22 UNEXPLAINED Military HORROR Stories (COMPILATION)

Tales from the break room is a viewer submission podcast and we want to hear your scariest work stories for a limited time we're paying 5 cents per word for stories submitted at eriecast.com submit but only for stories we end up featuring on the show so make sure your story is actually scary and believable a caffeine infused toast to all of you today I think you're pretty cool people why well because you helped Nova the Baby I mentioned before with the cleft lip and Palette raise the money she needed I can't thank you all enough and

I'm sure her family can't either so go on have a double shot of espresso As a treat and since I'm already in the break room I've got another treat for you enjoy this compilation of terrifying Tales From and about those who work in the military you're about to hear stories featuring disturbing things seen by Soldiers as well as terrifying encounters on and around military bases these are Tales from the break room three stories from working around a military base from rjb I work in and on the surrounding Woods of an army base and I've got

some experiences you might be interested in the forest is mostly made up of pine trees and there's also replicated Villages where the soldiers train Scattered throughout some of them are over 35 miles out and most of the roads are gravel or dirt these are three of the scariest things that have happened to me the ghost in Youngstown I was working in one of the villages about 25 miles from the base my co-worker Donald was telling me about an employee from the company I work for who had apparently ended himself in one of the buildings by

hanging himself from A ceiling fan the building was made to look like a clinic complete with hospital beds and a reception desk as soon as I walked into that building the first time I felt something it didn't feel malicious or evil but something about it was wrong I wasn't scared at first but I was very uncomfortable my anxiety quickly Rose and I began to feel depressed even I wanted to leave but I had work to do but I had to go ahead and finish the work order I had to replace three of the doors there

the first two work orders were in the back of the clinic but the third was the door to the entrance of the hanging room as my co-workers called it the second my foot crossed the threshold of that room My uneasiness worsened come on man it'll only take seven minutes at the most I reminded myself did you say something Donald asked has he entered the clinic to check on my progress it was nothing I replied I'm sure he noticed my troubled Behavior but he didn't mention it all right come help me when you're finished Equipped before

walking out of the door he seemed unaffected by the aura in the room eyelid a cigarette and I started to install the doorknob it was a tight fit and I ended up having to hammer it in with a rubber mallet as I reached for the other knob I heard the distinct sound of rattling metal hitting the floor what the heck I settle out There was no way the knob fell by itself I felt my anxiety reaching its peak I could feel eyes on me I was alone yet someone was there with me hello anyone there

I whimpered out then I stood up facing towards the ceiling fan my nose started burning from the smoke coming from my cigarette still perched between my lips I took a long drag The sound of approaching Footsteps in front of me caught my attention I looked up at the fan and breathed out when I did the smoke seemed to spread out drastically about six inches in front of my face as if there was someone's face in front of me that I could not see I could almost see the smoke revealing facial features I think he's still

there the man who took his own life He's trapped his pain and sorrow still linger in the clinic sometimes they follow a very large number of people say that they've seen strange things or creatures or have been followed through the woods by something they cannot see around here I'll say I've only caught glimpses of this creature or creatures or have found evidence of them lurking in the woods at first I thought it was just one But as time has passed I'm beginning to Believe there are perhaps more than one of them the first piece of

evidence came the form of a footprint I found it in a village called Jeter town there was only one it was in a patch of mud the first thing I noticed was it was big around around 16 inches then I noticed that there were six digits and there was even webbing between the toes I asked my co-worker about this and he Said he saw them on occasion and that I should expect the same and the second piece of evidence came in the form of two carcasses or at least what was left of them we were

on a gravel road and we were coming to a low water crossing when we noticed something at the edge of the water we pulled up to the crossing and got a morbid surprise all over the road were shredded pieces Of what was once a deer and a wild hog the deer's innards were on the ground the head was gone the hog's head was gone too as well as its limbs it was a mess it didn't look like the work of a starving animal but more like the work of an animal who wanted to slaughter something

the final proof I received was the first deciding I had Whatever it was it wasn't natural my co-worker Justin and I ran a village called carness replacing a set of steps to the imitation police station I had just cut a board for one of the steps when we both heard what sounded like a voice calling for help hey did you hear that Justin asked yeah I replied we stopped what we were doing and listened Up a voice came from behind the tree line something wasn't right about this voice though it sounded like help me was

being repeated on Lube it was filled with static as if it was being spoken through a speaker from a radio let's go find out where that's coming from Justin said that's a bad idea Justin something doesn't seem right about this I retorted help me The Voice came again the same tone and same patch except it was far closer we both Rose it came from behind a large red oak tree less than 10 yards away it wasn't much longer before we actually saw it the thing peeking around the tree staring at us it looked like a

hairless lemur but it was bigger about four feet tall and it Had these long things protruding from the bottom jaw its skin looked like it was charred it was black and seemed to be falling off in places Justin do you see this yeah I see it he said the creature opened its mouth and released a sound like a child laughing it stepped out from behind the tree and Dropped to all fours it's disgusting rotting tail whipping back and forth get in the truck now come on Justin it ran at us at an unnatural speed we

ran for the truck and got in locking it right as the creature began to Claw at the side of the truck we started it and drove away as the thing continued to follow the truck but we eventually lost it we hauled tell out of there I've seen those things since but only at A distance I don't know what it is but it's aggressive and very obviously dangerous Stairway to Oblivion this is perhaps the most unnerving thing I've seen since I started the job if you've read I am a search and rescue officer from the subreddit

no sleep on Reddit then you've probably heard of the stairs I can confirm that crap like that happens not in these whites but it makes More sense out here as fake buildings come and go for the Army's purposes but they're still quite creepy the first sets of them come at least 15 or so miles into the woods some are dilapidated and in Ruins but some look brand new and are complete with carpet those are the ones that don't make any sense because there's never any dirt or debris on them and as you walk closer to

these brand new looking ones the forest Around you will go quiet it's less like they just happen to be in a remote part of the forest but more like the wildlife avoids them entirely the first time I saw them I didn't know what to think I was actually on my way home from work when I go home from my job I take a route through the woods I travel down gravel roads and dirt trails to get home I was driving down a trail when a deer ran out in front of me I managed to Swerve

around it but I ended up bottoming out in the ditch cursed myself I looked up to see that deer standing at the edge of the trail staring at me I thought it was strange but where I work deer hunting is prohibited so the deer don't really care about people I got out of my truck to check for any damages luckily the damage was minimum I called a friend to pull my truck out And I noticed a structure about 100 yards into the thicket I only noticed the top of it at first but as I drew

closer I began to realize what it was like is this doing out here I wondered I've never noticed it before and as far as I knew there had never been any fake Villages or towns here I stood about 50 yards away from the staircase it consisted of 12 steps with beige Siding and red carpet running up the steps it was pristine as if it was just built that day as I stood there awestruck I began to feel anxiety all over me however I moved closer somehow I was compelled to move towards it like it was

telling me to come closer I stopped 10 feet away from it and noticed something weird it was quiet dead silent My anxiety began to Skyrocket I felt like I shouldn't be there I stepped a little closer and reached my hand down to touch it I didn't want to but I felt like I had to or something bad would happen I tried to move but my legs and feet would not respond then I Heard a Voice yelling my name from the trail behind me it was the friend that I had called my name being called was

just enough to Snap me out of that trance I trudged back through the thicket and exited the tree line my friend had a look of relief on his face the heck were you dude he asked I've been calling you for 20 minutes straight now what do you mean I replied I couldn't have been gone for more than seven minutes tops besides there's this weird staircase out there in the middle of the Woods you should see it he followed me back to where the stairs were but it was clear there was nothing where the stairs once

were it was as if it was never there just a small clearing with colorful flowers scattered throughout the area but no stairs come on man My friend said as he patted me on the back let's get your truck moving and get out of here I was confused did I imagine that whole thing it seemed so real I would get my answer a few weeks later when a co-worker and I found a set on a different Trail another set of stairs I asked him about it then And he said that he didn't really know much about

them except that other people have seen them they've been seeing them for as long as they could remember before the army base was even here it's this sort of unexplained strangeness that's the scariest to me because what does it mean number one the horrors of War submitted by Frederick C half a decade ago I was deployed to Iraq back then I wasn't a soldier because I Particularly wanted to be I was a mischievous kid a kid who happened to turn a year older and saw a new way out I wanted to be away from my

parents away from the people in my hometown I didn't care about them or so I thought at the time I was foolish then I would have embraced my loved ones and realized how stupid I was acting because being a soldier even on a calm day it was terrifying and stressful every week insurgents often young boys Would try to enter the base for various reasons we were told not to approach or allow them inside the base and those standing guard they were ordered to fire on the ones with aggressive and suspicious Behavior I remember about three

occasions in the early morning when I had just barely woken up when I'd hear this loud boom coming from outside it was so loud it shook the barracks well sometimes these kids wanted to sell their goods to the board and desperate Soldiers but other times that boom was a child who had been strapped with explosives and forced to run at the base to Suicide bomb any Americans outside the gates that they could after the first time this happened no one but the child was hurt but the very thought of it gave me nightmares for the

rest of my deployment there was nothing left of those kids how can someone blindly hit a group of people so much that they'd send their own children to die violent deaths Just for the chance to kill someone all day all night there were random shots being fired we were constantly being shot at by civilians made marksmen by radical groups that would always attempt to shoot us from afar with weapons that weren't built for that kind of shooting even though they were just wasting their ammo the fear was still there the fear that a stray bullet

would pierce the barracks and plow through my head while I was sleeping That wasn't the worst thing though one day our Squad was walking through a very peaceful part of a nearby Village the people in this place were not part of the radical groups and were very welcoming to US soldiers they offered food and goods and many of us thanked them for fighting back against the radicals it was a very relaxing change of pace but being outside the base always made me paranoid and nervous alongside us was a Humvee but most of The squad was

outside walking beside it and then it happened too fast one moment Richard one of my squad mates was there the next thing I knew I was on the ground my head was ringing my whole body was in pain and trembling and a thick cloud of dust surrounded us eventually my staff sergeant pulled me up from the ground once the dust settled as we were climbing back into the Humvee in an organized panic I happened to glance to my left several meters away Where Richard had been before there remained only tatters of desert camo along with

unreal amounts of Blood and Tissue Richard was gone Blown Away by a repositioned recycled landmine that had been laid in the street in hopes of blowing away an American that stepped on it in spite of how many innocent civilians were out there that could have stepped on it as well I've been out of the military for two years now and I will not go back I've Had my feel of nightmare fueled during deployments and these were deployments that rarely saw any actual fighting no what we experienced were desperate blindsided attacks by the most hateful people

in the world I hope I never get caught up in another War number two haunted Okinawa submitted by Adrian I'm a U.S marine and this is my story on the experiences I've had during my deployment in Okinawa Japan I was there From September 2016 to March 2017. there is a brief history of that Island itself during the second world war there was a very bloody battle between the U.S and Japan on the island a battle that lasted over 80 days during the battle there was an estimated 82 000 deaths on American and Japanese Armed Forces

combined and on top of that there was an estimated 150 000 up to 300 000 Okinawan civilians that were either killed committed suicide or simply went missing After hiding in the caves underground trying to keep away from the horrors of the war now I was staying at Camp Schwab during my deployment it's located further up north of the island away from the rest of the bases down south where most of the battle sites were my first experience happened to a friend of mine who was on the deployment with me but was soon sent to be

a pmo to be a guard or whatever those guys do my buddy Let's name him Alex was doing his usual roaming during his post around the base it was around three in the morning suddenly he caught sight of a person on top of the hill just wandering aimlessly he told me that this guy who he thought was just another drunk Marine was pacing back and forth looking at the ground on the Ridgeline of the Hill he couldn't see features because of how dark and far it was but he could obviously see a silhouette or outline

of a person he Didn't want to be a jerk or blind this guy so before he reached out for his flashlight to get a better look at the situation he called out to the man saying hey is everything all right and just then the silhouette stopped walking and stood there facing the base for a good five seconds then it suddenly started walking away from Alex he then tried calling out to him again this time following him and letting the rest of the guards know on his radio About the situation but the closer Alex got the

further the silhouette went it seemed he couldn't keep up with him pretty soon Alex was literally chasing this guy at a full Sprint but he or it just kept going faster and faster until the figure ran around an ammunition building now Alex knew that he had him trapped because behind that building is nothing but a tall fence with barbed wire so it was definitely a dead end at that point Two more guards came in a vehicle to help Alex weed the guy out one of the guards stayed by the car while Alex and II went

separate ways around the building to find this Runner but as they went around and went between the fence and the building they only found each other on the opposite side at first they figured he went inside the building through a window or unlocked the door but as they opened the building once they got the keys the only thing they Discovered was that every other door and window was locked what freaked them out the most was that there were no Footprints anywhere on the muddy ground around the building only their own it was like that man

had vanished I later found out from other marines that were stationed there that there was a ghost on the base that they called the shadow man apparently if you catch sight of this dark figure and it notices you it will then turn away to avoid you There have been more incidents of this happening over the years mostly by guards and the staff ncos who are roving around the base this next incident happened to not only me but two more friends of mine during a field operation at a combat town in or around Camp Hansen this

was during the second and third night at different locations of the area it was in the middle of the Jungle inside the camp the first night my platoon was sleeping about 150 yards In the jungle from the road there was a guard at an observation Point set up on the side of the road now at midnight it was my turn to guard so I made my way there and I made sure I had my nvgs my night vision goggles with me because though it was a full moon there were some clouds in the sky that

could make it a little difficult to see at night so as I was there I couldn't help this feeling that I was being watched and this feeling felt as if it was coming From the other side of that road further on during the night around 1 30 in the morning I heard what sounded like footsteps and a dragging noise along the grass beside me to be honest it sounded like it was coming from everywhere and soon I was starting to freak out I then heard this clicking noise I first brushed it off as maybe a

bird but as I listened closer it sounded more distinct like the clicking a person makes with their tongue and this was coming from The tree line across the road from me freaking out I grabbed the night vision goggles and I began to scan that tree line but there was nothing there I couldn't find anything not a person and no creature let's just say when someone finally came to relieve me I went straight to my sleeping bag but I didn't sleep at all that night it was my friend Philip who was the one to take my

post at two in the morning and his experience Was much more terrifying immediately after he had replaced me he heard those same footsteps as I did only this time they seemed to be closer being freaked out as well he stood up scanning the area about 30 minutes later he heard what sounded like sobbing and mumbled words it sounded like a woman faintly crying and saying something in a language he did not understand this sobbing was coming from below him he nervously poked his head out and said Ma'am are you there do you need any help

all of a sudden in a split second the woman's voice grew louder and by that I mean it was right in his ear she was speaking to him in Japanese this scared him so bad that he froze there he was too scared to even turn his head to look at her once he snapped out of his trance he sprinted towards the platoon not even looking back once this is when I heard him running past me which scared the hell Out of me being freaked out as I was I then overheard him saying to the sergeants

about how there's no way he's going back there I mean this guy was horrified I could hear it in his shaking voice after that incident there were a lot of Marines that were on a high sense of alert during the rest of our operation the next night we spent the night in the combat Town inside the buildings since it was raining a bit during the night we Had two posts each with machine guns the posts were on top of the highest buildings in the small empty Town once again we were surrounded by jungle and tree

lines that bordered the town once I finished my post I went to my sleeping bag to get some shut eye when suddenly I was woken up about 20 minutes later by the very Marine who had come to relieve me he said to me in a whisper there there's someone out there man I Saw them with my nvgs they walked right out of the Jungle crossed the road and then another shorter person followed them I told him it's probably range control guys and to go back to the post another half hour passed then he came back

and woke me up along with a sergeant telling us I saw them again dude this time whoever it is keeps poking their head in and out of the tree line after that the annoyed sergeant and I grabbed two more Marines a total of four of us to gear up and go investigate as we went along the outside of the combat Town between the tree line of the Jungle and the buildings I was told to go to the second post to let the Marine who's on watch know that my fire team will be walking by as

