This happened on New Year's. I was home alone for the holiday, having already spent Christmas with family and didn't have anyone to go out with on New Year's night. So, I just kicked it back at home, had a couple beers, and watched TV the whole night.
I watched the whole Times Square celebration, then just turned on some older holiday movies. I wasn't all that tired and around 2:00 a. m.
I felt like getting up and doing something since I'd been sitting on the couch pretty much all day. I checked out the windows. It was snowing a bit, but not too much, and I knew it was cold and dark out there, but a walk just sounded really nice.
I grabbed my jacket and hat and gloves and headed out to walk around the neighborhood. Right away, I noticed it was surprisingly quiet outside. Even though it was 2:00 a.
m. , I figured because of New Year's, there would be parties and whatever. Yet, all the houses only had their outdoor Christmas lights on and no cars were driving through the streets.
It was just calm and empty. Very peaceful, actually. I'm not even too sure how long I was out there for.
Obviously, I wasn't fully sober, so time was hard to keep track of, and I was zigzagging through the neighborhood with no real direction or route in mind. Eventually, I made it to the park. It looked like the path hadn't been shoveled since that morning, but it only looked like maybe 2 in of snow, so I just started walking down it anyway.
Thought the slight change in scenery would keep the walk interesting. I walked a little ways in before realizing that not only was the snow actually getting harder to walk through, but there also weren't any lights on along the path. I'd walked it at night before, and it always had these small sort of street lamps lining the trail, but I guess they turned them off for the winter.
So, after a few minutes, I turned back around. I dragged my feet through the snow, walking maybe a minute back the way I came. when I saw something pretty weird.
There was another set of tracks going right along mine from just a few minutes ago. Someone had to have been walking right behind me. And honestly, it kind of looked like they had been following me given that there were no shoe prints there before, but I didn't see anyone.
And when I tried to see if they had turned around or where they went, I found the tracks led off the trail, going out into the dark areas that I couldn't see anything in. For all I knew, there could have been someone standing just 10 ft in front of me, and I wouldn't have a clue because it was pitch black. I quickened my pace to get out of there, but I still didn't fully think it was something to worry too much about.
I admit it could have been me being tipsy and not realizing the strangeness and possible danger I was in, especially with the tracks going off the trail and leading straight into the darkness. At the time, I tried to assume it was just some really big coincidence. I got away from there and walked further into my neighborhood, not going directly home yet.
I walked for 15 more minutes. Not that I was looking very hard, but I didn't see anyone else, so I thought by then I was all good. When I made it back home, I took all my winter stuff off and figured I'd take a shower and then hopefully be tired enough to get in bed.
It wasn't until I was already halfway up the stairs that I realized how dark it was and that the upstairs lights were off. This caught me off guard because I'm the kind of person that leaves all the lights on all day. I hadn't even been upstairs since waking up in the morning.
So, I definitely left the lights on up there. I could see how this might sound like some small thing that I fixated on, but I think even if I were fully drunk, I'd still have known that those lights were left on. I cautiously walked the last few steps up to the hall and looked down.
then flick the light back on. I didn't really know what I was looking for, though. I walked through and just peaked my head into each of the rooms, seeing if there was anything obvious.
I made sure to close each of the doors after looking, which is why after checking the last room and turning back around, I felt my heart stop. The first door right by the stairs was wide open. To me, that 100% confirmed that someone was inside my house right now.
After freezing up for a few seconds, I called out asking who was there. I was scared to move. They could have been right there in that room or had snuck downstairs and really been anywhere at this point.
I remember taking slow, careful, and quiet steps down the hall, feeling adrenaline and a sinking awful feeling in my gut as I approached the doorway. And then I woke up. And no, this wasn't all a dream.
I woke up laying on the floor in the middle of the hallway, head spinning and with a horrible migraine. I think only 10ish minutes had passed between then and now, and it was apparent that I'd been attacked and knocked unconscious with no recollection of anything but the moments leading up to whatever the hell happened. Even my vision was blurry and fading in and out.
I called 911 right away. Whoever it was that broke in and attacked me was long gone, but I tried to give the police an account of everything I could remember. It still bothers me so much that a part of my memory was just blacked out like that.
