Important last year I went out on my own into the forest about an hour from my house to go camping for a night I wasn't planning anything special I just wanted to spend some time outside for a day and then go home and although inexperienced I didn't see the harm in being out for just a day when I got to the camping Trail there were three cars parked on the road right Next to it I really didn't want to talk to anyone or spend the day around other people so I kept driving until I found
a different Trail down the road there were no places to park so I had to go further down and then walk back this Trail was very thin and was all dirt no gravel or anything so it definitely wasn't a popular spot I started down it going through relatively flat terrain with nothing but Trees and bushes around as I got about two hours in the trail slowly started thinning out until it was getting difficult to even tell if I was still on it or not I had a feeling this could happen at the beginning but I
was two hours in so I wasn't even worried about it by then and had completely overlooked it I turned around and started to make my way back trying my best to find the more defined portion of the path but just Five minutes later I saw something that made me stop in my place a cabin sitting right in the middle of the forest my first thought on seeing it was that I was 100 lost because I hadn't seen it on the way up but then my thoughts shifted toward the Eerie feeling it was giving me what
was a cabin doing way out here I approached it slowly and seeing as it had no door I looked inside It was a mess full of old garbage the longer I stayed though the more creeped out I got I turned around and started going back to the trail but was interrupted by a loud thump from behind me I looked back at the cabin and threw the doorway I saw a man appear from behind the wall he was middle-aged and wearing torn up clothes pretty much looking like he lived there He looked at me with a
creepy emotionless face I nervously said sorry then quickly walked away I looked back once seeing him staring at me as I got further away I spent the next hour on edge looking everywhere for the trail while also making sure I wasn't being followed as the sun began to set I got increasingly more worried but thankfully just before the light was gone I found The middle of the trail I debated just going back to my car but chose to stake out the night just to be sure I didn't lose my way again I unloaded my bag
and got my tent set up then went inside and laid down I had planned to get a fire going and do a bunch of other stuff but at this point I wasn't even in the mood anymore and just wanted to rest I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep when my eyes opened it was Pitch Black And all I heard was the forest creaking tilt in my head and my eyes locked on the entrance to my tent staring back at me was the shadow covered face of the man with his head sticking through the half
opened entryway I jumped back and the man did the same I heard his footsteps hurrying away as I got out and looked only seeing the back of him running into the woods with my heart still racing I undid Everything and shoved it into my bag then carefully followed the trail all the way back to my car I can't even begin to think of what that man was about to do while I was sleeping but his eyes looking back at me through the dark was a horrifying sight that is yet to leave my head I of
course never went back and have mostly refrained from talking about it just because I know I won't ever get any answers I was taking a summer hiking and camping vacation a year ago to a small river near my parents house I was visiting them for a few days then going out alone to Camp along the river for a night or two and head back home afterward I don't live in the most adventurous state so I always try to get out in nature whenever I'm in my parents town after visiting them I set out on my
hike the trail I took to get to the river was Around four hours at a steady walking pace but the best part about it was that nobody else ever used it the river wasn't huge or anything and there were plenty of trails that were more Scenic and actually labeled this one was just some Thin dirt path that wasn't very defined when I got to the river it was basically dark so I pitched my tent and got a fire going so I could relax before bed as I sat there for a few minutes I Started hearing
footsteps coming toward me I looked over and after a minute a man appeared from the trees he waved at me and came over to my campsite with a smile he looks like a normal man in his early 30s though a bit dirty and unkempt like he'd been camping out here for a while after introducing himself as John he made small talk with me telling me that he was camping not far from here I went along with the talking just to not be rude but the whole thing felt off eventually the man said good night and
walked away I watched as he went along the river with his flashlight but after a minute the light shut off and there was nothing else after that I didn't think that much of the encounter initially but the man definitely had something off about him what worried me the most was how he had Come up just a few minutes after I got the fire going he had to have been really close by like he was following me or something I chalked it all up to my nerves and told myself it was just dumb luck that he
was out here after all he came up and introduced himself which I assumed he wouldn't have done if he had any bad intentions I smothered the fire and stayed up in my tent for a while then fell asleep I woke up at sunrise and spent the day hiking along the river Strangely I never saw any other campsites though no signs of fire or tents being set up not even in the direction I'd seen the man walk in I figured he must have been further into the forest but it only made me slightly more nervous I
got back to my tent just before dark and was surprised to see John sitting next to my unlit campfire Can I help you I said he smiled and said he was waiting for me to come back because he had found something down the river he got up and started walking urging me to come with him and see for myself I hesitated I'm gonna stay here John I'm just a bit tired he turned around and looked at me with that same smile and asked me again to go With him we looked each other in the eyes
for a long couple seconds and I knew for sure that something wasn't right his smile began to fade and he asked me one more time in a less friendly tone I chose to not say anything and after a moment he turned around and started walking toward the river as I watched him I saw the outline of a small gun poking out of his shirt like he had shoved it in the back of his Pants while not uncommon to bring a firearm out in the forests I'd never known any hiker or camper to have it uncomfortably
