7 Hours of Middle of Nowhere Horror Stories for Sleep | Compilation | Black Screen | Rain Sounds

When I first got the job I couldn't believe my luck I was a very solitary person I love to read and be alone when I saw an ad for a park ranger Manning a firet tower I just about jumped out of my skin working overnight at Walmart wasn't exactly the best job in the world there are some stories I could tell about that as well but I applied for the job and was ecstatic that I got it they made me do a week of training before my First shift most of it was dry reading and

making sure I was qualified in CPR they showed me the job's ins and outs and then I followed in my car as we drove to the tower in the middle of the day it was a inspiring to stare up at the underside of the tower looming above me suspended high in the air by metal pylons once I started climbing the narrow metal stairs with hints of rust at the edges I was somewhat less than excited in fact I was terrified I don't like heights very much it's not like I go all vertigo or anything it's

just I prefer to stay on the ground once we reached the top and pushed open the trap door to get onto the deck that surrounded the tower I was doing a bit better I opened the door that led into the tower's interior looking around the room made me forget all about the terrible climb it was like a small apartment there was a small refrigerator sink counter cupboards and a small table In the center of the room was a table with a map permanently attached to it of course there were Windows all around there was a

360° view as you would expect for a fire to Tower in the middle of a state park The View was absolutely amazing I could see the Peaks and valleys for miles in every direction it was a photographer's dream the other Ranger explained what was expected of me we worked 24-hour shifts so there would be times I would have to sleep but I had To set an alarm and get up the scan for problems at least once per hour during the night during daytime hours I had to scan every 30 minutes there was a radio to

report any trouble and a phone in case I needed to call the fire department in my mind I was already drooling at the thought of getting paid to take amazing pictures and sit around reading books the ranger told me that it was extremely important that I read the rule book first thing he asked if I had Any questions and I said no he reinforced that I could not leave the tower no matter what until I was relieved I followed him down the narrow staircase to get my supplies from my car he got in his truck

and hesitated for a moment as if he wanted to say something else but then he shut the door wished me well and drove away it took me three trips to get all my stuff to the top at home it's nothing to bring a few boxes of groceries into The house here it became life and death I was near the top with a box in front of me when I stumbled on one of the narrow steps and nearly fell over the side I paused for a long moment to regain my balance before continuing to the top

it suddenly struck me that this job might not be the Cakewalk I thought it was I pushed that thought that the back of my mind and went for my next two loads basic supplies books phone chargers camera occupied the second and Last trips once I was up for good I collapsed into the chair I was on my way to nap land when I heard static on the radio I jumped up and grabbed it hello I said but no one answered I figured this was the Ranger's subtle way of reminding me that it was time to

do a check but lugging three loads of the tiny Stairs Of Death had put a serious crimp in my firewatch time in fact it had nearly been an hour since the other Ranger had left I did my slow pan around The room checking each part of the forest for smoke and seeing naone having successfully completed my first goar around I celebrated with a bottle of water while I put the groceries away the cupboards weren't empty but they weren't a gourmet Delight either nearly a full shelf of baked beans didn't exactly thrill me but I had

the supplies that should do me for a few shifts I sat the bread on the counter and loaded the cold cuts in the fridge I would get some more Options the next time I went shopping by the time I finished putting things away it was time for another check the sun was starting to set so I grabbed my camera and took some amazing pictures I couldn't wait to upload them to my computer at home as I looked around the room my eyes landed on the manual I realized I hadn't read it yet I sighed and

took it over to the chair I was sure it would have me out cold in no time as I opened the book a piece of notebook Paper fell out I picked it up and read the real rules number One never under any circumstances leave the fire tower until you are relieved number two turn off all lights between the hours of 2 and 3:00 a.m. number three if you receive a radio transmission or phone call between those hours do not answer number four if anyone knocks on the trap door during those hours tell them they'll have

to wait until morning do not open the door Number five if you see a glowing object floating toward the tower don't to look at it cover your eyes and count to 50 when you open your eyes it should be gone if not cover and count to 50 again number six if animals surround the tower don't go down to look fire your flare gun into the air twice 1 minute apart then lock yourself in the bathroom and hope for the best I sat the note down and stared at it was this a joke were they having

fun With the new guy I wasn't looking forward to getting haste at 2:00 in the morning I put the note back in the book and skim through the manual it was a real snoozefest of standard rules and nonsense for the next check I decided to use binoculars I was rewarded by seeing a bear and three deer I pulled out my camera and took some pictures but the zoom wasn't quite as much as I needed to get some really good shots you could still tell it was a bear but it was a Little blurry I decided

to go camera shopping with my first paycheck what's the use of having this spectacular view if I can't take good pictures of it soon after Sunset came the Twilight the sky lit up a brilliant orange I took some more pictures and did my scan I was just about to go back inside when I noticed a thin wisp of smoke in the distance I grabbed my binoculars and tried to get a better view but there were too many trees in the way I pulled out my compass And got a general direction then grabbed the radio and

called the ranger on duty I told him I had a fire and gave him the direction and general distance he acknowledged and said he would check it out I stayed glued to my binoculars waiting to see the smoke lessen minutes seemed to each take an eternity as the smoke continued to rise nearly a half hour later the radio came to life hey rookie the ranger said did you find it did you put it out I still see smoke did I tell you the wrong place I said into the radio all in one breath wo there

he said everything's fine it was just a campfire a what I asked a campfire he said nothing to worry about a campfire I repeated in a days yeah you'll want to see more smoke and it should be a lot thicker and darker before you call it in I stood in silence my face beat red with embarrassment cheer up the ranger said into the silence at least you didn't call the fire department I looked over At the phone knowing I was mere minutes from doing that very thing yeah thanks I said sorry about that don't worry

kid he said at least you aired on the side of caution instead of letting the forest burn down I put my face in my my palm and shook my head so much for a good first impression Twilight had faded leaving a few last vestages of light as the clouds transformed from their dirty gray to Black I began to realize just how alone I was out here when the canopy of the night fully fell doing my checks from inside was nearly impossible I had lights on and every window I looked out became a mirror of me

looking back in at myself alone in a wooden box suspended 100 ft above the ground made it that much creepier I stepped out onto the deck in the cool evening air the total darkness was oppressive I couldn't see anything how was I supposed to see smoke I did a Slow walk around the deck looking out blindly at the trees as my eyes adjusted I was able to make out some shapes of the mountains and even the soft glow in the distance of the nearest town that was small Comfort to know that things still existed out

in the world and I hadn't been plunged into this cover of Darkness I finished my check and stepped back inside after being out in the darkness it was way too bright I turned off the main overhead light and the Light over the entrance the room settled into a comfortable glow with enough light to see but not blind in fact it was a little too cozy I felt a nap coming on I laid down on the surprisingly comfortable cut and closed my eyes I woke sometime later to static sounding on the radio I reached for the

radio to answer it but something in the back of my mind told me not to I looked at my watch and it said 2:12 a.m. I froze looking around the L room I Thought about the strange rules I had read earlier I reached up and turned off the light plunging the room into darkness as my eyes adjusted and I could see a few things I looked out the window and could swear I saw someone peering in at me just then I heard static on the radio there was a voice trying to get through but it

seemed too weak I waited to see if they would call again again a minute later static sounded again Beneath it I heard the voice it was a little stronger this time I could just make it out help me it said in a feeble yet insistent voice I reached for the radio but something made me glance at my watch first it was 2:23 a.m. I faltered and didn't answer those creepy rules I thought what if there they're real I've already broken one by having the lights on what happens when you break the rules I sat in

silence wanting to know the answer But at the same time not wanting to know the radio call came through much more clearly this time help me can anyone hear me I need help the voice sounded desperate I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman it had a strange quality that I couldn't quite place I fought the urge to answer not knowing if I would be fired for dereliction of Duty or not this was what I was out here for I needed to answer but my mind just wouldn't let go of Those rules

the minutes ticked by like hours three more times the radio sounded out its plea each time sounding more desperate I watched the time counting the seconds until 3 when the time finally came I picked up the radio whoever was calling for help please State your position so I can relay help to you I said who is this came the answer on the radio this is a park ranger Manning a fire tower I Replied well park ranger I've been on this channel all night and yours is the first voice I've heard the person said that's not

possible I thought I had several calls for help over the last hour I told him are you sure he questioned absolutely I even wrote down the time of each call I told him then why didn't you answer them until now he questioned me I paused what could I say because a weird list of rules told me not to Ranger the person said trying to Get my attention I had I said hesitantly extenuating circumstances extenuating circumstances The Voice repeated as though tasting them and what circumstances would those be he asked me whoever this was they weren't

going to let it go I'm not at Liberty to say I said you mean like falling asleep and breaking the rules the voice said sounding deeper and raspier and more Menacing I froze I hadn't turned the lights on yet leaving the room in Eerie darkness that left me feeling very exposed I slowly panned around looking out the windows and remembering the earlier feeling of being watched you can look all you want but you won't see me the voice said it's after 3: I said hoping the terror I felt wasn't evident in my voice you have

no power over me the voice chuckled it wasn't a pleasant sound Normally you would be correct however you broke the rules what if I didn't know about the rules I said grasping at straws nice try but you knew that you should be safe after three damn it I thought it picked up on that so what do you want I said fearing the answer the voice said only now it sounded like many voices speaking at once come down and let us feed my legs turned to rubber as I Stumbled over to the door and stepped out

onto the deck the Moonlight was Rising half full casting light into the darkness I looked down and saw over a dozen large animals Sur rounding the tower in a circle and each one of them was looking up at me I dove back inside and locked the door I frantically searched for the flashlight once I found it I picked up the phone to call the ranger station there was no dial tone I hung up and tried again but still Nothing I pulled out my cell phone but there was no signal I paused to clear my head

okay I thought you're freaked out right now but what's actually happened a weirdo on the radio some animals around the tower this list is making you paranoid just then I looked outside and there was light off in the distance that looked like an airplane the problem was it was headed straight toward me it was mesmerizing I found myself staring into the rapidly Approaching glow until I realized it was going to ram into the tower I found the best cover I could on the opposite side of the room and surrounded myself with as much Furniture as

possible being that the Furnishings were sparse that meant I tracked the chair over in front of me I covered my eyes and hoped for the best I may or may not have mumbled one of those I promise I'll be good if you get me out of this prayers the seconds tumbled into minutes nothing happened I peaked over The the edge of the counter and the light was gone I breathed to sire relief and wondered why I hadn't heard any engine sound I decided it was because I was too busy ducking for cover then it hit

me I grabbed the manual and pulled out the list of rules there it was number five if you see a glowing object floating toward the tower don't look at it close your eyes and count to 50 when you open your eyes it should be gone if not cover and count to 50 again I read Over the rules again and realized how many had come to pass for a long moment I thought that maybe it was an elaborate joke some of the Rangers yanking the rookie chain but there was too much I couldn't explain the radio

Transmissions the glowing light the animals surrounding the tower then I realized I'd broken that rule too I had not fired the flare gun as instructed I dug through the cupboard where the emergency supplies were kept and found the gun I Grabbed two flares and stepped out onto the deck as I questioned the intelligence of firing flares that could end up causing a forest fire when I was supposed to be trying to prevent them I heard a strange sound I held my breath and cocked my ear for a better listen it wasn't just one sound it

was many I glanced over the side of the rail toward the ground and saw the animals all glowing and pawing at the ground working themselves in a Frenzy I backed away and loaded the first flare then pointed up and fired it Rose majestically glowing blood red until gravity slowed its ascent and pulled it back to Earth I watched closely to make sure not only that it went out but where it landed just in casee I waited a minute and fired the second flare watching where it landed as well I stepped back inside and hid in

the bathroom as instructed I knew in my heart that I was safe from The Animals As Long As I didn't go down the steps the radio sounded off scaring me nearly half to death fire tower number five the voice said I've seen your flares I'm on my way are you physically injured the voice said no not at the moment I replied I'll explain when you get here Roger that on Route I tried to calm my nerves by thinking about what job I would apply for next and how unfortunate it was that this one didn't work

out I thought about what I was going to tell The ranger when he got here I couldn't tell him the truth but what else could I say there were some animals at the bottom of the tower that scared me I honestly considered calling him back and telling him not to come when I felt heavy footsteps on the bottom stairs of the fire tower I must have been daydreaming and let time slip by I stepped out of the bathroom and went to the trap door are you here already I said into the radio as I reached

down to Unlatch the trap door that was fast what are you talking about came the clear answer over the radio I'm not there yet I paused as I felt the footsteps come closer to the top where are you I said quietly I can barely see the tower I'm probably a mile away his words hit me like a sledgehammer I looked down at the dead bolt I was about to unlatch and pulled my hand back very slowly which direction are you coming from I asked Southeast he replied I Looked in that direction Direction and sure enough

