I'm a big hiker I was doing some hiking in Utah during a cross country trip I was taking after breaking up with who I thought was going to be my fiance long story short I caught her messing around with one of my closest friends total Betrayal on both sides I was 31 Utah was actually one of the states I was most excited about passing through there are some great fors out there that I think every hiker would dream of exploring I had picked UA wasach KES National Forest as my Utah destination because I had heard
a lot of great things about it one of its biggest upsides for me was that it had a lot of secluded areas that I could easily access I prefer hiking alone so bustling hiking trails swarming with people aren't really my thing I picked an unnamed area of the forest and drove my car as far down this narrow access road as I could I parked stepped out of my car and took in my surroundings I geared up and checked my phone no service just the way I like it I made a mental note of my starting
point and began the Trek I know hiking alone in Uncharted Territory is dangerous but I don't think I have as much fun following a designated route I always download the digital map of whatever location I'm planning to explore a lot of people don't realize that your phone's GPS still functions without service I know what you're probably thinking but no I didn't get lost I I wish I could tell you that that's what the story is about the reality of what happened to me is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around my destination was
a Lookout Point at the summit of the mountain which was maybe 3 or 4 miles away the terrain was pretty difficult so I was only clearing about 1 and 1/2 M an hour about an hour into my hike it began raining although it was light I refused to continue hiking in the rain is a massive pet peeve of mine annoyed I turned around and began retracing my steps eventually I spotted my car in the distance and I was relieved that this failed outing would soon be over I reached my vehicle and was met with a
horrifying sight all four tires were slashed I felt the fear start to set in there wasn't a chance in the world that all four tires had been coincidentally punctured this had been deliberate I whipped my head around scanning the forest in every direction nothing I listened as carefully as I could but anything I might have picked up on was drowned out by the patter raindrops on leaves and brush I weighed my options without service I was basically screwed I'd need to get service so I could call for assistance but as far as I remembered I
had lost service over 20 mi down the access road walking back to civilization seemed like a grueling option I needed to find High Ground luckily the destination I had originally sought out was just that I had to chance it I didn't feel safe walking 20 mi down the road where I'd basically be out in the open without another thought I turned back towards the woods and began my route once again I was about halfway to the summit when I picked up on a faint rustling coming from behind me maybe 40 or so yards away it
would start and stop in tandem with my movements I didn't want to turn and look I just picked up the pace knowing I was probably a faster hiker than whoever or whatever was stalking me the sun was starting to go down casting an eerie Shadow over the forest the rain was still falling and I was starting to get nervous after putting some distance between myself and whatever was stalking me I cast an inconspicuous glance over my shoulder I didn't see anything but someone could have been easily hiding behind any of the countless trees in the
forest finally I reached the peak by some miracle there actually was service up there I didn't waste a second not even pausing to admire the view I told the police exactly where my car was and explained what happened including my suspicion that I was being stalked I also told the operator that I had AAA I hung up relieved that someone knew where I was there was still a glaring problem though I'd have to navigate back through the forest before it was fully dark while somehow avoiding whoever was stalking me I couldn't just March in a
straight line back through the forest that was asking for trouble I thought for a second before concluding that I'd have to try to walk in a semicircle back to my car hopefully avoiding any kind of trap someone had said I walked parallel to the cliff for a while before entering the woods from a different angle I hadn't bothered to analyze this area of the forest though so I pulled up the map on my phone and prayed my navigation skills wouldn't let me down things were going well for a while I hadn't heard a single unusual
sound behind me or in front of me I might have spoken too soon though because not 30 seconds after having that thought I heard a twig snap from my left I turned to look but didn't see anything and a few minutes later I heard another sound this time from directly behind me my blood ran cold as it dawned on me there were multiple people out there I picked up the pace again settling into a light jog as if things weren't terrifying enough already I stumbled upon something that brought my Panic levels from a 5 to
a 10 there was a makeshift campsite literally tucked away in the woods there were 12 or so logs sitting in a circle around a campfire someone had been here recently I jogged around it and continued on casting glances behind me every so often a few minutes later I heard something from my right this time I turned quickly enough just to barely see someone's foot jump behind a tree that was it for me my light jog instantly turned into a full-on Sprint through the woods I didn't care how loud I was being I needed to get