in the back of their pants belt with their shirt on top of it the only reason would be to have it concealed from other people's view which as far as I know shouldn't be the main concern when going deep into a forest after seeing that I started getting everything together and was walking back Within the hour thankfully I was able to stay on the path in the dark and made it back to my car after four and a half hours of walking the more I think about it now the more terrifying that encounter was I'm
almost sure he had followed me to my campsite but I don't know for how long or if he was stalking me the entire time I was there him trying to lure Me Out To The River Was almost surely an attempt at something awful and I think that if I hadn't left when I did he probably would have come back later in the night and I never would have been seen again me and one of my good friends I'll call him Jesse would go on camping trips once or twice a year we used two more when
we were roommates in college but we both work full time now Jesse was the one who actually got me Into camping having done it his whole life I hadn't even been camping once before I met him this happened two years ago on one of our yearly camping trips that we went on in the summer specify we didn't go far out or anything we basically went down a trail maybe two hours out then set up our tents and everything the whole point of it was to Camp not to Hike and usually for around four to five
days when we got to a good spot Jesse and I put everything together and relaxed the next three days were just as you'd expect we sat at the campfire and had some drinks and just talked we went for some walks and played some board games as well but to sum it all up we really just relaxed I mean that was the whole point of it anyway On the fourth day we agreed to wrap it up and head back the next morning sun was starting to set we prepared to get the campfire going again Jesse said
he'd go for a short walk and collect some dry sticks and he asked me to get the food out and prep it for cooking I did as he said but as the sun faded out Jesse still wasn't back it had been maybe 30 minutes which wasn't a long time for a walk but it was A long time to be collecting sticks I figured he must have meant he was going for a walk just to walk and not necessarily for the sticks I waited another 30 minutes the sun was now fully set and it was getting
really dark I had turned on our heavy lamp for a light source but I knew it would run out of batteries if I left it on too long I was getting really worried about Jesse he was the one who was experienced in Everything so it just didn't make sense for him to get lost like this I figured it best to at least start the fire so that if he was lost maybe he'd see the flame and find his way back I took the lamp and collected a bundle of sticks and started the fire with some
matches by the two-hour Mark I was really losing it I didn't know what to do I was trying to decide between looking for him or going Back and calling for help or just staying put every scenario was running through my head what if he gotten hurt and wasn't far away then looking for him would make sense but if he was far away then me getting lost would only burden everything more two hours and 30 minutes after I'd last seen Jessie and two hours after Nightfall I heard a gunshot It was far off somewhat in the
direction Jesse went in but what really scared me about it was that neither of us had brought a gun I stood up and paced around the campsite for a minute before grabbing the lamp and going out to try and find him it didn't take long before I heard steady footsteps running toward me my hand was trembling holding up the lamp but the light only reached a few feet ahead I saw a figure getting closer and I barely recognized them to be Jesse his eyes were wide open and he looked horrified I'd never seen anyone's expression
be that visibly scared before he told me in a sharp hushed voice that we needed to leave right now we ran back to the camp and got our backpacks but left the rest behind I questioned him but he refused to answer until we made it out of the woods Said someone else was there and approached him on his walk he held him at gunpoint making him be quiet and follow them somewhere for they reached wherever it was they were taking him Jesse tried for his escape and that's when I found him running that's all he
told me and ever has told me every time I ask I can tell he's purposefully leaving out some important details but he still Refuses to share them one he specifically leaves out is The Gunshot he never mentioned it personally I know Jessie is a capable guy and it wouldn't be far off to assume he tried to overpower the man holding him up maybe he got the gun away from him and did what he had to do to escape it would explain Jesse's traumatized State and why the man didn't chase him I don't know what happened
back there But ever since Jesse hasn't wanted to go camping again honestly neither do I but I just wish I could know the truth about what went down that night I owned an RV that I would use all the time as a camper in the woods behind my house it was a piece of junk but I would only drive it out a couple miles then park it and hang out for a few days so it didn't need to be anything special Around four years ago I took this RV out into the woods for a normal
weekend of camping I drove out on the dirt road about a mile then pulled off into a small plot in between all the trees and set up camp I made a small fire and brought out chairs then sat back and had some drinks I'd take friends out with me a lot but they weren't always able to spend several days away so this was just some time I was spending with myself AS nights started coming in I put some more fuel in the fire pit just after the sun had fully gone down I heard something moving
around outside my camp it didn't sound like any Wildlife it sounded more like a person walking somewhere out in the trees I looked out in that direction but didn't see anything this went on for around 20 minutes hearing what sounded like someone Walking around my camp I put out the fire and went inside the RV locking it up for the night and checking out the windows over the next hour but still never seeing anything from all the times I'd come out into the woods I'd never once had someone come across my Camp so this was
not a normal occurrence also knowing that they were wandering in the dark without a flashlight was even less normal I double checked the locks before going to bed and thankfully I got a good night's sleep in the morning I got up and made coffee ate breakfast and spent a couple hours in the RV before going outside I wanted to take a hike around but I wasn't too comfortable with leaving my RV there knowing that someone else was out here so instead I went for a short walk I went out where I had heard the person
From last night looking for any shoe prints to confirm that it was actually a person but from my quick search I didn't find anything helpful I don't know if it made me more or less uneasy but when I got back to the RV I brought out my handgun and strapped it to my waist just to be safe when it was night again I started up the fire pit and tried to take my mind off of things I sat outside for a while I want to say Probably an hour and was relieved to have not hurt