I likely came face to face with the guy, probably enough to get a good description of him. Hell, I might have even known exactly who it was. Yet, it's like my own head is hiding it from me.
After that night, the updates were minimal and nothing ever led to anything significant. I don't know who it was or what his intentions really were, but I wouldn't doubt it if he didn't even want me to wake up. I work at a local ski resort in a small mountain town as maintenance/security.
All my job really was was just cleaning and general maintenance stuff, but I was somewhat trained for security as well because we'd had a few breakins overnight to steal skiing and snowboarding gear or to try using the slopes while we were closed. After the several instances, the company changed schedules around to have two people working overnight to do our regular work while also deterring any possible trespassers. We didn't have cameras or anything.
So, the security title of my position never really affected my day-to-day job because after we started working overnights, we didn't have any more people try breaking in for months. The most we had was someone coming up to the door and trying to look inside, but aside from that, it was always quiet. Also, like I mentioned, I never worked alone on these overnight shifts, or at least technically not alone.
My coworker Matthew was always scheduled for the same shift, but he worked on the opposite side of the resort. The resort was split into two large sections with just a hallway connecting them. Sometimes I wouldn't even see Matthew for days or weeks at a time.
So even though I wasn't, it really felt like I was working alone most nights. But this night had started out the same as usual. I clocked in and started cleaning up the main floor.
The place gets really messy during the busy season, so even though it wasn't the hardest work, there definitely was a lot to do. The first hour went by pretty quick. I was still in the large main room when I heard what sounded like a tapping noise, maybe someone tapping on a window.
I set my things down and walked to the front where most of the windows were. I didn't see anything until I walked right up to one of the windows and noticed footprints right under it in the snow. They went right up to the glass, then went around to the other side of the building.
Not too sure what to think about it, I threw my coat on and stepped outside to look around. I thought it might have been someone lost. And if it wasn't, then I had to tell them to leave.
But as soon as I got out there, I saw the footprints go from the window to the parking lot, which was already plowed. So from there, I had no idea where they went. It was pretty weird, but it was way too cold and dark to be walking around the whole perimeter.
I went back inside. I got right back to work, hoping whoever that was wouldn't come up again. I want to say 30 minutes passed.
By then, surely the snow had covered up any of the tracks outside. So, even thinking about it wasn't worth my time anymore. That was until I heard a few doors open by the connecting hallway of the resort.
And a few moments later, Matthew showed up. He looked distressed and kind of confused when he saw me. He immediately asked what I was doing.
I looked around confused and just said I was working. Matthew nodded his head, acknowledging it, but almost as if that answer didn't make sense to him. Is everything okay?
>> He said, "Yeah, that he must have been tired or something, shaking his head. " Before he left, I mentioned that I saw some footprints in the snow outside and asked if it was him. He shook his head no.
I hoped that he would explain more about what he was so concerned about now that I told him about the strange thing that I saw, assuming from the way he was acting that he had something strange happen, too. But he didn't say anything else. He just left my section of the resort and went back to the other side.
Now, me and Matthew weren't good friends or anything, just to be clear. Again, we rarely ever saw each other, so we weren't more than just acquaintances. He was also a lot older than me, too.
So, when we did talk, it was always just workrelated. I'm mentioning this to give context on why I didn't question him a little bit more or go over to his side and really try to figure out what was going on. I kept working but spent most of the next hour thinking about how strange of a night this was.
And just when I thought the rest of the night would go by without any more occurrences, I heard a loud bang from the corridor between the resorts. Sounded like maybe a door slamming or something heavy hitting a wall. It was enough to make me jump and go looking to make sure Matthew was okay.
I headed to the connecting corridor and didn't see anything. So, I continued into the other section where Matthew was, except he wasn't there. Matthew, you good?
I called his name over and over and got not even a sound in response. I started getting nervous and as I made it to the back of that section, my stomach dropped when I saw the back door was wide open. Snow was blowing in, but it looked like the door had only been open for maybe a couple of minutes.
I hurried over and looked outside. I didn't see anyone, but there were more footprints leading away from the building and heading up the resort toward where the ski lifts were. There was no reason Matthew should have been going out there, so this only made me even more nervous.