I walked along the tree line I was filled with this feeling of dread and a feeling of being watched once more I tried to shake it off until I heard in the distance of the Jungle what sounded Like children talking and playing now it was around two in the morning so I figured what the hell are children doing out here in the middle of nowhere I tried to ignore it maybe my mind was playing tricks on me and I went upstairs to the building to let the Marine know of the situation the Marine on watch

was a good friend of mine named Jerry and as I was explaining to him what was going on out there there was a distinct laughter from a child and it was coming From the tree line right behind us the laughter was so loud that the sergeant sleeping a few feet from us scrambled to his feet and was like what the hell was that did you guys just hear that he was as startled as we were Jerry then said to me it's probably your guys playing with us isn't it I shook my head and I grabbed

my nvgs to scan the town in front of us to my horror they were all there my whole fire team of Marines was still scanning the Tree line in the road they were in my sights so who the hell was laughing we got our flashlights and scanned the tree line ourselves but we saw nothing there was nothing there but thick jungle not even the sound of insects or animals were heard once my fire team assembled they too found nothing during the small Patrol there were no Footprints or indications of someone or something walking around that

area no evidence that anyone had been there despite the Sightings of humanoid figures I have come to realize how haunted Okinawa really is as beautiful as it is there it's a very eerie place out of these experiences I've learned a few things one is to respect the dead and their land the next is to never walk alone in Okinawa at night and finally a war creates death untimely deaths and sometimes after the war is over when you stand on the Battlegrounds of the past you might see spirits roaming the land So if you ever come

down to Okinawa keep a good eye out because chances are you might just run into a ghost number three werewolves of World War One submitted by Tony s a long time ago my grandfather was a German Imperial Soldier he would often tell me about his experiences in combat and of many other things he grew up in a small town out in the country where he would often hear people's encounters with the craziest Things he never did believe the locals though he never believed in the creatures they talked about until he had his own encounter with

what he believed was a lycanthrope it was 1916 and it was a cool quiet Autumn night my grandfather was out on patrol at one point he stops to light up a cigarette when suddenly he hears rustling in the woods in front of him he looks up and readies his rifle and he Waits he keeps his gun raised for a while then when things quieted down again he put his gun down and he enjoyed the sight of the beautiful full moon he suddenly jumped when he heard the scream of a man he again pulled up his

rifle and then climbed out of the trench a soldier came sprinting Out of the Woods another German Soldier he jumped into the trench then my grandfather noticed that his shoulder was Dripping in blood Immediately he asked the man what had happened and where he left his gun because his gun was nowhere on him the man stared up at him with wide eyes his whole body trembling and he was unable to speak a word then suddenly from the very Woods the man had ran out from they heard this loud bone-chilling howl it was so loud and

so close that it woke up many of the other soldiers my grandfather always said how spooked he was when he heard that sound it was a Noise that built real fear in him when he looked back down at the soldier that was injured he heard the man muttering under his voice in a low whisper it found us my grandfather picked up his rifle and he woke some more of the soldiers and gave an extra rifle to the young Soldier but he wouldn't take it he just stayed there muttering and trembling someone walked up to my

grandfather and asked what was going on if we were under Attack and right before he finished his sentence they all heard the same howl again but this Hal was coming from behind them they all formed a circle watching in every direction keeping each other's back safe suddenly one of the soldiers gasped and they all glanced in his Direction there in the distance they could just barely make out a hulking figure it was standing in between the trees with eyes that glowed yellow in the Moonlight and As one of them got a flashlight and Shone it

in the direction of the creature whatever it was booked it back into the woods all the while as it ran away it was breaking Limbs and branches so whatever the thing was it was definitely big when they calmed down and got back into the trench the injured man was now passed out he must have fainted they took his jacket off of him and they pulled down his shirt to look at his shoulder and what they saw was a bite a Massive gaping bite something far too big to have been some crazy person the man got

treatment and he ended up okay but he would be shaken ever since that experience ever since then my grandfather began to believe the stories that the locals would tell and it really changed his overall view of the supernatural ever since I could remember it my grandfather was very passionate about the Unexplained and unknown he was a man that constantly searched for other Soldiers weird stories he has passed since then but I wish I knew what kind of stories he may have found foreign number four Iraq demon submitted by Enrico Suave I was a U.S marine

from 2004 to 2009. during one experience my unit had taken over a building near al-assad in Iraq and I was on guard Duty that night this was during the rainy season and the wooden doors that were the entrance to The building were swollen and were very loud and difficult to open think of the building layout as two Capital H's so there was one long hallway and eight other hallways that branched out symmetrically from one another on the right and on the left and they had rooms down those hallways I was just reading a book on

Eastern Espionage and all the other Marines were at their posts I got up to tour the area and came back to where I had been sitting and started Reading again I noticed that after I had started reading that I had read this page and I skipped ahead to where I had been thinking I had misplaged my page marker about 15 minutes later I got up again to do another perimeter check and when I got back to my spot I began reading again and again it was on a page I had already read even though I

very clearly made sure I marked the correct page when I left at this point I think one of the other soldiers may be messing With me possibly a friendly prank to lighten up the mood at the very worst it was someone that was in the building with us trying to gather information and maybe even harm us so I got up and toured the area again trying to be as quiet about it as possible but before doing so I put my pin in the book on page 186 through 187 I took a very solid mental picture

of it then I set off again rounding the perimeter and when I got back to the book it now showed to be On 182 183 I was now 100 certain that something was going on I was very on edge then and I was very alert I started to hear what sounded like someone walking in the hallways someone in heavy boots I started around the entire building with my M4 with my flashlight on and pointing ahead I kept hearing faint echoing footfalls but I never saw or found anyone and there wasn't any place to hide in

this building the rooms were vacant as were The hallways after about 15 more minutes of searching I began to round one of the hallway Corners when I noticed in the reflection of the window nearby that there was someone standing around the corner up ahead I burst around the corner my rifle at the ready and I yelled stop as loud as I could certain that I had found the perpetrator but as I glared down the hallway there was no one there I felt as though I was losing it I became very Tense and I felt a

chill in the air I sat down trying to figure out what could be going on when I noticed movement in my peripherals I snapped my head over to the door that led to the outside and these doors each had a 12 inch by 12 inch Diamond window and I swear to God when I looked into that window the reflection showed someone's face as quickly as it had appeared it faded away it didn't duck out of the way or move side to side it just faded I jumped up Kicked the swollen doors open and looked around

the sand was raked around the building for several yards this was to identify any Footprints someone would have to leave behind if they were to come up to the building but the sand I saw showed no sign of disturbance the ground to the roof was about 13 feet so unless I was dealing with an Olympic pole vaulter there was no way this person or thing could have gotten away I knew I saw someone but it was impossible For them not to leave evidence behind that they had been there that really shook me up I spoke

with our interpreter about it a couple of days later and he didn't act very surprised he told me that this was sacred land Patriarchs like Abraham and others had walked these lands supposedly Miracles and spells and curses had been done there he went on to tell me about how common demon sightings were around these parts his brother was a captain in the Iraqi Army and he said one day he saw a demon sitting on a tall barrier on the side of the road at night he said the creature's feet were touching the ground but the

barriers were about 15 feet tall he was so dumbfounded that he didn't have the chance to point it out to his men later on his Convoy went and stopped at a hotel very different from ours here in the states for the night since he was an officer he had a room to himself and his men stayed in rooms close by he awoke at One point in the night and saw that same demon in his room it was staring at him from across the way he pulled out his sidearm and emptied the entire magazine into the

creature when his men heard the commotion they burst inside turning on the lights what they found were bullet casings littering the ground the captain by himself just staring at the wall in disbelief there was no creature there but what really shook the entire entire group was the fact that none of the Bullets he had fired had left even a scratch on the concrete wall limping ghost at the training camp from a guy in Singapore I was a recruit in the training phase of national service back then my platoon has a lot of recruits who are

falling sick or getting injured regularly my bunk is especially guilty of that because it is all too common to see my bunk mates disappear in the middle of The night only to see them return from the medical office in the middle of the night during the month of August there is something we call the Hungry Ghost Festival during this period Supernatural activity becomes quite common it was around this time that I saw something for myself that I could not explain one day in the middle of the night at Around 3 A.M I was awakened by

the sounds of someone dragging their boots on the ground followed by the sound of someone groaning in pain I was annoyed as I poked my head up to see who was making that noise what I saw was a soldier in full uniform with his army cap on limping across the room with a bandaged left leg and his arm in a sling I thought that another of my bunk mates had returned from the medical office Once again so I turned over and tried to get some sleep but this limping man stopped in the middle of my

room and stood over a bed where no one slept the groaning sound continued for an hour as he stared at the bed it ruined my sleep and I was beginning to get pissed off the following day I asked my bunk mates who made all that noise but no one Admitted to it rather they looked confused and a little scared when I mentioned the unused bed we all realized that something wasn't right there are eight double-deckered beds in the bunk 16 beds in total the only bed that was not in use was the one on the

right side in the middle of the room no one ever explained why but we were always just told to avoid Sleeping in that bed on the very same day I told them about the limping ghost two of my bunk mates ended up sleeping in that bed it was a bit of an experiment to see what would happened I wasn't personally afraid of the ghost but I ended up making others feel afraid I guess nothing happened to the bunk mates who slept there so far that is to me personally ghosts are like an Annoying neighbor leave

them alone and they'll leave you be if you catch their interest though they'll approach you ghost sightings aren't always scary or good sometimes they remain neutral paranormal happenings in Vicksburg Mississippi 1988. I was born and raised in the south in a Very historic location that was a major battle site during the Civil War called Vicksburg Mississippi my town is known for ghostly sightings as many people died here in battle or due to the union blockade of the Mississippi River while I personally have never seen a ghost myself I have felt their presence one famous place

to go in Vicksburg is the mcraven house which is ranked among The 100 most haunted places in America I'd never been there before even though I'd lived here for my entire life but the Paranormal had always intrigued me so one day my best friend Ray and I decided to pay for a tour of the house I'd like to say here that I felt perfectly fine before Ray and I entered that house but as the tour progressed I began to feel sicker and sicker with each room we passed through I began to lean against Rey more

and more for Support and comfort I was beginning to feel short of breath and ready to pass out we went up a flight of stairs which led to a small hallway where some personal items from the Civil War era were stored I listened as best I could as the lady conducting the tour pointed to things and explained a little bit about them she showed us a small carriage made for a little girl's doll and explained how they would put it up at night all me to Find it in another room entirely the next morning then

she pointed out an old medical stretcher it still had the blood stains on it from when mcraven was used as a makeshift Medical Hospital during the Civil War and then she told us of a story about a little boy who had passed out on the spot directly where my friend was during a previous tour by that point I could barely stand up on My own I was putting most of my weight on Rey so I could imagine how that little boy must have felt I knew I had to get out of that house although I

felt bad about not being able to finish the tour I told Ray that we had to go because honestly I felt like if I stayed there any longer I was going to vomit she could see that something was really wrong with me so she hastily helped me Out of the house and back to my car sat in the car for about five minutes before I slowly began to feel better 10 more minutes later and my symptoms were gone entirely I no longer felt sick to my stomach and I could breathe just fine although I never

saw anything something sinister was definitely affecting my body that day that was unlike any sickness or nausea I'd ever felt and I will never go back in that house But that is not the only creepy thing to happen to me in Vicksburg there is also a relatively large Military Park full of Civil War monuments and many unmarked Graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at the time of this second incident I was working at a local Chinese restaurant I usually work the night shift and would get off work around 10. then head home the route

