make this the best Halloween ever by pre-ordering my two brand new books coming out soon the first is Phantom phenomena a handpicked collection of the all-time scariest stories I've ever received accompanied by atmospheric illustrations and field nuts then there's Appalachian folklore an extraordinary catalog of the chilling history creepy folklore and Rich culture of the appalachin these release October 15th and 8th respectively pre-order now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble but hurry because the first 100 pre-orders to verify via the link in the description or at Eerie cast.com verify will receive an exclusive hoodie and hardcover
copy of lore a folklore horror novel when a nervous park ranger in Minnesota receives reports of a tall thin man roaming the campgrounds after dark fear spreads fast amongst the staff rumors erupt of the mythical windigo or a psychotic Drifter until one night changes everything welcome back to unexplained encounters I'm Darkness prevails you can catch me on X at dark prevails where I recently discussed how absolutely bizarre the movie the company of wolves is and you can also catch me on my comedy channel Darkness plays on YouTube and Spotify today's episode features terrifying allegedly true
Tales of windigos ghosts and haunted churches enjoy and be sure to send me your your scary stories at dark stories.org so I can narrate them I'm looking for real demon encounters and ghost hunting stories next now let's begin I believe a windo attacked me from gregarious Greg so this happened to me back in 2002 I was working as a park ranger in northern Minnesota I've never really told anyone the full story but I figured it's time to get it off my chest seems like other folks around here have had similar experiences after all I was
young back then fresh out of college and happy to land a job at this small National Park not physically small by any means just understaffed it was your typical Minnesota woods with hiking trails campsites and a few cabin been scattered about most of the time the job was easy I would help lost ERS make sure the wildlife wasn't getting too close to the campsites and lock up the office at night nothing terribly exciting and more often than not relaxing but then midall rolled around things started to get off it began with sounds or rather the
lack of them anyone who has spent time in the woods knows how noisy it is at night you've got Usual Suspects like owls hooting and crickets chirping maybe a fox or coyote in the distance but suddenly on occasion it was like you would walk into another world a soundless world the silence would be so thick you could almost feel it pressing down on you I remember standing outside the office one night just after Sunset it hit me how wrong everything felt no rustling leaves no animal calls not even the wind just this unnatural quiet that
made the hair on the back of my neck prickle up I had two thoughts about this nothing crazy I figured it was the changing of the seasons or maybe a larger animal or person passing by that was out of sight but deep down I knew something wasn't right here then came in the complaints from campers some vague things at first several folks said they heard weird noises at night but couldn't quite describe them one guy I recall said it sounded like someone was dragging something heavy through the underbrush another swore he heard what sounded like
Whispering coming from the trees but when he checked it out with his flashlight there was nothing there I kept these in the back of my mind but didn't put too much weight on them they were too easily explained Away by the wind or other things but different reports kept coming in and they started to get more specific some even disturbing there's a certain family I'll never forget they came into the office on a Sunday morning looking like they hadn't slept all night the father was trying to keep it together but his wife was crying and
their kid was clinging to her like his life depended on it he explained they'd been awakened in the middle of the night by what sounded like footsteps circling their tent at first he thought it was a bear but then he realized the steps were rhythmic and deliberate it sounded like someone pacing around the tent the dad said he unzipped the tent flap to take a look and that's when things got really freaky he swear as he saw a figure standing just at the edge of their campsite unnaturally tall and thin hunched over like its spine
was bent at an odd angle but even stranger he said it seemed to be swaying slightly even though there was no wind he yelled out to them asking who was there but the figure didn't respond it stood there swaying by that point the sun was about to come up and as it did the father says he saw it turn and walk into the woods he says their movements were all jerky and uncoordinated like someone trying to control a mannequin or someone who just woke up and didn't didn't know what they were doing I didn't know
what to tell them I mean what do you say to something like that I filed a report of course but I wasn't sure what to write camper scared by spooky tall man it sounded ridiculous but the fear in their eyes was real I told them it was just a lost hiker that at worst a drunk camper who wandered into the wrong campsite after that these stories kept coming in more and more campers reported seeing a strange tall figure lurking at the edges of campsites or on the more isolated Trails always at dusk or just after
Nightfall and usually too far away to make out many details some of the other rangers started a joke that we had a forest hobo living in the woods a few even asked me if I thought we should organize a search in case it was some mentally ill person who'd wandered off and gotten lost someone who might pose a danger to campers but I didn't think it was that simple there was something ominous about these sightings the way people described the figures movements the sudden silence that seemed to follow it in these reports it all added