anyone I had a beer and listened to the calming sounds of the Woods at night until I got sleepy I stood up and went to put out the fire when I saw a figure in the corner of my eye my head quickly shifted to look at them they were standing between the trees maybe 25 feet away blowing in the faint light of the fire pit and just watching Me only a moment passed before they turned and walked away leaving the light I was really creeped out and not hearing any more footsteps or movement only made
me more paranoid about where they could be I picked up everything I had outside and put it in the RV then put out the fire and locked myself inside again I was even thinking about fully packing up and heading home in the morning Because this just wasn't going to be a nice time anymore whoever was out there had now come by my RV twice and neither time did they say anything or introduce themselves I stayed on watch for a couple hours checking the windows multiple times and listening intently it was during the third hour while
I was nodding off in my chair that I heard footsteps approaching the RV they were walking quickly going right up to the Door I stayed quiet clutching my pistol and hoping for them not to do anything there were a few odd seconds of them not making a sound but just standing on the other side of the door and they slowly walked around the RV then quickly ran away I stayed awake until the sun came up and as soon as it was clear enough to drive I got the RV ready and drove home whoever was out
there had to have some Sick plans for them to be coming up to my RV like that in the middle of the night and I knew that if I stayed it would likely have ended up really bad for one of us and I wasn't going to take my chances for it to be me I was on a camping Trail in the northern Appalachians I believe five years ago now it wasn't anything special just some new Trail I was going along I'd done many trails on this mountain Range before and was confident in camping and Hiking
them based on my research beforehand I planned to be on trail for three days camping the two nights first portion was a decently beaten path but the further out I got the less apparent the path became I continued still until a few things caught my attention and I started to wonder if I was even on the right path anymore I checked my mapping Compass as well as some directional notes I made on my phone when I was researching after looking into it I was 90 sure I was on a different path however the map showed
no alternative paths on the route so I was really unsure where I was I turned around and followed the path back to try and get on the right Trail again but it was starting to get dark and I was worried that I'd Venture off And get further lost so I set up camp where I was I didn't go through the effort of doing a full setup I just put down my tent and that was about it I bundled up in my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep a few hours into the night I woke up
to the best of my knowledge it was for no other reason than having to use the bathroom but when I unzipped the tent and went out to the trees I noticed a Glow in the distance an unmistakable flickering glow of a campfire my first thought was maybe someone had coincidentally followed the wrong path as well but as I thought it over I realized the chances of that were extremely low it was also around 2 am so having a fire going in the middle of the night like this was very unusual I knew I wouldn't be
able to sleep Knowing someone was nearby and I wouldn't feel safe unless I knew they were just fellow campers my big idea was to start a fire of my own hopefully showing them that I was nearby if they didn't already know and if they were planning something then it would show them that I was awake and aware I burned up a flame big enough for them to see but only a minute or two later they put their fire out My face went numb there was no way this was a coincidence too I waited the night
out checking frequently for any sign of whoever was out there but there was nothing else in the morning I rolled up my tent and got my gear ready but my curiosity got the best of me if they were just campers maybe they'd know the way back too I had my handgun holstered to my chest just in case and I approached the site It was empty but there were clear signs of a fire there were also multiple shoe prints all around and not far off a small Hut or maybe a cabin not something temporary I approached
with caution and looked inside the open door place was old and musty smelling but inside there was tons of camping gear tents hiking sticks bags everything a camper or hiker would need expensive gear too not just some cheap Junk the way was piled up though it didn't seem like it was from one person or even from one time frame some of this stuff was new and some of it was older I turned away and started quickly going back by some miracle I happened to stumble by a boulder that I remembered passing on my way up
and from there I found my way to the right path I took it back to the way I came and got out ASAP I notified the police just in case but nothing came of it I don't think they ever searched the area but I think whoever was out there was stealing people's camping equipment by getting them to go off the main path I don't know how they did it or if anyone who fell victim was able to make it out but I think I was extremely close to finding out firsthand Oh every year as a
kid my family would go on these big camping trips I was always really excited because we lived in Arizona where there's pretty much nothing and we'd camp in Washington seeing trees and grass was my favorite part but I also got to see all my cousins and even though we only saw each other a couple times a year we were really close my favorite cousin who was more like a Brother to me was Luis he was a year older than me and we were inseparable when together because of what happened we became even closer after that
camping trip I think it took us both a while to understand what really went on and what more could have happened to us [Music] it started when we had been there for two days already most of our family was either in the Lake or by the campfire talking Luis didn't like to swim so we decided to play in the woods instead we played a version of tag called Bandit we'd switch off being the cop and Chase the other one who was the Bandit until we catch them we would play for hours but in the woods
it's easy to just keep running and not know where you're going we tried our best to stay within viewing distance but when Luis started chasing Me with a huge stick I guess my adrenaline kicked in the hyperspeed I don't know how long I ran for but eventually I ended up at an old looking trailer Luis wasn't far behind but I remember him throwing the stick down his Focus now on what we both assumed was an abandoned trailer we discussed investigating it further and I'm not really sure why but we decided not to We started walking