I would take to my house Passed directly by the military Park as it was the fastest way home one night while driving home I was on the phone with my mother when my phone suddenly dropped the call at first this didn't bother me too much as the area I was passing by had a lot of hills and very little of any cell phone service so I knew the phone would probably drop the call sometime however instead of hearing silence on my way there I heard something else someone else it sounded like several garbled voices speaking

all at once but I could not understand what they were saying it didn't sound human really but it didn't sound mechanical either I had no idea what I was hearing it freaked me out so I decided to cut my phone off completely thinking that that would make it stop but even with my phone shut off the voices grew louder all of this happened As I was driving by the unmarked Graves of the military Park that you could see from the road to my house I told my grandparents about what happened my grandmother laughed at me

saying jokingly that it may have been aliens but my grandfather on the other hand looked serious and said that because we have Native American blood flowing through our veins he believes we are more connected to these spiritual world And that what I heard was the mumbling sound of the voices of those who died in the Civil War this didn't make me feel any better I began to take a different route after that experience [Music] late night visitor from gear I'm from a little village in the south of Ireland my whole life I've experienced Paranormal Activity

this may be because My house was a former Army Barracks I was 14 years old each night as I would go to bed I would hear someone talking in my ear one night I even began to feel someone rubbing my earlobe I could feel a cold finger run down my ear I remember lying in bed being forced down I felt a presence holding me down I was semi-asleep so I jolted up Screaming only to hear a demonic-like voice scream at me no deep down I felt like something was trying to take my body but I

would not let it in since that day things have never been the same in this particular story it began with the passing of a close friend of mine I was much more distressed than usual because of this Well my partner at the time and I were watching a movie Paranormal Activity I believe this gave him the idea to taunt spirits in the house in a playful way of course not expecting anything to happen we eventually finished the movie we were making our way to go to sleep I think it was around 1am at the time

so it was pretty late all of a sudden the landline phone began to beep we began to search for the phone And eventually found it outside on the landing which was odd because we never used the phone out there nor would we ever leave it out there like that it was just lying there in the middle of the floor this creeped me out pretty bad especially after my partner told me that he hadn't done it we put the phone back on the base then headed to bed no sooner had I put my head on the

pillow the smoke alarm began to beep the Way it would when you pressed the test button on it however it was 15 feet from the floor to the ceiling where it was and you had to have a ladder to press that button at this point the two of us were freaking out after a while with things being quiet again we once more tried to go to sleep maybe if anything I told myself it was just a spirit trying to say hello to us nothing negative now beside our bed was a window and a Blind it's

the type of blind that could be opened by a heavy cord as we're laying there eyes closed in the bed in the dark blind suddenly pulled itself up violently and shaked without anyone touching it almost tearing itself apart it shook so hard the window wasn't open so it was not the wind I was screaming and crying I had never been so surprised or scared my entire life I couldn't get to sleep that night and I never joked around or messed with Spirits again we later moved out of that house thank God the spirit world is

no joke it exists and it can often be just as tangible as the things sitting in front of you so be careful if you ever decide to taunt the things you can't see something I could not explain from Alan omen My days in the sandbox were fun and a nightmare itself that haunts me daily and takes a part of my soul with it it was around the end of my Tour of Duty my platoon and I were pure with an Abrams team of six we were on our way to support a pine Splatoon who had

been trapped for two days with heavy casualties we passed through a village that was suspiciously empty that's when the worst happened it must have been an RPG the Tank in front of us exploded and on that tank was my closest friend at the time ducking I ran over to the remains I found the rest of my friend who then perished in my arms it was a fire fight after that I stayed next to the body of my friend as we were pinned down by enemy fire I didn't want to leave him I had to bring

him back so he could put him to rest properly I was sitting with my Shoulder against a large piece of debris I wasn't facing the direction of my friend's body but the next time I did look over I jumped there was someone standing there not in uniform at all rather it was an Immaculate perfectly clean little girl she had this blank expression on her face and she stared down at my friend I watched as she bent down and placed her Palm over his cheek smearing blood and dirt over his skin Still in shock I think

I yelled at her what do you think you're doing she then turned her head to look at me the moment her pupils met mine Goosebumps covered my body and my heart pounded there was something wrong about this girl she stood back up and took a few steps toward me still with that blank expression on her face I remember feeling a deep and palpable dread well up inside me I couldn't explain it why was I so absolutely horrified by this little girl the fear was so bad I began to crawl backward completely exposing my upper half

to the enemy I was lucky that I was not shot the girl suddenly stopped shook her head and disappeared before my very eyes it was like she never existed I got back behind cover and looked at the dirt She hadn't left any Footprints despite the dirt being dry and completely movable it didn't make any sense not mentally not physically who was she why did she visit my friend and I I began to pray right then and right there pray desperately in tears for the safety of my men and for the soul of my perished friend

in the next two hours we would be rescued and transported by helicopter Back to a U.S base we made it out alive well not all of us having taken a bullet wound to the shoulder I was sent back home and I was able to attend my friend's funeral I ended up telling my friend's family sometime after that about the little girl hoping that it was someone he knew in the past or someone related to him that perished too early but no the girl did not ring any bells among his family was she an angel was

she a demon or was It something else I guess I'll never know but maybe just maybe I'll see her again 11 days of Cadet Camp hell from jrg962 this happened to me when I was 10 years old I was living in a market town in mid-wales when this occurred to give a bit of backstory I had been living in mid-wales since 2001 but I moved back to England in 2011. so 10 Years was how long I lived there this Market town was between welshpool and barmouth I was with the cadets in Wales and in 2007

there was a trip in Portsmouth which is the only Island city in the United Kingdom I was at an encampment which was around 20 miles from Portsmouth where I along with the other Cadets were put in dorms there were about 10 of us in these two-story buildings my bed was a camp Bed with a little metal cabinet and a small but very old side table and then there was the other two Cadets either side of me I did the usual exercises you do as an army Cadet for example we did a full two-hour March and

stand at attention exercise while afterwards we grabbed our lunch from this very small and run down Hut which was mostly always overcrowded and you were only allowed to eat around the area of the hut This annoyed me because I preferred to keep to myself especially when I ate now here is where things got strange I was out in the woods with some Cadets and our assigned Journal Sergeant was with us we were told to learn about cover and hide which is sort of the equivalent of being taught how to set up an ambush where you

either hide or find appropriate cover I was briefly lost after everyone split Up I found cover and while I was in hiding I heard Twigs snapping around me I thought that it was one of the other Cadets on my team or maybe the opponents we were to ambush when I looked up slowly trying not to be heard I didn't see anyone at all I Shrugged it off thinking maybe it was some animal we were in a very rural area so Wildlife was common even so I began to hear the Footsteps drawing closer to my position

yet no one was there every time I checked this was early afternoon with the sun high in the sky I had clear visibility but I could not ascertain where the footsteps were coming from I was beginning to freak out and made as best as I could a stealth run back to where the place of meeting was only to ruin the activity for everyone the other Cadets were of course annoyed At me I told the assigned to drill sergeant about what happened but he seemed annoyed at me too and said that it was just my imagination

maybe he was right a 10 year old could have an overactive imagination we were then told we were setting up camp for the night and unlike my usual self I was a bit more comfortable than knowing people were around having been so creeped out I didn't want To be alone I was told who I would be camping with they were these two boys and other Cadet units that night we were being given a lesson on the way the army sets up camps in the woods when they're in the middle of a battlefield and for Recon

too I happened to glance off into the distance during this the forest including the grass under it was quite clear under the dim moonlight It was beautiful like something from a painting I wasn't paying attention to the seminar hardly listening to what the lieutenant was saying that was when I saw the outline of a shadowy figure walking across the grass from one side of the forest to the other side I thought it was probably a reflection of the trees and the moon but as I focused it was very clearly the Silhouette of a man he

looked towards me and in a kind of in the mind voice I heard it when you die you'll burn in hell I was trembling and scared then one of the sergeants looked at me and saw me freaking out she came over and asked me if I was okay I was quite a sensitive child and I got upset very easily out of the side of the other Cadets I was in the back of a parked minibus Weeping my eyes out I was overcome with emotion and fear fear I was able to sit out the lessons and

speak to my dad he told me I was being overreactive and to calmed down but I couldn't I then told him I wanted to go home but I had missed my chance to when another friend of mine went home with his mom two days prior into the 11-day stay two days after this there was a party going on in the Hall of the complex I was there for a couple of hours as it was not really a disco party with a DJ and a bar just a drink stand and a CD player hooked up to

speakers playing the recent albums that had come out here I was heading back alone to the dorms my dorm was on the other side of the complex and I knew I had quite the walk ahead of me as I headed back towards my dorm I saw a woman in a Cadet uniform looking away from me near the girls only dorms I asked her if she was all right or if she was lost to which she replied in an echoey voice you shouldn't be here and then I saw it the bottom half of her body was

transparent I freaked out making a mad run back to the door pounding at it slapping my hands against the windows until another Cadet who I spoke to let me in I went straight to the dorm that I was Staying in and I did not leave for the rest of the night nor did I sleep a wink it was the tenth day in and the final night before I could go back to Mid Wales I was so relieved and decided to make this day count as it was my last day that day was fairly relaxed it

consisted of a reward ceremony and a rafting trip including canoeing and rock climbing the day flew by and it was almost night I went back to my dorm feeling happy It was the last night so one of the rooms on the other end of the building from our dorm decided they would host a Ouija board session they invited me along which I kindly declined and went to sleep over two hours later after falling asleep I woke up to a noise of footsteps on the wooden floor and the sound of tapping on the walls which I

thought was the other dorm being in a wind-up mood as they had Shockingly shared a spliff amongst each other although they were between 12 and 14 at the time I guess it wasn't really a surprise I got up to check outside the door only to see the door closed I lowered my head and tried to go back to sleep another 30 minutes later the noises started up again only this time it was in the dorm that I was sleeping in I thought that it was one of the cadets but apart from me and two other

Cadets who were asleep the beds were vacant and no one was moving around I went back to sleep again and once more not long after that the room grew cold I mean freezing cold and I woke up I was beginning to feel scared I had to remind myself that the windows were locked and could only be opened with a key I looked up at the door after feeling Like my legs were frozen and I saw it somehow someone was in the room in the right corner of the ajar door was the upper half of a

man looking in on us with nothing but the shape of his upper torso and his head he looked at me and I whispered over to the other Cadet next to me to see if he saw him too but like the other ones before he ignored me saying that I was just seeing Things I couldn't help but think that the other door messing with that Ouija board may have made things worse The Entity just stared in at me and then vanished into the darkness I did not sleep for the rest of the night after that and

finally I knew it was time to go home all the cadets said goodbye to one another including a few who tried to photograph me but I hated having my Picture taken so when it was all said and done the coach left Portsmouth and I went back home looking back at those 11 days in that encampment I can only think of one thing from that time why was I told that I would burn in hell what was the meaning behind those occurrences why was I the only one who saw and heard everything that happened Maybe they

knew it was haunted and wanted to keep it hidden or maybe I was the chosen participant in these Spirits game [Music] nothing has happened since but those 11 days were the days that hell came to me does anybody have any idea what this could have been from Luca J a few years ago now I had an encounter with well I'm not sure what it was I was young but this will stay with me forever no doubt about that and I remember everything in so much detail that I could swear it only happened yesterday I should

mention I live in the UK though I hadn't been living here for a long time at the time this happened I'd only recently become fluent enough in English to even share this story with people who don't speak my native tongue there were two friends people I had met When I was assigned to my Squadron who also witnessed this thing we'll call them crops and geek for the sake of not sharing their real names I was 15 back then and I'd been on many trips with my Cadets division in the military this time was no different

me my Squadron maybe around four other squadrons and are higher-ups all headed to a woodland we were all familiar with there would have been around 30 of us at Most we packed up our assault packs a term we use for rucksacks in the military we loaded onto the two coaches we had to take us to our destination sleeping bags Mass kits tar pollen ax and other survival Necessities were all we had other than the Glock 17s we were allowed for firearm practice and emergencies it took a few hours for us to arrive and when we

all grouped up after getting off Of our coaches I heard one of my higher-ups speaking with the convoys lead driver they were discussing the extraction date and area we had two long nice weeks to ourselves in the wilderness at first the isolation was nice we survived on salmon and other fish that swam in the rivers around us as well as the odd Bramble bushes we found that were safe to eat from We moved around a lot when daylight lit the poorest up from place to place we went swimming in a lake whenever we got the

chance everything felt so natural so peaceful that was until the eighth night we set up camp per usual built our own shelters from stray logs and branches which we covered over with our tarps and then littered with leaves and other foliage to make it blend in there was a clearing around six or seven Meters from our camp which was littered with deep natural trenches some of the trenches were covered with Fallen logs and branches this made a perfect hiding spot as it was blocked over from the top with just enough room to squeeze between the

logs and the ground and lay there it was only just getting near Sunset we'd all finished our meal of some kind of river fish with wild garlic my commander then announced that we were Going to gear up and play some tactical hide and seek to liven us up and wear us out so we would sleep well me and the other four members of our Squadron all camouflaged our skin and dirt and Camo paint sticks we shove leaves and debris anywhere that might expose us and dirtied any metal we were wearing so it wouldn't shine giving

away our locations when everyone was ready our higher-ups began to chant and sink Counting One two my Squadron and I booked it as fast as we could through the clearing searching for hiding spots in which we could signal to each other when a Seeker was nearby three four five crops and I stopped near the edge of the clearing ducking into one of the covered trenches signaling to geek and the other two squatties Squadron members to let them know where we were geek was hidden In a ditch beneath some upturned roots of an old cedar tree

signaling when he was ready so we knew that's where he'd be hiding six seven eight one of the others flopped onto the ground in a small indent in the dirt pulling leaves over himself crops soon nudged me letting me know he too had signaled he was good 9. We all lay still and Silent as possible using our previous survival training to control and quiet our breathing we were all maybe 12 meters apart the very farthest 10. we heard the higher-ups begin to search it was obvious they had split into a few groups hoping to find

everyone more quickly when a stick snapped somewhere to my left I immediately turned my head to Peek between the narrow Gap some of the logs offered I expected to see one of those higher ups maybe even my commander instead I saw nothing after an hour of lying Motionless in the now dark clearing silent in those trenches with the other squatties which by that point had been found crops nudged me when I glanced at him I noticed he had gone pale He put a finger up to his lips letting me know to stay silent he then

motioned slowly to the left I expected to see a higher up again instead I saw something snuffling around in some bushes nearby something that was pale and even though it was at least 20 meters away I could see its veins through its skin I had no idea what that thing was and it was clear to me that neither dead crops It was getting closer slowly sniffing 15 meters still sniffing getting closer 10 meters still getting closer suddenly I heard the voice of my commander he was yelling for us to come out telling us we'd won

if it weren't for his yells that thing would have continued until it did find us instead we watched it raise its head in the direction of the camp where my Commander was before it disappeared into the trees outside the clearing shaken up neither me nor crops wanted to come out but eventually we did we then ran all the way back to the camp we didn't say a word about it to anyone not even to our other squatties I don't think they would have believed us anyway we were young teenagers at the time after all By

night we'd both forgotten what we'd seen out of the far side of the clearing maybe not forgotten we just put it out of our minds we were enjoying some silence all huddled together in our shared shelter it was too warm at the time to get into our sleeping bags so we were just lying on top of them to stay off the ground geek was beginning to doze off but crops and I and the other two squatties were on our stomachs just talking with each Other we were discussing what we would do after the field trip

and all the things we had planned for the rest of the upcoming summer break our other two squatties had headed off to another Squadron shelter to stay with them since that group was mostly their friends we said our goodbyes and good night then me and crops went back to just chatting eventually everyone was asleep I was the only one awake I had gone from enjoying the silence to very quickly realizing just how quiet it really was no crickets no squeaking of rodents no snuffling of deer passing by the cab it was a dead silence from

what I had learned in Wilderness training I knew this kind of absolute quiet only happened when there was some kind of Predator nearby lurking hunting I instinctively reached to the back of My waistband where I preferred to keep my glock that's when I saw it the same thing as before that creature it was in the clearing sniffing the trenched area crops and thigh had been in earlier it knew we'd been in there I moved over to nudge geek awake to my left then crops to my right I brought a finger to my mouth as a

sign to stay quiet nodding my head towards Where that thing was standing I didn't dare look away from it to see their faces but I could tell they were both as horrified and scared as I was in the dim Moonlight I can make out its pale translucent skin its slits for nostrils and it's gaping deep black Hollows where its eyes were meant to be it was hunched over but I'd say it probably stood at least six feet tall its hands and feet were huge fingers long with very obvious claws on each Digit of its toes