up to something that didn't fit into a normal explanation there were other occurrences too lights in distant cabins would flicker erratically even though we had just checked the wiring trees would Sway and bend when there wasn't a breath of wind and worst of all was that constant feeling of being watched which got worse the more sightings came in I would be out on patrol checking the more remote areas of the park and suddenly I would get this overwhelming Sensation that someone or something was staring at me I'd spin around heart pounding but there was never
anything there just trees and shadows and that unnatural silence it got to the point where I dreaded coming into my night shifts the darkness seemed to press in closer with each passing day and that feeling of wrongness just kept growing stronger I recall One Night in particular about a week before Halloween I was locking up the office later than usual because we'd had a group of hikers come in just before closing as I was walking to my truck I felt it again that sensation of eyes drilling holes into the back of my skull I turned
around slowly my flashlight beam cutting through the dark for a split second I thought I saw something move just beyond the trees a thin silhouette but when I focused on that spot obviously there was nothing I practically ran to my truck that night and I didn't stop looking in my rearview mirror until I was miles away from the park the next day I finally broke down and talked to one of the older Rangers about what was going on I assumed if anyone would do something or know what to do it would be him this Ranger
had been working at the park for decades he knew every in of those woods I'll never forget the look on his face when I finished telling him about all the weird crap that had been happening he got real quiet for a minute then asked me if I'd ever heard of the windigo now I'd grown up in Minnesota of course I knew the stories and y'all listening probably do too it is said that the windo was a mythical creature from Algonquin folklore a monster that was said to possess humans and turn them into these insatiable cannibalistic
beasts but it was just mythology right a cautionary tale to make cannibalism this forbidden thing as it rightly should be the old Ranger though he didn't seem to think it was a mere story he told me that every few decades he'd worked there strange things would start to happen in the park animals would go missing and campers would start to report bizarre sightings and that unnatural silence would often settle over the woods he told me his grandfather had told him stories about a particularly bad cycle back in the 1930s a whole group of campers had
gone missing Without a Trace allegedly search parties combed the woods for weeks but never found a single clue it was like they had simply vanished I wanted to laugh at all off but that seemed rude I wanted to accuse him of trying to scare me but that seemed wrong the way he was looking at me that day dead serious made any rebuttal die in my throat just be careful he told me and whatever you do don't stay in the Park after dark if you can help it there are things out there we don't understand and
they can be dangerous I nodded and thanked him but inside I was freaking out I mean I didn't really believe in Monsters or anything like that not even ghosts but after everything I'd seen and felt over the past few weeks I couldn't just dismiss this as October wore on the attention in the park just kept ratcheting up more campers were cutting their trips short claiming they felt unsafe or uncomfortable we had a few reports of vandalism people's things being torn into and messed with small animal carcasses being arranged in bizarre patterns a lot of the
folks around here began to think it was some sort of sick prankster but the old man's stories were ever present on my mind the other Rangers were feeling it too we'd sit around the office trying to joke and act normal but there was this undercurrent an overhanging feeling of fear it became taboo to talk about it unless we absolutely had to I started to take extra precautions I carried a bigger flashlight made sure my radio was always charged and I never went anywhere in the park alone if I could help it no matter what I
did though I was not about to shake that feeling of dread it was just there at all times every minute of the day on my job it all came to a head on October 30th it just had to be the Night Before Halloween I was working the late shift and for some reason the park was busier than usual maybe people wanted to get in one last camping trip before winter maybe folks were coming in to have a special outdoor spooky Halloween Vibe whatever the reason I was kept busy all evening dealing with last minute arrivals
and making sure everyone one was settled in to their campsites by the time things quieted down it was well after dark and I was the only one left in the office I should have just locked up and gone home that's what my gut was telling me to do but I had some paperwork to finish up and I figured another hour or so wouldn't hurt and you know how being social is when it comes to fear you start to let it subside I'd been talking with a lot of people that day and even after they were
gone I didn't feel too alone but God I wish I'd listen to my instincts what happened next is the reason I can't sleep without a light on anymore so there I was alone in that tiny Park office finishing up some stupid paperwork of some sort the lights were buzzing overhead that annoying florescent hum that gets on your nerves after a while outside it was Pitch Black and I mean you couldn't see your hand in front of your face kind of dark I kept glancing at the clock telling myself I'd leave in five more minutes but