I could see headlights approaching the radio sounded again but with a slightly different voice Tower ignore that last transmission it said I'm already here let me in please I stared down at the trapo as though it wanted to bite me Tower let me in it said more insistently I backed away as something began beating on the trapo with tremendous Force the board shook with Every impact I stepped inside and locked the door I then barricaded it with my only loose piece of furniture the chair Tower five Tower 5 I don't know who's talking to you

but it isn't me do not open that door repeat do not open that door I backed into the bathroom with a flare gun in hand and locked the door door the pounding on the trapo became louder I knew it wouldn't take much more of a beating the whole room shook with every impact I closed my eyes and prayed In Earnest this time and then my salvation came in the form of the engine sound of a pickup truck I knew the real Ranger was here I listened as it came closer then stopped there was an awful

silence for a moment and then gunfire over and over multiple shots in Rapid succession then there was a low followed by more shots the pounding on the trapo had stopped as soon as the truck pulled up the coast is clear Ranger you can open the door now came a Voice over the radio I put my hand on the knob smiling to go out and greet my savior when I heard a weak transmission don't not me it rasped a heartbeat later the screaming began it was a gut-wrenching scream of terrible suffering I could hear it beneath

me all I could do was drop to the floor and curl up in a ball as the screaming went on and on I closed my eyes and tried not to imagine that poor Ranger being ripped to shreds by God knows what soon the Screams lessened in volume and intensity as though they were moving away I rocked back and forth hugging my knees until unconsciousness mercifully took me I woke to strange voices calling my name I opened my eyes and I was surrounded by people and blue uniforms I panicked and backed away from them as fast

as I could until my back hit a wall calm down one of them said it's all right I looked around the room like an animal that had been backed into a corner I was ready to Fight my way out are you injured he said my mind raced to remember where I was I looked out the window and it was morning the Sun was shining and I could see blue clouds everything from last night came back to me in a rush I looked around the room and saw nothing out of the ordinary I'm not injured I

said to the EMT can you tell us what happened here a ranger said from behind them I looked over at the manual that contained the list of rules and for a heartbeat Considered telling him to read them no was all I said instead can I go home now I asked the ranger glared at me wanting answers and not getting them is frust frustrating I know is he all right to drive the ranger asked the EMT they gave me the once over blood pressure lungs heart rate and didn't find anything to be concerned about I'd say

physically he's fine said the EMT the ranger sighed go ahead he said but I'll want to Talk to you tomorrow I nodded and stood gathered my things and started toward the door when I got to the open trap door I hesitated seeing it had been hacked open with an axe I took a tentative First Step then another surviving a night as I had only to fall down several flights of stairs would be quite ironic as I made my way down white knuckling the railing the whole way down I saw people busy at the bottom they

were picking up shell Casings with gloves and put put in them into plastic bags I could see spots of blood here and there but no bodies either human or animal I saw the trail of blood as it disappeared into the woods I stood on the bottom step for a long time wondering if I was allowed to step onto the ground I took the step and bolted for my car I started it up and drove out of there as fast as I could just as as I turned onto the gravel road a deer Walked out in

front of me I slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop mere inches from hitting it it didn't move it just stood there staring at me as I looked more closely I could see blood on its nose and mouth my heart skipped a beat when I saw a shred of a ranger patch impaled on one of its antlers its eyes bored into mine as I slammed into reverse then back into drive swerved around it and broke every speed limit getting home I called my boss and quit as soon as I got there I then

packed and started looking for a job in the city maybe I can find a nice quiet Warehouse to guard but if it has a set of strange rules I'm walking out no questions asked I'm now 25 and at the time I was 16 or 17 my then boyfriend and two of our other friends decided to go camping in a small patch of Woods next to a neighborhood that was being developed And the small patch of woods was roughly 900 ft across both ways on the left side if you were viewing it from the road was

the undeveloped neighborhood and on the right side was about a mile long driveway that led up to a house a little over half a mile past the patch of woods pretty deserted so we get our tent fire pit chairs and whatever else set up and we're relaxing as it starts to get dark when we hear Extremely Loud screaming coming from a woman that's maybe 4 to 500 ft away at first there weren't any words that we could make out but then there was a help and a no and then the loudest most terrifying scream was

cut off mid scream we can't see through the trees they're thick and it's getting darker so we get the [ __ ] out we leave all of our stuff behind as we're walking back to the undeveloped neighborhood where we parked I'm immediately on the phone with the police who were trying to tell me it was just a cat in heat from Where we parked we were facing the woods a man comes out dragging something heavy in sheets or cloth or whatever it was he spots us and starts coming towards our car the police pulled in

right then the man ran and as it turned out he had killed a woman about 400 ft from where we were camping I don't know if he was ever caught but please let's not meet so I'm a 26-year-old male and I've been planning on a camping trip with my wife and dad for a whole year I wanted Everything to be perfect as we don't get away from town and dive deep into the woods as much as I'd like this takes place in the very tree dense Davey Crockett National Forest in East Texas earlier that day

my Dad decided to go a little early and pick out a good spot for us to Camp to give a layout of where we camped there were two dirt roads on either side of us and an Overlook to the north of us we camped in the middle between the two roads my wife and I met My dad down there at around 11:00 a.m. we set up camp and proceeded to enjoy the day until around dinner time when we started to cook our meal for the evening right as we got done with dinner we see this

truck circling around our campsite he went around us several times and finally pulled right up in our camp and got out of his truck he then proceeded to tell us that this was his family's campsite and how the firewood that was laying around was his now in this Particular Forest campsites are first come first serve and my dad had been there since 9:00 a.m. he then asked if he could camp next to us us and of course being friendly we said yes we didn't know that when he said next to us he meant directly on

top of us he backed his camper in so close to our tents and vehicles that he blocked my truck in we weren't sure why he was doing this being that there were so many other campsites available but we just trued it off and Tried to have a good time anyway not too long after that we noticed a white Dodge dualie circling around us we had an off feeling from this truck because it went around several times but we dismissed it because the area we were at was popular due to the Overlook after a long night

of drinking and goofing off we decided to go to bed I was in a dead sleep when Out of the Woods I wake up to a blood curdling scream I jolt up and ask my wife what the [ __ ] was that about 30 Seconds later we hear another scream off in the distance at this point I grabbed my gun and unzipped the tent so we could see out my dad had left a lantern burning so we could see a little way into our campsite at that moment we see the white Dodge Dy tearing down

the road behind us they continued down the road until they were out of sight we heard them stop and get out of their truck slamming the door and screaming they then proceeded to get back into their Truck and drive very very slowly down the other road that was in front of our campsite at this point we were terrified thinking they were coming to Rob us but they kept driving until they were out of sight then we heard them shooting after the gunshots ended they sped off at this point we thought that maybe they were just

drunk and acting stupid so we didn't call the cops not that we had signal anyway we just tried to go back to sleep The next day we had to make a beer run for my dad when we made it out of the camping area and hit the main highway there were police everywhere they had stopped two young boys we assumed they were the ones who were being troublemakers the night before and continued on into town when we got back to our campsite the cops were leaving after talking to my dad they told my dad that

the guys in the white doly had gone into the younger guys Camp while they Were hunting and robbing them the boys walked up on their Camp being robbed and the duy guyses pulled guns on the young boys proceeding to rob the young boys at gunpoint we think if it hadn't been for the people that camped right on top of us as strange as it was they would have robbed us instead they made our campsite look bigger than it actually was the people in the white du were never caught so people in the white Dodge du

let's not me because you might end up with a Bullet when I was a junior in college my friend invited me to attend a ballet with her and a teenage girl she knew from back home the girl was part of an educational advancement program that had placed her in a nearby high school and provided a free room and board in a group home home with other students all of her housemates had gone home for fall break so my friend thought it would be nice to take her out for a girls night away from The Big

Empty House with only Her program adviser for company it was about midnight when we got back from the ballet since we were in possession of a 16-year-old overdue for curfew it seemed important to get her home as quickly as possible the girl's house was fairly close to a student shuttle stop on the far end of Campus so we figured figured we'd walk her home before doubling back while moving up a foot path that leads into town we realized her house backed up to the Arboretum on the edge of Campus rather than walk all the way

around we decided to cross the Arboretum we didn't have flashlights but my friend's iPhone flash could serve in a pinch and the stretch of woods was sandwiched between the brightly liit window of our dorms and those of the houses across the way several minutes into our our hike we lost sight of the foot path and the dorms it was much darker now and my friend was less certain we were walking the right way so We paused to check our location as we were all huddled motionless around my friend's phone we heard a twig crack behind

us we turned around to find a young woman presumably a student standing a few yards away her hoodie was pulled up over her head obscuring most of her face face she seemed enormous but given that I'm 5'3 and was flanked by two 5-ft ballet dancers the threshold for enormity was low she was silent for a moment then asked us where we were Going we're heading into town my friend answers where are you going what do you need in town the woman asks we're taking her home and my friend pointed to the teenage girl where does

she live not too far where are you going my friend replied do you know how to get there the woman asked and she started to walk closer to us the teenage girl grabbed a fist full of my coat and inched closer to me yeah we figured it out are you going toward campus or into town my Friend asked which way is it her house the woman asked she was now within a few feet her approach had slowed but not yet stopped my friend quickly blurted out just this way good night she was bluffing but any

direction away from this student seemed like the right direction so we went along the plan was a failure within seconds I could hear her crunching the leaves just behind me she was following close enough to touch me and I sped up certain I was about to Get a knife in my spine if I didn't get away when my friend saw me rushing she turned back back to see the student following us she grabbed the teenager's hand and the three of us began to run we never turned back so I'm not sure how long the student

followed eventually we figured out we were running the right way and the teenager yelled out that's it and led us to a driveway where we could huff and puff ourselves back to normal under a garage mounted floodlight The girl's program advisor was home waiting up for her missing Ward and made each of us a cup of tea while we waited for the campus police to drive out and escort my friend and I back to our dorm once safely in the back seat of a College security vehicle we told the officer why we'd wanted a ride

instead of walking back he said this was the third time this semester that they picked up students Running Scared from the woods after encountering a strange Girl in a hoodie they dispatched officers to look into it before but they never never found anyone he figured it was a student on a stroll from the dorms and that we had nothing to worry about as soon as we got out of the car my friend got a text from the teenager she was certain she'd seen that student outside her window but when the program adviser went out to

investigate no one was there I never found out what happened but I really hope the creepy Girl in the woods is not the same student whose body was found out there a year later I hope she has nothing to do with that at all this is the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced this happened 4 years ago when my boyfriend and I were still sort of fresh into the relationship my sister had recommended me a snorkeling trip for a fun thing to do with him it was this Quarry surrounded by a campground that's filled In

with water and it's known for its crystal clear water and its diving there's apparently a helicopter and a school bus that people dive down to see my boyfriend and I decided to go camping for the night while we were checking in we separately both got a bad feeling about the place but we'd kept that to ourselves until after we left so at first it was a really good time we snorkel in the shallo area of the Quarry and although the depth of the water was A bit uncanny I was still enjoying myself the water is

65 ft deep so once you'd swam out of the shallow area it immediately dropped off and it was Pitch Black this is actually where I realized that I'm terrified of water besides the dark deep water while you were swimming there's something very scary about a lake that's perfectly still I assume because it's a quarry the water doesn't have a current my boyfriend and I are winding down our night and we're back at The campsite we're camping in a grassy patch down a hill from the road our tent is pitched in a wooded area that our

campsite is extended to and just across the green is a campsite that looks well lived in but our neighbors were out we're making hot dogs over the fire when our neighbors get back it's nighttime now and they immediately go to sleep I'd say 20 to 30 minutes after they get back is when things started to become Spooky my boyfriend and I were chatting when we noticed a dark figure watching us from up the hill because of the shadow of the fire we couldn't actually make out the characteristics of the figure but we knew that they

were staring directly at us almost hiding behind our neighbor's truck this person had watched us for what felt like forever until they started walking down the road again we both watched them in dead silence watching him walk behind Trees the same ones that connected to our campsite but that also went in between us and him I anticipated each time I'd see him walk forward out from behind a tree it was a good four or five he came out from it wasn't until after this that I noticed he'd stopped walking that he was possibly hiding behind

a tree I was totally freaked out where did he go I watched my boyfriend looking at what happened and he was thinking the same thing he Shrugged it off and I Naively did too we actually ended up forgetting about it and went to the Quarry late night it was beautiful seeing the Stars reflected against the water but the Deep now all black water was terrifying to say the least we walked back to our campsite laid in our tent and smoked a joint I soon began to feel an uneasy feeling which I was trying to ignore

telling myself it's because I was high after some silence between us my boyfriend says to me do You feel like we're being watched I said why would you say that half joking but full serious that I was scared my boyfriend wanted to get out of the tent so we were standing by my car I got this stupid idea that being in the middle of midle of the field that's in the middle of a campground is the safest place for us my logic being if someone was going to come up at us we'd at least be

able to see them so we're in the middle of this field when we see a similar looking Shadow figure staring at us this person must have been about 20 yards away we both notice him while walking and he's walking in the same direction as us we change directions and so does the figure we tell one another if we change directions again and so does the figure that we're going to book it to my car when we change the figure follows and we decide to run back to the car I watch him from my seat as

he slowly walked back into the darkness while still Staring in our Direction my boyfriend at this point says to me let's get out of here I agree but all of our camping gear is outside we quietly get our things together together not trying to freak the other one out the weirdest part of the story in my opinion is the next part my headlights weren't working and there was a weird fog over my windshield that didn't go away no matter what we did we had to drive out of the woods with only low beams and a

strange fog over the Window we could barely see but we got out of there weirdly enough the fog went away as soon as we got to the gas station we got home at around 1: in the morning I told my father the story the next day and he said he's glad we got out of there or else we could have been murdered two people have died at this Campground while snorkeling which I found out later after I got back my boyfriend and I think it was either a Person trying to kill us or a wendigo

we've kind of settled on the wendigo because what happened was so unexpect explainable to us thank you for listening so to preface I would like to state that this story is probably going to reap like the plot of a campy 1980s horror movie and is going to be very long however this entire story is true if not for being 5 miles from cell reception and the way the story ends there would Be a police report for verification a buddy of mine and I try to Camp twice a month now that I have a vehicle that

can be trusted to get me to some of the more remote areas of our state we planned on a camping trip for the past weekend we chose a fairly remote location that we'd been to the previous weekend the previous weekend we were the only people we'd seen within one mile of our camp spot Friday night we got there and set up This story takes place Saturday night it's about 9:00 p.m. so the sun is long gone and the moon hasn't quite risen yet it's pitch blackout other than what our fire lights up Suddenly we hear

a man screaming we listen intently silently sharing an anxious look at first we were hoping it was someone drunk and having a little too much fun but it quickly becomes obvious this isn't fun party screaming it isn't even like he's hurt it sounds full of Despair anger and Anguish I'm going to take a moment to remind you that this is 900 p.m. pitch black night in the middle of nowhere Woods 5 miles from the nearest cell phone signal we hadn't seen anyone in hours the screaming continues for what felt like hours but was probably about

five solid minutes we had no idea what to make of it and started feeling extremely paranoid we gathered up anything remotely close to a weapon and tried to come up with Explanations of the screaming while keeping our eyes on the forest around us after about 1510 Minutes of Fear into paranoia I nearly fell out of my seat as I watched a flashlight and Lantern slowly enter our camp I greeted The Stranger with a basic how's it going before he was even lit up by the fire he responded quickly but flatly by asking if we could

do him a favor that depends on the favor my buddy and I said in unison obviously tense holding our Weapons close to us the stranger proceeded to ask if he could hang out for a second by the fire given the two of us and one of him plus our Myriad of weapons gathered from around the camp to within our Arms Reach we decided to agree and let him hang out after a short second of awkward silence I asked him what the else going on he proceeds to tell my buddy and I that he was camping

down the trail with his buddy and that his buddy had snapped and tried to kill Him wait what I said before the thought even finished processing in my head is that the screaming we heard earlier the man slowly nods staring blankly into the fire and begins his story we were just hanging out man we came up earlier today and and my buddy just freaked out out he started screaming and screaming and just wouldn't stop then he attacked me he lunged at me and I told him to just back off and chill you know well he

kept coming after me and it started getting Pretty violent and I'm pretty sure he was going to kill me so I grabbed my car keys the light and I ran I don't know what to do man he chased me when I ran and I don't know what to do we don't have firearms or anything but we do you have a hatchet my buddy and I looked at each other for a second completely astonished then something horrible dawned on me wait he chased you like he's on his way here right now the man just slowly nods