out of that Forest as I ran the sounds around me continued getting louder it was clear that I was being chased they weren't even trying to hide it anymore I continued running afraid to look behind me at one point I couldn't resist the urge anymore and shot a glance over my shoulder I counted at least six people all of whom were wearing white and charging toward me I kept running knowing my car wasn't far the next few minutes were the most terrifying moments I've ever experienced in my life imagine being overwhelmed with exhaustion while the
threat of death looms over you I couldn't slow down my life literally depended Ed on it finally I saw my car in the distance and right behind it was a police officer I reached his car and keeled over almost throwing up before he even had a chance to speak I turned around and those people that had been chasing me were nowhere in sight the cop told me that he had gone ahead and called triaa which I was beyond thankful for I gave him a full police report and what he told me was chilling apparently Utah
houses the largest population of Mormons in the country and it is uncommon to encounter Woods folk in unmarked Forest the specific Forest I was exploring actually had a very rich history especially as it pertains to Woods Cults and religious groups the cop told me that I had probably stumbled upon one such group and that I was stupid to explore a random part of the woods in all honesty what that cob told me all those years ago was probably true I still can't wrap my head around this though if they were mad that I was infringing
on their land why not just tell me that I don't see why they'd feel the need to stalk and chase me through the woods especially after slashing my tires this experience is still something I think about all the [Music] [Music] time I'm not going to call myself an expert hiker but I've been avidly enjoying the activity for a few decades now I've traversed all the major trails in America and I've been to over 75% of this beautiful country's naal Parks as such I've had to find new ways to excite myself I recently picked up a
new hobby scouring Google Maps for vest unnamed forests and just exploring them it's a little unconventional but I think the added excitement is worth the risk of getting lost or at least I did I carry a pack of homemade route marking stickers that I periodically slap onto trees so I don't forget my way back as I pass each one I pull them off the trees so as not to leave any litter behind I'm surprised more people haven't picked up on this trick it makes getting lost in a forest nearly impossible anyway there was a slightly
more daunting task ahead of me this time around I had decided to explore Dudley Town Forest in Connecticut which I'm sure would give any normal person pause if you don't know the whole town has been abandoned since the 1800s and there are all sorts of creepy accounts about strange things and stuff like that you should do some research on the place if you're interested in that sort of thing I'm not though I'm not superstitious and I don't believe in the ghost stories technically this Forest is off limits to the public but that hasn't stopped me
before as I saw it I was basically guaranteed to not encounter anyone in those woods which is usually what I go for I'm also from New England so the drive actually wasn't so bad I entered the woods around noon to ensure that the sun didn't go down before I finished hiking my first impression of the woods was honestly pretty freaky I had heard that it was dead silent in there and I was surprised to discover that it actually was you don't really notice or appreciate all the sounds in the forest until they aren't there anymore
imagine closing your eyes in the silent room and only being able to hear your breathing that's what it was like to be completely honest this silent phenomenon wasn't something foreign to me I'd been in forest's void of animals before I kept walking placing my stickers as I went trying to shake the Eerie feeling the forest was inducing I kept thinking I would eventually stumble upon an animal or at least some indication that there was life in there but I had no such luck after a while I was honestly hoping to encounter a person even that's
how unsettled I was pretty soon though the Silence of the forest stopped bothering me so much for the first time since I'd steep foot in those woods I was calm the feeling didn't last long though out of nowhere I picked up on a sound that sent the uneasiness rushing back in it was like a wailing kind of moaning sound the kind of sound you might imagine a wound wounded animal making that's the best way I can put it I still have trouble describing it even to this day it was especially creepy since it was the
only sound in the whole damn Woods I paused and listened trying to figure out what it could be I had never heard anything like it there was a chance it could have been a whistling made by the wind but there wasn't any wind to begin with so that didn't make sense I concluded that it was most likely a wounded animal even though I knew it probably wasn't I walked away from it until the sound faded away you're probably wondering why I didn't just turn around and leave right there I wish I had an answer to