and fingers it was so disproportionate it looked like a human figure that had been twisted and elongated in strange ways just looking at it was so unsettling that's when my blood ran cold it was looking at us right at us geek gasped quietly reaching for his Glock 17 too and soon crops was doing the same reaching for his I heard him whisper I don't know I whispered back I wanted to bold for the higher ups but I found myself Frozen in place gripping my gun in Terror as it began to slowly come towards us I

heard one of their guns safeties latch off and I did the same aiming at that thing through my shaking hands I don't remember much of what happened from that point I know we didn't see it again after that night but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched until we all finally Left I don't know what that thing was but I do think it's quite safe to say that I will steer clear of those woods for the rest of my life I don't care how familiar I am with the area I'll think twice

about staying overnight in any Forest again Army Scout hunted by Bigfoot from 19 Delta Scout looking back at almost 30 years of service as a soldier in the U.S army I Can comfortably say that it was an honor and a privilege to serve such a great and remarkable country during my time I managed to acquire several combat military occupational Specialties or MOS which include Vulcan Gunner Stinger Gunner artillery Gunner and combat infantrymen my favorite MOS however definitely has to be the Cavalry Scout as the name implies an army Cavalry Scout is the eyes and ears

of the Maneuvering combat battalion we usually operate alone and far ahead of the main combat Force oftentimes Behind Enemy Lines using stealth and silence we locate enemy positions determine where they have laid their minds locate their barriers and Ambush positions and find ways to outflink their defensive positions to be a scout you have to be able to act independently and confidently because More often than not Army Scouts will usually be outnumbered and surrounded conducting reconnaissance Behind Enemy Lines is not a job for everyone but if you're daring and crazy enough it's a job that a

select few would really enjoy the one skill that an army scout needs above all else is the ability to read a map determine your coordinates on the ground and have the ability to navigate stealthily to your objective a scout is virtually useless if you Can't read a map and ends up getting lost as such a large part of the Scout's training consists of land navigation in all terrains weather conditions and environments including forests dense Woodland deserts and swamps while I was training to be a scout our class was dropped out somewhere in the middle of

a dense forest somewhere in Pennsylvania at 11 o'clock at night it was a cool November evening and the Only illumination came from the full moon which Shone brightly in the sky there were 16 of us who had Advanced to this phase of training including one guy who was a former U.S Navy SEAL we were each given a map a compass a red lens flashlight water night vision goggles or nvgs and four hours to find at least four out of five points located on the map each point we had to find was located somewhere inside the

Black Forest that Surrounded us a point consisted of nothing more than a wooden pole sticking out of the ground with an ammunition can at the base inside that ammunition can was a description of an enemy position for example a description might read enemy machine gun position facing north the Scout would then have to write it down as best he could beside the darkness there were several other factors working against us for one Some of the points were located relatively close together separated by about 20 meters or so this meant that the Scout had to track

precisely to the correct point or else risk navigating to the wrong one also all 16 of us were given different points to navigate to so there would be absolutely no helping each other this was strictly an individual training event and it was timed anyone who failed To successfully find the four out of five points in the designated time would have to come back tomorrow evening and try again finally we were told that there were several enemy soldiers out there somewhere in the forest who would be hunting us if one of them caught us we would

be brought back to the start point and have to do it all over again the Land Navigation site was a densely forested Area roughly 10 square miles and was crisscrossed with streams which we'd have to navigate in the dark a dirt road surrounded the entire area and if a scout came to that dirt road he knew he had reached the boundary also if a Scott became completely lost in the dark he was to make his way to the dirt road and await pickup joking and insults would then follow an instructor gave me a list of

Five Points I went to the front of an hmmwv or Humvee and used the HUD as a makeshift table using my red lens flashlight I plotted all five points on my map this was perhaps the most important part of the process if a scout plotted his points incorrectly on the map he would never find his points especially in a pitch black forest after double and triple checking that I'd correctly plotted my Points I studied the map to see what terrain I could expect two of my points were located on small hilltops two were located in

a valley which would require me to cross two streams and one was located near the boundary next to the dirt road that last point was farthest out but also the easiest to find all five of my points were located in an area roughly three miles Square my plan was to find that last Point First then work my way back to the start point the only variable that I couldn't control were the enemy soldiers who would be hunting us after assuring that my nvg is operated correctly I secured it on my forehead satisfied that I had

all my gear secured to make as little noise as possible I stepped off of the dirt road and plunged down into the black forest immediately unseen branches like Skeletal fingers reached out from the darkness to scratch my face and hands I was only 20 meters inside the Woodline but already the sounds and activities behind me had all but disappeared I slowly knelt closing my eyes and letting my ears see into the dark to my left about 10 meters away one of my fellow Scouts was also moving through the forest to find his points further ahead

of me I could hear movements somewhere in the woods a Skittering noise running through the undergrowth perhaps a raccoon or some other rodent the fallen leaves on the ground crunching underfoot would give away our movement we'd have to be extra careful and stealthy to avoid attracting attention I got up and continued walking towards my first point counting my steps so that I could judge how far I traveled and keeping my eyes on my compass to ensure That I was heading in the correct direction I was suffering from tunnel vision as I could only see what

was directly in front of me I had almost no peripheral vision because of my nvgs the terrain was steadily sloping downwards as I descended into the valley occasionally I would stop and kneel to scan my surroundings to see if I was being followed So far however it was all quiet it appeared that I was all alone on this stretch of forest at the bottom of the valley the ground became muddy and at one point I sank to the top of my boots in cold mud a stream about eight feet wide crossed in front of me

I debated on whether to cross the stream or find a way around it further Upstream by a few hundred meters I heard a loud Splash followed by a Soldier yelling son of a I chuckled to myself and silently climbed down into the Stream looking left and right to ensure that I wasn't spotted I climbed over a few fallen tree branches and waded into the water it was ice cold and came up to my knees but at least the running water was washing the mud off of my boots upon reaching the other side I climbed up

the muddy shore on the opposite Bank I stopped briefly to make sure that I was undetected I hauled myself up an embankment and wet cold and muddy I continued up the slope of the valley fortunately since it was November mosquitoes or any other buzzing insects were a minor annoyance however as I walked up that slope I slowly began to realize I had not heard any buzzing insect noises at all if you've done this job long enough you Begin to develop what I call a warning radar a sense that there is something just not right with

your surroundings you learned to trust your warning radar and I could swear that I was being watched this annoyed me more than anything else because I was the one who stalked I didn't like being stalked at the top of the slope I got on the ground and scanned the area again yep there he was about 50 meters to my Right front crouching behind a stand of trees was an enemy soldier he was looking away from me probably trying to stalk the other soldier who yelled when he fell into the Stream at night sound carries farther

so I very slowly crawled back down the slope and walked another 50 meters away from the enemy soldier then climbed the slope again scanning the area around me again I found the path ahead was clear I pulled out a poncho from a small pack on my back and covered myself with it I pulled out my map and flashlight I determined how far off course I'd gone and adjusted my heading and Pace count satisfied that I was still heading in the correct direction I put the Poncho away and slowly stood up to proceed suddenly far off

to my left I heard the enemy soldier yell you've been captured Scout return to the star point and restart your mission I chuckled again when I heard the voice of the Scout who fell in the Stream yell another son of a I continued walking through the forest and the trees eventually thinned out I stopped again and took a knee behind a Fallen Tree listening my internal warning radar was giving me the all clear I closed my eyes and let my ears see for me again ahead of me I could hear the low Rumbling of a

Humvee just as I calculated the dirt road marking the perimeter was about 200 meters ahead of me I waited until the sound of the Humvee passed then made my way to the road stopping just inside the Woodline I looked to my right and sure enough only 20 feet away just off the road was my first point I cautiously approached the wooden pole I grabbed the ammunition can and took it Back to the tree line I cracked open the ammunition can and the noise of the metal can opening seemed to scream in the dark I cursed

but apparently nobody heard the noise covering myself again with the Poncho I took out my flashlight and I copied down what was written on the enemy description inside the can at vicinity grid pb335-4459 as an enemy Patrol near the Road I put the ammunition can back at the point and walked back into the forest an hour and a half had passed and I had found my first point I add another two and a half hours to find at least three more but those would be quicker my next two points were south of me almost in

a straight line on the slopes of a hill although it would have been easier to walk along the crest of the hill to get To the next point I didn't want to risk being silhouetted by the moon so I stayed below the crest of the hill where the trees were thicker but the movement was slower I paralleled the top of the hill for about 300 meters until I came to the spot where my second point should be low crawling to the top of the hill I scanned around with the nvgs I was off by about

50 feet but there was my second Point sticking straight up in The middle of a clearing I was about to get up and approach it when my warning radar went off in my head I wasn't alone I knelt back down and scanned the Forest Area surrounding the clearing again there was the faint scent of feces like cow dung wafting across the clearing there 75 meters at my one o'clock a figure that looked like it was wearing a sniper's ghillie suit was peering out of The forest it wasn't one of my fellow Scouts we hadn't been

given the ghillie suit camouflage so it must have been one of the enemy soldiers and boy did he stink I hated to think what he had fallen into fortunately he wasn't looking in my direction I observed him for a few tenths seconds then he stood up and turned to leave geez that guy was huge I waited a few more seconds until I could not smell him Anymore then I entered the clearing to retrieve the ammunition can at vicinity grid pb300-96687 is an enemy anti-tank in placement at the top of the hill I came off the

top of the hill grateful to be back inside the thick tree line but the leaves crunching under my boots sounded like the Roar of jets in that dark and Lonely Forest every crunching step seemed to shout and there's a scout over here Crunch crunch crunch I stopped suddenly and slowly got down on my belly crunch crunch crunch these footsteps were behind me approaching my position I cursed stinky enemy soldier in the ghillie suit was stalking me he must have been beyond 75 meters from me because I didn't smell him at the time if I had

the time I would evade around him but another 30 minutes had passed and I needed to get my third Point I needed to get to where the trees weren't so thick so I made my way back up the slope and was able to fast walk and Jog across the crest of the Hill for about a quarter mile the bad part was because I'd chosen to go back up the slope the full moon illuminated me the whole time also my Pace count was off although I knew that I was still headed in generally the right direction

to my Third point I ran down the slope and back into the Woodline again stopping to see if stinky enemy soldier in the ghillie suit had followed me satisfied that I'd lost him I began searching the area for my third point because I'd made a detour of the slope and had lost my Pace count I was not as accurate in positioning myself close to the third point I just knew it was around here somewhere here In a 50 meter radius the bad thing about nvgs is that while it gives the wearer an amazing ability to

see in the dark it also severely limits the wearer's depth perception I found the point literally by accident when I inadvertently kicked over the ammunition can the loud claying echoed in the night and I shook my head cursing my bad or good luck I pulled out my flashlight again I copied down the enemy description that was inside the can And vicinity grid pb288-34755 is an enemy Command Post I returned the can back to the point and I was turning to go to my fourth point when I could make out the faint smell of cow dung

again stinky enemy soldier in the ghillie suit sure was fast for a big guy as well as persistent it was almost two in the morning which meant that I had a little over an hour to find my fourth point if I had any time left I'd look for the Fifth point which was only a quarter mile from the start I turned due south and headed back down into the valley the whole time my warning radar was going off in my head sometimes I thought I could smell that cow dung and I secretly wished that stinky

guy following me would fall into the Stream the trees were thicker towards the base of the valley where the stream ran so it Was much darker with very little Moonlight shining through but it was still pleasantly cool though I was hot and sweaty by this time I calculated that I was at a bend in the Stream about 500 meters away from where I first crossed it this fourth point was weird because it looked to be directly in the Stream on my map meaning it could be on either Bank of the Stream I wasn't looking forward

to Crossing Both sides of it but I didn't have much of a choice I knew that my fourth point was here somewhere close by I silently searched my side of the muddy stream for about 50 meters the Rippling of the waters masked any noise I made but it also masked the noise of any approaching bad guys as well finding nothing on my side of the stream I once again climbed down in embankment and waited across the icy cold water to The other side there I began my search again I looked for another 50 meters and

still saw nothing except mud and Fallen trees I was beginning to doubt that I plotted this point correctly when I looked at the stream again and noticed something that I hadn't seen before in the middle of the stream was a narrow dry spot of land like a miniature four foot square Island in the middle of this island was my Fourth point I waded back into the water and after I covered myself with my Poncho I quietly opened the ammunition can at vicinity grid pa00958824 is an enemy submarine base really I thought a submarine base uh

whatever I closed the ammunition can and set it back down when the smell of cow dung seemed to hit me like the heat you feel when you open a hot stove I cursed even though I'd found the necessary points that I needed I still had to get back to the start Point without being caught or else I'd have to do this all over again how did stinky guy keep finding me very slowly I knelt down on the island and crawled backwards into the freezing water the smell was all around me and there was a noise

like branches breaking on the bank followed by splashing sounds Only 50 meters to my left the moon Shone down at the place where there was a bend in the Stream outlined in the light was big big stinky enemy soldier guy most of my body was submerged in the water with my upper body hugging that little strip of island in the middle of the Stream I looked up at the guy who was 50 meters away from me and gulped what I had at first thought was a Ghillie suit seemed to actually be fur it was a

good seven and a half to eight feet tall and had a gorilla-like face and was covered with dark thick fur this creature stood in the middle of the stream looking around and seeming to sniff at the air great I thought I'm being stalked by a freaking Sasquatch but since I know where you are and you don't know where I am I guess I'm stalking you now I began to wonder if I'd packed any more beef sticks in my pack since I saw a commercial once on television where the Sasquatch things seemed like beef sticks all

of a sudden in the distance came the blaring of multiple horns which seemed to Echo all around the valley I cursed again that was the warning signal that all Scouts had 30 minutes to finish finding their points and returned to the start line by this point I was more annoyed than Frightened I was wet cold irritated and muddy fortunately I'd wrapped my waterproof notebook with all of my plot points inside of my waterproof Poncho and I kept it on the small island out of the water still I had only 30 minutes to make it back

to the start line but tall dark and stinky was standing in the middle of the stream looking around like a lost Grandpa at the mall that big hairy mcdingleberry was going to cost me Getting my Recon Scout qualification it seemed like I lay there for hours but in reality it was only a few seconds after the horns began to blare big stinky seemed to let out a huff and ran back up the embankment from which he had emerged I waited for the smell to dissipate before hauling myself out of the stream and double timing it

back to the start point although I was the last Scout to return To the star point I was feeling pretty good when our trucks brought us back to the barracks two Scouts got lost and had to be picked up by the side of the road and two other Scouts failed to find four of their Five Points these guys would have to try again tomorrow night only one guy the former Navy SEAL found all five of his points and although I found only just enough points to pass the course I also stalked The Bigfoot many other