in reply and right on Q Like some terrible horror movie come to light we hear screaming from maybe 30 to 40 foot from our camp down on the main trail I just want your [ __ ] balance Gary I want your balance Gary Gary where are you where Gary is what we heard screamed I'd never in my life heard a man scream like this I've never heard anything like it it was a brutal guttural scream that was shrill to the ears yet deep in Pitch the sound of someone gone completely mad and the way He

said the stranger's name would switch ER radically from long and sing songy to short guttural punches of sound we killed our lights became silent and listened by some miracle the madman did not notice our camp and continued walking down the trail screaming the whole way we ended up chatting with this Gary for hours listening to the screaming getting further and further away we come to find out they' taken 4.5 to 5 G of magic mushrooms each and Gary's buddy Tai was a coworker of his and was fine for 3 and 1/2 hours he then suddenly

snapped it seemed as though Ty thought he could kill Gary and steal his good trip we hear the screamings getting further and further for over 2 hours by this time it's 11:00 p.m. the Moon is starting to come out and it's below 30° f Ty had no jacket or flashlight according to Gary my buddy and I are way too drunk to drive out of Camp to get Cell service as it was snowy and icy and required 2 to three miles of highway driving after getting off the trail and Gary was still lightly feeling the effects

of weed and mushrooms so he couldn't drive back either we had to make the decision to let the guy Wonder hope he sobered up and could find his way back and he did oh he did right into our camp we hear yelling after about an hour of no screams maybe 30 to 50 ft from Camp again hey help please help me I'm lost and we can tell the man's walking from the woods into our camp we tell Gary to hide just in case and we greet the man with me carrying my 12 gate shotgun and

my 40 caliber pistol holstered my buddy carrying his AK k47 style rifle and his two 9mm Glocks holstered and also with our flashlights on their brightest settings in his face he was about 6'2 to 6' 3 and approximately 300 lb we talked to him decided he was calm enough to talk with And walked him back to his Camp he seemed really remorseful said he blacked out and didn't remember anything that he had a falling out with his buddy we escorted him back to his Camp down the trail returned and told Gary that Tai seemed cool

and if anything else happens to scream and come running we would come out and help him out it ended up being a happy ending we made friends with Gary and I got his phone number to make sure the next day that he got back into town Safely back to his wife and kid and we're actually planning on a camping trip with him soon but Tai who wandered screaming like a deranged man IC in the forest potentially wielding a hatchet to murder your friend to steal his good trp or whatever it is your psychosis filled mind

was thinking for the love of God let's not meet again about 15 years ago when my girlfriends and I were in college we decided to go camping at a national Forest in Georgia for spring break we were eager to escape the stress of college life and enjoy some time in nature it was still pretty cold out so there weren't many campers around and the nearest group to us was at the far end of the campground we were pretty inexperienced campers and forgot a few things so after setting up camp we decided to walk to the

shower Block near the center of the campground to freshen up and see if they had any vending Machines or notices about local amenities as we approached the shower block we noticed a group of guys loitering outside loudly chatting and learing at us the moment we came into their view their conversation seemed to shift and they began whispering and chuckling while casting long suggestive glances our way one of them let out a low whistle and another muttered something under his breath that made the rest of The group laugh their eyes followed us with an unsettling intensity

that made my skin crawl it was clear their attention was focused on us in a way that was neither friendly nor welcome we felt their eyes on us as we approached and I could sense my friends tense up beside me their behavior made us extremely uncomfortable we pretended to check the notice board a little distance away trying to act casually my heart was racing and I could feel my friends on Knes in hushed voices they suggested we go back to our camp we made a show of looking at the various notices trying to act normal

the men's laughter and crude remarks continued behind us as we walked away I was deeply uncomfortable at this point and my friends expressed the same we wanted to avoid the group and made a plan to go back later when the group of men had left back at our campsite we tried to shake off the encounter and enjoy our Evening we had dinner chatted and relaxed by the fire but I still felt uneasy as night fell it was getting quite cold so we bundled up in our sleeping bags inside the tent just as we were settling

down we heard the sound of a large vehicle rolling up to the campsite right next to us the campsite was by no means full and I remember wondering why they parked right next to us when they could have chosen any other site I heard the sound of their truck's Engine idling and then three deep male voices laughing Rock asly I got Shivers I just knew it was them I recognized the grading laugh that belonged to one of the men my friends had clearly come to the same realization they were staring at me with wide eyes

do you think they know we're here my friend Samy whispered we hoped it was a coincidence quickly realizing how unsettling the alternative was the alternative was that they knew we were Here and that meant they would have had to have followed us back from the shower block or they'd spotted us at some point in the day and made a note of where we were we felt like sitting ducks but it got worse the men's voices were audible from within our tent and we could tell that they built a campfire and sat down around it we

could hear the pop as they opened beer cans and occasionally the hollow clatter as they tossed the empty once down on the ground they weren't Making any effort to keep the volume down their voice carried clearly through the walls of our tent and we heard Snippets of their conversation some of their remarks were disturbing full of innuendo and threats they mentioned scaring those girls and laughed about it their tone making it clear they found the idea amusing it became evident they were talking about us and their intentions did not sound harmless my friends and I

exchanged Fearful glances our anxiety quickly escalating we huddled together in our tent Whispering our fears to each other and trying to come up with a plan we knew we couldn't slip past them and we couldn't just leave we didn't know what they would try and they were bigger stronger and possibly more dangerous than we could handle there were no other campers close by to witness or intervene and I didn't bear thinking about what might happen every rustle outside made Us jump and each burst of laughter from their campfire sent a wave of dread through us

the flimsy fabric of the tent was no protection at all and we were acutely aware of how vulnerable we were we lay there our breaths shallow I could feel my heart pounding we were all trying to stay as quiet as possible the sounds from the men's campfire were a constant reminder of the threat just outside at one point we heard footsteps Approaching and we held our breaths terrified they were coming for us the footsteps stopped just short of our tent and we could hear Whispers and laughter we took turns staying awake keeping watch and listening

for any signs of trouble and were resolved to get out of there as soon as the men went to sleep the hours tracked on and every noise seemed Amplified in the Stillness of the night we clung to each other for Comfort Whispering reassurances that we would Get through this the occasional sounds of the men breaking the silence made it clear they were still awake and still drinking the fear was palpable a physical weight pressing down on us I don't think any of us actually slept in some point in the early hours of the morning none

of us had heard a sound from the men for a few hours quickly and quietly we packed up our things from inside the tent I communicated to my friends that we should leave the tent And as soon as we exit make our way quickly and quietly to the car I opened the zipper to the tent as quietly as possible and motioned for my friends to follow we crept to the car taking care to open the door softly my friend Amelia was driving and she was able to throw herself in and start the engine by the

time Sammy and I had our doors closed cled she was pulling away I had never seen her drive like that we drove away from the campsite kicking up dirt as the Wheels spun my heart was hammering in my chest I've never known fear like it we were all shaken up and as soon as we came to the nearest town Amelia took the exit and parked up in the first spot she could find a little mom and pop Cafe I think it was her hands were trembling on the Wheel from adrenaline I kept expecting to see

them behind us she said shakily I reassured her that we were safe now and suggested we let someone know what had happened where we were and That we were on our way back now she seemed reassured by this idea our moms were good friends so we called each of them and explained the situation my older brother had stopped by my mom's house that morning so she had sent him to come meet us on the road this gave gave us the courage to get back on it and about 30 minutes later he reached us and he

Tails us back to my mom's house that experience has never left me the sense of vulnerability and fear we felt That night was something we never wanted to experience again a few years later I got my concealed carry permit and I now carry when I go camping I hate that it came to that but people can be unpredictable and dangerous living in an area known for meth production it's not unheard of to encounter Shady characters in remote places I take extra precautions now to ensure my safety I was made all too aware of how vulnerable

we were as three girls camping out in The woods with barely another Soul around especially with the violent tensions those men gave voice to despite the fear that lingered from that night we were determined to not let it ruin our love for the outdoors we planned our trips more carefully choosing campsites that were well maintained and had a ranger station nearby over the years we've had many more camping adventures and while we remain cautious we've never had another Encounter like that one in 2019 I was hiking with a group in Colorado we were camping near

White River National Forest on the second day we set out to climb a smaller Peak many of us were slightly inexperienced hikers and preferred the safety of our group and our experienced adventure Guide Jack the weather was perfect not too hot we took photos and refueled at the summit The View softened the ache in my legs And a lot of us were celebrating the achievement one of the reasons I love hiking with a group but you will soon see the other we began our descent knowing that the climb down was in some ways worse than

the ascent my legs felt a bit unstable and it was hard on the knees as we navigated the rocky path I suddenly misstepped slipping on the loose Shale and fell about 4 ft down onto a path below as I landed I felt a sharp pain shoot through my right ankle The overwhelming wave of Agony washed over me it was like being stabbed it took my breath away I tried to move but the pain was excruciating and there was no way I was going to put any weight on it my friends rushed to my side clearly

very concerned but I couldn't tell you what they were saying I couldn't focus on anything but the pain Jack was trained in first aid and took a look at my ankle I could could not look he did not say much as he recovered my ankle With my pants and a glance at my friend's faces many of which looked quite upset and some had very forced Smiles I did not ask questions I knew it was bad the Relentless throbbing would not ease and by this point I had realized that I still had to make the disent

one way or another I think then the Panic took over and made the pain much worse than it had been before Jack instructed the others to set up camp a short distance Below on a large shelf While we waited for the rescue team he stayed with me providing as much comfort and support as he could but every small movement sent fresh waves of pain through my leg making me winse I think I may have blacked out for a while when I awoke I had been wrapped in an emergency blanket Jack radioed for help and we

were informed that the rescue team would take several hours to reach us the trail we had taken was narrow and treacherous complicating any rescue operation they Would have to hike in with all their equipment and the rough terrain would significantly slow them down as we waited the temperature dropped to the teens I began to shiver uncontrollably there wasn't enough level ground to build a fire on the path obviously worried about without shock Jack gave me some emergency heat packs which I was able to clutch under the blanket that was some relief by the time the

rescue team arrived the sun had set It was dark and so cold their hike up to us must have been strenuous at that pace but they were amazing and quickly assessed my condition and hoisted me onto a stretcher tears weld in my eyes from the pain as they moved me but I was incredibly relieved that they were there carrying me down the mountain meant navigating the rugged terrain in the dark whilst hoisting me on the stretcher I wasn't well aware of what went on but I could hear their matter of fact Communication as they worked

together to climb down without jolting me too much I remember this floating in and out of my awareness as the pain overwhelmed me but Jack would later relay the night's events to me as follows the narrow Trail meant the crew had to proceed with Extreme Caution to avoid slipping or dropping the stretcher the darkness added another layer of complexity with only headlamps to light our way loose rocks and uneven ground made every step Precarious and the crew had to communicate constantly to coordinate their movements when we finally reached a flatter area they transferred me to

an ATV which took me the rest of the way to the ambulance the ATV ride was bumpy each jolt and bump intensifying the pain in my leg the paramedics in the ambulance were kind and efficient their gentle reassurances a small Comfort Amit the pain and fear they checked my Vital Signs kept me warm and reassured me that I was going to be okay though I could hardly focus on their words through the haze of pain at the hospital they performed x-rays and tests to check for fractures they determined I had a compound fracture I had

to undergo surgery to realign my ankle and have it cast I was in the hospital for about 24 hours and I remember being so happy to see my friends waiting for me in the hotel lobby when they let me go that I started to cry but I knew I wouldn't be Able to hike with them for some time the doctor told me it would likely need months to heal before I then would need to start building the muscle back up in order to help strengthen it I was worried that I wouldn't get to see my

hiking buddies because of this but I should have known they would band around me certain things in life reveal who your true friends are and for that I am so grateful as I am to the incredible Rescue Team without them I would never Have made it down off that mountain over the next few weeks I rested after that I had to have help getting to work as I could no longer Drive the boredom got to me at times but my friends often visited bringing food books and encouragement their support was invaluable helping me stay positive

through the difficult days each day was a battle against boredom and frustration but their unwavering support made it bearable reflecting on the experience I Realized how many people had played a role in my rescue and Recovery Jack our guide had made the tough decision to send the group ahead while staying with me the rescue crew had worked tirelessly to reach us and get me to safety the hospital staff had provided essential care and my friends had been there for me so many people saved my life that day their combined efforts skills and compassion made all

the difference it was a humbling experience showing me the Strength of human kindness and the importance of community I learned that even in the most challenging situations there are always people willing to help to Aid others in need their kindness and dedication were a Lifeline as I healed I made a promise to myself to pay it forward inspired by those who had helped me I shared my story with others emphasizing the importance of safety and preparedness Inspired by Jack and the rescue team I also signed up for a first aid course wanting to be equipped

to help others in an emergency my injury had changed me but it had also connected me to a network of caring dedicated individuals who understood the value of looking out for one another by the end of the year I was back on smaller flatter Trails my leg had healed but I was now more cautious I know I got it very lucky there are People who hike alone and sometimes when I have a quiet moment I can't help but think that without my hiking group I would most likely still be up on that mountain 5 years

later when my friends and I were in high school two friends and I decided to go wild camping we hitchhiked to one of the entrances to a national park intending to find a nice spot to set up camp in Scotland wild camping is permitted pretty much anywhere as long as you Don't cause damage or leave a mess the first few days were great we explored the dense forests enjoyed the Serene lakes and even managed to set up a decent camp with our limited experience but by the fifth day we had run out of beer we

were no longer inspired by Canned sausages and beans which had become increasingly unappetizing on top of that the weather was awful constant rain and wind made everything miserable to make matters worse biting midges Swarmed us relentlessly leaving us covered in itchy bites we were cold wet hungry and desperate for some comfort on the sixth night we were over it we decided to start walking the s miles back to the road hoping we could hit a right back home we packed up our soggy gear and set off in the pouring rain we managed about 5 miles

before realizing we had no idea where we were going the forest paths all looked the same in the dark and we were completely lost around 1: p.m. just as our Spirits were at their lowest a solo hiker came across us he was a creepy guy making the hairs on the back of our necks stand up he had a gaunt face and made intense unblinking eye contact he warned us to be careful saying that anyone could come along murder us and we'd never be found after thoroughly unsettling us he abruptly changed his tune and started trying

to be helpful he mentioned he had a van parked nearby with some extra food in Supplies he invited us to come with him saying it would be more comfortable than camping out in the open we were hesitant our instincts telling us something was off but the prospect of a dry place to stay and some food was tempting we exchanged uneasy glances but eventually decided to follow him to the van thinking we could quickly leave if things got weird we reached the van the hiker invited us in it was cluttered with the various camping gear and