back but we didn't really know where we were going probably about 10 minutes into our walk we saw a couple coming towards us pushing a shopping cart full of stuff the woman approaches us and is really nice while the man stayed back she asked if we were lost who we were with our names and ages and I remember when we told her how old we were she looked back at the guy and then to us again She told us we don't have to be scared then she'll help us find our way home after they drop
off their stuff at their campsite she said we could also make s'mores if we wanted Luis and I were hesitant but she seemed really nice and it was still daytime so for some reason that made everything way less suspicious in my seven-year-old brain bad people only do things at night so we were fine We walked with them for a while following them back to their camp while her and Luis were talking I glanced over at the shopping cart it was filled with a bunch of rusty metal things in what looked like to be nothing new
nothing was in bags everything just looked like trash they'd found somewhere I started to get really uncomfortable and I could tell Luis was too every time I'd look over at the guy he Was never smiling and sometimes he'd be staring at me with a Blank Stare this was 18 years ago and I still remember how creepy he looked walked a bit further until the trailer came back into view and the woman grabbed Louisa mine's hands and asked if we were excited for s'mores suddenly I heard luis's name being called and then mine we all stopped
for a second and the lady squeezed my hand a bit tighter She asked something to the guy along the lines of what they should do he responded but I don't remember what he said the lady started to turn us toward the trailer while holding us Tighter and Tighter she started to speed up as well into sort of a fast walk I looked back and saw my sister through the trees without hesitation I yelled her name and The lady immediately let go of my hand Luis and I ran to her as she made her way towards
us my sister yelled to the others that she'd found us my mom and dad thanked the couple who had told them this elaborate story on how they've been trying to find our parents for a while now and that we're such sweet boys and everything I remember my parents inviting the couple over for burgers but thankfully They declined I think because the lady was so nice and that we were found safe that my parents didn't think twice I do recall my dad and uncle talking about how creepy the guy was though my cousin and I ended
up telling my sister who found us that the couple was weird but I don't think she understood what we meant it wasn't until my cousin and I were old enough to understand that some people Have really bad intentions we talked about it again in depth and we both came to the conclusion that by the looks of it they were tight on money and were probably going to sell us or something for years growing up I had kept this from my parents because I was supposed to be the strong man of the family and thinking about
that time made me feel gross and preyed upon Luis also felt embarrassed as he was Older than me and felt he had failed to protect me we eventually told our parents a few years ago but I wish we had told them immediately and maybe something could have been done nowadays I never let my kids out of my sight and always let them know that they can tell me anything without fear of being judged especially my son I went on a camping trip with my buddy from college I'll call him Andrew to Keep both of our
identities private we'd been friends for a little less than a year and both enjoyed the forest and going for hikes but really hadn't ever stayed overnight in nature before this was during spring break at our school and we'd been planning this for a while we chose a trail we were familiar with and even got a basic idea of the area we would set up at and come the day of we headed out without thinking twice we were happy seeing that nobody else Was on the trail in fact we had chosen this Trail for that very
reason knowing it was never a busy attraction the trail took us about six miles into the forest before we got to the general area where we wanted to set up and pitched our tents then had a small meal just before the sun was about to come down Andrew and I collected some large stones and sticks to make a fire with and got it going just as it got dark Irresponsibly we brought a pack of beers and started drinking while talking and just hanging out by the fire we had some good conversations and had fun but
a couple hours in we were ready to call it a night we put out the fire then got no tents to go to bed I actually fell asleep really easily because of the calm sounds of nature but throughout the night I kept waking up it wasn't due to any noises but I would Just jerk awake for some reason I assumed it was just me being unfamiliar with being out in the forest at night but it still gave me an uneasy feeling then on maybe my fourth or fifth time waking up I heard Andrew's tent unzipping
I thought he was probably going out to use the bathroom or something but he only took a few steps until I heard him open up his backpack and start searching Around another 30 or so seconds went by with no other noises it was like he was just standing right outside of his tent I sat up and eventually unzipped my tent and looked out as soon as the sound of my zipper began I heard Andrew's footsteps Rush away from the front of my tent and by the time I stuck my head out Andrew was ducked down
and quickly shoved something Back into his backpack then turned and looked at me with a concerned face is everything okay he looked at me for a moment then nodded his head something about this immediately felt off I climbed out of my tent and stood up asking what he was doing out here he responded by saying he was having trouble sleeping and just came out for some fresh air but while he was talking I looked down at his backpack sticking out of the top was the back end of a handgun I felt my face turn white
as I looked back at Andrew and tried my best to hide my reaction but he already knew what I saw we stared at each other for a strange few seconds before he turned and went back inside his tent not saying another word I'd never seen him act like that before And his face gave away that he was guilty of something it was already strange that he never told me he was bringing a gun but the way he was acting just made it even more unsettling I stayed up for the rest of the night sitting on
the ground outside the tents and waiting for the sun to come up when it did I packed everything up and left after that day Andrew never contacted me Which I guess proves that something was going on that night I don't know for sure what would have happened or why it would have happened but I know that I was lucky to get out of there before finding out I'm 29 and I live along the Appalachian range in Lower West Virginia I've been going backpacking and camping for years exploring different Trails all around the nearby mountains my