you know how it is when you're in the zone those 5 minutes turned into 10 then 20 before I knew it it was nearly midnight and then I noticed the silence again like someone had thrown a big blanket over the whole park the wind stopped the cricket stopped there was nothing out there making noise all I could hear was that darned buzzing from the lights and the sound of my pen scratching on paper I finally decided that was enough for me I mean paperwork's not worth risking your life over so I started to pack up
shutting down the computer all that kind of end of shift stuff as I was locking up the office I got that feeling again the really bad being watched feeling I tried to ignore it telling myself I was just being a scaredy-cat but truth be told my hands were trembling and I could barely get the key in the door lock after that I basically ran to my truck it was parked maybe 20 ft from the office so not too far but still I swear it felt like a mile I had the keys in my hand ready
to make a break for it and then I heard a sound it was like someone stepping on dry leaves it wasn't a single step they were slow deliberate steps sounded an awful lot like whoever was out there wanted me to hear them I froze Then I then slowly turned around fumbling for my flashlight and there it was just at the edge of the trees maybe 30 ft away from me a figure at first I made myself believe it was a shadow but then I saw it move and God the way it moved was all wrong
like its joints were bending in ways they shouldn't be it was hunched over arms hanging down far too low and it was way too tall for a second my mind was trying to make sense of it I thought to myself it's some lost hiker someone who's hurt or might need help that would be the rational explanation right so I called out to them hey you okay my voice sounded weird all high pitched and shaky I couldn't hide how scared I was the figure didn't answer though it just stood there still swaying like the stories I'd
heard like it was being moved by a breeze that wasn't even there there at that very moment the air was dead still then it started moving towards me not walking not really it almost looked like it was gliding I saw its feet move but I couldn't even tell if they were quite touching the ground that's when I lost it I don't even remember trying to run or even deciding to one second I was standing there and the next I was sprinting back back into the office I could hear it behind me getting closer there was
a weird wheezing sound like it was breathing but couldn't quite get enough air I slammed into the office door so hard I thought it would break down I struggled desperately to get the key in the lock as fast as I could but the harder I struggled the harder the task was and the whole time I could feel it getting closer finally I got the door open and I practically fell inside as quick as I could I stood up and slammed the door shut and locked it I backed away from the door trying to catch my
breath for a minute nothing happened the office was quiet except for my ragged breathing I was starting to think I'd imagined the whole thing or at worst The Stranger outside or creature wasn't really after me at all but then I saw a shadow moving past the window slow and deliberate like these steps from before I held my breath praying they would go away but they or it didn't it stopped right in front of the window and turned to face me the image of that thing's face will live with me forever it looked like someone had
taken a human face and stretched it out distorted it the eyes were sunken deep into the skull but they reflected the light from inside the office in such a weird haunting way the mouth was very wide but I didn't see the teeth just yet it pressed its face against the Glass Long spindly finger scratching at the window the sound was horrible a high-pitched Screech that hurt my teeth I didn't move maybe I couldn't I kept holding my breath too I stared back at it then the scraping sound stopped the thing stood up straight Jesus it
was tall had to be at least 8 ft it gave me a quick look glowing reflecting eyes seeming to stare straight into my soul then it turned and I don't know how to describe it but it didn't walk away it didn't run to me it looked like it just faded into the dark dark now after seeing something like that you end up just standing there letting it sink in being too afraid to move I just looked out that empty window my legs were shaking something fierce too I wanted to call for help but I couldn't
move for some time not even to go get the phone eventually I managed to grab a chair and wedge it under the door knob like that could stop whatever that thing was but it still made me feel safer I spent the remainder of the night huddled in the corner of the office jumping at every little sound and movement I kept thinking that thing was still out there and that if it wanted to it could just break through the window but it didn't when the first rise of the sunrise came through the window I got my
things and began to head outside I felt a lot better being able to see now that the dark of the night was subsiding I walked very slowly to my truck looking left then right then repeating about 100 times when I made it to the driver's side door I unlocked it in a hurry I took a step inside looking around in the cab making sure I was completely alone as I was doing so one leg was still on the ground outside it was then that I felt a sudden searing hot stinging pain and my left ankle
instinctively I yanked away and screamed I then felt a hand grab hold of me as an intense pain of super sharp teeth tearing into my flesh radiated through my entire body I screamed and pulled away hard for another 2 or 3 seconds before it let go of me in the maddest Panic you can imagine I slammed the door shut turned on the truck and peeled out of there so fast I nearly slammed into a few trees without slowing down at all I drove to the nearest hospital I was examined by a doctor I told them