Supplies he handed us some sandwiches and drinks which we accepted gratefully as we ate he started talking about his adventures and experiences in the wild at first it seemed harmless but then he began bragging about his knife collection with a toothy grin he pulled out a large hunting knife and started showing it off he then opened a drawer to reveal several more knives of different sizes and shapes he talked at length about how each one was unique and Detailed with the various ways they could be used a little speechless my friends and I exchanged nervous

glances at our discomfort the hiker left and put the knives away but instead of letting us leave he pulled out a smaller knife and a sharpening stone he began to sharpen the knife methodically the scraping sound filling the small space of the van as he sharpened the knife his tone became irritable and he remarked at how we should be grateful for for the Food and shelter my friends and I were unsure of how to respond realizing that this guy was clearly a little loopy my buddy John thanked the man for his hospitality and excused Us

in faux politeness and said that we needed to press on as my dad was expecting us to check in with him once we made it back to the road the hiker seemed to hesitate but he eventually Put The Knife and sharpening stone away laughing off his earlier moves We were all clearly uncomfortable and wanted to leave immediately we quickly thanked him again for the food the rain was still pouring making the path slippery and treacherous but we basically ran not knowing if the man would follow us our hearts pounded as we navigated the dark path

constantly looking over our shoulders every rustle of leaves and snap of Twigs made us jump fearing that the hiker was following us the journey felt like an eternity but we Finally reached the road I guess the mention of my dad was enough to make him think twice about whatever he was planning as we reached the road we saw headlights approaching we flaged down the car which turned out to be a kind older couple we explained our situation the couple sensing our distress immediately agreed to give us a ride to the nearest town the relief we

felt as we got into their car was immense during the drive we began to relax the couple Asked us about our trip and we recounted the highlights of our adventure before the disturbing encounter they listened sympathetically and even offered us some more blankets they had with them the couple were so kind and dropped us off at my dad's house which wasn't a huge DeTour for them my dad was surprised to see us so we explained about the midges and how our shoes had been soaked through for a couple of days now I made a joke

about a hot shower but we didn't Mention the encounter with the man in the van my dad would have for sure called us idiots for going back to the van with him and to be honest I felt like one already we're older and broader and could hold our own now but nothing beats that kind of crazy so we all steer clear of weirdos with knife collections [ __ ] that remember kid don't talk to strangers I wasn't sure where else to post these stories so I figured I'd Share them here I've been a search and

rescue officer for a few years now and along the way I've seen some things that I think you guys will be interested in then most of the time they just wander off the path or slip down a small Cliff or they can't find their way back the majority of them have heard the old stay where you are thing and they don't wander far but I've had two cases where that didn't happen both bother me a lot and I used them as motivation to search Even harder on the missing person cases I get called on the

first was a small boy who was out berry picking with his parents he and his sister were together and both of them went missing around the same time their parents lost sight of them for a few seconds and in that time both the kids apparently wandered off when their parents couldn't find them they called us and we came out to search the area we found the daughter pretty Quickly and when we asked where her brother was she told us that he'd been taken away by the be man she said he gave her berries and told

her to stay quiet that he wanted to play with her brother for a while the last she saw of her brother he was riding on the shoulders of the bean and seemed calm of course our first thought was abduction but we never found a trace of another human being in that area the little girl was also insistent that he wasn't a Normal man but that he was tall and covered in hair like a bear and that he had a weird face we searched that area for weeks it was one of the longest calls I've ever

been on but we never found a single trace of that kid the other was a young woman who was out hiking with her mom and Grandpa according to the mother her daughter had climbed up a tree to get a better view of the forest and she'd never come back down they waited at the base of the tree For hours calling her name came before they called for help again we searched everywhere and we never found a trace of her I have no idea where she could possibly have gone because neither her mother or Grandpa saw

her come down a few times I've been out on my own searching with the canine and they've tried to lead me straight up Cliffs not Hills not even Rock faces straight sheer Cliffs with no possible handhold it's always baffling and in those cases We usually find the person on the other side of the cliff or miles away from where the canine had led us I'm sure there's an explanation but it is sort of strange one particularly sad case involved the recovery of a body A 99-year-old girl fell down in embankment and got impaled on a

dead tree at the base it was a complete freak accident but I'll never forget the sound her mother made when we told her what had happened she saw the body bag being Loaded into the ambulance and she let out the most haunting heartbroken whale I'd ever heard it was like her whole life was crashing down around her and a part of her had died with her daughter I heard from another search and rescue officer that she killed herself a few weeks after it happened she couldn't live with the loss of her daughter I was teamed

up with another search and rescue officer because we' received reports of bears in the area we Were looking for a guy who hadn't come home from a climbing trip when he was supposed to and we ended up having to do some serious climbing to get to where we figured he'd be we found him trapped in a small crass with a broken leg it was not pleasant he'd been there for almost 2 days and his leg was very obviously infected we were able to get him into a chopper and I heard from one of the EMTs

that the guy was absolutely inconsolable he kept talking about how He'd been doing fine and when he'd gotten to the top a man had been there he said the guy had no climbing equipment and he was wearing a Parker and ski pants he walked up to the guy and when the guy turned around he said he had no face it was just blank he freaked out and ended up trying to get off the mountain too fast which is why he'd Fallen he said he could hear the guy all night climbing down the mountain and letting

out these horrible muffled Screams that story bothered the hell out of me I'm glad I wasn't there to hear it one of the scariest things I've ever had happen to me involved the search for a young woman who' gotten separated from her hiking group we were were out until late at night because the dogs had picked up her scent when we found her she was curled up under a large rotted log she was missing her shoes and pack and she was clearly in shock she didn't have any injuries and we were able to Get her

to walk with us back to Bops along the way she kept looking behind us and asking why that big man with black eyes was following us we couldn't see anyone so we just wrote it off is some weird symptom of shock but the closer we got to Bas the more agitated this woman got she kept asking me to tell him to stop making faces at her at one point she stopped and turned around and started yelling into the forest saying that she wanted him to Leave her alone she wasn't going to go with him she

said and she wouldn't give us to him we finally got her to keep moving but we started hearing these weird noises coming from all around us it was almost like coughing but more rhythmic and deeper it was almost insect like I don't really know how else to describe it when we were within sight of Bops the woman turns to me and her eyes are about as wide as I can imagine a human could open them she touches my Shoulder and says he says to tell you to speed up he doesn't like looking at the scar

on your neck I have a very small scar on the base of my neck but it's mostly hidden under my collar and I have no idea how this woman saw it right after she says it I hear that weird coughing right in my ear and I just about jumped out of my skin I hustled her to Ops trying not to show how freaked out I was but I have to say I was really happy when we left that area That night now I don't know if this is true in every s unit but in mine

it's sort of an unspoken regular thing we run into you can try asking about it with other s officers but even if they know what you're talking about they probably won't say anything about it we've been told not to talk about it by our superiors and at this point we've all gotten so used to it that it doesn't even seem weird anymore on just about every case Where we're really far into the Wilderness I'm talking 30 or 40 miles at some point we'll find a staircase in the middle of the woods it's almost like if

you took the stairs in your house cut them out and put them in the forest I asked about it the first time I saw some and the other officer just told me not to worry about it that it was normal everyone I asked said the same thing I just wanted to go check on them but I was told very emphatically that I I should never go near any of them I just sort of ignore them now when I run into them because it happens so frequently if anyone has had any theories about the stairs or

if you've seen them too let me know as far as missing persons go I'd say about half the calls I get are related to that the others are rescue calls people who fall down Cliffs and hurt themselves get injured by fire you wouldn't believe how often this happens Mostly drunk kids get bitten or stung by animals or insects we're a tight team and we have veterans who are excellent at finding signs of lost people that's what makes these cases where we never find any trace of them so frustrating raing one in particular was upsetting for

all of us because we did find a trace of them but it just led to more questions than answers an older man had been hiking alone on a well-established Trail but his wife called to say that he Hadn't come home when he should have apparently he had a history of seizures and she was worried that he hadn't taken his medication and it suffered one out on the trail before you ask I have no idea why he thought it was okay to go out alone or why she didn't go with him I don't ask about that

kind of thing because past a certain point it really doesn't matter someone is missing and it's my job to find them we went out in a standard search formation and it Wasn't long before one of our vets found signs that the guy had gone off the trail we grouped up and followed him spreading out aan to make sure we were covering as much ground as possible suddenly a call comes over the radio telling us to all head back to the vet's location and we come right away because this usually means the missing person is injured

and we need a full team to help get them out safely we meet back up and the vet is just standing at the base of A tree with his hands on the side of his head I ask my buddy what's going on and he points up into the branches of this tree I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing but there's a walking stick dangling from a branch at least 30 ft off of the ground the little strap thing on the handle had been looped around the branch and it's just hanging there there's no way

this guy could have tossed it up that far and we don't see any other signs that he's still in the Area we call up into the tree but it's obvious no one's in it we're all just sort of left scratching our heads we keep searching for the guy but we never find him we even bring our canines out but they lose his scent long before this tree eventually the search is called off because there are other calls we have to attend to and past a certain point there's not much we can do the guy's wife

called us every day for months asking if we'd found her husband And it was heartbreaking to hear her get more more and more helpless each time I'm not sure why this call in particular was so upsetting but I think it was just the sheer improbability of it that and the questions that were raised how the hell had this guy's cane ended up there did someone just kill him and toss that up there as some weird trophy we did our best to find him but it was almost like a taunt we still talk about that one

from time to time Time missing kids are the most heartbreaking doesn't matter what circumstances they go missing under it's never easy and we always always dread the ones we find deceased it's not common but it does happen David paight talks a lot about kids s teams finding places they shouldn't be or couldn't be I can honestly say I've heard about this kind of thing happening more than I've seen it but I'll share one of the ones that I think about a lot that I Witnessed personally a mother and her three kids were out for a

picnic in an area of the park that has a small Lake one is six one is five and the other one is about three she's watching them all really closely and according to her she never lets them out of her sight at any time she never saw anyone else in the area either which is important she packs their stuff up and they start to head back to the parking area now this lake is only about 2 miles into the woods and It's on a very clearly established Trail it's almost impossible to get lost getting from

the parking area to it unless you're deliberately going off the path like an imbecile her kids are walking in front of her when she hears what sounds like someone coming up the path behind her she turns around and in the four or so seconds she's not looking her 5-year-old son vanishes she figures he stepped off the trail to pee or something and she asks Her other to where he went they both tell her that a big man with a scary face came out of the woods next to them took the kid's hand and led him

into the trees the two remaining kids don't seem upset in fact she says later that it seems like they've been drugged they're sort of Spacey and fuzzy so of course she freaks out starts looking frantically in the area for her kid she's screaming his name and she says at one point she thinks she heard him Answer her now obviously she can't go blindly running into the woods she's got the other two kids so she calls the police and they send us out immediately we respond and we start the search for him over the course of

this search which spans miles we never find a single trace of the kid canines can't pick up any scent we don't find any clothing or broken bushes or literally anything that would signify a child being there of course there's suspicion About the mother for a while but it's pretty clear that she's completely destroyed by the whole thing we looked for this kid for weeks with a lot of volunteer help but eventually the search Peters out and we have to move on the volunteers keep Sear searching though and one day we get a call on the

radio letting us know that a body's been found and needs to be recovered they tell us the location and none of us can believe it we figure it has to be a different Kid but we go out there about 15 miles from the site where he vanished and sure enough we find the body of the kid we've been looking for I've been trying to figure out how this kid got where he did ever since we found him and I've never come up with an answer a volunteer just happened to be in the area because he

figured he might as well look in places no one else would think to on the off chance that the body had been dumped he comes to the base of a Tall rocky slope and halfway up he sees something he looks through his binoculars and sure enough it's the body of a little boy stoed in a little opening in The Rock he recognized is the color of the kid's shirt so he knows right away that it's the missing boy that's when he calls it in and we're dispatched it took us almost an hour to get his

body down and none of us could believe what we were seeing Not only was this kid 15 mil from Where he'd started there was no possible way he could have gotten up there on his own this slope is treacherous and it's hard even for us with our climbing gear here a 5-year-old boy had no way of getting up there of that I'm certain not only that but the kid doesn't have a scratch on him his shoes are gone but his feet aren't damaged or dirty so it wasn't as if an animal dragged him up there

and from what we can tell he hadn't been dead that long he'd been out There over a month by that point and it looked like he'd been dead for at most a day or two the whole thing thing was unbelievably strange and was one of the most disconcerting calls I've ever been on we found out later that the coroner determined that the kid had died from exposure he'd frozen to death probably late at night 2 days before we found him there were no suspects and no answers to date it's one of the weirdest things I've

ever Seen one of my first jobs as a trainee was a search off for a 4-year-old kid that had gotten separated from his mom this was one of those cases where we knew we were going to find him because the dogs were on a strong scent Trail and we saw clear signs that he was in the area we ended up finding him in a berry patch about half a mile from where he'd last been seen the kid wasn't even aware that he'd wandered that far one of the Vets brought him back which I was Glad

for because I'm really not good with kids and I find it hard to talk to them and keep them company as my trainer and I are headed back she decides to take me on a detour to show me one of the hot spots where we tend to find missing people it's a natural dip in the land near a popular Trail and people will usually move downhill because it's easier we hike out there it's a few miles away and we get there in about an hour or so as we're walking around the Area and she's pointing

out places she's found people in the past I see something in the distance now this area we're in is about 8 m from the main parking area though there's back roads you can take to get closer if you don't want to hike that far but we're on state protected land which means there can't be any kind of commercial or residential development out here the most you'll ever see is a fire tower or makeshift shelter that homeless people think they can get away With building and if there's one thing you learn quickly it's that nature rarely

makes straight lines I point it out but she doesn't say anything she just hangs back and lets me Wander over and check it out I get within about 20 ft of it and all the hair on the back of my neck stands up it's a staircase in the middle of the [ __ ] Woods in the proper context it would literally be the most benign thing ever it's just a normal staircase with beige carpet and About 10 steps tall but instead of being in a house where it obviously should be it's out here in the

middle of the woods the sides aren't carpeted obviously and I can see the wood it's made of it's almost like a video game glitch where the houses fail to load completely and the stairs are the only thing visible I stand there and it's like my brain is working overtime to try and makees sense of what I'm seeing my trainer comes and stands next to me and she just stands There casually looking at it as if it's the least interesting thing in the world I ask her what the [ __ ] this thing is doing here

and she just Chuckles get used to it rookie you're going to see a lot of them I start to move closer but she grabs my arm hard I wouldn't do that her voice is casual but her grip is tight and I just stand there looking at her you're going to see them all the time but don't go near them don't touch them don't go up them just ignore them I Start to ask her about it but something in the way she's looking at me tells me that it's best if I don't we end up moving

on and the subject doesn't come up again for the rest of my training she was right though I'd say about every every fifth call I go on I end up running across a set of stairs sometimes they're relatively close to the path maybe within 2 or 3 miles sometimes they're 20 30 m out literally in the middle of nowhere and I Only find them during the broadest searches or training weekends they're usually in good condition but sometimes it looks like they've been out there for Miles all different kinds all different sizes there biggest I ever

saw looked like they came out of a turn of the century mansion and were at least 10 ft wide with steps leading up at least 15 or 20 ft I've tried talking about it with people but they just give me the same response my trainer did it's normal Don't worry about it they're not a big deal but don't go close to them or up them I don't really know what else to tell them I'm really hoping someday I get a better answer but it hasn't happened yet this is another one that was less spooky and