best friend who lived just a few Miles from me would often join me on these hikes we usually planned one big trail every year in the fall being anywhere from a few days to a whole week of backpacking and camping in 2019 we plan to take a trail across the range to a small lake at the top of the mountains in the days leading up to the trip though my friend had to call it off because of an emergency at his work I'd already taken the whole week off of work and had everything ready to
go so I decided to just go alone Monday morning I drove to a nearby Trailhead then started my route this wasn't a regular recreational trail like you'd typically see on a four-hour hike these backpacking Trails didn't have defined paths so you have to use maps compasses and landmarks to navigate where you're going Typically there's a large landmark in the distance like a specific rock formation that you hike toward and when you get there you could see your next landmark and so on I spent the first two days hiking toward a ridge in the mountains when
I got dark on the second day I set up camp several hours from reaching the ridge I pitched the tent and got a fire going then heated up some of the food I Brought in my bag the sun had already set and it was around eight o'clock when I laid in my tent to rest and read I left the fire going planning to put it out before actually sleeping 20 minutes into reading and through the fire crackling outside I heard the strong sound of a stick snapping right behind my tent jolted up my first thought
was a black bear Possibly having smelled the food I cooked earlier I didn't hear anything else though I crawled out of the tent and shined a flashlight into the tree line behind my tent nothing I called out aggressively to scare away any Predators but again there were no sounds of anything running away it was really strange because the stick snapping was very distinct definitely Being from something stepping on it I stayed outside the tent for a while looking around constantly before putting out the fire and going inside I found it really hard to sleep that
night because I was so focused on listening for more sounds in the morning I was almost surprised to have even slept through the night I packed my tent and everything else at the campsite then continued along until I reached the ridge From there it was a straight shot to the lake I was moving fast trying to get there before dark so I wouldn't have to move my campsite again the next day I arrived with about an hour to spare Before Sunset the lake was beautiful very much worth the hike I walked around it enjoying the
scenery then pitched the tent and set up my camp on the tree line beside the lake As I sat by the fire I kept turning around hearing soft noises somewhere between the trees behind me I figured I was just being paranoid but it was really creepy it almost sounded exactly like footsteps but I knew nobody would be out here I would have seen their tent when I walked around the lake it was too dark at this point to see anything further than a few feet so looking around wasn't an option anymore An hour later I
got in my tent and laid down every few minutes I would hear footsteps again they were barely too quiet for me to tell for sure what they were though eventually I got so tired that I fell asleep and what I think was only an hour after I fell asleep I woke up to the sound of someone running away from my tent I jolted up and grabbed my flashlight Rushing out of the tent and looking in the direction of the footsteps I saw the bareback of them running away in the distance my heart was beating rapidly
I looked down and saw Footprints all around my tent like they had been walking around me and searching the campsite I tried to get the campfire going again as fast as I could so I could see better I was terrified I had nowhere to go and nobody to help me I sat at the fire all night keeping my head on a swivel but I never saw or heard anything else in the morning I snapped a few pictures of the lake then started the hike back I had planned to stay for a whole day I wasn't
comfortable anymore feeling like I was being followed I was able to make it back without any more trouble thankfully But along my journey I began noticing several things missing from my backpack small things like food a few tools Etc but I always had my bag with me even today I wonder if whoever had been outside my tent that one night had actually snuck inside and stole from my bag while I was asleep even the thought of it makes my whole body shiver my family owned some cabins in Oregon that all of us like to stay
in sometimes Or have family get-togethers there but for this trip I was going solo I just turned 20 and I'd never been camping alone and I figured camping somewhere near the cabins would be perfect in case something were to happen I drove an hour there then walked 30 minutes down a trail that led to the cabin I would be staying by as I walked up to it I noticed one of the windows was missing there was no glass on the ground it looked like the Entire window had just been taken out which was a very
unexpected thing to see I didn't plan on entering the cabin but I had brought the key for emergencies and this felt like something I should investigate but I was even more confused when the door opened without me unlocking it I walked in and right away it was obvious that the place had been broken into there were muddy Footprints all over the floors and some more expensive Stuff was missing it was unfortunate to see but there was no way of knowing how long ago it all happened from what I knew it had been months since anyone
was at the cabins and even then they may not have even come to this cabin I tried to lock up the place as best I could and set out to find a spot to camp I had no service but I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary to let my Family know right away or even to call the police yet I walked 30 minutes down the hill from the cabin and found the flat enough spot to set up rain started pouring down and being new to this it took me a couple hours to get everything set
up the right way already being soaked I sat outside on a nearby log under a tree and started eating some pre-packaged food went out of nowhere I started hearing someone Talking I immediately spotted a man walking behind me he was drenched walking up the hill toward the direction of the cabin and didn't seem to have noticed me the way he was speaking was really weird because it made no sense and he was obviously talking to himself soon he walked out of sight but something about seeing that gave me chills An hour went by and I
took a quick hike back up to the cabin to see if he was maybe staying there but from afar it still looked empty so I went back once it was night I used a fire kit to start a small campfire and used it to heat up some of my food the rain made it difficult but once the fire was going it stayed out pretty well not long into it I heard footsteps coming from up the hill I stared at the trees seeing nothing but pitch black Beyond the reach of my campfire they continued walking until