exactly what happened that something bit me and grabbed hold of me something that I couldn't see as I believed whatever it was had been lying in weight under my truck he looked perplexed by my wound before stitching me up he said strangely enough the teeth marks looked human as if a man with particular sharp teeth had attacked me so yeah that night messed me up pretty bad for the rest of my life I called my supervisor about the injury got a few days off but before hanging up I did ask if someone could look around
for Footprints or handprints where my truck had been parked and near the windows of the office when I heard back from him apparently no Footprints or handprints were found no evidence that some Barefoot nude stranger had been there to everyone else the park seemed normal and peaceful save for the strange stories but to me the hellish thought of going back kept me from going to sleep that first night but I worked up my courage realizing I needed my paycheck and I went back after my quote unquote sick leave the morning I returned my co-workers began
to show up on by by one each of them had apparently heard the story and they looked at me with concern they'd been hearing the stories I had up to this point that fear was palpable for them as it was for me and even so they thought my story was nuts not in an unbelievable kind of way but more like insane that something like that actually happened admittedly showing them my stitches helped me feel a bit better it was proof that I wasn't crazy that something had actually attacked me Plus for the next 2 weeks
I wouldn't have to go out and about from the office my supervisor kept me on paperwork Duty so that my ankle could heal over the next 2 weeks however it was very very difficult to go back to normal I don't think I ever really did over the next few years as old employees left and new ones came in my story became a bit of a legend the former employees who had believed the story were gone and the new ones thought I was just crazy when I showed them the scar which had healed up quite well
they told me it could be anything now going back to just after the incident I didn't know if it was bad or good news but those strange occurrences stopped being reported right after my bite guess I took one for the team and that thing decided to scadaddle afterwards about 5 years after the incident I went to work somewhere else and ever since then I haven't gone back to to that National Park it's mostly because I don't live in that state anymore but even if I did I can't imagine any scenario where I'd want to go
back the trauma is still there I swear when it's about to rain I can feel that slight scar on my ankle beginning to heat up and sting a bit just know if you ever go somewhere outdoors and the local park rangers or Campers or hikers start to tell you Legends pay attention and decide for yourself if you're ready to believe them or at least treat them as words of caution a simple drive home from comrade Cain unfortunately or I should say fortunately this story is short it was about 4 years ago I'll keep the location
vague for the sake of anonym but I will say it was in the northern half of Louisiana I've lived here pretty much my whole life and the few things I've ever experienced before this were at my father's house in Texas when I was younger but that can be its own story anyway I lived in an apartment complex about 30 to 40 minutes from where I worked I was part of the evening shift at my job at the time I would have to drive down a long mostly empty road heading towards my home this would last
about 10 minutes before I had to head down a smaller more rural suburban area this is where it happened it was probably a little past 11: or maybe even midnight the usual time I got off for where I used to work I was just driving listening to either music or a podcast I don't remember which I was just really tired from work I was relaxing and driving when my headlights illuminated something off to my right in the ditch along the road I only saw it for a few seconds but I swear this pale creature probably
about 6t long if not more was sprawled out on the ground crawling up out of the ditch flat on its stomach I only caught a glimpse but I sometimes remember it having six limbs other times four as I said I was trying to pay more attention to the road not expecting something like this either way it startled me I remember vividly seeing movement as I passed by like it had crawled out of the drainage pipe and was about to head into the yard of the house I was passing one of its long thin and lanky
limbs reached up to place its right hand to pull itself up further I passed it fast and and did a double take questioning what I'd seen my mind was wondering if what I saw was real or was I just tired my mind playing tricks on me either way I was not dumb enough to think about turning around to check it out all the way back home I kept driving and told myself it was just the weird way my headlights were making Shadows on the rocks in the ditch I even tried to recreate this effect for
days trying multiple ideas to recreate that effect but never once did never did the Shadows ever look the same as what I'd seen that night even trying to look out of the corner of my eyes nothing I asked my co-workers the following days if they'd ever seen anything like what I described but to my dismay they brushed it off joking and asking did you also see Bigfoot too I wish I could say saw it again but I didn't but honestly I'm glad it means I can keep telling myself it had nothing to do with anything