More Sad a young man went missing late in winter when realistically no one should be going that far out onto the trails we close a lot of them but some remain open year Round unless there's a shitload of snow we did an opt for him but we had about 6 ft of snow on the ground it was an unusually heavy snow year and we knew it wasn't likely that we'd find him until spring when the thw came sure enough when the first big thaw came a hiker reported a body a little ways off the main

trail we found him at the base of a tree in a pile of melted snow I knew right away what had happened and it scared the living [ __ ] out of me most of You who ski or snowboard or spent any amount of time on a mountain will probably have guessed too when snow falls it doesn't collect as thick in the areas beneath the branches it happens most with fur trees because they have a sort of closed umbrella shape so what you end up with is a space around the base of the tree that's

filled with a mixture of loose powdery snow air and branches they're called tree Wells and they're not immediately Obvious if you don't know what you're looking for we put up signs in the Welcome Center big ones letting people know how dangerous they are but every year that we get an unusual amount of snow at least one person doesn't read them or doesn't take the warning seriously and we find out about it in Spring my best guess is that this young man was hiking and got tired or maybe a crap from walking in the deep snow

he went to go sit at the base of a tree not Knowing that there was a tree well and fell in he got stuck with his feet up and and the surrounding snow caved in around him unable to free himself he suffocated it's called snow immersion Suffocation and it doesn't usually happen except in really deep snow but if you get stuck in a weird position like this guy did even 6 ft of snow can be lethal what scared me the most was imagining how he must have struggled upside down in the freezing cold he Didn't

die quickly the snow would have formed a dense heavy pile on top of him and it would have been literally impossible to get out as it got harder to breathe he would have known what was happening I can't even imagine what he was thinking in his last moments a lot of my less outdoorsy friends want to know if I've ever seen the Goatman while I've been out on calls unfortunately or I guess fortunately I've never had anything quite like that Happen I guess the closest was the whole blackeyed man thing but I didn't see anything

however there was one call where I had something kind of similar happen but I'm not sure I'm willing to chalk it up to the Goatman we' gotten a report that an older woman had fainted along one of the trails and needed assistance getting back down to the main area we hike up to where she's at and her husband is just beside himself he runs well I guess more Jogs to us and tells us that he was a little ways off the trail looking at something when his wife starts screaming behind him he runs back to

her and she's passed out on the trail we get her on a backboard and as we're getting her down to the Welcome Center she comes too and start screaming again I calm her down and ask her what happened I can't remember Verbatim what she said but essentially what happened was this she'd been waiting for her husband when she Started hearing this really strange sound she said it sounded sort of like a cat but it was off somehow and she couldn't quite figure out why she went a little ahead to try and hear it better and

it sounded like it was coming closer she said the closer it got the more uneasy she was until she finally figured out what was wrong I do remember this next part because it was so weird that I don't think I could forget it if I tried it wasn't a cat it was a man saying the Word meow over and over just meow meow meow but it wasn't a man it couldn't have been because I've never heard a man make his voice buzz like that I thought my hearing aid was going out but it it wasn't

I adjusted it and it sounded all Buzzy it was awful he was coming closer but I couldn't see him and the closer he got the more scared I was and the last thing I remember was a shape coming out of the trees I guess that's when I fainted now obviously I'm a little Perplexed as to why a guy would be out in the [ __ ] Woods chanting meow meow at people so once we get down the mountain I tell my Superior that I'm going to search the area to see if I can find anything

he gives me the goahead and I grab a radio and Hike Back To Where She fainted I don't see anyone so I keep going out about a mile more and when I head back I go off the trail to see if I could figure out where she saw him Coming from it's almost sunset by this point and I don't have any desire to be out at night alone so I just sort of write it off and make a mental note to check it out again tomorrow but as I'm headed back I start to hear something

in the distance I stop and I call out for anyone in the immediate area to identify themselves the sound didn't come closer or get louder but it sounded exactly like a man saying meow meow in this really odd monotone as comical as it Makes it sound it was almost like that guy on South park with the electro larynx Ned I go off the trail in the direction I think it's coming from but I never seem to get closer it's almost like it's coming from all directions eventually it just sort of Fades out and I ended

up going back to the Welcome Center I didn't get any further reports like that and even though I went back to that area I never heard that exact sound again I suppose it could have been some Stupid kid out there [ __ ] with people but even I have to admit it was weird this one happened on a case that I went out on right after I got out of training and was still pretty new to everything before I took this job I was a volunteer so I had a basic idea of what to expect

but on those calls you're mostly dealing with finding lost people after vets have found signs of them as a search and rescue officer you go out for all kinds of cases from animal bites to Heart attacks this case got called in early in the morning from a young couple who were up on one of the trails that goes by the lake the husband was completely hysterical and we couldn't really figure out what was going on we could hear hear the woman screaming in the background and he was begging us to come up there right away

when we get there we see him holding his wife and she's got something in her arms she's screaming these awful almost animall Likee screams and he's sobbing he sees us and he screams at us to help them to please get an ambulance up there now obviously we can't just drive an ambulance up the walking path so we ask him if his wife needs help help or if she will walk down on her own he's still hysterical but he manages to tell us that it's not his wife that needs help I go over while one of

the Vets tries to calm him down and I ask the wife what's going on she's rocking holding something And just shrieking over and over I crouch down and see that whatever she's holding it's covering her with blood that's when I noticed the sling on her front and my heart sinks I ask her to tell me what's going on and I sort of pry her arms gently open so I can see what she's holding it's her baby obviously dead his head is caved in on one side and he's covered in scratches now I've seen dead bodies

before but something about this whole Situation hits me hard I have to take a second to compose myself and I guess get up and go get one of the other vets who's standing by I tell him that it's a dead kid and he sort of Pats my shoulder and tells me he'll deal with it it took us over an hour to get this woman to let us see her kid every time we try to take him from her she flips out and tells us we can't have him that he'll be okay if we just leave

her alone and let her help him but eventually one of the Vets Manages to calm her down and she gives us the body we took it back to the med area but when the EMTs showed up they tell us that there was never any hope of saving the kid he died instantly from the trauma to his head I was good buddies with one of the nurses who met them at the hospital and she later told me what had happened turns out the couple had been walking with the baby in the sling and they stopped because

the kid was fussing The dad takes the kid and is holding him looking out over this little Gully by the path the mom comes to stand next to him but she ends up stepping on a loose patch of soil and she trips she falls into the dad who drops the kid who ends up falling about 20 ft down this little Gully onto the rocks at the bottom the dad climbed down and recovered the kid but he'd Fallen right on his head and was dead by the time time he got there the baby was about 15

months old it was A total freak accident a series of events that coalesced into the worst possible outcome probably one of the more awful calls I've been on I haven't seen a lot of animal bites in my time as a search and rescue officer mostly because there aren't that many animals that come around the area while there are bears in the area they tend to stay pretty far away from people and sightings are highly unusual most of the animals you'll see Are small ones like coyotes raccoons or skunks what we do see frequently though are

moose and let me tell you moose are nasty [ __ ] they'll chase after anything for any reason and God help you if you get in between a female and its baby one of the more amusing calls was of a guy who got in chased down by an absolutely massive male moose and was stuck up a tree it took us almost an hour to get him down and when he was finally on Solid Ground again he looks At me and says damn them [ __ ] is Big up close I guess that's not really a

scary story but we still laugh about that one I honestly don't know how I'd forgotten this story but it is by far the scariest thing that's happened happened to me I guess maybe I've tried so long to forget about it that it just didn't come to mind right away as someone who spends literally all of their time in the woods you don't ever Want to let yourself get scared of being alone or out in the middle of nowhere that's why when you have experiences like this you tend to just forget about them and move on

this is to date the only thing that's ever made me really seriously consider if this job is the right one for me I don't really like talking about it much but I'll do the best I can to remember it all as I recall this took place right at the end of spring it was a typical Lost Child Call a 4-year-old girl had wandered away from her family's campsite and had been missing for about 2 hours her parents were completely despondent and told us what most parents do my kid would never wander away she's so good

about about staying close she's never done anything like this before we assure the parents that we'll do everything we can to find her and we spread out in a standard search formation I partnered with one of my Good buddies and we were sort of casually holding conversation while we hiked I know it sounds callous but you do sort of become desensitized when you've done this long enough it becomes the norm and I think to a certain extent you have to learn to desensitize yourself in order to work this job we search for a good 2

hours going well beyond where we think she'd be and we come out of a small Valley when something makes us both stop in Unison we freeze and look at each other and there's almost a sensation like a plain depressurizing my ears pop and I have this odd sensation of having dropped about 10 ft I start to ask my buddy if he felt that but before I can we hear the loudest sound I've ever heard in my life it's almost like a freight train passing directly by us but it's coming from every direction at once including

above and below us he screams something To me but I can't hear him over this deafening Roar understandably freaked out we look all around us trying to find the source of the sound but neither of us sees anything of of course my first thought is a landslide but we're not near any Cliffs and even if we were it would have hit us by now the sound goes on and on and we're trying to yell to each other but even standing close together we can't hear anything but this sound then As suddenly as it starts it

stops like someone threw a switch and cut it off we stand there for a second perfectly still and slowly the normal sounds of the woods come back he asks me what the [ __ ] just happened but I just kind of shrug and we stand there looking at each other for a minute I get on the radio and ask if anyone else just heard the end of the [ __ ] world but no one else hears it even though we're all within shouting distance of each other my buddy and I Just sort of shrug it

off and keep going about an hour later we all check up on the radios and no one's found the little girl most of the time we won't search when it gets dark because we don't have any kind of lead on her a few of us decide to keep going including my buddy and I we keep close together and we're calling out for her every couple of minutes at this point I'm beyond hope that we find her because while I may not like kids the idea of them being out all Alone in the dark is awful

the woods can be intimidating to kids in the daylight at night well it's a whole different beast but we're not seeing any signs of her or getting any responses and around midnight we decide to turn around and head back to the rendevu point we're about halfway back when my buddy stops and shines his light to the right of us into a really thick Dead Fall or a group of dead trees I ask him if he's heard a response but he just tells me to be Quiet a second and listen I do and in the distance

I can hear what sounds like a kid crying we both call the girl's name and listen for any kind of response but it's just this really faint crying we heard it in the direction of this Deadfall and go around it calling her name over and over as we get closer to the crying I start getting this weird feeling feeling in my gut and I tell my buddy that something isn't right he tells me he feels the same way but we Can't figure out what it is we stop where we are and call the girl's name

again and at the same time we both figure it out the crying is on a loop it's the same little hitching SOB then whale then quiet hiccup repeated over and over it exactly the same every time and without saying another word we both take off running it's the only time I've ever lost my composure like that but something about it was so incredibly Wrong and neither of us wanted to stay out there anymore when we got back to the rendevu we asked if anyone had heard anything strange but no one else knew what we were

talking about I know it sounds sort of anticlimactic but that call [ __ ] me up for a long time as for the little girl we never found a trace of her we keep an eye out for her and all the other people who we've never found but frankly I doubt we'll ever find Anything of the missing person calls I've gone out on only a handful have ever resulted in a complete disappearance meaning no trace of the person and no body ever found but sometimes finding a body just leads to more questions than answers here

are some of the bodies we found that have become infamous in our team a teenage boy whose remains we recovered almost a year after he vanished we found the top of his skull two finger bones and his Camera almost 40 mi from where he was last seen the camera sadly was destroyed the pelvis of an older man who had vanished a month earlier that was all we found the lower jaw and right foot of a 2-year-old boy on the highest peak of a ridge and the southern part of the park the body of a 10-year-old

girl with Down Syndrome almost 20 M from where she'd vanished she had died of exposure 3 weeks after going missing and all of her clothes were intact except For her shoes and jacket there were berries and cooked meat in her stomach when they did the autopsy the coroner said it appeared as if someone had been taking care of her there were no suspects ever identified the frozen body of a 1-year-old baby found a week after Vanishing in the hollow trunk of a tree 10 miles from where he was last seen there was fresh milk found

in his stomach but his tongue was gone a single Vertebra and right kneecap of a 3-year-old girl found in the snow almost 20 mil from the campground her family had been at the previous summer now on to a couple of the stories my friend told me I mentioned that you were all interested in the stairs and you're in luck he's had a close encounter with them though he doesn't have any explanation for them he does have a bit more experience with them than I do my buddy has been a search and Rescue officer for about