that question I told myself that if one more creepy thing happens that would be it for me as I walked I started thinking to myself how would an animal even get wounded in a forest like this like was there someone hunting in here there's no way I could have missed a gunshot maybe the hunter had taken the shot before I was earshot maybe he neglected to put the thing out of its misery would someone really do that though it was hard to imagine all these thoughts and more were bouncing around in my head when I
stumbled upon something on the tree directly in front of me there were honest to God carvings I know it sounds cliche but I'm being dead serious the carvings were in symbols and they didn't look like letters either just random slashes and bits of missing tree bark I started looking around and saw that several of the neighboring trees were covered in the same marks that was it for me I turned around without another thought and began walking back unsticking my trail markers as I passed them I'm a curious person by nature and even I was thinking
screw this I followed my trail markers for a while before seeing something in the distance I hadn't seen before there was what looked like a bear's den up ahead or at least a cave of some sort I stopped walking confused I know myself there there was a 0% chance I would have overlooked something like a bear's den and that's when it hit me my trail markers should have been shoulder High not waist high my blood ran cold I turned around and began sprinting back the way I had come constantly looking over my shoulder how could
I have been so absent-minded someone had moved my stickers in an attempt to lure me into that cave but how was it really possible that someone had been tracking me this entire time I didn't have time to think all of it through I was busy focusing on getting the hell out of that Forest the issue with that though was that I literally had no idea where I was going without those Trail markers I was as good as lost I kept running not even trying to be quiet it would have been pointless anyway the forest was
dead silent apart from the sounds I was making I stopped to catch my breath and pulled out my phone praying for Signal by some miracle I did have a bar I found my parked car's location on the map and figured out which direction I needed to go I wasn't far and just like that the signal dropped it didn't matter though I knew where I was going now and that's when the Wailing started up again only this time it was twice as loud I ran faster than I had ever run before even though my most fit
ears were behind me the sound seemed like it was coming from right behind me but every time I turned to look I couldn't see anything after the worst 10 minutes of my life I finally reached the edge of the forest and the Wailing stopped abruptly I jumped in my car and sped off before whatever had been chasing me had a chance to catch up that day ruined hiking for me here's my rational explanation for what happened some hermit or Woods freak lives in those woods and noticed me before I noticed him he then for whatever
reason tracked me and messed with my trail markers hoping to lure me towards that cave I'm assuming he had a whistle or something that made that wailing noise which is why it stopped so abruptly once he realized he wasn't going to catch me I know there are holes in this explanation like how could someone blow through a whistle for that long while simultaneously running at full speed I'm open to anybody suggesting explanations maybe there's a reason that Forest is off limits to [Music] civilians when I was younger my childhood home was the most fitting for
Squad Hangouts there were a few reasons for this my dad had a massive man cave in the basement with an almost unlimited supply of beer plus my parents usually let us drink down there and left us alone for the most part I lived on a pretty large plot of land and my house boarded a decently sized Woods if you were to walk through the woods from my house you would find yourself on a dirt road on the other side of the road was the reservoir a spot that has had my heart since I was a
kid I've cut countless holes in the reservoir fence so many in fact that the Water Commission stopped repairing them after all it is illegal for any civilians to trespass on Reservoir property as a kid though it was My Sanctuary I'd go there to smoke to get away from my parents to swim to think it truly was a beautiful place and probably the only thing I miss about that era of my life my friends and I were shooting a few rounds of pool in my basement with some obnoxious EDM music in the background when my FR
Chester had the brilliant idea of taking a hike through the woods to the reservoir the boredom was beginning to kick in so we all agreed plus the sun hadn't gone down yet so it wouldn't be a nightmare trying to navigate there were five of us me Chester Rick Jasper and Hassen I can't remember too many specifics but I'm pretty sure Rick and Hassen snagged some beers for the journey they were the drinkers of our friend group I had already had a few drinks so I didn't want to overdo it the reservoir was huge so even
after crossing the fence we still had some walking to do it was honestly still a little muddy in the woods from the earlier rain but we were already committed to this plan there was a cliff on the near side that we usually chilled on so that's where we went that night after a while though we decided to keep walking and hang out on the far side of the reservoir in order to get over there we would have to walk along the near side to the end where we could cut across to the other side then