but my imagination even so a small part of my mind says otherwise the best description I have for what I saw that night are those things I've heard of about crawlers heck I even started to follow groups online that talk about sightings like that now I I've told a few people about this most folks brush it off to be honest I still hope it was nothing more than my headlights and shadows but you can never be too sure if it really is out there please never let me see you again ever think twice from Clark
Merton I love antique furniture I really love having a piece of History somewhere in my home whether I found it in an antique store or secondhand shop or online it's fun to find a treasure and the perfect place in my home to show it off when I didn't need the piece of furniture anymore it just didn't fit I would either sell it online or give it to charity yard sales were just too much work so I never had one these days I no longer buy old Furniture I'll keep the pieces I have but I don't
plan on adding anything anymore because of what happened I'd bought this small three drawer dresser from a thrift shop it was very old but still in good shape there was nothing special about it I thought it would make for a great CD holder I painted it and filled it with my CDs it was about 3 or 4 days later when I began to feel that there was something wrong about the room the dresser was in it's difficult to explain I didn't think it had anything to do with the dresser it was just a feeling I
didn't hear any strange noises or see objects floating through the air I just had a feeling that there was something wrong I think I realized it had something to do with the dresser when I needed to sleep on the couch in the room I laid down and turned off the light in the dark I was overwhelmed with this sense of fear it wasn't rational I've slept on the couch many times before so why was I afraid then that's when I looked in the dim light and realized the only thing different now was the dresser I
had terrible nightmares that night I tossed and turned throughout the night and when I woke up the next morning I was exhausted it was the worst sleep to explain why I was dragging at work I told them that I had a haunted dresser that kept me up all night I was joking of course but it did make me think I had no idea of the true history of that dresser it was something I bought in a secondhand store So what had I brought into my home for a while there I held on to it I
just accepted that it had its own history it had traveled many miles through many years to my home but beyond that it was just a piece of wood right if it was haunted I shouldn't be afraid after that we seemed to get along I told the story to family and friends as a joke but I felt it was true after all it had settled into my home and there weren't any more issues eventually I did give it away to a family member after sharing the story with them and as far as I know they had
no issues either but this experience has ended my appetite for old furniture like I said I'll keep the pieces I have I just won't take the chance of bringing something in my home that has an unknown history that's just me I'm sure it's fine but if you want to buy something that's old and you don't know anything about it you might want to think twice the spirit of the cowboy is the shadowman from Panda Mama 23 ever since I was little I remember being able to see things that were difficult to explain I lived with
my family at my grandmother's house in the countryside my grandmother was very religious she had holy water Jesus crosses and the Bible prominently displayed in the living room by the time I was eight I'd seen so many things I couldn't explain but I pretended not to see them one summer I was playing with my sister in our sand pit when I saw a shadowy figure walk past me I thought it was my father so I spoke to it hey Dad what are you doing my sister asked who are you talking to confused I replied dad
I was talking to Dad she slowly looked around and said dad and mom went to the store about 20 minutes ago at that moment fear washed over me well who was I just talking to we got up and began to search for whoever or whatever it was my father had once told us about a metal bat he made for us in case we were ever alone and felt unsafe I told my sister to come with me to get the bat and she took hold of my hand once I had it I told her to hide
in our secret spot the one where we hid candy without anyone knowing I told her to count to 100 and be quiet and I promised I would come back for her she nodded and ran off to the hiding spot I walked around the property checking under cars campers and our father's car trailers but I found nothing no one had Disturbed the KNE High grass or the chains my father had left for later use but then I heard a cough a smoker's cough I circled around our old oak tree and I saw there a man and
a cowboy hat I raised up the bat preparing to strike them slowly I approached the stranger but suddenly the man spoke in a booming Voice who are you and how did you get on my property I was filled with fear I let out a scream and swung the bat had missed him by a centimeter I watched closely wondering if had I hit him would he have fallen over or grabbed me as I slowly backed away he chuckled as if I told him a joke he stood up and stared at me when our eyes met I
saw that his face was completely blacked out I didn't know what to do everything around me felt numb and my vision became fuzzy until everything went dark I was then enveloped in warmth and darkness I heard someone mumbling but I couldn't make out the words it was like I was lost I tried to call back but something prevented me from speaking suddenly I felt a coldness like freezing water I opened my eyes gasping as I sat up looked around trying to figure out where I was my grandmother and sister were next to me and my