7 years he started when he was a junior in college and he had a very similar experience when he first encountered the stairs his trainer told him almost the same thing mind did which was to never go near touch or Ascend them for the first year he did just that but apparently his curiosity got the better of him and on one call he broke away from the line and went to go check a set of them out he said they were about 10 mil From the Path where a teenage girl had vanished and the dogs

were following Ascent he was on on his own lagging behind the main group when he saw a set of stairs to his left they looked like they were from a new house because the carpeting was pristine and white he said that as he got closer he didn't feel any different or hear any weird noises he was expecting something to happen like bleeding from his ears or collapsing but he got right up next to them and didn't Feel anything the only thing he said that was odd was that there was absolutely no debris on the steps

no dirt leaves dust anything and there didn't appear to be any signs of animal or insect activity in the immediate area which he found strange it was less like things were avoiding them and more like they just happened to be in a relatively Barren part of the forest he touched the stairs and didn't feel anything except that sort of sticky feeling you get from New carpet Maybe making sure his radio was on he slowly climbed the stairs he said it was terrifying because the way they've been stigmatized he wasn't really sure what was going to

happen to him he joked that half of him expected to be teleported to some other dimension and the other half was watching for a UFO to come swooping down but he got to the top with little event and he stood there looking around but he said the longer he stood stood on the top step The more he felt like he was doing something very very wrong he described it as the feeling you get if you were in a part of a government building you have no business being in as if someone was going to come

and arrest you or shoot you in the back of the head at any second he tried to brush it off but the feeling got stronger and stronger and that's when he realized that he couldn't hear anything anymore the sounds of the forest were gone and He couldn't hear his own breathing it was like some kind of weird awful tentis but more oppressive he climbed back down and rejoined the search and didn't mention what he'd done but he said the weirdest part came after his trainer was waiting back at the welcome center after the search ended

for the day and he cornered my buddy before he could leave he said his trainer had this look of intense anger and asked what was wrong You went up them didn't you the trainer said my buddy said it wasn't phrased as a question he asked how his trainer knew the trainer just shook his head because we didn't find her the dogs lost her scent my buddy asked what that had to do with anything the trainer asked how long he'd been on the stairs it my buddy said no more than a minute the trainer gave him

this really awful almost dead-eyed look and told him that if he ever went up another set of stairs again he'd be Fired immediately the trainer walked away and I guess he's never answered any of the questions my buddy has asked him about it since my buddy has been involved in a lot of missing person cases where there's never been a trace of them found I mentioned David pites and my buddy said he can confirm that those stories are for the most part accurate he said that most of the time if the person Isn't found right

away they're either never found or they're found weeks months or years later in places they can't possibly have gotten to one story he told me really stood out that involved a 5-year-old boy with a severe mental disability the little boy vanished from a picnic area in the late fall in addition to the mental disability he was also physically handicapped and his parents explained over and over that he simply could not Have vanished it was impossible someone had to have taken him my buddies said they searched for this kid for weeks going miles out of the

accepted range but it was like he had never been there the dogs couldn't pick up his scent anywhere not even in the picnic area where he'd apparently vanished from suspicion fell on the parents but it was pretty clear that they were devastated and hadn't done anything Sinister to their kid the search was concluded about A month later and my buddy said everyone had pretty much forgotten it by later in the winter he was out on a training op in the snow on one of the higher Peaks when he came across something in the snow he

said he saw it from far away at first first and when he got closer he realized it was a shirt Frozen and sticking part way out of the powder he recognized it as belonging to the kid because it had a distinctive pattern about 20 yard away he found the kid's Body laying partially buried in the snow my buddy said that there was no way the kid had been dead for any more than a few days even though he'd been missing for almost 3 months months the kid was curled around something and when my buddy brushed

off the snow to see what it was he said he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing it was a big chunk of ice that had been carved crudely to look sort of like a person the kid was holding it so tight That it had frostbitten in his chest and hands which my buddy could tell even with the Decay that had taken place he radioed the rest of the crew and they took the body body off the mountain now he recapped all of this for me and to put it simply there was no way this

kid could have both survived for almost 3 months on his own or have gotten to this peak there was no physical way this child could have walked almost 50 mil and ended up on the Top of a damn Mountain to top it off there was almost nothing in this kid's stomach or colon nothing not even water it was like my buddy said the kid had been taken off the face of the Earth put in suspended animation and dropped off on this mountain months later only to die of exposure he's never really gotten over that one

the last story I'll share from him was one that took place relatively recently only a few months Ago they were out doing a Recon from mountain lions because there had been several reports of sightings in the last couple of days one of our jobs is to scout out the areas where these animals are seen to ensure that if they are in the area we can warn people and close off those Trails he was out on his own in a very heavily forested part of the park toward dusk when he heard what sounded like a woman

screaming in the distance now as most of you know when a Mountain lion screams it sounds almost exactly like a woman being brutally murdered it's unsettling but far from abnormal my buddy radioed back and let Ops know that he'd heard one and that he was going to keep going to see if he could figure out where its territory started he heard the mountain lion scream a couple more times always from the same spot and determined the approximate area of the mountain lion's territory he was about to head back when He heard another scre SC this

time within only a few yards of him of course he freaks out and starts heading back at a much faster Pace because the last thing he wants is to run into a damn mountain lion and get moulded to death as he got back on the path and started heading back the screaming followed him and he broke into a jog when he was about a mile from Ops the screaming stopped and he turned around to see if it was following him it was almost Night By this point but he said in the distance just before the

path rounded a corner he could see what looked like a male figure he called out to them warning them that the paths were closed and that he needed to come back to the Welcome Center the figure just stood there and my buddy started to walk over when he was about 10 yd away the figure took as he described an impossibly long long step toward him and let out the same Scream my buddy had been hearing my buddy didn't even say anything he just turned and sprinted back to Ops never looking behind him by the time

he got back the screaming had moved back into the woods he didn't mention it to anyone else just said that there was a mountain lion in the area and that they would need to close the paths until the animal could be located and moved KD is a vet who's been a search and rescue officer for about 15 years she Specializes in high elevation Mountain rescues and is widely considered one of the best in her field she was one of the more enthusiastic storytellers and since we were together a fair amount during exercises she ended up

telling me about four that really stuck with me the first she told me in response to my asking about her most traumatic calls she shook her head and told me that really bad calls happen more frequently on the mountain since the potential for nasty Accidents is higher about 5 years ago one of the parks she worked at had a string of disappearances it was a bad year she said one of the worst on record as far as weather went they were getting about a foot of new snow every couple of days and there were a

few Avalanches that killed some climbers they'd warned people about staying on the mapped areas but of course there's always those who don't listen in one particular nasty case an entire family got wiped out Because the father decided he knew better than the officials and he took them out into an area that wasn't safe they were Snowshoe and as best as came ad could figure they'd walked onto a shelf of snow that looked solid but actually wasn't it gave way and this family went ass over tea kettle almost 300 ft down a slope they landed on

the rocks at the bottom and the parents died instantly one of the kids did as well but the other two survived one had a Broken leg and fractured ribs the other was almost unharmed save for some bruising and a sprained ankle the uninjured child left his sibling behind and set out to find help Katie said the kid didn't make it more than half a mile before a storm overtook him the kid stopped to try and get warm or maybe just to rest and ended up freezing to death they ended up finding the family with the

help of some witnesses who saw them heading out into the Wilderness and she was the one to find the kid who'd frozen to death looking for help she said it had started to snow just enough to obscure longdistance Vision but not enough to make searching impossible she saw a figure sitting in the snow up ahead and she got to it as quickly as possible she described in detail how as she got closer she realized first that it was a child second that they were deceased and third that they'd Frozen in one of the most Pitiful

positions she's ever found a corpse in the kid was sitting upright with his knees tucked up against his chest his arms were curled around them and his head was tucked up in his coat when she moved the coat to look at his face she saw that he died crying his face was twisted and the tears were frozen on his cheeks she said it was painfully obvious that the kid was terrified when he succumbed to hypothermia and as a mother it broke her Heart she told me repeatedly that she hopes the father is burning in hell

as we speak the other traumatic story she told me that stood out in my mind was one that happened when she was a rookie her team got a report of an experienced climber who hadn't come home the previous day his wife was convinced that something bad had happened because he'd never failed to come home on time they went out looking for him and had to Climb what sounded like some very technically challenging parts of the mountain they got to a relatively flat area and KD started seeing blood in the snow she followed the trail and

as she went she started seeing little bits of tissue she wasn't sure exactly what body part it it come from but the farther she followed it the more there was she followed this Blood and Tissue Trail to a sheltered area under a cliff face and she finds the climber she said there was So much blood more than she'd everever seen before he was lying face down one arm stretched in front of him as if he died crawling she looks closer and sees that he's been partially disemboweled which is where the tissue she'd seen had come

from the guy has an ice pick tucked into a hip holster and it's covered in blood of course they'll never be sure sure exactly what happened but she said as best she can figure this is what went down the guy had been attempting to Climb up to the next area and had been using his ice axe to ascend he'd probably hit a loose patch and had fallen on the way down or possibly when he landed he'd gotten impaled by the axe and it had disbaled him he drug himself along tearing pieces of himself out as

he went and had died under at The Cliff face she isn't terribly bothered by Gore but I guess a few of the guys who came to help her remove the body threw up when they turned him over and a good Portion of his intestines Spilled Out I mentioned to her that I was interested in hearing about any experiences she had with people completely disappearing her eyes lit up and she leans in close to me want to hear a real doozy she asks she tells me about how when she first started there was a case that

got a lot of attention in the media a family had been out berry picking in an area of the forest very close to the Entrance of the park they had two little boys both under the age of five and at some point during the day one of them vanishes there's an absolutely massive search and they find absolutely nothing it's another of those cases where it's like the kid was never there in the first place the dos just sit down and don't pick up on anything no trace of the kid is found the search goes on

for about 2 months but is eventually called off fast forward to 6 months later the Family comes back to place flowers at a memorial that's been set up there for the kid they bring their other son while they're placing the flowers they lose sight of the kid for about 3 seconds and in that span of time he vanishes Into Thin Air now obviously the parents are Beyond devastated it's awful enough to lose one child but to lose two is beyond Imagining the search is huge and one of the largest in State history there are about

300 volunteers combing every inch Of this park looking for the kid but again there's no trace of him the search goes on for about a week with people looking miles from the part of the park he found vanished from and then almost 2 weeks later a volunteer almost 15 mil from the designated search area radios in that he's found the kid they assumed that the kid was dead but the volunteer says he's not only alive he's in good shape KD and her team go out to recover the kid and when they get there she Can't

believe that this is the kid that's been missing his clothes are clean there's no dirt on him anywhere and he doesn't appear traumatized the volunteer says he found the kid sitting on a log playing with a little twick bundle that's bound together with some old rope Katie asks him where he's been who he was with for those 2 weeks and the kid tells her that he's been with the fuzzy man now KD firmly believes in Bigfoot so she gets all excited and asks What he means by fuzzy was he hairy she asks but the kid

says no he wasn't hairy he was a fuzzy man and he describes a man that's blurry like when you close your eyes but not all the way closed he says the man came out of the trees and took the kid with him deep into the woods the kid says he slept in a hollow tree and the fuzzy man gave him berries to eat Katie asks if the man was mean if he scared the kid and the kid says no he wasn't scary but I didn't like How He Didn't Have Eyes Katie says they get the

kid back to headquarters and a cop takes him into town to talk to him more about what happened she's friends with the cop that talked to him and she said the kid described being kept in this tree by the fuzzy man and given berries whenever he was hungry he was allowed to wander around a very specific clearing but when he tried to go further the fuzzy man would get mad and yell real loud even Though he didn't have a mouth when the kid got scared at night the fuzzy man made it go brighter and gave

him the twig bundle he said the fuzzy man was going to keep him but he had to let him go because the kid wasn't the right kind he either can't or won't elaborate more on that the cops are just sort of left scratching their heads and the search for his brother is renewed with no results the kid has no idea where his brother might be and they never find Him the last story that KD told me was something that happened to her when she got separated from her training group when she was a rookie they

were learning the basics of high elevation baying on a well- mapped side of the mountain and she had to use the bathroom she went off about 50 yards from the group during a meal break and did her business I'll tell the rest exactly as she told it to me so I go take a piss and once I'm done I start going back to the group but I've Only gotten about 5 ft when I realize that I have no idea where I am and this wasn't a oh I got turned around lost I mean I had

literally no [ __ ] clue where I was if you'd asked me I don't think I'd have been able to tell you what state we were in it was sort of how I imagined people with amnesia feel you know you're completely lost and you have no no idea what to do so I stood there for a while just trying to figure out where the [ __ ] I was and what I was Supposed to do but the longer I stand there the more confused and turned around I get so I started walking as I recall

I picked a random Direction and went for it and as I'm walking it's just getting worse and worse to the point where I have no concept of why I'm on the mountain in the first place I'm just trudging through the snow and then I start hearing this voice it's kind of inside my head almost like if a frog could talk all low and croaky and it's Telling me over and over it's okay it's okay you just need to find something to eat find something to eat and you'll be okay just keep walking and find something

to eat eat eat so I start looking around for anything that I can eat and I swear to God I've never felt that hungry in my whole life it was bottomless and I think I'd have eaten just about anything you put in front of me right then I had no concept of time so I had no idea how Long I'd been out when I hear an actual voice coming toward me I go toward it and see one of the other search and rescue officers and he's looking [ __ ] terrified he's running toward me asking

if I'm okay and what the hell I'm doing out here and the scary thing was as he's running toward me I kind of see myself reaching into my belt for my hunting knife I'm not even really thinking about what I'm doing but what I am thinking is that I Have to eat if I don't eat I'll never be okay again so I just have to eat he sees me doing that and backs off right away he yells at me to put my knife away that he's not going to hurt me and that kind of snap

me back all of a sudden I know exactly where I am I then put the knife away I run to him and ask him how long I've been gone thinking he'll tell me that I've been gone for half an hour or so but he tells me that I've been gone for two [ __ ] days I've gone over two Peaks and ended up almost on the other side of the mountain and if IID kept going I would have ended up wandering into about 300 miles of wilderness they'd never have found me he can't believe I'm

not dead and of course I don't know what to think to me no time has passed at all I don't say anything I just go back with him to a ronday Vu point and I'm taken back to HQ to be airlifted to the hospital when I get there they do all kinds of tests and try To figure out what happened as best they can guess I had some kind of weird puke state which is kind of like Amnesia or a weird seizure that knocked my brain out of whack but the truth is that we really

don't know it's never happened again but I'll tell you ever since then I never go out there alone people rag on me for making them come with me when I have to leave the group but I just tell them that Listening to me piss in the snow is better than losing me for 2 days on a freezing Mountain the next person I talked to was ew a former trainer who now works as an EMT he still comes to Ops like this to help out but doesn't work full-time for us anymore he specializes in finding lost

kids he just seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to knowing where they'd gone he's a legend among the more senior vets but he gets embarrassed if You compliment him on his work he said down with me at dinner one evening and we ended up swapping stories most of them were just casual but when we got on the subject of our weirder calls I mentioned that I'd had a buddy who'd gone up a set of stairs he got kind of quiet and asked me if I'd heard of a little boy who disappeared from

his Park a few years back I hadn't so he told me this story they were out looking for this 11-year-old boy Joey who'd gone missing near a river of course the first thought was that he'd fallen in and drowned but when they brought dogs out they led the search and rescue officers away from the river and up into a very densely forested area when we do searches for people we search in a grid pattern and we search every box of the grid incredibly thoroughly what ew's team noticed right away was that a very strange pattern

was Emerging dogs in alternating boxes were picking up Joey's scense but losing it when they overlapped with another box if you think of a checker board Joey scent was being picked up in random black squares but never in the red this of course did not make any sense because how could the kid Bounce from area to area without leaving a scent in each place he passed ew and his partner pass into a new box of the grid and ew notices a set of stairs about 50 yard Away he tells his partner that they need to

go check near it but his partner flat out refuses he tells ew that he's made it a point to never go near any stairs he sees and that while it may be routine he's not to pretend that it's normal he tells ew that he'll wait in sight while ew checks ew says he was irritated but he felt for the guy and he didn't want to push him on the subject ew said I walked over to the stairs it was small kind of like stairs into a basement I Don't really feel strongly one way or another

about them the stairs I mean so I wasn't scared or anything I guess I'm like everyone else and I just prefer not to think about them too much anyway I went over and I could see that there was something lying on the bottom step sort of curled up my heart sinks because of course you always H for the best and we were confident that we'd find the this kid alive because he'd only been missing for a few hours but I knew right away That it was him and that he was dead he was curled up

