A three-year-old boy’s repeated stories about a tall building, aeroplanes and falling to his death left his parents searching for answers after he appeared to describe details connected to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Cade Wilson had never visited New York and, according to his parents, had no known connection to the World Trade Center. Yet he reportedly spoke about working in a high-rise office from where he could see the Statue of Liberty and later described a plane striking the building.
His story was eventually featured on LMN’s The Ghost Inside My Child, a programme exploring children who claim to have memories associated with past lives.
Boy repeatedly spoke about a tall building
According to his mother, Molly Curnutte, Cade began waking during the night and crying about working in a tall building when he was three.
He reportedly told his parents that he could see the Statue of Liberty from his office. His mother initially believed he simply had a vivid imagination.
However, Cade also developed a strong fear of aeroplanes and tall buildings. His family said he could become extremely frightened around planes or when travelling through areas filled with high-rise buildings.
His account became increasingly detailed
Cade later reportedly described being inside a building that was hit by something before exploding and causing him to fall.
His parents said the details about aeroplanes, tall buildings and death eventually appeared to fit together in a way they found difficult to explain.
He also reportedly told them that Cade was not his real name.
Cade’s mother later searched online for information and, according to her account, was directed towards the story of a man who had worked at the World Trade Center and died in the September 11 attacks. She said details about the man appeared to correspond with what her son had described.
The family did not contact the man’s relatives, she said, because they did not want to disturb their grief.
What science says about past-life memories
Accounts of children apparently remembering previous lives remain controversial. Mainstream science does not regard such stories as proof that reincarnation exists.
Psychologists have suggested that memory, expectations, cultural influences and the way people interpret unusual experiences can contribute to such reports.
At the same time, researchers at the University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies have documented thousands of cases involving children who report memories of previous lives. Their work includes comparing children’s statements with family accounts, records and other independently available information.
A 2026 discussion published by Psychology Today cited research involving 1,678 documented cases. It reported that the average interval between the alleged previous person’s death and the child’s birth was shorter in cases involving unexpected or violent deaths. Researchers stressed that this finding does not establish that reincarnation is real.
A family focused on helping their son
For Cade’s parents, the experience was less about proving reincarnation and more about helping their young son deal with frightening memories.
His mother said she felt helpless because she could not simply make the memories disappear. She hoped Cade would eventually be able to move beyond the frightening experiences and enjoy childhood normally.
The story remains a reported account involving a child, not scientific evidence that Cade had lived another life. Researchers continue to study such unusual reports while acknowledging that their causes remain unresolved.