we'd be able to walk along the far side until we reached this really smooth section that we used to call the beach after about 20 minutes of walking we found ourselves on the far side of the Reservoir finally it was then that stuff started getting weird Hassen put his hand up and pointed into the distance remember we were on the far side of the ovular shaped Reservoir but we hadn't walked all the way down to the beach yet Hassen was pointing to our right where we realized that something was moving toward the reservoir on the
same side that we were on albeit much further down the five of us quieted and kept watching as the dark figure slowly made its way towards the water we were all kind of excited by this because it meant we might have some kind of encounter which we usually welcomed as the figure made its way towards the water and Out of the Woods we realized that they were dragging something the further they got the more we could see eventually we realized what was being dragged a large black garbage bag that clearly had something relatively heavy inside
of it on account of how slowly the person was moving now I don't want to make any assumptions but there have been a couple bodies found in that Reservoir over the years so in that moment we quickly assumed the worst we weren't smiling or even talking anymore just staring quietly at the figure dragging what we guessed to be a body towards the water's edge after reaching the water he knelt down over the bag for a few minutes we couldn't really tell exactly what he was doing from so far away we figured that was a good
time to get out of there since he was distracted before we could leave though Chester spotted something else that stopped us in our tracks three more figures emerged from the woods two dragging bags the third figure was carrying a kayak over his head I honestly started feeling sick I lived only 10 minutes from one of the most crime ridden towns in America so if this was somehow Gang Related that would have made a lot of sense the first man we noticed got into the kayak while the other three helped load one of the bags onto
his lap he rode out to the middle of the reservoir and we watched as the garbage bag disappeared below the surface he rode Back To The Shore and repeated this process twice more and then like a scene from a movie my phone rang the annoying tune cut through the silence like a razor blade and my nervous self couldn't mute it fast enough the four men froze and turned to look in our Direction which is when we ran and just like that the sanctity of my backyard Reservoir was gone forever Rick shot a glance over his
shoulder and yelled out that they were following us it was the scariest moment of my life running in a forest is actually insanely difficult factor in the threat of death and it's twice as bad we ran all the way back down the bank cut across and started making our way through the woods on the near side back to the hole in the fence I don't know if it was the nerves or the alcohol or both but to save my life I couldn't remember where the damn hole was I reached the fence first with my friends
close behind and they began panicking when they saw that I was tracing the fence aimlessly searching frantically for a hole that could have been anywhere we ran along the fence and I was ready to give up when Rick pointed ahead of us and yelled it was just a few feet away and we bounded for it as I was helping Chester through we heard the sound of a tree branch being stepped on not far behind us and I knew they were closing in the chase didn't end there we ran through the woods all the way back
to my backyard and we were relieved to have made it it was then that Hassen called the police we told them what happened and they said they'd send a squad car to my house immediately I knew I was going to get heat for trespassing but I didn't care at that point my friends were relieved to be safe but I wasn't as relaxed the path from the reservoir to my house wasn't super far and they could have easily followed the tracks we left on the trail eventually the police arrived and listened to what we told them
the police searched my property for any signs that we were followed and my stomach dropped when they actually found one there was a set of Muddy footprints that led to my backyard fence which I told the police weren't ours they asked if I was positive and I told them I was why would I jump my own backyard fence luckily the police didn't find find anyone hiding on my property so they left and told me they'd keep me updated about the reservoir situation to my surprise they actually did after a few days the police fished out
three bodies from the reservoir no surprise there and it was a huge news story for a while my parents and I were terrified for a long time knowing that some criminals knew where we lived for months afterwards my mom swore she saw people in the woods at night and even claimed to have seen a camera flash one night this incident was actually one of the the main reasons we moved out of that house fast forward to today and as far as I know the police were never able to find any sort of connection or make
any arrests the reason I'm writing about this now is because I recently stumbled upon a depressing news article about a teenager drowning in that Reservoir which brought all these memories back that place is definitely cursed and I still wonder about all the tragedies that might have happened there that no one knows about [Music]