a man came into sight I couldn't see much of him but he looked similar to the man I'd seen earlier hey what do you want I yelled trying to scare him off he stopped and stared at me with a blank face having rain dripping from his head as he just stood there I yelled again but he didn't move we were standing just 10 feet from each Other and every second made me more and more scared of what was about to happen then through the rain I heard the sound of a single footstep behind me I
instantly sprinted to the side of the hill and didn't stop until my legs gave out under me I don't think they chased me but with the rain and wind it was too hard for me to hear while running I found my way up the hill and walked the rest of the way to my car in the Rain with only my phone light once I got in range I called 9-1-1 in the days following a team was sent out to investigate the cabin and my campsite campsite was gone left with only a few useless pieces of
equipment but in the cabin they identified three unique shoe prints on the floor it had me shaking for weeks knowing that there were three unknown men out there hiding not far away Nothing else was found and it was all said to most likely just be a robbery because they didn't chase me but who knows what they would have done to me if I had stayed there I do a lot of small camping Adventures throughout the year I try to keep these Adventures under three days long so that I could do them on the weekend and
only have to take a day or two off from work this was just another camping trip of Mine that I'd set to go on one weekend in the middle of April my plan so to speak was to hike an estimated five hours up to a small Lake and set my Camp right next to it then stay a few nights before going back on the morning of I drove out there and started the hike at 8am this Lake didn't have any Trails leading to it which was part of the reason I chose to hike there it
was only a five hour walk so getting Lost wasn't too concerning and I wouldn't have to share my experience alongside a bunch of random people who also wanted to go camping at the same spot four hours into walking though I thought I saw someone I was just spacing out when I saw something far ahead rushed past my view I froze in place trying to see what or who it was and where they had gone but there wasn't no more movement I wasn't looking directly at it when it happened so I didn't have a clear enough
view to know for sure that it was a person but I paid more attention for the final hour of the hike when I reached the lake I was taken back by its beauty it was the perfect place to catch a break I didn't spend long finding a spot to set up camp being in the trees just off to the side of the lake Almost as soon as I did though I saw someone this time for sure they were on the other side of the lake walking around by the trees they had no backpack or anything
they were just walking I looked around for their campsite but didn't see anything at all after a minute they walked into the forest and didn't come back this definitely put me in a slightly Nervous mood knowing someone else was out here at a remote Lake and making me wonder if I really did see a person before while I was walking chose to spend the rest of the evening at my campsite and come Nightfall I started up a fire I kept it small to not draw too much attention it had been almost four hours since I
seen the person but I was still nervous I heated up some food and ate then took A book out to pass the time I got through a few pages but I couldn't ignore this feeling like I was being watched I knew it had to be my brain being paranoid because of earlier but after a few minutes I couldn't even get myself to read anymore put the book down and packed my stuff in the tent preparing to go to bed right before I put out the fire I did one last look around About 15 yards away
there was someone standing although it was really dark I knew they were watching me still not moving or anything and we both just stared at each other through the Dark Forest we must have been like that for a whole minute when the person started backing up they still faced me but walked back into the trees until they were submerged in The Darkness I was physically shaking what were they doing and were they going to come back I built the campfire larger and stayed up through the entire night at the break of dawn I packed everything
up and moved quickly making my way back there wasn't a bone in my body that wanted to stay there a second longer during my hike back I swear I heard footsteps far behind me on multiple Occasions even now thinking back on it I can feel my body tense from the fear I experienced on that trip I don't know what that person wanted who they were or what they were doing out there but based on how they were stalking me it couldn't have been good if I had stayed there another night or had gone to bed
in the tent I'm almost positive I wouldn't be here today Last year was the first time I'd ever had something happen on my camping trip I'd go camping alone several times a year usually going to the same spots but sometimes I try and find somewhere different for this trip I decided on a Four Mile camping trail that I'd never been on before I drove out two hours from my house to a remote location where I started the hike from Right away I was not enjoying the trail as much as I thought I would mainly because
some portions of it were wet and muddy still I continued along and tried to avoid those spots I went down for a while and around 45 minutes in I saw something off the side of the trail it was a tent but very worn down and had a few rips in it from afar I could see that nobody was Inside of it so I walked closer there were no signs of any intentional damage it all just seemed to be weathered over a long period of time the fact that it was still standing up was mind-blowing to
me I looked around it and inside of it but oddly enough there was nothing else I thought I'd find a bunch of stuff left behind but there wasn't anything at all other than the tent itself after a couple of minutes I went back to The trail I thought about it for a while but couldn't come up with any good reasons to leave a tent like that as I walked for the last hour and a half of the trail I came across dozens of Left Behind objects all of them were camping or hiking equipment but seeing
all of this stuff scattered around a Four Mile Trail gave me an uneasy feeling who would leave everything behind It was definitely not an accident and I was pretty sure it was all from one person when I got to the end I set up my tent a good distance away from the trail just to be safe it was getting dark already so I stayed at my campsite until I was ready to sleep I felt a bit nervous to go to bed but I was able to sleep through the whole night without issue When I got
up it was early in the morning around four or five so the sun wasn't fully up yet I unzipped my tent and stepped out but right away I could tell something was wrong I turned around and on the other side of my tent a man stood just a few feet away he was tall and thin wearing disgusting clothes and his face was covered in dirt and grime he looked at me with this empty stair I stood there Motionless in the moment I was so shocked and scared it almost didn't even seem real leave he spoke