in a little ball on the step holding his stomach it looked like he'd been in horrible pain when he died but I didn't see any blood except some on his lip and Chin I radioed in that I'd found him and we got his body back to command that poor family they were devastated the parents couldn't understand how he'd be dead because he'd only been gone for such a short amount of time and on top of that we didn't Have any obvious cause of death which just made it worse I figured he'd probably eaten something poisonous

since he was holding his stomach when I found him but I didn't want to guess it's hard enough to hear that your kid is dead let alone have some stupid search and rescue guy guessing about what happened they took him away and I went home and tried not to think about it I hate finding dead kids man I loved this job but it's one of the reasons I left I've got two Daughters and the thought of losing them that way just ew choked up a bit here I'm not great with emotional stuff like that and

it's always sort of awkward to see a grown man cry so I didn't really know what to do he pulled himself together eventually though and he kept going we don't always hear back from coroners about cause of death he said it's not really our job to know I guess and sometimes if they think it's foul play they won't tell us because of legal [ __ ] but I've got a friend who works for the sheriff's department and he'll usually pass along any interesting information I ask in this case though I actually got a call from

him about a week later he asks if I remember the kid and of course I do and he says some seriously weird [ __ ] as going on he tells me ew man you're going to think I'm crazy but the coroner has no idea what happened to this kid he's never seen anything like it he goes on to tell Me that when the coroner opened the kid up he couldn't even believe what he was seeing the kids's organs were like swiss cheese quarter sized holes were punched clean through just about every single organ this kid

had aside from his heart and lungs but his colon his stomach his kidneys they were full of these clean holes my friend said that the coroner described it as if someone had taken a hole punch and punched holes out of everything they were so neat but the kid Didn't have a scratch on him no entry or Exit Wounds the closest anyone there had ever seen like it was a guy who filled himself full of Buckshot a year or so back while he was cleaning his rifle no one had a clue what could have Poss possibly

caused it my friend asked me if I'd ever heard anything like it or if we'd had similar cases in the past but I'd never even heard of something like that and I told him I wasn't going to be of any help to him as far as I know the Corner determined the cause of death as something like massive internal bleeding but no one knows what really happened I've never been able to forget that kid I have nightmares about it sometimes I don't won let my kids go into the woods alone and when we go together

I never let them out of my sight I used to love it out here but that case and a couple others just sort of ruined it for me dinner was over so we started to clean up and go back to our cabins before we Went our separate ways ew put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me really close he tells me that there's bad things out here things that don't care if we have family or lives or that we can think and feel he tells me to be careful and he walks away I

didn't get a chance to talk with him again but that story stuck with me by pure coincidence I got to talk to another vet PB who's been in the search and rescue field for years we were Partnered on a GD sweep during a training exercise and we were chatting casually about how we liked the job what kind of things we'd seen and the like at one point we passed an old set of stairs though these were probably from an old fire lookout given the area that we were in I sort of casually mentioned that I

was curious about the stairs and that I wished I knew more about them he got kind of quiet and looked like he wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure if He should finally he told me to turn my radio off obviously this is something we are never evered to do but I did and he did the same about 7 years ago he tells me he was out on a call with a rookie they were in an area of the park that's had a lot of strange reports and events disappearances stories about lights in the

forest OD noises things like that the rookie was totally spooked kept going on and on about things out in the woods according to PB the guy wouldn't Stop talking about the Goatman just on and on Goatman this and Goatman that finally I told him that there was plenty else to be afraid of out here that was very real and that he'd better get over this thing with the Goatman the rookie wanted to know what kind of things I was talking about and I just told him to shut up and walk we crested a little Ridge

and there was a staircase about 10 yard ahead the rookie stops dead in his tracks and just stands there looking at Them I tell him see that's something you should be afraid of the rookie asks me what the hell these things are doing out here and for some reason I just open up and tell him the truth or what I've been told is the truth I could have gotten into a lot of trouble for doing what I did and I could get into a lot of trouble for repeating it to you but you're a nice

kid and I want you to stop looking into this say quit while you're ahead PB told me so I'll tell you what I Know under the condition that you never breathe a word of this to the soups I told him I wouldn't say a word and he double checks that our radios are off he begins when I first started out we were a little less tight lipped about them and other things that happened out here we warned people before they were even hired that there was weird [ __ ] going on I guess the forest

service was tired of having such a massive turnover rate and they wanted people to know what they Were getting into so they started having people sign these agreements that they wouldn't go to the media about what they were going to see the forest service didn't want to scare people away so the last thing they needed were spooked rookies running off to the media with stories of ghosts and haunted stairs but eventually they found that the agreements weren't necessary people people not only didn't want to talk about what they saw they wouldn't a Few times media

tried to talk to people when kids or hikers would disappear and no one would say a word I can't really explain it I guess we just don't really want to admit anything is wrong this is our job to be out in the woods every single day we don't need to be spooked and the best way to avoid that is to pretend like everything's okay so I'll tell you everything everything I can think of and after that I'm done talking about it for good and I expect you not To bring it up around me ever the

stairs have been out here as long as the Parks have existed we have records going back decades describing them sometimes people go up to them and nothing happens other times look I really don't like talking about this but sometimes really bad [ __ ] happens I saw one guy get his hand sliced clean off when he got to the top step he reached out and touched a tree branch and it happened so fast one second his hand was there and the next It was gone completely clean wound we didn't find his hand and the guy

almost died another time a woman touched one of the stairs and a blood vessel in her brain exploded literally exploded like a water balloon she sort of stumbled down and came over to me and all she got out was I think something is wrong with me she dropped like a sack of flower dead before she hit the ground I'll never forget the way the blood leaked into the inside of her eye before she died I Watched it turn red I watched it happen and there wasn't a single thing I could do to help warn people

not to go anywhere near them but there's always at least one idiot who does and even if nothing happens to them something bad always happens kids go missing as we're on their Trail someone dies the next day cut in half in a completely safe part of the park I don't know why but something bad always happens I don't know exactly why they're out here but it doesn't Matter they're here and if we were smart we tell our new officers exactly what they're capable of we were both quiet for a little while while I was afraid

to talk because I wasn't sure if PB was done he looked like he wanted to say something else finally he spoke up again have you ever noticed how you can't find the same once twice I nodded expecting him to continue but he just stayed quiet walking alongside me and eventually he started a story about the biggest deer He'd ever seen in the park I didn't bring bring up the subject again and I didn't press him for any more stories he dropped out of the op the next day apparently he left before the sun came up

he said he was sick none of us have heard from him since he left a firefighter who was helping us at the training op told me about a call he'd gone on supposedly to rescue a kid from an absolutely massive tree he said they didn't give him details just that they Needed him to come out and help because they lacked the proper equipment he'd been called out specifically because this thing was so huge that the search and rescue didn't feel safe trying to climb it he'd been a tree trimmer before joining the vfd so it

was easy enough for him to grab his old equipment and come help out he was led out about 2 miles and the team stopped at one of the biggest trees in the area and pointed up he laughed and asked the op Captain how The kid had gotten up there made some joke about the old catting a tree thing but the captain just shook his head and told him to get up there and get the kid down he said he knew something was up but he didn't push it he said that as he climbed at this

tree he started wondering if they were playing a prank on him there was no way this kid should have been able to climb this [ __ ] thing it was massive at the base but about halfway up it started tapering and I almost had to turn back a few times because I really didn't think it was going to hold me but he said he kept going and when he was just at the top he saw a flash of blue in the branches I saw the kid shirt sort of caught in a branch and I called

out to him and told him to come near me if he could but he didn't say anything I kept moving calling the kid's name and telling him not to be scared that I was there to help him by the time I got to him I knew He wasn't going to answer me I found him or what was left of him cradled in the fork of a branch and the fact that he was up there was sheer luck if he'd Fallen any other way he could have come crashing down it wouldn't have mattered though because this

kid was dead long before he ended up in that tree I don't know who put him there or how or why but it was [ __ ] sick the kids's intestines had popped out of his mouth and they were hanging in the branches it Was like some sick [ __ ] Christmas tree the way they were draped all over everything his eyes were gone I assumed shoved out from whatever Force caused him to pop like a stress ball you ever seen a body that's been floating in water for a long time how their tongues kind

of swell up and stick out his was like that I remember because there were flies crawling all over it I think I must have gone into shock because man I just pushed that kid down With a stick I broke off of a branch just kind of poked him until he fell I don't know why I did that I almost lost my job because of that but man the thought of hauling that kid down over my shoulder the whole way Gathering his guts up and coiling them around me like rope so they wouldn't get snagged I

couldn't do it I've seen a lot of dead kids more than I'd ever admit I've seen a kid who hid in a full bathroom during a house fire boiled him alive turned him Into literal soup but this I don't know what did this but the thought of touching that kid's body made me feel like I was going to lose my mind I heard him hit the ground and I figured everyone would freak out but they knew he was dead when they sent me up there they didn't say anything but they didn't shout or freak out

or anything I got to the bottom and I started to get up in the captain's face asking him who he thought he was sending me up there when They knew damn well the kid was dead but he just told me that it was none of my concern and he thanked me for getting the evidence down I remember he said that I remember it specifically because it was so weird to hear phrased that way the evidence like he wasn't even a person like he'd never been that little kid who got lost and had something [ __

] unspeakable happened to him the captain had a crew lead me back out of the woods but he and two others stayed Behind and I thought that was weird why would they have me help get the kid out I tried asking but the guys leading me just told me that they couldn't discuss an open case I asked him what he thought had happened to the kid and he got really pensive and thought about it for a bit I would have said a crush injury based on how his guts came out like that but with those

injuries you see massive contusions Under the Skin obvious trauma this wasn't like that it was almost like That kid got caught in a big Val vacuum and had his guts sucked out but even then there was no trauma none at all it bothers me man it bothers the hell out of me one of the Vets at the training operates no sleep and he recognized my stories he knows me pretty well and we've swapped stories before he asked if he could share something he's noticed about the stairs and some thoughts that he's had I'm really glad

you decided to Share share these I think it's important that people be aware of what's out there especially since the forest surface is doing such a good job at covering it all up the vet said I asked him what he meant what do you mean what do I mean the lack of any kind of media attention no coverage of missing kids or bodies found miles from where they got lost in the first place David poits hit this right on the head this forest service is doing everything they can to keep people Coming here even if

it isn't safe I mean to be fair it's not like these things happen every day but the numbers add up and it's worth looking into especially the stairs I was surprised you didn't mention the flipped ones he said I didn't know what he was talking about I couldn't ever remember him talking about something like that he seemed somewhat incredulous he went on to say dude I can't believe you've been this long without seeing them no one told you About them I Shrugged and asked him to elaborate well there's the normal stairs the ones that pop

up when we're ways out I know you know about them but sometimes I've run across ones that are flipped upside down I guess it would be like if you had a dollhouse and the stairs were a separate piece now take that flip it upside down so the step is stuck in the dirt and put it out out in the woods they're like that I don't see them as often but they're odd to say the least It makes me think of footage taken after a tornado when houses are blown apart and random things are left standing

like chimneys and garden walls those ones freak me out more than the normal ones because I can't really write those off as easily I don't scare very easily like most of us who work out here but that idea stuck with me and it bothers me I'm going to try and find out more about them he also mentioned how many people were bothered By the guy with no face he got really excited and told me he'd seen something similar I was out on a training exercise a few years ago I was camped out in my tent

and I heard someone walking around outside of Camp we're told not to wander far which you know so I wondered if maybe it was a rookie who'd gotten up to pee and couldn't find his way way back remember that guy in our group a few years back who'd almost fell off the damn Mountain well I'm paranoid about That happening again so I got up to see what was going on I went to the edge of camp and I called out to whoever it was and I told them that camp was this way but they kept

going back out into the woods so I went after them I know it was stupid but I was half asleep and I just real didn't want to deal with some idiot getting hurt I followed this thing on a dead end straight course for about a mile and then it stopped on the edge of a little river I could see the outline Of it because the water reflected the moon and it looked just like an ordinary guy he had a pack on and it looked like he was facing me I asked if he was okay if

he needed help and he cocked his head like he didn't understand me I always have my pocket ET knife on me and it's got a little thumb light attached to it so I turned that on and lit up his chest so I wouldn't blind him he was breathing slow and deep so I wondered if he was sleepwalking I went closer and asked him If he was okay I moved the light up and something did not seem right so I stopped he kept breathing and real slow deep breaths and I sort of figured out gradually that

that's what was bothering me it was like he was pretending to breathe but not actually doing it his breaths were too even and deep and all his movements were exaggerated like his shoulders going up and his chest moving I told him to identify himself and he made this muffled noise I moved the Light up and I [ __ ] you not this guy had no face just smooth skin I freak freaked out and I sort of fumbled my light but I saw him move toward me but he didn't actually move I don't know how to

explain it but one second he was at the edge of the river and the next he was 5 ft from me I never looked away or blinked it was like he moved so fast my brain couldn't keep up I tripped and fell on my ass and I could see this line open up on his throat I had stretched up To his ears and his head head tilted back and he smiled at me with his throat there wasn't any blood just this gaping dark hole and I swear he smiled at me with this gash in his

throat I got up and I ran as fast as I could back to Camp I couldn't hear him following me but I felt like he was always right behind me even though when I looked back I couldn't see him I calmed down when I got back to Camp the fire was still going and I guess the pack mentality of Being with other people made me stop and breathe a bit I waited by the fire to see if he'd follow me there but I didn't hear anything else for a few hours so I went back to

bed I know it sounds weird but the whole thing was just so surreal that it was almost like I immediately wrote it off as my imagination we were telling ghost stories one night before bed just to scare each other and poke fun at whoever got creeped out most of the time it's The rookies but one woman told a story that actually managed to get under my skin a bit and I know the same was true for others she said it was true but then again every ghost story told around a campfire is true somehow though

