last winter my friend Colin and I decided to spend a week in a cabin deep in the forest of Alaska it seemed like a perfect escape from the monotony of our small town lives the cabin was a 2-hour drive from my house tucked away from civilization Colin had found it online advertised as a secluded spot with breathtaking views and a wood burning stove to keep us warm the idea of snow covered trees and peaceful nights by the fire sounded like a dream we packed our things loaded up my truck and set off in the early
afternoon the drive was uneventful at first the road grew narrower as we got closer to the cabin and soon it was just a trail cutting through the endless Forest by the time we arrived the sun was already dipping below the Horizon casting Long Shadows across the snow the cabin was small but cozy with a single bedroom a tiny kitchen and a fireplace that looked like it had seen better days surrounding it was nothing but towering trees and silence after unpacking we decided to stretch our legs and explore the area before it got too dark the
forest was eerily quiet the kind of quiet that feels heavy like the trees are listening our boots crunched through the snow as we followed a narrow path winding between the Pines that's when we heard it a scream it was faint at first just a distant cry carried by the wind Colin and I stopped in our tracks exchanging a nervous glance then it came again louder this time and unmistakably human it was the kind of scream that made your stomach twist raw and desperate like someone was in serious trouble we have to check it out Colin
said he was always braver than me or maybe just more Reckless I wanted to turn back and pretend we hadn't heard anything but I couldn't leave someone out there if they needed help we followed the sound our footsteps quick and uneven the screams grew louder as we pushed deeper into the forest and soon we spotted a faint light ahead it was a cabin much older and more rundown than ours the windows were grimy and the roof sagged under the weight of the snow the light inside flickered like it was coming from a fire or a
lantern as we crept closer the screaming stopped it was replaced by a low muffled sound like someone crying or gasping for air Colin gestured for me to stay back while while he approached the window he wiped a small patch of Frost off the glass and peered inside I'll never forget the look on his face when he turned back to me wide eyy and pale as the snow around us there's a guy tied to a chair he said and another man he's wearing a mask he's got a knife I felt my heart drop my legs turned
to jelly and for a second I couldn't move Colin was already backing away from the window when a voice cut through the air behind us what are you doing we spun around and there he was a man tall and Broad shouldered standing just a few feet away he was dressed in a heavy Co and Boots his face hidden in the shadows of his hood I couldn't see his eyes but I could feel them on us sharp and cold neither of us said a word Colin grabbed my arm and we bolted the man shouted something but
I didn't stop to listen the trees blurred past us as we ran our breath steaming in the frigid air I could hear the crunch of snow behind us his footsteps heavy and Relentless my lungs burned and my heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst but I didn't dare look back we reached our cabin and slammed the door shut locking it with trembling hands for a moment we just stood there staring at each other trying to catch our breath then we turned off the lights and peered out the window expecting to see the man
charging toward us but the forest was empty the only sound was the wind whistling through the trees Colin grabbed his phone and called the authorities it felt like an eternity before they arrived but eventually we saw the flashing red and blue lights cutting through the darkness two officers stepped out of their vehicle their breath fogging up in the cold as we hurried outside to meet them we told them everything about the screams the man tied up the masked figure and the guy who had chased us they didn't seem entirely convinced but they agreed to check
out the old cabin we LED them back back through the forest our flashlight slicing through the Shadows when we reached the cabin my stomach Twisted the place was empty No Light No screaming no signs of anyone the door hung slightly a jar creaking in the wind and inside was nothing but an empty room with a Dusty floor and a broken chair in the corner the officers said they'd continue their search and told us to stay in our cabin for the night we didn't sleep at all I kept picturing the man in The Mask wondering if
he was out there why watching us 2 Days Later the authorities called to let us know they had caught the men they didn't give us many details just that they had found both the masked man and the guy who had been tied up the officer on the phone sounded uneasy like there was more to the story he wasn't telling us when I pressed him for answers he simply said it's better if you don't know we left the cabin that same day cutting our trip short the forest no longer felt peaceful it felt wrong like it
was hiding secrets we weren't meant to uncover even now back at home I can't shake the memory of that night the screams the masked man the chase it's all burned into my mind sometimes I wonder what happened in that cabin who were those men and why was one of them being tortured the authorities never told us and maybe it's better that way but every so often when I'm lying awake at night I think about that voice in the forest low and cold what are you doing before we get into the next story if you come