I called out Matthew's name again, but the wind didn't carry my voice very far. I started getting worried, like really worried. I double checked everywhere inside the building for him and didn't see anything.
The only clue I had were the footprints in the snow. I ran back to my section and got my coat again, then hurried to the open door. I walked out and started to follow the footprints.
They went way farther than I expected. It was also dead quiet outside, just wind and snow. No other signs of anyone being out there.
The footprints led me all the way out to the bottom part of the ski lifts and slightly up the shallow hill, and that's when I stopped. They led out of the resort area and into the trees that lined the hill. There were no lights or anything out there.
And from my knowledge, it was just a regular mountain forest past that tree line. My heart started racing a little bit more. And I got the feeling these might have not been Matthew's footprints I was following.
Matthew, are you out there? There were several long seconds of silence before in the far back behind all the trees, I saw a figure move into view and look right at me. From what little I could see, it didn't look at all like Matthew.
I ran as fast as I could back down the hill and into the resort, falling multiple times from my boots getting stuck in the heavy snow. Whoever was out there didn't follow, but I knew they were watching me. I closed the door and ran to the other side where the front desk was, using that phone to call the police.
I wasn't sure what was going on, but I wasn't taking any more chances looking on my own. Of course, being up in the mountains, police were about a half hour away. I hid in the closet with all the rental gear for that whole time, listening to the winds outside and the eerie calmness inside the empty resort.
It was 10ish minutes into waiting that I heard what might have been a door opening on the other end of the resort, but I didn't dare even try to see for sure. I didn't hear anything after that until police made it. Disturbingly, they found another set of footprints going back up to the back door.
So, whoever that was out there had come back, maybe looking for me. And it only took about 30 minutes for the police to officially state Matthew as missing. Although from the police officers I talked to, they didn't see any signs of foul play inside the resort, which makes the officers think it was someone he knew that got Matthew to let him in or led Matthew out.
Either way, once the footprints made it to the woods, there was no way to track them any further. For a while, I'm pretty sure I was actually a suspect, being one of, if not the last person to see him. But eventually, they were able to confirm I didn't have anything to do with it.
The whole situation was really scary, and it's hard not to blame myself a little bit for how things went down. Feel like I should have done more somehow. But I also know that if I walked deeper into the forest to follow the footprints or had tried to help anymore, there's a chance I would be missing right now, too.
It was about 4 years ago during the holidays. I had driven out all the way to a small town in Montana where my parents lived to surprise them for Christmas. I stayed there for a whole week before heading back home.
The drive was about 16 hours, which I never thought was too bad. I really didn't mind pulling over at rest stops and taking a nap for a few hours if I had to. and I always thought it was more worth it rather than stopping at a hotel or motel, mostly because it would make the trip take even longer.
Anyway, I left in the afternoon, a few hours earlier than I planned to because there was supposedly a big winter storm headed our way. So, I hoped if I left early, I could get by before it started. Think it was somewhere around 4 or 5 hours in that the storm hit.
The road went from pretty much empty and uneventful to suddenly snow everywhere within minutes. The wind was really bad as well, pushing my car around and throwing snow at my windshield. I didn't feel like I was losing control or anything, though.
And with no other cars on the road, I still felt safe driving. However, after an hour of this, it really started tiring me out. mostly from just having to pay so much attention to the road and the snow started piling up on the road a bit more.
My phone suddenly started beeping with a winter storm advisory and only a couple minutes after that I lost all service. It was definitely a lot worse than I was comfortable with now, especially because if something were to happen, I'd be stuck without any way to call for help. So, I pulled off at the nearest rest stop a few miles down the road.
It was an empty, quiet rest stop just in the trees off the highway with a small snow-covered parking lot and a service building. There was only a single other car parked on the other end of the lot. It looked like it had been there from before the storm, though, because the roof had a thick layer of snow over top it.
Few minutes after pulling in, the storm somehow got even worse. It was a white out. I couldn't even see the other car anymore.
And the wind was actually pretty scary. I can't imagine anyone could have been driving in weather like this. A long, boring hour went by as I sat and waited in the snowstorm.