Cavalry Scouts can say that Mojave Mountain Man from Wicked Wendigo I grew up in many different towns in Central and Southern California I attribute this to my stepfather who was enlisted in the U.S Marine Corps from the early 2000s to the early 2010s from ages 7 to 12 I lived on a Marine Corps training base in the Mojave Desert not far from the Yucca Valley National Park I was 10 years old at the time of this experience the following story is true and I have other true stories regarding my time in the Mojave if anyone

is interested summers in the Mojave were as you would expect hot some summer days could reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit my stepdad was a low rank in his career at this point so unfortunately we were given a low quality family home on the Base this meant that vital appliances like the air conditioner constantly malfunctioned usually when this happened I could be found at the local public pool hall or exploring the miles of sand covered Rocky Hills that surrounded The Bays this story happened on one such occasion I can't remember exactly but I'd say it

was around 110 degrees Fahrenheit the AC was broken and the repair company was not scheduled to fix our unit for Another two days being inside the house did little to make the heat subside outside actually felt cooler with the occasional Breeze flowing into my open bedroom window I'd planned to spend my day at the local pool but unfortunately it was being sanitized apparently a group of teens thought it would be hilarious to throw dog poo into the pool needless to say I was in hell I decided to go to my friend's house Will Colin Parker

I went to Parker's to see if he wanted to go explore we did this together often he said he'd like to but he needed to finish his chores first when he finally finished we headed off for our usual hangout it was a little playground about 100 yards from a barbed wire fence that surrounded the base we called it home base I asked him where he wanted to explore knowing it would most likely be a place we'd already been To dozens of times before he said well I have a secret place we can go I found

it the other day I was excited and replied heck yeah where is it Parker pointed to the barbed wire fence I asked why are you pointing at the fence there's no way we can climb that the barbed wire would rip us apart he chuckled stood up and motioned for me to follow when we reached the fence we Walked about 20 yards to our left in front of us stood two large Sage bushes they'd grown out about three feet from the fence line they measured up about four feet high and had roughly two feet of room

between the two we walked to the opening and Parker pointed to a small hole at the bottom of the fence The Heavy Rain from the previous week had washed away the sand from the bottom Of it making a small hole just big enough to fit your arm through we decided we would dig under the fence so we could squeeze through and explore the running trail that was just on the other side we'd seen many people running the trail before so we dug about an hour later we had made the hole big enough to fit through

we agreed not to venture too far because we didn't know the area and it was Getting later in the evening with that we squeezed through and popped out on the other side we began our walk down the trail occasionally we would stop to make sure drones weren't flying overhead watching us which is hilarious to look back on a paranoid adolescent mind will make up some crazy things anyway we were about 10 minutes into our walk when I spotted something next to a large rock on a hill just off the trail To our right the hill

was about a half mile ahead of us the bright Sun was glaring off of something it was about a foot above the ground just to the bottom right of the large Rock I pointed it out to Parker he insisted that we go investigate but I was hesitant I wasn't comfortable going off the trail with a few convincing words and a bit of peer pressure I reluctantly agreed We started our way towards the hill I stopped for a moment when I noticed the glare had disappeared I asked Parker did you see that it's gone but then

the glare reappeared suddenly Parker replied hurry up we're almost there we continue to walk when we heard an all too familiar sound the sound of helicopter rotors we instantly dropped to the sand My heart was racing I was sure the MPS had somehow found out we dug a hole under the fence and left the base we couldn't tell immediately where the helicopter was but Parker pointed out the small black dot far above the hill we were heading towards meanwhile the glare had once again disappeared we lay on the ground for roughly 60 seconds when suddenly

we saw something large stand up from where we last saw the glare It was a huge man we still had a bit of distance between us and the hill so I could only roughly make out his height and clothing not his facial features though he stood approximately six foot four and wore an army green jumpsuit he stood in place for only a few moments before turning around and running down the hill in the direction of the incoming helicopter we continued to lie down for a few more Minutes until the helicopter flew overhead of us and

off into the direction of the base we slowly stood up and debated our next move Parker insisted we continue and see where the man had gone but I wanted to head back home the fact that random man was out here with us made me anxious again peer pressure took over my rational thinking and before I knew it we were ascending the hill We made it to the top and my anxiety grew at what we discovered the first thing I noticed was a large outline of where the man had been lying down molded into the sand

next to the outline was a medium-sized duffel bag and sitting on top of it was a pair of binoculars this had been the glare I'd seen it also explained why it would occasionally disappear and reappear this man had been watching us My stomach filled with anxious butterflies and I told Parker I wanted to leave now he agreed but before we could start our descent down the hill I noticed something moving in the direction the man had run it was the man he was at the bottom of the hill just staring at us I stood there

in shock I could see him clearly now he had long gray unkempt facial hair and had dirt all over his Face he then did something that made me almost cry with fear he slowly raised his left index finger to his mouth making the motion with his lips that was it I was done I ran in the direction of the base with Parker close behind me we made it back to home base and vowed to never go in there again we never told anyone in fear of getting Into trouble for making such a stupid decision to

this day Parker and I talk about the situation occasionally who was the man why had he been watching us so intently and why did he run was he scared of the helicopter all these questions are fun to think about now but I'm glad I never got the answers Hill 29 from the woodsmen Talk to anyone around my age about camping when they were young and they'll tell you all about their proverbial good old days I suppose I'm no different really we used to go and get plastered in every Grove in Gully from here to Florida

not like we had much else to do school was a joke we were young and stupid we didn't have a care in the world funny enough you go camping as much as We used to and it becomes less like camping and more like just kind of hanging out I mean really every summer every weekend all the time we had despair you could expect us to be in some Backwoods Hollow raising hack so as you can imagine most of the memories of those days I got are just kind of one Big Blob but not this one

out here federal land means to us free Roam never really knew why the feds latched themselves onto so much nothingness but they did and it created for us our very own little slice of the Wild rarely did we see or even hear anyone else out there the only other human beings out there within 50 miles were the Army squads that use the woods as training grounds pretty regularly they had a whole grid and label system set up out there and thanks to a kid Named Tommy's Dad we'd gotten our hands on one of the maps

we navigated with the grids markers and numbered features and all kinds of other minute individually specified details even now people refer to my hometown area as Hill Country High Sandstone Cliffs with winding Dusty pads stretching far into the sky as well as low dark valleys where the air felt good and is conditioned the lands bordered on a big military Base so generally speaking the town was an Army town of the small group of guys we had that went out all but one was a military kid now I'm not saying that Army families always have trouble

in them but it'd be ignorant for me to not say that they did more often than not so getting out of the house was sometimes a priority and so we load two or three old pickup trucks with our green army bags and put on our green army codes heading into the Endless green valleys and ridges not long ago parks and the like weren't really maintained as well as they are now and federal lands had basically no Management in comparison dirt roads and dilapidated fences made up the border of the nearly untouched open expanse there were

hardly even trails and half of them were cut by us cell phones weren't really a thing we had so to keep in contact we used radios a friend of mine Mika was a real whiz With that kind of thing I was never really considered the brightest of kids especially when it came to electronics so I had rather basic understanding of how the radios worked what I did know was that the hilly terrain messed with them so when we had two separate groups we'd have to set up a small relay Tower and then take it down

at the end of the trip nothing major just a small little tripod Thing and a little black box propped atop one of the many numbered Hills this particular trip happened late summer our senior year of high school was to start up soon so we had a pretty sizable group it was me Tommy Mika Porter Herschel and another group of six who'd be across a Cliffside from us some of herschel's friend a guy named JT and some other kids we sorted knew We were all set for a week-long beer-fueled send-off to the summer of 86. stupid

yeah fun also yeah anywho we loaded up the same old way a couple of beater cars headed up and down the Winding Valley roads pushing about eight o'clock we pulled off onto some back road bounced up and down along the old dirt path for a few miles and eventually parked in a little clearing the two groups split themselves and Unpacked their bags from the trucks reviewed our plans and got ready to roll out Herschel Porter and Tommy would head off on the south side of Hill number 29. along the 38003 line and the other group

would work their way along the closed side of Hill number 28 ending up somewhere along the 36-001 area it became mine and Mika's job to work Our way up 29 and set up a communication Tower so the two groups could keep in contact everyone set off like a little pack of GIS eventually diverging our separate ways Mika and myself with pieces and parts lashed to our pack frames began the ascent to the Sandy reaches of 29. as the rest of the guys headed deeper into the rapidly darkening Woods we made up our minds to be

swift about The task as it would be pitch black within the hour and our flashlights weren't exactly the brightest The Climb was rough in patches with rather sheer Rock slides that were only made navigable by the protruding roots that served as our natural handholds we made it to the peak area as the sun was setting and worked out a setup for the tower soon it was erected and ready for relay Hey Jake think we'll pick anything up Mika had a set of headphones plugged into the box rotating a dial probably not how strong is it

I replied oh if we heard anything it'd be Army in the area stay for that I'd be surprised if anything were close enough Mika answered while digging into the OD Green carrying case he produced another set of headphones from somewhere within the plastic box and gestured for me to take them I slide them down over my ears and listen in I can faintly hear Mika's hmm as the static flickered back and forth over the radio little but faint murmurs came through and static to fill the caps Mika set back looked at the device again and

switched to dial over a sudden new patch of static filled my ears as Mika began to carefully rotate the knob For a minute I thought we'd hear nothing when the radio picked up the faintest of signals I could only pick up small phrases between the static right side over the South faint ramblings faded in and out of our hearing the channel then reverted back to static and we could no longer hear anything I wonder what that was about Mika pondered removing the headphones Probably some Army drill or something I replied placing my own headphones back

into the case the sun was getting really low well we ought to be getting down to camp at this rate we'll be getting there by dark if they don't have the fire set up by now I'll strangle one of them he trailed off as he packed his things we began back down the Steep Trail towards the turn and headed for camp it was dark as Mika predicted when we Finally trudged into camp two rather basic wooden sheds we'd built some time back stood illuminated by a fire contained in an old metal fire ring we ate

a hasty meal of canned garbage radioed the cap across the hill to check the comms then fell asleep I woke up maybe half an hour before the crack of dawn and did what all campers do upon Awakening I walked what felt to be a suitable distance from the campsite and took care Of business then decided to head down to a nearby stream as the first pastel lights of morning cut their way through the sky I washed my face and took a drink I plunged my arms into the cold water and as I did so a

crack and a screech faintly bounced across the valley perplexed I stood up and strained my ears for more but it never came This was a strange occurrence sure but I'd certainly encountered stranger besides I was pretty sure I knew what this one was if you've never heard a cougar scream well I'll say that I can understand why the Old Settlers told stories of monsters in the Hills I made my way back to camp and began to throw some more logs under the fire soon the crackling of flames eating away at dry logs awoke the guys

within a few Minutes the cap was full of life Hershel and Tommy were frying up some bacon over the fire Mika and Porter collected what and I busied myself cleaning one of the two hunting rifles we brought the rifle itself was Porters or rather his dad's a rugged old bolt action chambered in 308 with a short nondescript scope set atop the other rifle Tommy's was a touch Newer a Sleek slender 22 made for small things squirrels and the like for today we'd planned a short hunt as it may just be the only full day when

we weren't drunk or hungover after sitting down to eat our breakfast and some messing around with each other we loaded up our packs didn't set off with either rifle or binoculars in hand Porter and I would set off on the mid-elevation areas in search of deer or anything else substantial And Tommy Mika and Herschel would go about bagging some squirrel or rabbit neither of those animals were in season but that wasn't something that was enforced nor did anyone really cared too much about for that matter each group took a radio and took off as we

trudged into the woods a light flecks of rain began to mist across our shirts and soon warranted a deployment of our army ponchos the cliff Trails were soon slick with Mud as our leather boots left tracks behind us every now and again we would stop at an Overlook scan with scope and binoculars and see what we could find we saw some light movement on the other side of the valley and very little aside from that we walked on into the afternoon in the Misty Rain stopping to have some lunch of canned sausages and sandwiches soon

we were on the move again The rain began to fall with more Force now at a full rainstorm pace on one of our stops to search the valley Porter picked up more movement there next to the Pine he said in a subdued breath I got it I replied equally as hushed buck he excitedly whispered he began to dial in his scope I heard the click of his safety moving into the offsetting A shot suddenly cracked through the valley followed by three more in Rapid succession the deer raised its head turned for an instant and took

off into the woods dang it exclaimed Porter lowering the rifle ah Tommy why'd we give him the rifle again he said with the disappointed chuckle never was a good shot surprised he got more than one in though he trailed off I don't know something seems a little weird about that let me radio in and my words were cut short by a burst of noise from the radio in my hand [Music] garbled Out of the Black Box Porter and I exchanged a brief wait what look before I press the button and raise the calm to reply

we we were just about to ask you the same thing A moment passed with no reply the radio cut out abruptly Mika I asked into it radio check do you copy no response Wang Dang Porter said aloud what do you think we should do now the weather's too bad to stick around I think they'll think the same and head back to Camp I replied probably not a bad idea let's get moving Porter said flicking his safety back on And sliding two caps onto the scalp the sound I heard at dawn rang out from the same

vicinity of the shots huh I said confused I heard that same sound this morning mountain lion Porter theorized I guess I replied creepy things huh Porter nodded in agreement but I could tell something didn't sit right with either of us nevertheless we began the Trek towards Camp winding down the Slick Twisted face of the rocks our packs grew heavier and the sun crept lower by the step we made haste towards the campsite and arrived at around 5 PM Porter and I took refuge in one of the old Adirondack shelters around what remained the morning's campfire

we said our now damp packs down hung up our rain gear and changed clothes we sat down in the back of the shelters And waited for the rest of the folks to arrive an hour passed by and both myself and Porter began to get anxious our nerves were calmed by the soft sound of footsteps and twigs breaking in the near distance Porter turned to sad you know y'all had me a little worried for a second he called out standing up and advancing towards the open wall of the shelter The footsteps stopped abruptly and so did