in a soft yet creepy tone I nodded and quickly started Gathering my backpack but he immediately rushed toward me I fell back and all I could get myself to say was okay repeating it over and over the man stood over me still with that empty look in his eyes Leave he said again I understood what he meant this time and quickly got up and rushed away leaving everything behind I took one look back as I got out of there and the man was rummaging through my backpack like a curious animal I jogged as far as
I could then fast walked the rest of the way to my car thank God I kept my phone and keys in my pocket or this situation could have been A hundred times worse I drove out until I got service then called 9-1-1 I found out that there was an almost identical case to what I experienced but whoever filed it chose for it to not be publicly announced by the media this was likely the person whose tent and belongings I found on the trail after a week of talking to the police and going over everything they
were able to organize a small search party of Officers they went down the trail and came back with no sightings or evidence of the man but they found most of my stuff nearby my campsite tossed around like trash after that the case went stale just like the previous persons the thing I always come back to is how the man didn't keep anything he just scattered it all around the forest with no intent of using any of it back in high school my house had a huge Backyard that was connected to a large Forest when we
were kids me and my friends would go and play games far out in the woods there was always this small sense of danger being out there which made things more fun as we grew up though we stopped going out there because there was no point but then one day me and my buddy Tyler were hanging out on the couch when he brought Up this idea of going out into the woods late at night over the next few minutes our idea evolved from just a simple walk in the woods to full-on Camping overnight Tyler said his
parents had a tent we could borrow so we walked down the street and picked it up from his garage now's a good time to mention that neither of us had ever been camping before so we had no idea what we were doing Honestly I don't think either of us thought anything of it though because we would only be out there for a single night after packing a bag with a bunch of snacks water bottles and a portable phone charger we set foot in the woods we found out within the first couple minutes that the flashlight
Tyler brought was really shitty barely lighting up more than a few feet ahead it was enough to keep us from walking Into trees and bushes but we couldn't see much else during the first 15 minutes of walking we talked about how excited we were and how creepy it was going to be but then we walked for another 15 minutes without really talking I think we were both mesmerized and a little bit spooked by the Eerie silence a couple times I thought I heard something walking nearby but the flashlight would never reach far enough To see
anything after our 30 minutes of walking we found a place to set up it was an open section of grass with trees around it Tyler wedged the flashlight on top of a bush so that it lit up the area and then we started setting up the tent he said it was an easy assembled tent but there was nothing easy about it we probably spent an hour to get the tent to stand up without falling in on Itself it also didn't help that every time we'd hear something we'd have to grab the flashlight out of the
Bush and shine it around then set it back up and start over on the tent I don't know about Tyler but at this point I was regretting coming out there when we did eventually get the tent up though it was a lot less stressful we sat inside and listened to the sounds of the Woods It would be completely silent sometimes then a minute later there would be birds chirping or some other animal making noises it was a really cool experience until we both heard a more familiar sound we stayed in the tent listening as these
footsteps made their way around the trees they didn't sound like they were getting closer but more like they were passing by One thing we were both sure of was that they were human footsteps not any other animal after a minute they were gone but me and Tyler stayed quiet staring at the inside of the tent as we listened carefully around 10 minutes later once we were sure whoever that was was long gone we left the tent and sat outside instead we both felt a little too vulnerable sitting inside there without being able to see what
was going on around us As we sat and talked for a while that same sound started coming up in the distance this time it was getting closer it eventually got so close that we were worried they were coming directly at us Tyler shined the flashlight in the direction of the footsteps but the sound continued they walked toward us slowly and just when we thought the person would come into view of the flashlight they stopped They sounded so close enough for us to hear them breathing but just barely outside of the light both Tyler and I
were frozen staring at the darkness beyond the flashlight then we heard them take one step back and then they began walking away a minute later the footsteps had disappeared and the entire Woods was silent again we undid the tent as fast as possible and immediately left We were so shaken up we didn't even follow the right way home and somehow ended up on a neighboring Street we walked down to my house and stayed up the entire night in my room talking about what happened or what could have happened we never stepped foot inside those woods
again and even today I stayed far away from anywhere isolated whoever that person was out there alone in the woods at night had to be up to Something awful and I think we were really close to finding out it was early March and I'd taken my camper out for a midweek camping trip the woods right outside my house had plenty of dirt paths big enough to fit my truck with the camper attached so I would often find myself staying out there for a couple nights a few times a month my favorite spot was down a
small trail that went out by a lake The lake itself was huge but the spot I always went to was secluded and far too random for most people to go to when I got out there in the morning I detached the camper from my truck and got my bag together for a hike there weren't any Trails out here from what I knew but hiking along the lake was still a nice walk and assured me that I wouldn't get lost only a few minutes walk from my camper though I came across something really Strange it was
a trailer wedged between a couple of trees looking rugged and old almost like it had been out here for years but I had been this way before and it definitely wasn't here last time so someone had to have moved it recently stayed for a little bit keeping my distance but trying to see if there was any sign of someone living there in all honesty taking just one look at it gave me the feeling that this was Purposefully hidden maybe to cover something up from what I could see it had no signs of being lived in