sister had dumped a bucket of water on me to wake me up my grandmother asked what happened why were you lying on the ground outside confused I asked what time it was and why they had splashed water on me my grandmother said it was 5:17 p.m. this puzzled me because just a few moments ago it had been 1:17 p.m. how could 4 hours have passed so quickly I couldn't remember why I was outside or who I'd been looking for I turned to my sister and asked her what had happened she explained that after she hid
and counted to 100 she waited for me to come back to tell her it was safe to come out when she didn't hear anything she went looking for me she said that when she walked out to the front yard she saw only the bat and a dirty cloth she called out my name and searched the property but she could not find me anywhere panicked she ran back to the house and told our grandmother my grandmother grabbed her shotgun and came outside with my sister she asked my sister why she hadn't come inside before I went
out alone to see who was there my sister started to cry saying that she thought her father had called out to us even though he wasn't home at the time my grandmother said there was only one spot on the property I knew never to go near the burnt house she told my sister to stay where she was and come to her when it was safe my grandmother made her down to the burnt house and found me lying on the ground next to it she called out my name multiple times and shook me to wake me
up she checked my pulse too and when she found I was still alive she was relieved she then called out to my sister to bring some water which they used to wake me up when I came to my grandmother scolded me for being Reckless and told me not to do that again but that was just the start of things 7 years passed since I saw the mysterious man I turned 15 my father got us a dog for Christmas to help keep us safe from strangers but the dog was more of a friendly pet than a
protective one except when he wanted to be one Midsummer day there was a light Breeze kids were playing and dogs were barking I opened the gate to our porch to let the dog out out watching him do his business and making sure he didn't run off then he stopped sniffed the air and slowly began walking toward the hill behind the house curious I followed he ran up the hill barking and I panicked chasing after him our Hill was covered in trees a small Forest of sorts I ran after him as He barked climbing over Fallen
trees and pushing through bushes until I stumbled upon something incredible through the brush I saw seven or more treel likee houses these massive trees had round houses built into them I didn't know what they were or why they were built but they were amazing as I explored I saw a larger house in the center which I assumed was the leader's house I walked around the outside looking for an entrance when I found one I picked up a thick stick to defend myself just in case inside I saw a cabin-like structure made of cedar and Oak
with floors of Maple and Applewood the beds and dining table were made from Dogwood and pine there were strange symbols on the wall that I couldn't read but they didn't seem meant for me to understand my heart was racing then and I knew I had to leave as I carefully backed out I heard the sound of chains I froze and looked down I had stepped on a large chain that wrapped around the base of the tree I followed the chain to its end finding a skull Panic set in and I ran as fast as I
could stumbling over trees pushing through bushes tripping falling and eventually rolling down the hill until I hit a stump I was covered in cuts and dirt my arms were bleeding and my head was spinning but I didn't feel safe yet I could hear my dog barking and he came around the corner I looked at him and said we need to run boy now we ran but not towards home we ran so far we ended up in the farmer's field the farmers weren't happy to see me or my dog but after I explained what had happened
they told me to never speak of it again that was 8 years ago and those tree houses are now gone but I still think I'm being followed by whoever or whatever was there when I was younger I saw black Shadows from Christian 34 [Music] I'm not completely sure when or how this happened I lived in a small town and had been feeling off for a while every now and then I would see black shadows and hear creeks in the floors of my childhood home when I moved to my ex- stepdad's house i' had forgotten about
these experiences for a while but when I moved into the place I'm currently moving from the shadow figure started to appear again always in the corner of my eyes for example I would see a shadow standing in the middle of the road or by the railroad tracks at night when I was trying to go to sleep I would hear Footsteps in the small hallway that connected my room to two other bedrooms sometimes when I woke up I would see a black figure standing there there was one time I felt something touch me like a hand
lifting my hair I know it shouldn't have been anyone because I was cleaning under my sisters and my bunk bed my sister and Mom were in the same room cleaning too but they were both on the floor now in the house I'm currently staying at I still hear creeks in the floor unfamiliar footsteps and banging sounds that come out of nowhere it's a standard three-bedroom one-b house with a two-car garage built by my ex- stepdad's family I'd always had a bad feeling about it the house is also the last one on the left in a
small neighborhood I've experienced other strange things too like toys books and other items going missing I still haven't found any of the things that disappeared I'm 20 years old now and I continue to see these shadow figures each one is at least 6 ft tall I've heard stories about the land where the house is located apparently it was once a place where slaves were kept my ex- stepdad G told my mom's sister and me a story he said that one day while driving home he saw a full body Apparition of a black man in a