Porter silence fell on the campsite Tommy you guys good he cautiously said into the dark droves of trees the weighty footsteps burst off scampering in the opposite direction Porter hardly breathed what the hell before another set of footsteps from behind him made him whip around facing the oncoming steps It was Herschel Mika and Tommy what's going on you good Herschel question to a disoriented Porter yeah he stammered out with somewhat of a relieved sigh we all settled down into our shelters as the rain pelted the roofs for a while a silent tongue about the cap

no one wanted to address the strangeness Of the events that day and I knew the other guys were just as suspicious as me and Porter Mika broke the silence I think we should radio the other group he declared standing up we need to get the comms working again to make sure they're okay from what I can tell I think this storm may have knocked out the tower I'm not sure though I don't remember JT or any of them saying if they had rifles or not Maybe they did maybe that's what we heard but we still

need to check we nodded and grumbled in agreement the plan was that Mika Herschel and myself would work our way back to the station atop 29 figuring out what was wrong with the relay then contact the other group Porter and Tommy would stay at the campsite waiting for contact from us with our bags packed and ready to move the next morning we skipped dinner and Laid down for the night the sounds of the rain pouring against the shelter has put us to sleep I Rose at First Light which was shrouded in the Grim clouds that

still bore rain with some difficulty I was awakened by Porter who was up before anyone else the rest of the group followed you think this bloody rain will ever stop grown to Tommy cracking open a can of beans he placed four more cans into the Struggling fire Lids open and gave each a stir all of us got dressed and released our boots checking on our bags and getting ready to set out we joked around a bit while digging our spoons into the burned cans eating a quick meal I'm honestly not too sure what happened to

the relay Mika said between bites it's never done anything like this before it should have been able to make It through a storm ten times this fierce we all exchanged somewhat uneasy glances for the first time we collectively acknowledge the strangeness of the Trip's occurrences the moment passed and we prepared for our Trek I slung my backpack on donned my Poncho and watched my two companions do the same Porter and Tommy began to find something to keep themselves collecting and Splitting wood cleaning a rifle and things like that Mika and Herschel began to move towards

the trails and I followed we soon found ourselves amongst the endless pointless ups and downs that inhabited these Woods the soft Paths of rubber sold boots became our soundtrack as we moved about the forest after a while the rain let up and we became bored of the sounds around us We started to talk I thought this trip would be a little less I don't know weird Herschel said echoing our thoughts me too I replied I hate being on edge out here I think we're thinking too much Mika side let's forget about all this creepy garbage

and drink some beer or something truer words were not spoken the rest of the track eventually we reached the base of the Hill the sky grew dark again as we neared our route slick Limestone faces above peered down at us as a bear might to a mouse plant life grew all down the sides and along the length of the ridge's spine great Boulders and minuscule Pebbles stood alongside each other perched high above the dark recesses of the grounds beneath with the grunt allowed Herschel was the first to start the Steep ascend The Climb of sorts

followed a series of Crags and faces as it worked its way up parts of the Hill were little more than inclined hiking others were more akin to rock climbing I certainly felt my pack the whole time as it gave the slightest of pulls on my back away from the hill itself we made good time with the hell and soon we found ourselves rapidly nearing the peak each of us found ourselves a small sea to top the hill taking a drink of Water and breathing hard the sun was just past its midpoint in the view across

the valley was unparalleled a hush crept amongst us we all felt a stark tranquility The Overlook gave us a look into all that was the valley with its tall dense green shadows and looming Hills as far as we could see for a moment we were all at peace the passing quiet was shattered by sounds I'll never forget First I thought in the near distance then another shot followed by screams I've heard people in pain cry out before but this this was like nothing else pure Primal shrieks of absolute pain and Terror I could feel the

fear in my ears as the screams ripped across the valley in front of us echoing off the distant Hills my stomach dropped like I was a rider on A million roller coasters I felt sick to the Core I saw Herschel and Mika react the same way Mika looked like he might vomit too with huge eyes he spoke what the mother of God was that he staggered out mirroring all of our reactions of confusion and fear I don't know Herschel said from the looks of it he was ready to bolt Call Porter figure out what that

was right Mika said curtly as he frantically dug for His Radio Porter Tommy did you hear that no response guys not funny did you hear that Mika was beginning to panic silence did you hear that Mika screamed into the radio nearly in a rage he cursed and shoved the radio into his bag we need to get up to that Tower right now I said Herschel nodded and Mika Turned to continue we scrambled up the rest of the trail going faster than was probably safe soon the small metal Tower and box popped into our site it

stood solitarily amongst the darkening clouds in the sky above it Mika hurried to it and knelt down beside it Herschel and I caught our breaths and bent over with our hands on our knees watching Mika fiddle with the Box His face suddenly went pale what what Herschel asked to no response from Mika Mika I shouted snapping him out of it someone messed with our relay he said quietly still not looking back at us what I asked confused someone messed with our relay Mika shouted someone cracked into it and battered the dials and bloody turned it

off Nika was growing angrier by the minute What the heck Herschel spat who would do that who else is even out here I don't know I don't know Miga dejectedly stated cooling down I don't know can you fix it I asked determined yeah he replied give me a minute ursul and I looked on as he reset the dials and flipped switches suddenly the radio spring to life A Stern and regimented voice faded in and out we all recognize the tone of the man's voice as military we all went pale did he just say Herschel trailed

off yeah I replied with the lump in my throat north side of 29 is that's where JT and his guys are Herschel said realizing what was happening get them on the radio he said to Mika the radio One sec Mika replied rapidly moving dials get them on the freaking radio Herschel shouted I am I am give me a bloody second Mika lashed out turning dials with more urgency he whipped out his radio hey JT Whoever has the radio this is Mika what the heck was that an indistinguishable garble flooded the radio Mika cursed and adjusted

more dials Repeat he commanded with authority into the microphone came back through this is Mika we're on the other side of the Hill from you Mika said quickly with utmost urgency the radio replied what what are you talking about Mika responded confused it's not funny dude screaming and shooting stuff in the woods is just a dirt That wasn't us we replied there was a pause the radio responded it wasn't us we're trying to figure out if you're okay Mika was growing in Anger again and hopefully this maybe not a bad plan stay in contact the

radio should be working now it's no big deal just stay safe Mika set the radio down inside we paused for a moment and thought about The events we'd just witnessed make a call down to Porter who said they'd faintly heard the noise and had tried reaching us he said they'd stay and make contact with the other group to try and set up someone to reliably contact well while we're up here might as well check the weather Mika said finally relaxing a bit he tuned the radio to the weather frequency Did they say here I asked

aloud realizing what this might mean that's just great now we can't even leave Herschel exclaimed hearing the bad news yeah looks like we're stuck here at least for the night I sighed if we're gonna be here let's at least try to enjoy it guys said standing up let's head back to camp it's been two days out here already and We haven't even touched our cooler let's go get plastered and that's what we did by the next morning we were up far later than was normal all of us sporting head-splitting hangovers from the night before Herschel

groaned as he set up setting the precedent for everyone else we all slogged up slowly and doggedly set about our tasks we were all doing our best to ignore the Prior events and try to enjoy ourselves at least a little the ever-present rain made it hard to get a fire going fortunately Porter and Tommy occupied themselves with the acquisition of firewood the day before and had stored nearly half a cord in the shed using the old Mall stored there the group enjoyed the rather slow and tired breakfast of hotcakes and bacon a warm refresher from

the previous day's Breakfast for a while it seemed like all was going normal again it was still raining not as hard as it was but nonetheless so we set just inside our Adirondack sheds talking and laughing we killed maybe three hours doing that the day passed by and eventually as dark clouds continuously rolled over our heads the fire crackled as a meal cooked Porter moved towards the fire and stirred the pot A horrible stench wafted up out of it Jesus Mika remarked what'd you do to that thing I don't know maybe I overcooked it Porter

replied perplexed Tommy Herschel and myself shared the sentiment with Mika we reluctantly dug out eating equipment and spooned ourselves some of the thick terrible smelling stew we sat back down in our sheds and slowly began to eat with pinched noses To everyone's surprise the soup was delicious we all looked at each other Shrugged and kept eating soon the cooking pot was empty we cleaned our bowls and Equipment only to find that the smell persisted confused Herschel spoke out what is that smell it's awful he said in disgust it's not one of you Tommy jabbed no

I don't think so I said holding my nose we tried to play it off to ignore it but it was to no avail a few moments passed as our resolve to continue disregarding the stench that invaded our nostrils faded gradually and Herschel was the first to crack hell with this what is the friggin smell he blurted out you're right I can't stand it we gotta find whatever that is and Chuck it off a cliff or something I replied in utter Agreeance we found out and began searching checking around the site until Porter called out in

Surprise hey uh guys you ought to come look at this Porter's accented voice faded out as we rushed over to see what he was looking at his dark eyes were fixated on the ground at the base of a tall oak just to maybe 50 feet down the slope at the back of the campsite The scattered members of our group slowly and apprehensively made their way to the spot we strained to peek around the trees or Porter whichever obstructed our views there at the base of the tree lay a jagged lump of puffy white and brown

fluff and shiny dark liquids the tree itself was spattered with the same it was a deer misshapen contorted sliced and torn apart all of us knew from hunting when we were Younger that it was relatively fresh the blood was still bright the flesh still red and not browned bones jutted out from various places within the small pile of creature cracked like a glow stick now bemused I look to the others for an explanation a plan a concession anything I soon found that they matched my expression and that there was no such reasoning to be heard

of wordless we turn to make the slow Cautious Retreat back into our nearby encampment I think we could have stayed silent for the rest of the trip if it were not for what happened next as we stepped into the edge of our site Tommy began to pick up some of his things and moved into the sheds he returned clutching an ax he brought the rest of us gave but a mere concerned luck before inevitably coming to the same conclusion that he'd reached before Us that being we weren't alone out here as if a stage queue

had been issued the situation immediately escalated behind myself there was a crack of a stick everyone's heads including mine snapped backwards to see what had made the faint nearly inaudible noise at the edge of the tree line we held our breaths and waited for another noise nothing At first then something another stick broke this time louder opposite from where the last had come from resonating from behind Herschel who now had found that he had quickly changed from being the back of the group to being the front he whipped around just as I but not before

another stick broke this time two cracks in Rapid succession all of us began to back together wide-eyed and vigilantly scanning the Tree line I noticed Porter make a slow methodical Shuffle to a shed and returned with the deer rifle he began to raise it pointing in the direction of the most recent tracks I saw Mika do the same with the 22 and suddenly felt naked of Defense myself I drew out my knife and I held it out as if it would be a deterrent for whoever was encircling us to whatever was encircling us Mika dialed

in the rifle preparing a shot at seemingly nothing he never got the chance he shot away cloudy lump of Darkness flashed through my vision blurted out of the trees and backed in like a dog running a competition Tommy nearest the movement swore and fell backwards scrambling to get away in his Panic the ax in his hand slipped careening into his lower left calf and slicing into him He cried out in pain and I rushed to him as Mika and Porter swung around rifles raised like centuries on a shaft Tommy was cut bad the bit of

ax had dug about two or three inches into his leg revealing the dark reddish matter beneath I made for my bag retrieved the first aid kit and fumbled it on the way back to Tommy who now was wincing repeatedly I quickly moved to start applying gauze and Tommy bit down on a stick he had Placed in his mouth Mika and Porter were shouting to each other but what exactly I could not tell I was focused on Tommy and finishing applying the antiseptic liquids I was pouring onto a rag I began to cover the wound went

out of the corner of my vision I saw Porter raise his rival a dreadful quiet fell over us as Porter aimed towards where he last saw the Looming dark Mass a moment passed a mere second that felt like an eternity the silence was shattered by two deafening booms in Rapid succession Booms that made my ears ring the dark shadow appeared once more this time fleeing the heavy and steady pattering thump of footfalls returned deep into the woods once more and as they faded away the whole encampment faded to silence for yet another time It seemed

now that all of these significant events of which we experienced were marked by a silence a quiet of some kind we all got up and looked around as if we hadn't really seen any of it as if we'd all just imagined everything but now things were different it was no longer this sort of unrealized game of cat and mouse now we knew what we were into now we knew that we weren't just seeing Things now it was us and Them we all realized this as we said about solemnly patching up Tommy and packing our bags

the rain and the flooding couldn't have been that bad we had to get out we all sat down back at our prompted logs near the fire that was now smoldering we gotta go Mika said voicing all of our thoughts Tommy Porter Herschel and I mumbled in agreement But we can't try in the dark Porter said sounding just as apprehensive as we all felt we have to what the hell are we gonna do if that thing comes back Herschel blurted we shuddered at the first dimension of the creature we'd seen since it happened as of somehow

speaking of it gave it live and made it reality Herschel you know we can't you know with all the hills and slopes And crap we just plain can't make it through in the dark Porter pressed on I know I'm just hell man we're in a shaky spot right now and he trailed off we knew that Porter was right we'd have to stay one more night that didn't stop us from completely mobilizing as the sun set though by the time Darkness descended upon the sight we'd gathered enough firewood to light up almost 50 feet around us

in all Directions and had packs lined up completely packed save for our sleeping bags which lashed onto the outside we divided up shifts Porter would start at 9pm and go until midnight standing watch with a rifle Porter would wake Mika who took 12 to 2 am followed by Herschel at 2-4 and eventually me from 4 to Sunrise Tommy needed rest and heal from his leg the sun was getting low so we retreated to our shelters grabbing some additional Firewood on the way Porter examined his rifle rubbed a mark off the barrel and chambered around he

sat down onto his upturned log sighed and pulled his hat lower you good to go Mika inquired yeah I'll wake you up in three he replied clearly shaky good luck man don't hesitate to get us all up if anything if you need us Mika finished after a bit yeah yeah Porter resolved tugging at his Hat again the rest of us laid down and we did according to my watch Herschel shook me awake at 3 56 am hey he sat in a deep hoarse voice hey I replied just as exhausted still plenty of wood nobody's seen

anything yet he informed me as I exited my sleeping bag and stood up pulling on my boots and tucking my arms into a button-up shirt it was surprisingly chilly Enjoy the sleep dude wish me luck I said slapping him on the back as he went for his own bag let us know if anything goes wrong you're up till sunrise he drowsily stammered tucking his face into a sleeping bag I moved to the fire and saw that Herschel had chucked on a few logs before plopping back down next to the fire I resolved it to keep

a good watch of The stretch of tree line where we'd seen the thing before seconds turned into minutes and minutes to hours the creatures of the dark chirped and howled as the fire crackled the night grew colder and I was glad for the flames aside from warmth The Blaze allowed me to see around myself stars and moon were bright dots painting the sky lighting up the night allowing Me to see even farther I could faintly hear the creek at the base of our site emitting a distant Trickle a cool nearly imperceptible Breeze flowed through my

hair and whisped Away Sparks and Embers of the fire The Tall Trees of the valley swayed and danced like ancient deities engaged in a sleepy Waltz the sky opened itself as if it were these spotlights upon the theater that Was the valley with curtains of pines and solemn Stone faces my eyes grew heavy as the hands of the great Forest gently shut them for me I awoke from my near catatonic state to what I believed to be Pine resin in my fire cracking louder than usual as it sometimes does I put together the thoughts to

