I'm not making this up, ladies and gents. Three-year-old Lainey Litton is terrified that Abraham Lincoln's assassin is going to pop out from under her bed.
Per People, Cassie Litton and her husband took their two young kids last Thanksgiving to visit the historic Ford's Theatre in D.C., where Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.
Cassie then gave Lainey a brief overview of what happened at Ford's Theatre, noting that someone named John Wilkes Booth had hurt then-president Abraham Lincoln.
'She really held on to that,' Cassie tells us.
Although the mother of two tried to explain that it happened a long time ago, Lainey believed the threat was still present.
Lainey began looking around the museum, afraid that one of the people or the statues in the theater was actually Booth.
She said, ‘Is that him over there?' I responded, ‘No, that's not him. This happened a long time ago.'
Unfortunately for Cassie and her husband, but unsurprising to parents who understand how the obsessive mind of a toddler works, Lainey continued to stay hyper-vigilant to the threat of John Wilkes Booth.
When they went to the Lincoln Memorial a few days later, Lainey recognized the statue as the man that 'got shotted,' Cassie recalls. From that day forward, Lainey had a new fear.
Lainey began mentioning Booth in random conversations, including at church.
'We were at church one Sunday, and the preacher was talking about how Jesus loves us. She looked at me, and she said, "Mommy, I love Jesus."
I said, "That's awesome. I'm glad you do,'" Cassie recalls. 'She said, "Jesus loves us."
I said, "That's right."
She said, "You know who we don't love?"
I said, "Who?"
She said, "John Wilkes Booth.'"
😂 😂 😂
Lainey would randomly ask her parents to check her room before bed to make sure that Booth wasn't lurking there, just waiting to strike out.
'She was afraid to lie in her bed one night. I said, "It's okay. You're safe. You're in your room. Nobody can bother you in your own house." She said, "Yeah, but what if John Wilkes Booth is under my bed? Like, what if he's hiding?'"
YEAH, WHAT IF, MOM???
Lainey still doesn't understand that John Wilkes Booth was shot in the neck on April 26, 1865 by an officer after police tracked him to the Garrett farmhouse and set the barn on fire to flush him out. The guy is most assuredly dead.
Ford's Theater even sent Lainey a care package and said the next time she visits, they'll induct her as an honorary National Park Service Junior Ranger, but she's still worried about Booth.
And, according to her mom, there are apparently a number of Americans who share this fear. 😭
'I'm talking to my family and I ask, what three-year-old is aware of John Wilkes Booth? I think, "There's no way that this has happened before,'" Cassie tells PEOPLE. 'But, when I posted my TikTok, there were so many comments of "I've never had an original experience. I was also afraid of John Wilkes Booth.'"
Maybe he's still out there, lurking.
Watch your backs, people!!
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