for the first time please make sure to subscribe to our Channel and press the Bell icon for upcoming scary stories we need your support please share these stories with your friends and family thanks it was January 2019 and I lived in a quiet neighborhood in California that winter was freezing and the News had been warning us about a rare heavy snowstorm heading our way it was strange seeing snow here I had always imagined California as sunny but that night everything was covered in white it was like someone had painted the whole world with a thick
snowy brush my bedroom was on the second floor of our house and I woke up around 3:00 a.m. groggy and needing to use the bathroom the house was silent the kind of Silence that felt heavy like the snow outside was muffling all sound as I swung my legs off the bed I glanced toward the window to check how much snow had fallen I had been excited earlier that day wondering what the neighborhood would look like under a thick blanket of snow when I pulled back the curtain I was stunned the snow was deeper than I'd
ever seen it piled up past the curb completely smooth and untouched the street lights reflected off the snow making it glow faintly in the dark it was beautiful almost magical no cars no people just pure white Stillness I decided to go downstairs to get a drink of water after using the bathroom the cold old tiles of the bathroom floor made me shiver but I didn't think much of it I walked down the stairs turned on the light in the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet the house felt strangely empty it was probably just
the snowstorm I told myself it made everything feel quieter than usual after drinking the water I stood there for a second letting my eyes adjust to the brightness of the kitchen light that's when I heard it soft click it came from the direction of the front door my first thought was that it was just a branch knocking against it the wind outside was fierce maybe something had blown against the house shrugging it off I turned off the light and headed back upstairs the stairs creaked slightly under my feet as they always did when I got
to my room I looked out the window again this time something was different there were footprints in the snow fresh ones they started right at the edge of my driveway near the house and walked toward the neighbor's backyard I stared at them trying to process what I was seeing it hadn't been more than 4 minutes since I last looked outside how could someone have made those tracks so quickly without me hearing anything I squinted at the footprints trying to see if they looped back or continued further they didn't they just vanished behind the neighbor's house
as if the person had walked into thin air a strange feeling washed over me but I tried to push it aside I told myself it was just some teenager messing around in the snow maybe someone taking a shortcut to their backyard it wasn't a big deal at least that's what I kept telling myself I didn't sleep much after that I kept looking out the window watching the snow waiting to see if someone came back the next morning I went downstairs and found my mom and dad in the living room they looked upset my mom was
sitting on the couch holding her hands tightly together while my dad paced back and forth what's wrong I asked rubbing the sleep from my eyes my dad stopped and looked at me your mom's gold jewelry set is missing he said that jewelry set was special my dad had given it to my mom on their wedding anniversary it wasn't just expensive it was sentimental my mom never wore it often but she kept it in a small wooden box in their bedroom how I asked my voice shaky we don't know we didn't hear anything but it's gone
suddenly I remembered the footprints my heart started beating faster as I told them about what I'd seen the night before the Fresh Tracks in the snow leading from our house to the neighbor's backyard my dad frowned and said we needed to check the CCTV cameras we had installed around the house we all rushed to the small monitor hooked up to the cameras my dad rewound the footage to the time I had gone downstairs for water at first everything looked normal the camera at the front door showed nothing but the falling snow the backyard camera was
the same but when my dad switched to the camera in the kitchen kitchen we all froze the footage showed me walking into the kitchen turning on the light and getting a glass of water but in the corner of the screen near the doorway leading to the dining room there was movement a man he was tall and thin wearing dark clothes and he was standing perfectly still half hidden by the door frame his head was tilted slightly and he was watching me watching me the entire time I was in the kitchen I didn't notice him at
all all my mom gasped covering her mouth my dad cursed under his breath we rewound the footage again and again trying to make out the man's face but it was too blurry the camera wasn't good enough to catch any details the man must have slipped out while I was going back upstairs maybe that was the click I heard the door opening and closing we called the police immediately but when they arrived they couldn't do much the officers checked the footage and said it wasn't clear enough to identify the intruder they followed the footprints outside but