check my watch finding it was now nearly 6 30. the sky was beginning to light up the fire pumped loudly again but Something was off it took me a minute to realize that the fire behind me was not giving off much light anymore nor was I being warmed I turned to face it it was smoldering nearly out I murmured an expletive and tossed on a few new logs soon the fire was going again I was about to drift off again before my brain finally realized what felt so wrong How did the fire pop so loudly

if it was out with impeccable timing and other pop ring out fully awake I placed it as a distant noise it was a gunshot no no no I spoke softly to myself beginning to realize what was happening that ear rending scream I knew all too well boomed through the valley again my stomach sank I felt like a kid who Was about to be sick on a county fair ride I stood alone listening still another shorter groan echoed again and snapped me out of it I turned toward the shed guys hey guys I yelled panicking there

was stirring in the shelters ah what what Mika said standing up listen I demanded frantically gesturing to the distance the four others Now Plenty awake listened intently There was nothing they looked at me confused in the distance there were shots and screams I exasperatedly stated just as Herschel gave a bemused huh the Screech was back followed by two more shots they turned to me wide-eyed uh hell JT Herschel said radio get them on the radio Mika frantically went for his pack he produced the radio and flicked it on Fast JT group two anyone come in

this is Mika come in he shouted no response he tried again but to no avail everyone swore backs get your bags we gotta go help I commanded sounding far more confident in my choice of words than I really was no one replied instead heading for their packs and quickly lacing their boots Porter helped Tommy up and after talking I assumed they determined Tommy was well enough to walk we took off quickly kicking the fire out as much as we could in about 30 seconds clicked on our dim lights and prayed that between that and the

slowly Rising Sun we would have enough to make our way there Mika tried over and over to reach group 2 by radio we walked into the solemn Woods once more rapidly approaching Hill 29. When we made it to 29 Mika and myself set up the hill for the third time leaving the rest to wait with Tommy to let him get some time off his bad leg this time though we knew our route and got up the hill in no time to our relief we didn't hear any more sounds from the other camp on the flip

side Mika still couldn't reach them so it wasn't just the radio we recovered the comms equipment rapidly strapping into our pack frames We scrambled back down and set on the track again the forest had transformed so much since our walk in what was our own green heaven was now a shaded nightmare our boots were in a strangely uniform Cadence as we nearly marched our way up and down the Deep Hills the sun was reaching higher and higher in the sky we clicked our lights off and soon we drew within a few miles of the second

Encampment Mika called out loudly no reply no surprise there we descended into the valley down the campsite and soon we could see the large shapes of the shelters in the afternoon sun we broke the tree line into the Camp's clearing and what we saw was bizarre the site was vacant we called out again but it truly was vacant there were loose Belongings here and there and sure to water bottle and even a pocket knife the shelters were slightly charred and the remains of what once was a tint was now a few metal poles and shreds

of fabric a lone yellowed note clearly soaked in rain was left just inside the shelter under a rock we tried to make out the words but what we were able to read was we had to leave radio won't meet back And something out here Mika rad the mostly unintelligible note they're already gone he concluded I hope they made it out Tommy trailed off I guess we're on our own now and we gotta get the heck out of here Porter said firmly we turned and began to mobilize Porter and myself began to help Tommy up who

was sitting on the ground hey Shouted a Gruff deep voice startling us all so badly we nearly dropped Tommy Mika turned reaching for his 22 and facing whatever it was as I faced it as well I was taken aback a tidy row of about six green clad Troopers stood each clenching weapons several were wearing pack frames with pressurized tanks strapped to them and all kinds of hosing running all over others clutched heavy rifles but all of them were armed to the teeth They were Fanning themselves out and checking around the site like some cheap movie

scene what are you doing here demanded one of the soldiers stepping forward with his rifle thankfully lowered we are we were camping I replied why'd you bypass all the signs this place is on lockdown what signs Tommy inquired this land has been off limits for four days now you shouldn't be here We've been out here nearly a week I responded beside now listen you shouldn't be here and you need to go but we have some questions first this gave me a bad feeling do you know this area well he inquired we nodded do you know

how to get out the fastest we nodded again are you armed we were confused but murmured a yes Again this time he nodded as if to say good all right he said we're looking for a unit who was sent out on an evasion exercise I perceived immense mistruth in this excuse have you seen anything for a while you knew what they were looking for yeah that way past the Third Hill there's another Camp sign just like this one it ran in and out of the trees there Mika said sounding almost irritated the soldiers seemed taken

aback when Mika so confidently delivered the answer he wanted I think he knew that we knew the soldiers sighed again I need you all to get out of here now he commanded sternly but relentingly and if you don't want trouble stay away my desire for answers was quickly outweighed by my need to get away from this thing in the woods and looking to The others they nodded in agreeance we slung on our packs and the soldiers made their ways out we then set off back up the trail we we're going home the walkout was our

final silent checkpoint and the timeline of our bizarre experience eventually the green tunnel developed some holes and soon we stood next to our truck we loaded our gear and started it up piling in we talked retrospectively About what we'd seen I think we all didn't or couldn't believe that it all happened and talking through it made us feel like we could truly think about it we'd have to track down the other group when we got back and figure out what they'd seen we said for a bit and eventually we set off for the winding hilly

Backroads that would lead us back home As we passed the now leaving sign written in plain white dremeled letters a thin column of black smoke arose from the forest from right on the other side of Hill number 29. creature near a military Outpost from Peak before I begin this is not my own personal story this is a story my dad told me some time ago and I'm now sharing it with all of you as it recently came back to my mind This happened in the early 90s at the time there was a war in my

country so my dad ended up in the military like everyone else his age after his training he was sent to some old military Outpost in the middle of nowhere the nearest form of civilization was a small village located 15 kilometers or 9.3 miles from where he was stationed so yeah it was literally in the middle of nowhere He was stationed there with one other guy named Sam their only job was to be on lookout for enemy troops but since the Outpost was located so far from where the war was taking place Sam and my dad

didn't really have anything to do they kind of just hung out playing card games drinking cheap beer to keep themselves occupied The Outpost was small and it overlooked a forest with a metal fence surrounding The forest and ending at The Outpost the first few weeks went by and everything was exactly the same as when they arrived quiet and peaceful then one night while they were overlooking the forest something happened they were talking like they normally did not really paying attention to the forest since the war was basically on the other side of the country but

something felt off Both my dad and Sam got this weird nauseating feeling all of a sudden they started feeling uncomfortable like someone was watching them they both stopped talking and were scanning the area however there was no one near them how could there be they were miles away from anyone and they were the only people stationed at that Outpost [Music] A few minutes passed and the feeling still didn't go away confused and frightened they turned to the forest that's when they finally saw it the woods right in the middle of a clearing the two of

them laid eyes on something my dad described it to me as a humanoid figure about four or five feet tall with both feathers and skin he couldn't really tell what color it Was because it was dark but he said it seemed to be all black with glowing eyes kind of like a cat's it was staring right at the two of them Sam and my dad didn't know what to do they didn't know what they were looking at so they just stared back at it about five seconds later after making eye contact with it the creature

made the most loud and horrific scream my dad had ever heard he said it sounded like a mix of a cat Hissing a deer screaming and a man yelling for his life all at the same time scared out of their minds they readied their guns and were prepared to shoot this creature that's when it started running my dad says it ran as fast as a cheetah but luckily not at them the creature started running straight for the big metal fence that was around the forest and The Outpost it made a Giant hole in it and

continued running never to be seen again safe to say that neither my dad nor Sam got any sleep that night they would be at that Outpost for about a month altogether and they say they never experienced something like that ever again Sam and Dad stayed close friends after the war and Sam became a good family friend both he and my dad say the same story Never changing any details they swear that what they saw was real I can't really explain what that was because in this part of the world in southeast Europe there's nothing that

even closely resembles what they saw either from old folk tales or actual animals the only thing I can think of is a skinwalker but far as I know they're only in America so I really have no idea monster on a military Outpost by Spoonman Delta 23. I am an M1 Abrams crewman in the National Guard so once or sometimes twice a month we head up to Camp Ripley our state's military base to spend the next weekend preparing for whatever our next big mission was Camp Ripley is a decent sized military base tucked in the woods

of northern Minnesota so we have run-ins with the wildlife all the time not entirely uncommon to see a family of deer walking Through the firing range just not giving any craps about tank shells flying over their heads I can't give out dates really but I can tell you that this happened just this last drill and from now on I will never see the place the same again it was early summer and we were relaxing for the last night there with a couple of beers and some cards as everyone settled into their bunks some people staring

at their phones I Wasn't exactly tired yet so I headed outside to smoke a cigarette and give my girlfriend a call it was the usual I miss you I miss you too what's the cat up to work sucked your standard gushy relationship Tipsy call I hang up and look at the clock it's a 100 and I have to be up at 05 30. I can tell it's going to be a rough morning so I go to my bunk as well I tossed and turned restlessly trying to Get comfortable but I eventually just plugged in my

headphones and watched YouTube until dozing off but before I knew it I was sitting up in bed Wide Awake trying to figure out what woke me up at first I thought it was a very bad and weird dream or because it was boiling inside but eventually it hits me in the gut literally I had drank too much and it was time to go to the bathroom There was no latrine in the bay so I had to go outside to the shower Hall where there was a single trough to use I quickly grabbed my sandals before

heading out I was about three steps out the door when my stumbling mind realized something was up it's the middle of June and there were mosquitoes biting me the entire time I talked to my girlfriend but no more the sky is empty no stars no moon no Wind it was oddly quiet and still I checked my phone oh 340 still the middle of the night then the pain shot back into my body so I started making my way toward the latrine though now I was much more alert the shower haul kind of looks like one

of those old churches like you have the main hall then kind of an entryway that isn't as wide this creates a little 90 degree angle between the two As I made it to the door I saw something stand out in my peripheral vision I immediately opened the door and got inside as fast and as quietly as I could in the half second that I saw it I could register that it had four Limbs and a slender body spanning maybe seven feet and it looked like it was laying somewhat spread eagle on the grass trying to

hide itself in it despite being so large I wasn't sure what it was but I knew there was only one way in and Out the front door so now I was trapped with who knows what was out there ready to pounce on me at any moment I thought to myself maybe I'll be lucky and this one is just sleeping whatever it is so I wait there hiding behind the door to the men's area watching the front windows to see if anything appears or moves after a minute of waiting my bladder was Having none of it

so I rushed to the trough not even caring to start the water to wash it away now it's time to think but there really isn't a choice other than to try and sneak past it again hoping for the best so drunk me has a smart idea let's take off my flip-flops so it can't hear you but upon execution everything goes wrong I'm still drunk so when I reach down to Take off my sandals I stumble into the wall and right into the button to turn on the lights and the fans the noise cuts through the

night silence like a bullet through paper I frantically turned to push the button again to shut it off but the noise has been made whatever was out there I was sure it was awake now and all I could do was outrun it or try to but then another idea pops into my head Maybe it's training or maybe it's still me being out of my mind but I hit the button again and blast through the doors to try and surprise it as the fans were up I take off the sandals so I can run faster and

I charge out I've barely enough time to check over my shoulder to see if I was freaking out over nothing but there definitely was something there and now I saw it leaning against the Brick wall I didn't need any more time I bolted running faster than I ever had before I've never had that much adrenaline like this the thought that I may not live through this drove me to make the 200 or so feet go by in what felt like seconds I whip the bay door open yet still had the drunk composure to quietly shut

it the last thing I wanted was to wake up the others to have them go outside to look Or Worse make me out to be an idiot sitting back in my bunk I thought about the whole thing the silence the bugs how I didn't see it until the end even though I was on high alert it all seemed unreal somehow I was able to get some sleep that night the next morning I didn't get a chance to check until after breakfast and at that point I walked back to the spot and froze it was clear

even from my bay door That there was nothing in those spots no signs of power boxes or gray pipes or anything that looked like it could have been lying in the grass or up against the building just mowed grass and Bricks now I'm safe at home but I'm still thinking about the ones who volunteered to stay behind and help out the other companies I wonder how bad things could possibly get now knowing that those men are never alone I wonder if anyone had ever gone missing there someone like me who simply needed to use the

bathroom in the middle of the night the wide Man by an anonymous poster on 4chan Sunday my father passed away he'd be 55 come April he and I were never close although we had no bad blood between us either we just had nothing in common and I never cared perhaps assuming we'd always Have time to form a relationship later on he wasn't unhealthy so I never put much effort into going out and visiting him and in fact I hadn't seen him in three years possibly I'm feeling guilty for never showing interest in my father perhaps

I'm just missing him and want to talk about him but tonight I want to tell you a story about my father and maybe get some Information on a thing he called the white man my father was a very typical Suburban dad and frankly very boring he had typical dad interests like fishing and hunting and bowling he would wear Crocs and turtlenecks and drove a hatchback with a custom license plate despite his very upper middle class white dad exterior he was a hick a major hick you see my dad grew up in the Upper Peninsula of