Eventually, both out of boredom and uncomfort, I decided to get out and head inside the rest stop service building to use the bathroom. As soon as I stepped out, the freezing wind and icy snow was almost immediately painful. I hurried up to the building and got in.
There was just a small lobby with a few benches, some pamphlets of road maps, and two doors leading to the restrooms. Thankfully, the heat seemed to be working in there, so I actually just stayed in the lobby for a minute and warmed up while looking out the windows at the snow coming down. I could only faintly see the car still parked over there now with the snow covering the entire windshield.
Thought it was strange that it didn't look like it was on. I mean, it was below 0° outside, so not having the heat on would have had them freezing by now. But after a minute, I headed up to the bathroom door and pushed it open, or tried to.
It opened just a crack before slamming back shut. I pushed it again, and that time it barely budged. I took a step back.
It wasn't like the door was locked. It was like someone was on the other side preventing me from opening it. I stared at the door for a second.
really just shocked and unsure what to think about that. It was really strange. I thought about just going into the women's restroom instead, assuming if whoever that was in the men's restroom was the only other car at the rest stop, then it shouldn't matter.
But honestly, I didn't feel safe being in there any longer. Felt like something wasn't right about this or that there had to be a reason they were blocking the door like that. and I really did not want to push my luck, so I hurried back out of the building.
As I left, I heard the bathroom door swing open, but I didn't turn back to look. I just continued walking through the storm and back into my car. By this point into the storm, the whole rest stop parking lot was covered in snow, and I really wasn't sure if I could even leave.
I wanted to, even if to just drive a few miles down to a different place to pull off at, but I didn't want to get stuck trying to leave. So, I sat there and tried to wait out the storm. I tried to think of any possible reasons for someone blocking the door like that, but honestly, I couldn't think of anything.
Nothing that would explain them knowing I was walking in and already being at the door to stop me from entering. Only a few minutes later, I noticed a shape start emerging from the white outs. Coming in between my car and the building.
It was a person. And basically right when he became visible, he stopped walking and just stood right in the blizzard. He looked like he was on the phone talking to someone.
And he was facing me. Couldn't tell if he was looking at me, though. He paced around that same spot for a minute, still talking to someone on the phone before he started to slowly make his way closer to my car.
Like he would pace a few steps toward me, then stand in the same spot for a bit, trying to make it not obvious. But at one point, when he was much closer, I very clearly saw him looking directly into the car at me. And then all of a sudden, he had this wide, overexaggerated smile and started approaching my window.
He walked right up to my car and tapped on the window, grinning at me through the glass. I was genuinely terrified. And as embarrassing as it is to say it, I was completely frozen in fear.
Like, for a moment, I just couldn't get myself to do anything. The man started knocking on the window a little harder, basically hitting it hard enough that I was surprised it didn't shatter. And then in the distance behind him, I saw another guy come out of the rest stop building and start running over.
I snapped out of it and put my car in reverse. My heart sank when my tires started spinning out. I wasn't moving at all.
The guy got closer and closer until suddenly my car jolted back and got traction. I backed out and put it in drive and in the split second before I drove off, the one man that just got there threw a knife right at the windshield. It bounced off but put a huge crack right in the middle.
I drove out of there and prayed that I didn't lose control or get stuck the whole way down the road. I was sure they would try to follow me, but as far as I know, they didn't. I drove dangerously through the storm until it started to clear up and I had service.
It had been so long, though, that the police didn't find either of the men when they got there. But what they did find was the car. It was still right there in the middle of the parking lot, untouched.
Despite what I had assumed, it wasn't either of the men's car, it belonged to some other guy that when the police showed me a reference photo, I didn't recognize. And over the next few days, it came out that the man was missing. No sign of him.
From what I've heard, he was also on a road trip and his family believes he pulled off the highway to sleep for the night. But then he wasn't heard from or seen again. Honestly, I think something really terrible happened at that rest stop just before I arrived there.
I think one of the men was outside keeping a lookout while on call with the other, letting him know to block the door when I walked in. Had I forced my way inside, I have a really bad feeling of what I might have found. And they probably wouldn't have let me get away either.