neighbor's driveway holding a sign I don't remember exactly what he said the sign said g thought the man was Bloody but he wasn't sure he later told us that a person had been tied to the railroad tracks and was killed there it sounded similar to what I'd been experiencing and for the first time I didn't feel so crazy hearing that story reassured me that I wasn't just seeing or feeling things there was another strange event one night when my mom was about to go to sleep with my ex- stepdad she noticed something in his closet
that wasn't there before she asked him about it and he also agreed it hadn't been there before she pulled it out it was a doll with golden hair tied up and wearing a wedding dress my mom thought it might have been from his deceased mother meant for me since she didn't have any daughters or granddaughters when she was alive my mom gave me the doll and I still have it neither of us knows where the doll came from or how it got there but I feel like there's something or someone attached to it if you
believe me I'm glad but if you don't that's okay too why I hate birds at night from cedrix this happened when I was still a debt collector for a motorcycle company I was assigned to a remote area but this time it was a town frequented by tourists every day I woke up at 500 a.m. and drove for 3 hours to reach the town where our Branch was located my routine was always the same I visited clients collected payments reminded them of due dates and handed over the money I collected to the office I hated being
in that Branch mostly because the cashier always took his sweet time with his paperwork causing me to drive home late at night riding a motorcycle late at night isn't something anyone enjoys besides the bugs flying into your face you often get blinded by motorists with unnecessarily bright headlights one day I had to go home late again because the cashier had gone out with a friend leaving his job unfinished as usual I hated him every time he did that after he finally returned and finished his work he handed me the money I needed to bring to
the main office it was already 9 p.m. I cursed under my breath as I started the long drive home while driving along the pitch dark Winding Road my headlight suddenly flickered ah crap not now I muttered I stopped for a moment tapping the headlight and thankfully it stopped flickering I continued driving but as I navigated the dark Road I felt something swoop overhead I looked up but didn't see anything just before I reached a sharp Bend something swooped down again hitting my helmet and knocking me off and at the same time my headlight went out
I slid and crashed on the side of the road the darkness was so thick I could barely see a thing I stood up dusting myself off and sitting behind a tree I waited for my eyes to adjust dust to the night thanks to the Moonlight I was able to see my motorcycle but before I could move towards it a large bird suddenly landed beside it the bird was massive about as big as me it hopped around my motorcycle I noticed that my helmet wasn't far from where IID crashed I stayed hidden behind the tree trying
to make sense of what I was seeing what kind of bird grows that big and flies after dark it wasn't like any bird I'd ever seen it had a head like a turkey and its feathers were as black as the night itself as it neared my helmet my jaw dropped it reached out to my helmet not with its feet or beak but with what appeared to be a hand that came out from under its wing I watched in Terror as it picked up my helmet only to drop it when it heard a car approaching the
bird flew away just before the car passed by I took the opportunity to run to my motorcycle I started it up relieved that the light worked again and rushed away leaving my helmet behind in a panic I kept looking around scared the bird would swoop down on me again when I reached the main office I handed over the money to the manager who was standing outside the dormitories he asked why I looked so dirty and why I wasn't wearing my helmet I lied and told him it fell off and I lost it before heading home
I spoke with the manager requesting that he audit the branch I was assigned to to make sure the cashier finished his work on time I couldn't stand going home late every night thankfully the manager agreed and from there on out I was able to leave at 5:00 p.m. avoiding any more late night drives even so I knew that I needed to get out of this job soon but I hoped nothing bad would happen before I could finally make my Escape dead man at church from spooky guy 556 this happened years ago on a Friday night
with some friends we were around 17 years old it was me my friend Clint and my other friend Jeff just messing around on a weekend I remember we didn't have school the next day so we were able to stay out later we were wandering our neighborhood that night doorbell ditching and causing the usual teenage Mischief it was getting pretty late so we decided to stop causing mischief and just hang out we wandered around like we we' done so many times before just talking and chilling eventually we got tired of walking and decided to head back
to my place where Clint had parked his Jeep it was around midnight or 12:30 by then we sat in Clint's car continuing to talk for probably another half hour or so somehow my mom heard us talking through the closed doors of the car from all the way inside the house she texted me and said we were being too loud and needed to go to someone else's house I didn't believe her but I figured we could just go park somewhere else and hang out I decided to take my car so Clint wouldn't have to backtrack later
to drive me home we agreed to meet at the church we all attended just a few blocks for my place I followed Clint in my car and we pulled into the parking lot of the church it had two entrances one on either side and the lot wrapped around the entire building one of the entrances was taped off because they had redone the entrance ramp but the other one was still open we pulled into the parking lot and drove around the building to the sectioned off entrance by then it was around 1:00 a.m. and the parking