Michigan in the 60s in a family that was dirt poor and very religious I never met most of my extended family on his side aside from his brother Philly but from what I heard about them I gather they were Deliverance on ice they lived in what had once been a cabin in the woods they raised pigs and chickens and sold lumber for most of their income his father beat my father and his Siblings during drunken bouts which left my father with some major scars most physical but a few pretty obvious mental ones too what's important

to note is that my father wasn't bright he wasn't creative he wasn't a Storyteller he could remember things and repeat them and he could focus his energy into things but he wasn't bright brains were not how he got where he was so it's with this in mind that I ask you To handle his stories my father used to talk freely of the white man to my sister and I more her than myself as they were much closer but was always careful to not mention him in front of my mother and Philly Philly would make fun

of him relentlessly for his Boogeyman and my mother never knew any of it I suppose he was afraid of her thinking he was crazy I grew up hearing about the white man Who seemed to be a combination of all your typical Boogeyman he was capable of changing shape but not color in his regular form he was vaguely humanoid but featureless however he could change into actual people or animals he was old and not stupid but still more animal than man he chose people followed them and brought bad luck to them and most Importantly he liked

to make deals the white man wasn't a grim reaper of sorts but he was a predator who showed up when a person was about to die or was hurt and it was such that my father first saw him pardon if this isn't told that well I admit I have little Flair for stories and I've not heard any of these old tales in a long time so a few details might be missing one year about January my father and Philly went out into the woods to go hunting the two were about 10 and 9 years old

respectively although Philly was apparently the leader they wandered further from their home than usual and it quickly got dark which led to them getting disorientated and lost what had initially begun is a simple afternoon hunt was now potentially life-threatening for they didn't have The gear to easily survive the night things got worse though when the ground beneath my uncle gave away revealing that in the dark they had wandered onto a pond which had frozen over and been covered by snow it couldn't handle the weight of the two boys my father being as I said a

bit stupid took a moment to react to the situation before he began to try to help his brother out after a short struggle during which time my father got soaked as well they Managed to get Philly out of the water although they were both now exhausted and wet and truly had no idea where they were for there wasn't a pond anywhere near their house the two eventually managed to get off the pond and into the woods in an effort to find shelter or their home eventually they found a crevice beneath a tree and ducked into

it for shelter although it wasn't big enough for them to both fit at once Being the dryer of my tomb my father volunteered to take the first shift out in the cold while his brother tried to dry off in the crevice now here the story splits the more reasonable one is Philly's version he dozed off my father woke him up a while later told him they should keep moving they did and kept wandering until they saw lights those lights were flashlights the neighbors were out Looking for them they met up with the neighbors and went

home their dad beat them the hillbillies were all happy except my dad because he was crazy and then there's my father's version my father told me he sat out there scanning The Horizon and listening carefully for anything moving in the woods animals May mean better shelter or danger and a person or some sort of vehicle meant rescue After about 20 minutes he begins to hear something footsteps according to him it sounded like a large man and not all that far away although he couldn't see anything which surprised him a bit as it wasn't all that

dark and even back then most people wandering in the woods tried to wear at least one bright item on them to avoid getting shot but despite that the noise got louder until he finally saw it a figure as White as snow walking through the trees towards him it was clear to him that it wasn't human and he described it as being about nine feet tall and shaped like Gumby it had two arms two legs and two eyes but no features everything was rounded scared to move my father sat as still as he could although it

was clear the thing had already seen him slowly it moved towards him and began to speak When it spoke it didn't speak with the mouth instead it was just two words one heard and one responded the same what that means is up to you to decide the order of the conversation and the length I'm not sure of but it told him that it was an old thing that lived in the cold and that it needed them it came whenever people got too cold or too lost or hurt from animals or accidents and it took them

away if something else hadn't already It had no interest in the dead just the dying conversing with it was unsettling but not unpleasant according to my father with that it told him to get up so he could get his brother then they were to follow him away my father of course refused and demanded they be left alone why though the thing had asked you'll just freeze anyway so it doesn't matter Still though my dad refused to move and eventually the thing asked him why he was so stubborn it sounded a bit surprised as if most

people didn't argue much I just don't want to die or have him die was the best my father could come up with then we'll need to make a deal my father told me the thing which never not over any of their visits told him its name if it had one It talked like a car dealer or game show host it tried to convince him what he really wanted what he really needed wouldn't it be easier to go with him wouldn't that be simpler but still my father refused eventually they settled they would get out but

their lives would be on loan it would be owed interest and one day it would still come for them the thing which he eventually began calling the white man then began to walk Off although it didn't say anything to him my father said he understood that he was being let out now and that he should follow it he woke up Philly and the two headed off course you'd think he'd have been more suspicious of following a giant snow monster that had already tried to kidnap him but my father wasn't bright or likely a great Storyteller

either before Philly was even awake though the Monster had disappeared the giant footsteps Vanishing in the snow at first my father thought for sure he'd been cheated or simply abandoned before realizing there was a trail of rabbit Prince which he began to follow instead somehow understanding that those belonged to the monster occasionally he'd catch a glimpse of an all-white rabbit and was then he understood the thing could change shape after a while they saw the lights of Their neighbors in the distance headed towards them as a kid the story was a lot scarier and I'm

sure I'm missing a few details even then though I understood the plot holes and how far-fetched it was my mother used to tell stories of how her childhood home had been haunted all while telling us ghosts didn't exist so I assumed this was something similar a tall tale now I don't really believe my father's Stories although I think he believed them for some reason or another I just thought that maybe there's some Uber Legend Google didn't pull up that he adapted this from I want to say that my uncle again thought this was all a

load of crap when he would tell the story it was just a story of how they got lost almost died and eventually got home to a bud whooping a few things my father added in he did Agree on though there had been rabid Footprints and possibly some bigger ones although these looked like Indians in the snow to him rather than actual Prince and my father did end up following a rabbit which could have been white or blue for all he remembers which he thought was a stupid idea even then my uncle also didn't hear anything

of the white man not until my father saw him again a year After they got lost my father's excuse for not sharing this story with him was either he'd think he was crazy or think he was going to die and only the shock of the next incident scared the story out of him a year passed and my father began to think he had maybe gone crazy that night or that he had fallen asleep and dreamed it and just woke up without realizing it that is until one night again it was winter with snow on the

ground he was Out tending to the Hogs alone with his dog as a boy my father had only two close friends Philly and this dog a Basset Beagle mix named shorty this was a fact he repeated time and time again during many stories of his childhood which always made me wonder how his sisters felt were they not close guess not since I never met them anyway they're in the pig Barn which was Far enough away from their house that in the summer implying there is one the smell of crap in pigs didn't waft indoors the

barn was capable of being opened on both sides and in the warmer months the back would be left open so that the Hogs could enjoy the outdoors while in the colder months it'd be closed up tight so of course my father was a little surprised to find the back of the Barn open wide This had happened once or twice before over the years and usually meant he had to run back home and get his father in Philly so they could hunt down all the pigs who even in cold weather would head out in an effort

to find food or get into something but tonight that wasn't an issue because all the Hogs were huddled as far from the door as possible and very reluctant to go out even on a clear night assuming the pigs had gotten a bit of Sense and didn't want to deal with the weather he headed through the pen to close up the door with Shorty following him the whole way he gets there and shorty takes one sniff before darting out the door howling and barking the whole way obviously chasing after something shorty my father would say it

was a bit of a tattletail if something was misbehaving he'd try to stop it when sneaking out or getting up past Bedtime you had to make sure the dog didn't see you this applied to other animals too if a pig or chicken didn't do what it was supposed to the dog would get into it so with that in mind my father didn't think perhaps the dog was after something but that it instead was scolding a hog that had wandered off alone as quickly as possible after all pigs All look alike move a good bit and

my father wasn't brilliant my father counted up the pigs and noticed that one in fact an adult boar was missing so he headed out after shorty to find the Lost Pig in the still and the snow it was easy to find Shorty all he had to do was follow the dog's Footprints but that was when he realized something was wrong Shorty's Prince were in the snow but they were not following the tracks of The hog in fact there were no prints from the hog which there should have been no new snow had fallen and there

wasn't enough wind to easily cover them furthermore there were tracks they just weren't from a pig instead they were large vague dense in the snow these my father recognized he had seen them before in the woods the year before if only briefly and there they were again with Shorty on Hot pursuit of the creature mustering up his courage my father followed them as well after all he wanted to get his dog back and scared or not he needed to at least look for him and the hog or his father would kill him the pin was

decent sized for a Hog Pen but soon he had defense which was made up of five foot tall hog panels shorty was capable of climbing these I am assuming his build was more beagle than Bassett because the image of a Basset Hound climbing a fence is hilarious to me and he could see that the dog had already gone over the fence and Into the Woods of course the Finns had not stopped the white man either his track simply went right over the fence as if he hadn't even had to break stride to get over it

so my father climbed the fence and soon he was in the woods too the Upper Peninsula is really just woods and Cleared Woods for pins and buildings and it wasn't long before he heard the barks of shorty and the squeals of a frightened Pig running now he came to the scene quickly standing among the trees was the white man who had seemingly grown bigger over the last year in one arm he held the struggling and screaming hog which had to have weighed at least 400 pounds a few feet away from him carrying on was Shorty

his hair on end and teeth bared acting as if he had cornered the Beast there was no communication or confrontation between them just an impression an impression that the white man had waited for him that he had stood there ignoring the dog just so he could get a glimpse of him there was a brief pause then my father realized something terrible the white man did in fact have a mouth below the Beady black eyes was a slit a Long line and it opened just a bit to reveal teeth as white as the rest of him

that shined in the Moonlight as quickly as he flashed the grin he was gone the white man silently took off running into the woods gracefully dodging between trees with just the soft crunch of snow following him shorty took a few steps after him before my father had the mind to call him back and the two headed home with my father sobbing the whole way He got into trouble he had the sense to not tell his parents what he saw but he still got in trouble for losing a hog he only ended up telling Philly because

he couldn't stop crying and even then he couldn't stop Philly apparently didn't believe him much but he didn't say anything to argue against it Philly eventually began to write off everything as my father being schizophrenic and the white man being The manifestation of it I know nothing of mental disease so I don't know if that diagnosis would ever hold up years went by before my father saw the white man again although he claims to have known he was there during that time every winter without fail one hog or a group of chickens in a single

night would go missing only once was there an exception one year a local boy went missing in the Woods and never turned up that year no hog went missing from the farm it was the livestock as well as the sharp teeth that led my father to the conclusion that the white man had to eat and that he wasn't a vegetarian the white man though never once told him he killed his victims nor that he ate them considering what he took though my father thought it was easy enough to Figure out when he was 16 he

saw the white man again the exact age I remember for it was when my father began to drive it was late at night and my father was driving home he had begun to work at the nearest gas station sometimes not coming home until late it's worth noting that my father had his own set of skills and talents such as being a hard worker or an excellent cook But driving especially in the winter was not on that list driving scared my father he was terrified of slipping or crashing and drove very slowly and very cautiously never

one to yell at us he would snap if we talked too loudly in the car or turn the radio up too high because it began to make him nervous with that in mind what I'm about to tell you shouldn't surprise you One day he crashed granted he crashed trying to stop and help someone else who had crashed but he still crashed another car had slid into the ditch along the rarely traveled road towards his house and in the process of trying to stop and help he too had an accident one that was much more violent

than the one he was trying to help somehow or another he ended up hitting a tree hard enough to seriously damage his Car and injure his leg the driver of the other car came out to help him and after realizing he couldn't walk back to town decided to walk back on his own and get help for the both of them my father thanked him then the man went on his way now granted it was Hillbilly heck out there with it being winter and in the middle of nowhere but it would by my father's calculations take

less than an Hour for the man to get back to the gas station and find help and less than an hour for them to get back to him because then they'd be driving right so in two hours he'd be in the heated cab of a tow truck either on the way to his house or a doctor's office Ed was about midnight at that point and my father had a wristwatch on which he'd check occasionally as he shivered in the dark 1am comes around and 2 A.M comes around three four He eventually dozes off and wakes

up shivering to the sound of footsteps big and heavy like a man's for whatever reason he assumes that the guy couldn't find help or that help couldn't get down the road and he's come back to help him or maybe the guy just up and left and some other traveler has come to see if he's alive he pulls himself up enough to look out the rear view mirror that's when the pit dropped out of the Bottom of his stomach for you see there wasn't a man in the snow even though he should have been able to

see someone if he could hear them there wasn't anyone there the footsteps are but there isn't a person according to him he felt as if he was in a nightmare and began looking frantically behind him trying to see someone hoping he was just overreacting But then he saw a long white form step in front of the brown and black of the trees he realized it was the white man again slowly stepping towards the car his movements were slow and graceful but he seemed a little worried my father's never seen him in the open before but

there he was moving cautiously like a cat when it's worried about being seen at night eventually the thing gets to the car and Stops again there are no Angry Words no begging in fact although my father was scared crapless he just clammed up and held still as they began to talk this time the conversation was short one sentence this time not set inside my father's mind don't worry already paid with that the giant keeps on moving making a point of going across the road and into the woods on the other side as My father watched

comedically he always made a point to tell us that the white man stopped before Crossing making a point of checking for traffic before heading across once the Beast was out of sight my father began sobbing and kept sobbing until the mailman found him four hours later even in the upper peninsula you gotta get mail My father recovered although he ended up having to spend a small fortune getting the car repaired the other driver a bit less lucky he simply never showed up again the man had left to find help but never made it back into

town an investigation was opened but Leeds all sputtered out this last story is probably the last one for a bit that I remember clearly some of the others may be a bit fuzzy Because it's been about 10 years since I really heard any of them somehow my father knew that the white man was attached to the winter this surely wasn't a surprise to anyone at all seeing as he was a Wyant monster in the upper peninsula that only showed up when snow fell the issue of course was that it was off in winter in the

upper peninsula a few more years went by with no really noteworthy incidents The white man would take something every winter but it didn't get Shorty or my grandmother or anything by then my father was 18 to 19 years old getting ready to leave his family was poor and even if they hadn't been my grandfather did not believe in college with his sons now men he gave them an option become Farmers clergy men Lumberjacks laborers or get out and Don't come back it was because of Philly that they didn't do that although I'm sure my father

wanted to get away from the winter Philly decided they'd both join the military and get out of there Vietnam had recently ended and he would joke that he thought he'd get sent somewhere warm that had never seen snow I guess I could lie and for comedy's effect say they both were sent to Alaska Or Russia but the truth is a bit more boring they were accepted and went through basic training but neither ever saw combat Philly was removed from service for a birth defect eventually and my father stayed in but never did anything until his

contract ran up merely working on bases those few years he asked to be transferred somewhere warm and being liked by his higher ups He found himself in Texas my father had tons of stories about weird things they'd find in the woods before he left the Upper Peninsula and other odd incidents he tied vaguely to the white man but it was some time before he saw him again after all he was tied to Winter it'd be a while before there'd be a reunion in Texas but towards the end of my father's Military contract a storm hit

the area he was stationed in and brought with it snow being one of the few on the base who had any knowledge of how to handle the mess he saw himself outside a lot during the storm and it didn't take long before he realized the white man could travel this storm lasted two days on the second day he woke up early to de-ice paths and Roads In a desolate part of the base he was surprised to see another soldier in the distance and grew a bit concerned when he realized the man wasn't moving quickly he

approached him only to realize something again there were no Footprints leading out to this man who he now realized was devoid of color a detailed white shape with two dark eyes if he hadn't been so surprised he would have screamed instead he claimed he probably looked as White as the white man himself as the color left him no interest with that the figure vanished my father was found sometime later by a fellow Soldier staring into the distance across an open field exhaustion was his supposed excuse two days later he received a call from his older

sister informing him that his father had died there wasn't much detail to go into his Father had simply fallen over in the field and died while feeding Hogs and that was that No Mess no fuss my father understandably didn't care much if the white man did it it wasn't much of a punishment but he eventually came to decide the white man was if nothing else a bad omen if anyone has any idea what this thing was if my father wasn't just blowing smoke or is crazy or if there's any Legends like this one let me

know [Music] Tales from the break room is a viewer submission podcast and we want to hear your scariest work stories for a limited time we're paying 5 cents per word for stories submitted at eriecast.com submit but only for stories we end up featuring on the show so make sure your story is actually scary and believable a caffeine infused toast to all of you today I think you're pretty cool people Why well because you helped Nova the baby I mentioned before with the cleft lip and Palette raise the money she needed I can't thank you all

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