recently which only made my suspicions grow why would someone go through the effort to move a beat-up trailer through the woods into such a secluded area my gut was telling me to leave but something about it pulled me in enough to get me to knock on the door to the trailer Nobody answered and there was a no movement from inside I knock one more time with no more sounds I left it and walked back to my camper the trailer was on my mind for the next several hours while I sat outside and got my campfire
going once the sun set and the stars came out though I was back to enjoying my night I was sitting on a small chair and looking up just taking in the Peacefulness when the unmistakable sound of footsteps crunched the leaves from somewhere out in the woods behind me I turned and saw a light steadily going between the trees as whoever was out there walked through the woods seeing someone out here was really strange so I kept my eye on them as they continued toward the lake but then the light suddenly shut off I stared off
into the darkness for a while looking for any movement but Couldn't see anything then the faint sound of footsteps started again coming in my direction they were subtle clearly trying to be as quiet as possible I stood up hey what do you want the footsteps stopped sounding like they were just a few yards from me I waited for a response or some kind of movement but there was nothing for what felt like an entire minute until they Finally started backing up I heard the steps fade out into the woods and I put two and two
together realizing he was going in the direction of the abandoned trailer after his really strange behavior and thinking about the trailer some more I was not going to risk staying the night I packed up and reattached my camper to the truck then turned my brights on and carefully drove down the path it took a while but I made it out and Decided to call the police to report the strange behavior of the man as well as the trailer in the morning I took two officers out to where I saw the trailer but it was gone
and to make it all even more crazy there were clear Trails on the ground showing the trailer having been dragged all the way up to the lake where the marks faded into the water line whatever that trailer was hiding now sits at the bottom of the lake Completely inaccessible and no evidence ever came up to Warrant the retrieval of the trailer so everything is just left as a mystery it's terrifying to think of what that man could have done to me had he caught me by the trailer he was hiding and unfortunately I will always
be haunted with the mystery of what was behind that door I'm 28 and live in Illinois if you've ever been here you know this State is completely flat and doesn't have much to do in terms of hiking or camping at least not with Scenic views this year I tried to go camping for the first time in a secluded Forest I thought it would be the perfect starter camping trip since the land was flat and the trail was mostly a straight shot at the end was supposed to be a small pond so at least there would
be somewhat of a nice view The hiking part was short being just under an hour but the pond at the end was very underwhelming to say the least it was very small and surrounded by swampy mush so I had to put my tent further down into the forest where the ground was dry I'll admit though after an hour or two I was really bored I decided to get up and walk around the pond just to see what was around I wandered to the other side and really There wasn't much to see it was a peaceful
and beautiful Forest but there were no defining landmarks of any kind so it was kind of just the same forest all around I started making my way back to my camp and by then the sun was mostly gone I brought a small Fire Starter so I used that to get a campfire going and heat up some food but not long after Sunset I noticed a light across the pond It was in the trees just outside of the pond but it was right where I had walked earlier and I knew there was nothing there just an
hour ago while it was uncomforting being out in the forest with some stranger or possibly strangers I knew that this was one of few camping trails around here so the odds of it weren't too crazy I went about my night looking across the pond every so often as it got darker though this light that I thought was a campfire became more apparent and I realized it was a flashlight or some sort of mechanical light I wasn't sure what to make of it but an hour more into the night I saw from the corner of my
eye the light started dimming and then after a few flickers it went out stared at the dark and empty Forest across the pond for a good 10 minutes waiting for the light to come back up But it never did it gave me chills but again I had no idea what to make of it the rest of the night was surprisingly quiet I slept and as far as I'm aware nothing happened overnight as the sun rose I prepared for another walk I was still thinking about that light I saw and really wanted some answers I walked
around to the other side of the Pond where I saw the light coming from and searched around it didn't take long for me to find the culprits a hefty flashlight laying in the grass the batteries were drained but it looked pretty new no scratches or noticeable wear and tear I looked around some more and saw nothing else to indicate someone being here after some thought I decided to leave The flashlight where I found it and started heading back to my Camp What stopped to my tracks when I saw someone across the pond they were standing
by my fire pit in the middle of my camp then I saw another person come out of the trees and join them it looked like two adult men but that's all I could tell from where I was I was too scared to yell or say anything so I just watched as they walked around My camp and looked through my things then one of them stopped and turned to face the pond he stood there scanning the tree line where I was standing until he was looking right at me he only looked at me for a moment
but it sent shivers through me I watched the man leave the camp and start walking between the trees I lost sight of him for a moment until I caught a glimpse of him sprinting Through the forest I ran further into the forest away from the pond I knew the chances of them Finding Me were near zero but I was too scared to think straight I ran for probably 15 minutes before I stopped and turned in the general direction of my car luckily I made it safely but I lost everything I had to put it shortly
nothing happened Afterwards I filed a report with the police but it all turned to nothing I think about that flashlight a lot though was it those men's or was it someone else's I hope the flashlight was just a ployed they used to get me away from the camp but if it was then why would they come after me I keep trying to convince myself that it Was just a robbery and they had no other intentions but in my gut I know that I likely came close to never making it out of that Forest foreign all
right
