first real visit since his birth. Eric couldn’t wait to show off his new role as a dad.
I, on the other hand, was cautiously optimistic.
A baby holding a person’s finger | Source: Pexels
Maybe this was the moment Diane and I could bond over the baby. Maybe becoming a grandmother would finally soften her sharp edges.
Lucas was all bundled up in his stroller, ready for our first walk as a family. It was a simple outing, but after sleepless nights and diaper changes, it felt monumental.
Diane arrived just as we were about to head out. I plastered on a polite smile when I saw her, determined to keep things light.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
However, things took an unexpected turn the moment she stepped into the room and her eyes landed on the stroller.
Her face suddenly went pale, and she just stood there staring at it like there was a baby ghost sitting right next to Lucas.
Then, without a word, she strode over, scooped Lucas out of the stroller, and handed him to Eric.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Eric asked.
She didn’t answer.
A woman standing in her son’s house | Source: Midjourney
Instead, she grabbed a nearby chair, raised it high above her head, and smashed it down onto the stroller. The sound of the impact echoed through the room.
“STOP!” I screamed, rushing toward her. “What are you doing?!”
She didn’t stop.
With surprising strength, she brought the chair down again and again until the stroller was nothing but a twisted heap of metal and plastic.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she dragged the remains out the door and down the driveway.
“Diane! What is going on?” I shouted. “Why would you do this?!”
A worried woman | Source: Midjourney
When she finally came back inside, her chest was heaving. She looked at me, then at Eric, and asked, “Where did you get that stroller?”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” Eric asked. “Why did you destroy it? We got it at a thrift store. It was lightly used and in great condition.”
“Did you want to kill him?” she spat.
“What?” I blurted out. “Why would you say that, Diane?”
A woman standing in her living room | Source: Midjourney
That’s when she sank onto the couch and buried her face in her hands. When she finally looked up, her eyes glistened with tears.
“That stroller,” she said hoarsely, “was cursed.”
I stared at her.
What the heck? I thought. A cursed stroller? Surely this was some kind of cruel joke.
But the look on her face told me she was dead serious.
“Cursed?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”
She took a shaky breath before revealing the story we were waiting for.
A woman in a living room | Source: Midjourney
“Four years ago, my friend Linda’s grandson died in a car accident. He was only three years old.” Diane’s voice cracked as she continued. “That stroller… it was his.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked. I was so frustrated at this point.
“Linda told me something before I came over today,” Diane began. “She said that stroller had a history. Before her grandson, it belonged to another family. Their son also died in a car accident while they owned it.”
A woman standing with a stroller | Source: Pexels
Eric scoffed, shaking his head. “Mom, you can’t be serious. It’s a stroller, not some cursed object from a horror movie.”
“Do you think I want to believe this?” she looked at Eric with wide eyes. “Do you think I wanted to destroy something you bought for my grandson? But when I saw it, I knew. The ribbon… the light-blue ribbon with red hearts tied to the handle. I recognized it immediately.”
My heart sank. I hadn’t noticed the ribbon before, but now the memory clicked. It had been there when we bought it, and I hadn’t thought twice about it.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“You think the stroller caused those accidents?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Diane replied as a tear rolled down her cheek. “But I wasn’t going to take that risk with Lucas. I couldn’t.”
“Diane, this sounds… it sounds insane,” I whispered. “Do you realize how crazy this sounds?”
“Would you bet Lucas’s life on it?” she asked quietly.
“Amy, you don’t actually believe this, do you?” Eric asked, looking at me.
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
I shook my head, but the words wouldn’t come. I wanted to dismiss Diane’s story as ridiculous, but a small part of me couldn’t shake the unease creeping into my chest.
“I don’t believe in curses,” I said finally. “But the coincidence is hard to ignore. It’s just… I don’t know. It sounds—”
“It’s just a stroller!” Eric cut me off. “Bad things happen sometimes. It doesn’t mean there’s some supernatural connection.”
A man standing in a living room | Source: Midjourney
Diane ignored him, moving to kneel beside Lucas, who was nestled in Eric’s arms. She stroked his tiny head with trembling fingers, her tears falling freely.
“My sweet boy,” she whispered. “You’re safe now. You’re safe.”
The sight of her, normally so cold and composed, breaking down like that shattered something inside me. I burst into tears, while Eric just stared at me. He couldn’t understand what I felt.
Over the next few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Diane had said.
A woman standing near a window | Source: Midjourney
A part of me wanted to prove her wrong, to show her that she’d overreacted. But another part of me couldn’t ignore the chills her story had sent down my spine.
Out of curiosity, I called the thrift store where we’d bought the stroller.
When I explained the situation, the employee on the other end grew quiet.
“That stroller was donated by a family who recently lost their son in a car accident,” he said softly.
And that… that made me creep out.
A woman using her phone | Source: Pexels
I didn’t know whether it was a curse or just an eerie coincidence. I just knew that Diane’s actions came from a place of love and fear.
She destroyed the stroller because she didn’t want her grandson to get hurt. And I understood that.
A few days later, she showed up at our door with a brand-new stroller.
It was navy blue, with a plush interior and all the bells and whistles. She handed it to me with a tentative smile.
A new stroller | Source: Midjourney
“I’m sorry for how I handled things,” she said. “But I’d do it all over again if it meant keeping Lucas safe.”
I hugged her, and for the first time, it felt genuine. Maybe the stroller wasn’t cursed. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
We bought that stroller hoping it’d help us look after Lucas, but what it did was something far better than that. It made my bond with my mother-in-law stronger than ever.
I just hope we don’t need another eerie episode to improve our relationship. I’m not ready for it. Nope.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: When Rosa’s mother-in-law, Victoria, moved in to help care for her five-year-old granddaughter, life seemed to be falling into place. But late at night, Victoria’s strange hand gestures in the window revealed a secret Rosa never saw coming. A secret that would change their lives forever.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