lot was completely dark and empty as was the church building we got out of our cars and sat on the curb talking and laughing about something at that late hour everything anyone said was hilarious and we tried to keep our laughter quiet so we wouldn't wake the Neighbors after about an hour Clint decided to call it at night we'd wandered a little ways from the car so the three of us started walking the 20 yards or so back the entire time we were there we hadn't seen a single light come on in the church or
even a car passed by the parking lot remained empty and all the lights inside the church and in the nearby houses were off we'd been sitting near the road so we would have seen if anyone had entered the building Clint got into his Jeep and Jeff who lived near him hopped into the passenger seat they got ready to leave and Clint pulled up to me as I walked over to my car I turned my back to the church building and leaned against his door we shared a handshake said our goodbyes and cracked a few more
jokes for the road but then I noticed Clint's gaze shift from me to something over my shoulder his face turned pale as his sentence trailed off I saw Jeff's face do the same staring at something behind me who the heck is that Jeff shouted pointing I turned around just in time to see a frail old man I didn't recognize emerge from the pitch black Darkness inside the church he slowly shuffled forward from the Shadows of the hallway to the large glass entrance doors and stopped right there staring out at us he was wearing normal Sunday
attire slacks a white shirt and a tie nothing unusual for a church but keep in mind it was 1:30 a.m. and the building had been completely dark the whole time we were there not a single light on so the sky was dressed like that at this hour hiding in the dark we stared at each other for what felt like forever the man's skin looked pale and sickly with odd splotches here and there again nothing too strange for an elderly man but something felt wrong who was he and what was he doing here why hadn't he
turned on a single light why was he wandering around in the dark at this hour he stood in the doorway unmoving just staring at us Clint vocalized his discomfort with a string of curses then slammed his Jeep into gear I only had a few seconds to tear my gaze away from the man in the window to realize Clint was about to drive away without me he mashed the gas and my arm was still draped into his open window as he sped away I reached in with my other arm grabbing on to whatever I could and
lifted my feet off the ground we screeched through the parking lot me hanging desperately onto the side of his Jeep luckily I hooked my shoe onto something underneath the car and managed to hold on as we left the parking lot I glanced back and noticed that mine was the only car left all the lights in the chur CH were still off we drove to the next street over where Clint finally stopped to let me off I quickly got into the back seat and all three of us started talking at once trying to make sense of
what we'd seen none of us recognized the man but then the issue arose I still needed to get back to my car it was parked right in front of the door where the man had been watching us I had to beg Clint and Jeff to take me back to the church instead of making me walk back eventually they agreed and we retraced our route we pulled into the unblocked entrance of the church and slowly drove around to where my car was parked we scanned all the windows and doors for any sign of the man but
the building remained dark and empty when we reached my car the man was gone I got out of Clint's car and they quickly said goodbye before speeding away alone now I hastily made my way to my car got inside and locked all the doors now I'm a big horror fan I decided to sit for a while and see if anything happened I started the engine and sat quietly in the driver's seat keeping my eyes fixed on the main entrance I waited for 5 or 10 minutes hoping to see someone leave the building or someone moving
around inside but I saw nothing around 2: a.m. I decided to head home the following weeks at church we all scanned the crowd hoping to see the old man to learn that he was just locking up for the night was just a normal person but as time passed we never saw him again but then we learned an additional horrifying detail all the ID scanners on the building shut off after midnight no one not even someone with a master key could get in after that time whoever that man was he would have had to be inside
the church before midnight and yet we hadn't seen a single light on the entire time we were there to this day we still have so many unanswered questions about who or what that was and I still get chills thinking back to that night thank you for tuning in to unexplained encounters if you're not already follow and listen to unexplained encounters on Spotify Apple podcasts or your favorite podcast app leave us a rating while you're at it get some cool creepy merch at Eerie cast. store check out my other show where I narrate scary work stories
it's called Tales from the breakroom for more terrifyingly entertaining shows from eercast go to east.com and if you want to listen to unexplained encounters and all the other eercast shows without pesky ads sign up for eercast Plus at east.com plusus you'll also get exclusive access to horror audio books only available to Eerie cast Plus members and you'll get 20% off our eercast dostor merch through our membersonly monthly discount code finally if you have a scary story of The Unexplained send it to me at dark stories.org I think that's about it thank you so much for
joining us stay safe out there and stay creepy because this world is a strange one [Music]