the snowstorm had started again covering the tracks the police told us to be more careful to lock all the doors and windows and improve our security but that was it no leads no answers for weeks after that I couldn't stop thinking about the man in the footage how long had he been in our house did he watch me come downstairs what would have happened if I had noticed him it was December in Minnesota and the world outside my window was covered in snow about a foot thick everything felt so quiet like the snow had muffled
the entire neighborhood my parents were out at a bar that night and my brother was over at a friend's house I had the house to myself which didn't bother me much I liked the piece I was in the living room curled up on the couch with a blanket watching some show on TV the glow from the screen lit up the room while the rest of the house stayed dark I remember the clock on the wall ticking steadily marking the passing time I had just finished a bag of chips when I heard it a faint knocking
sound it came from the basement at first I thought maybe it was just the old pipes our house was old and it had its fair share of strange noises especially in the winter but this didn't quite sound like the usual Creeks or groans it was deliberate soft but steady curiosity got the better of me so I stood up wrapping the blanket around my shoulders like a cape and made my way toward the basement door the floor felt cold under my socks and the air seemed to get heavier as I reached for the handle I opened
the door flipped the light switch and peered down the stairs the light flickered for a moment before holding steady casting Long Shadows on the walls I took the stairs slowly each step creaking beneath my weight when I reached the bottom I looked around the basement smelled faintly of dust and old cardboard everything looked exactly as it should boxes neatly stacked in the corners an old desk covered in papers and a few plastic bins near the far wall nothing seemed out of place I walked around checking the small windows for any sign of movement or a
draft that could have caused the noise nothing just Stillness with a shrug I figured it was probably my imagination playing tricks on me or maybe snow shifting against the house I went back upstairs closed the basement door and returned to the couch 5 minutes later just as I was starting to relax I heard it a loud crash from the basement followed by what sounded like a door slamming open my heart raced as I sat up staring at the basement door this time it wasn't something I could dismiss the sound was sharp and clear like something
heavy being knocked over I hesitated for a moment before standing the House suddenly felt too quiet and the shadows in the corners seemed darker than before my hands felt cold and clammy as I walked back to the basement door my mind raced with possibilities maybe my brother had come home early without telling me maybe he was trying to scare me as a joke I called his name as I opened the door my voice shaky Ryan is that you silence I called again louder this time but the only response was the faint hum of the basement
light I swallowed hard and started down the stairs the air felt colder now and the basement light flickered again as I reached the bottom what I saw made my stomach drop the desk drawers were open and papers were scattered across the floor boxes that had been neatly stacked were now tipped over their contents spilling out the plastic bins near the wall had been knocked over as well their Lids lying a few feet away it looked like someone had been searching for something but the worst part was the back door it was wide open the glass
fogged up from the freezing air pouring in snow had blown inside forming a thin layer on the floor near the door frame and there leading out into the backyard were Footprints they were deep clear and fresh disappearing into the snowy night I froze for a moment my thoughts spinning someone had been in my house someone had been in my basement while I was just a floor above oblivious the idea made my skin crawl I ran to the door and slammed it shut locking it as quickly as I could my fingers fumbled with my phone as
I called my parents my mom answered and I tried to explain what happened my voice shaking she told me to stay put that they were on their way home when they arrived my dad grabbed a flashlight and stepped outside to follow the footprints my mom stayed with me her hand on my shoulder trying to keep me calm my dad's boots crunched in the snow as he moved across the yard following the tracks over the fence and onto the road behind our house he came back a few minutes later shaking his head the footprints stopped at
the road whoever it was had probably gotten into a car and driven away the police came not long after they walked through the basement taking notes and looking for any signs of forced entry but there weren't any the door hadn't been broken it had been unlocked my dad swore he had locked it earlier but maybe it hadn't latched properly the officers told us it might have been a random burglary someone picking up our house because it looked empty but part of me wondered if it was more than that the way everything had been searched through
so carefully made it feel personal like whoever it was had been looking for something specific