I don't think she was making it up it had that ring of truth that only really traumatizing events have she said that when she was a kid she and her friend used to go out in the woods behind her house a lot she lived in northern Maine Where there's a lot of dense unpopulated National Forest she said the woods up there aren't like they are here they're so thick in places that the trees block out the sun almost completely she and her friend grew up there so they weren't scared of being out there alone but

they did always maintain a sense of caution in certain areas she said it was never really talked about but they always knew not to go more than a mile or two beyond their Homes the adults never said why but it was an unspoken rule that no one ventured out that far she and her friend made up stories about bears as big as houses that lived out there and they used to scare each other by hiding and making growling noises while the others searched for them she said that one summer there was a series of awful

storms that blew down a lot L of trees and set one part of the forest a few miles behind her house on fire fir Cru Got it under control but she said some of them came back not quite the same it was like they'd been to war you could tell who'd really gotten scared because they had the same look on their faces I think it's called shell shock my friend and I said they were like walking dead people they didn't smile or anything if you went up to them and most of them left town as

soon as everything was over I asked my parents about it but they said they didn't know what I was talking About once everyone was told the woods were safe again my friend and I decided to try and Hike out to where the fire had been we didn't tell our parents where we were going and it was pretty exciting to think that we were disobeying them like that we hiked out about 2 miles or so and we started seeing burnt trees and stuff I remember my friend got really upset because we found the skeleton of a

deer curled up under a tree and I practically had to Drag her away she wanted to bury it but I did not want her touching it because its antlers were weird I can't remember why I just remember thinking that there was something wrong with them and I didn't want either of us to go near it the further we went the more burnt everything got eventually there were no standing trees and it was like being on another Planet almost nothing green just brown and black everywhere we were standing there looking at it all and we Both

heard someone shouting in the distance I panicked because I thought it was my dad and that he was going to tell me I was grounded my friend broke off and went to hide behind a big rock because she didn't want to get caught out here her parents had forbidden her to come out in the wordss at all and she lied and told them we were going to a movie I followed her and we kept listening I could hear this voice getting closer and I realized they were Calling for help I thought maybe it was some

hiker who' gotten lost and needed directions back to town that used to happen all the time so I was used to helping people out I heard him following my voice so I kept calling out until I saw him running in the distance he got closer and I could see that his face was all red I told my friend friend to give me her pack because she had a first aid kit in it she made this noise like she was grossed out and she asked if I saw His face I told her to shut up and

I ched up to meet him I stopped about halfway and when he stopped in front of me I could see that his nose and lips and part of his forehead were all gone it was like they'd been sliced clean off he was bleeding bad and I saw that the knees of his pants were red too I took a step back but I was too scared to move much and he grabbed my shoulders it felt like I got a shock and he jerked back he started babbling and I couldn't Tell what he was saying except that

he kept asking how long he'd been gone he asked me where his unit was but I just shook my head he looked me over and he saw my Walkman and screamed he just kept babbling and touching his face and I realized he wasn't wearing the right clothing he had some kind of weird gray cloth jacket and almost formal pants on and the jacket had these weird buttons and red borders on it I kept shaking my head and I told him I couldn't Understand what he was saying I went to open the first aid kit but

he just screamed again and said the only thing I could really understand don't touch me you'll make me go back there after that he ran off and I could hear him screaming the whole time when I couldn't hear him anymore I turned around and my friend was crying I just turned around and started walking back toward Town my friend asked me over and over again what had happened and who that was but I Didn't say anything when we got home I told her I did not want to play in the woods with her anymore we're

still friends but we don't don't talk about that guy not ever when I had started out as a rookie no one had told me a lot about the job in terms of weird things that could happen I'm assuming this was largely to prevent me from freaking out and abandoning the park but a few months into my service when I was still a Rookie a friend and I were drunk at a party and he opened up a bit yeah it can get a little crazy out there I guess I think the worst are the ones where

people die when they just shouldn't you know or when they find them dead like 10 minutes after someone says they saw them last they were fine when I passed them on the Switchback I swear that sort of [ __ ] like take this guy who I found one spring out on a really popular Trail someone comes into the VC freaking about Some guy who's lying in the middle of the path in this giant pool of blood so we run out there and we find this guy dead as a doornail which he absolutely should be because

the back of his head is like mashed potatoes the skull is decimated brains are leaking out like custard filling and the guy's so old you figure yeah he probably fell and hit his head old people fall all the time it's no big deal except that this area where he fell doesn't have any big rocks There's not even any stumps or big branches and on top of that there's no blood trail so he clearly died where he dropped now that's when you turn to murder but there were people just out of line of sight with the

guy if someone came up behind him and murdered him there's no way someone wouldn't have heard and again even if someone had there'd be a Blood Trail spatter all over the place but everyone on the scene said it looked exactly like he'd fallen And smashed his head on a rock so what the [ __ ] did he hit his head on and then there was this lady I found in a different Park about 5 years ago back when I was Upstate we found her in the middle of a stand of big junipers curled around the

trunk kind of like she was hugging it we pick her up to move her and a [ __ ] waterfall comes out of her mouth splashes all over my shoes her clothes are dry and her hair is dry but the amount of water in her lungs and Stomach was phenomenal unreal man oh and the coroner's report it says the cause of death was drowning her lungs were completely full of water this even though we're in the middle of the high desert and there isn't a body of water for Miles no puddles no nothing no signs

of anything else being out there I mean yeah it's possible they were murdered but why go out of the way to do it like that why not just stab him and be done with it I don't know it just Sits weird with me and with that he ended now of course that freaked me out a bit but we were wasted and I guess I sort of rode it off as a fluke I also assumed there was exaggeration there since you know we were wasted now I don't like talking about the next case very much it

was an awful one that I've done my best to forget about but of course that's easier said than done this happened about 6 months after the conversation with my friend at The bar and up until that point I hadn't had a lot of really weird [ __ ] go down a few things here and there and of course the stairs but it's amazingly easy to get used to stuff like that when it's treated as if it's normal this case was a little different a guy with Down syndrome in his 20s went missing after his family

lost sight of him on a major path that was odd in and of itself because this guy never left his mom's side she was absolutely convinced he'd Been kidnapped and unfortunately a ranger who isn't with the park anymore insinuated that no one was going to kidnap someone well with that kind of disability he wasn't very tactful to say the least we wasted a lot of time trying to calm her down enough to get information about him and then we put out an official missing person's call because of the urgency of the situation and and being

mostly unable to function alone we had local police come in and Help us we didn't find him the first night which was heartbreaking none of us wanted to think of him being alone out there we assumed he just kept wondering and was staying ahead of us we brought out helis the next day and they spotted him in a little canyon I helped bring him back up but he was in bad shape and I think we all knew he wasn't going to make it he'd Fallen and broken his spine and couldn't feel his lower half he'd

also broken both his legs wanted the Femur and he'd lost a lot of blood he was confused and scared while he was alone so he probably exacerbated the injuries by dragging himself a little ways I know it sounds awful but when I was riding in the copter with him I asked him why he'd wandered off I just wanted something to tell his mother to let her know it wasn't her her fault because he was fading fast and I didn't think she'd get to ask him herself he was crying and he said something about How the

little sad boy had wanted him to come play he said the little boy wanted to trade so he could go home then he closed his eyes and when he woke up again he was in the canyon I'm not sure that's exactly what he said but it was what I thought the gist of it was was he kept crying asking where his mommy was and I held his hand and tried my best to keep him calm and he kept saying that it was cold out there my legs were frozen it was cold out there it's cold

in me he Was getting even weaker so he eventually stopped talking and he closed his eyes for a while then when we were about 5 minutes from the hospital he looked right at me with these big tears running down his face and he said mama won't see me no more love Mama I wish she was here and he closed his eyes and he just never woke up it was horrible and I don't like talking about it that case was one of the first ones that really rattled me badly because of how badly it affected Me

I reached out to a senior Ranger who ended up helping me through it as time went on and we got to know each other better he ended up sharing one of his own stories with me it was disturbing but it helped to know that I wasn't the only person affected by the things going on out there the senior Ranger told me I think this must have been before you got here because I think it didn't end up in the news for some reason but I think most people who've been here long enough Know about it

the part park sold off a portion of land to a Logging company and it was a really controversial thing but it wasn't that large or old of a plot and it was right after the recession so we needed cash bad anyway they were faing this plot of land and we get a call that we need to get our supervisors out right away I don't know why but they ended up sending me and a few other guys along with the heads I guess for powering numbers to see what was up we Got there and all these

guys are crowded around a tree that they've just cut down they're all pissed off and freaking out and the foreman comes over and says he wants to know what we think we're up to what the hell y'all think this is some kind of sick joke you've got a lot of [ __ ] nerve pulling this [ __ ] we've bought this land fair and square the foreman said well we don't know what the hell he's talking about so he brings us over to this felt tree and points at it And tells us that when they

cut it down it was just like this and they'll be damned if they put it there the inside of the tree was all rded out and Hollow in one spot and when they' cut it down it had exposed that chamber and inside it is a hand like a perfectly severed hand and it looks like it's actually fused with the inside of the tree well now we think they're pulling a joke so we tell them that we don't like being [ __ ] with and we start to leave but They tell us they've already called the

cops and that they'll go right to the media if we don't stick around well that gets the head's attention so they stick around and talk to the police about it everyone is denying they put the hand in there and besides how would anyone have even done it it's clearly a real hand but it's not mummified or skeletal it's brand new probably not even a day old and it's definitely fused with the wood you can see that it's coming right out Of it the loggers they insist that they didn't put it there somehow this fresh human

hand ended up fused to the inside of this living tree the cops have them cut up that section of the tree into a movable chunk they take the hand away and the area is closed off there was a pretty big investigation but I know they didn't get any answers now it's becoming this Legend and as far as I know we haven't sold any more property for logging And that was the end of the senior Ranger story as you all know I went to a training seminar recently and heard some amazing and horrible things out there

one of the guys I talked to while I was there told me a story when we were all around the campfire one night we were both pretty drunk you'll see a pattern here and we were swapping stories he told me this one another guy and I were out on a field search because some Campers reported screaming screaming noises at night so we headed out there to look for whatever [ __ ] mountain lion has wandered into the area and I'm pissed we've had three of them show up in the camping areas that year alone and

I'm getting tired as hell of constantly having to deal with them plus I just don't like them anyway they're a pain in the ass and they're loud and they scare the [ __ ] out of me [ __ ] cats pieces of [ __ ] I'm groaning about it to the guy I'm with and he thinks it's a real [ __ ] riot so we're seeing all these broken branches and what look like dens and we're pretty sure we know where this thing is I call in and they tell me to confirm if possible which

you know just means that they want you to step in a big pile of [ __ ] and use that as proof I'm not seeing any though so basically I just tell him to shove it I'm done we know the damn thing's out here somewhere even if I'm not stepping It [ __ ] or inside its mouth or whatever the guy I'm with wanders off to take a piss or whatever and I stay behind watching this little Burrow under a tree to see if maybe a fox or something is living under it because I love

foxes man they're cute as hell but anyway I'm watching this tree and I start hearing branches crackling and it's coming from the direction my partner went opposite of now I've got my pistol but you and I both know that's Not not going to do [ __ ] against the cat I [ __ ] it and holler for my partner to get his dumb ass back but he's too far and he can't hear me I stand up and get my sights on where this thing is approaching and I [ __ ] you not man I just

about pissed myself this guy is coming toward me and he's back flipping through the [ __ ] Woods like instead of walking he's doing these crazy [ __ ] back flips and I swear to God he cleared everything log and Bush in his Path it was like he knew right where he was going I yell at the guy to stop where he is that I'm pointing a gun right at him but he keeps coming and I just kind of lost it I shot at the ground in front of him and it was a dumb [

__ ] thing to do but man I didn't want this guy anywhere near me when I fired he was about 50 yards from me and as soon as the gun goes off he whirs around and goes off back flipping back into the woods my partner hears my gun Go off and runs back and asks what's up I tell him there's some weirdo out here hopped up on God knows what and that we need to get the hell out of Dodge I let the cops know what happened and I didn't get into any trouble for firing

but man I don't know what that guy was on but I've never seen anything like that before that [ __ ] was absolutely crazy and that was the end of his story I think we can agree that there's stuff going on out here in the woods and while I'm not going to spout off about what it could be or offer any theories what I want people to take away from all of this is that it is so damn important to be safe when you're out there I know a lot of you think you're Invincible but

the fact is that you can die out there or be hurt or go missing it's easier than you'd ever imagine one of the topics that I get asked about a lot here and in real life involve things like the rake the wendigo and Other related Legends I can't honestly say that I know a lot about any of them but based on some light reading I did I can say that I've heard stories that seem to be Loosely related to them you've heard the old adage that Legends like that come from somewhere and I'm sure that's

true but as you all know I do try to take things with a grain of salt you have to out here it's sort of like working in a hospital I'd imagine you could spend all day thinking about How many people have died there and how there are probably ghosts or whatever you want to call them all over the place but it doesn't do you any good it it just makes it harder to do your job I think a lot of us feel that way and that's why we just try to go about our work like

everything is fine once you get paranoid there's not really any going back and a lot of cadetes quit because of it my Park especially seems to have a high turnover rate because the Cadets graduate and get so freaked out about everything and they can't seem to let it go you have to learn to internalize things and shut off I've talked to KD a bit about her experience because I wanted to know what she thought about the wendigo she didn't really have anything in particular to say about it aside from that she didn't want to think

about it that much but she told me a friend of hers had had something similar happen I contacted This person H over Skype and they agreed to talk to me a bit they're aware of my work here and they're fine with me posting the story exactly as they wrote it here's what they said I grew up in Central Oregon and there's a reservation called Warm Springs about 2 or so hours from where I lived I only mention that because a lot of people in my area have friends there and a lot of the land in

that area belongs to that tribe when I was a kid we used to go camping there Not on the reservation of course but in that area and I met a lot of kids who grew up there I got to know one kid really well his name was Nolan and we ended up hanging out a lot when our families were in the area our folks got to know each other so we'd all get in touch and camp out around the same time we'd camp for about 2 weeks so we were out there for a long time

I asked him if he camped in an RV yeah my dad had one so I guess it wasn't really camping but We take our tents and stuff and set them up out away from Camp most nights I didn't like sleeping in there because I like being outside H and I talked for a bit about camping and then continued so anyway sorry one year known and I were out there I think we must have been like 12 or so we wanted to go out and camp near the river because we wanted to try night fishing I

think we must have been about a third of a mile from the main Camp Far Enough away that we couldn't hear or see anyone else I remember that we were messing around most of the day I don't really remember much about it but we ended up building a fire at some point and I was really impressed because he had this Flint or something that he used to start it I'd never seen anyone do that before so I thought it was pretty cool I got him to teach me how to do it and we lit some

stuff on fire which looking back was really stupid because It was the middle of the [ __ ] summer and if I remember right the fire warning was either at yellow or orange but thankfully we didn't start anything major and when it got dark we sat around and talked about whatever it is 12-year-olds talk about I don't quite remember what I do remember is that at some point he looked over my shoulder at the river and asked me if I could see something the way our camp was set up we were about 10 ft from

the river and we Were at the widest point so it was probably about 20 ft to the other bank it gets hot up there in the sunmmer but the water's still cold which is important I look over my shoulder and I could see something waiting into the river on the other side from where we were it looked like a deer but we couldn't really tell because of the fire I got up to look closer and saw a pair of antlers so I figured it was a buck but I thought it was weird that it was

Waiting into the water and it was definitely heading for us I asked no what he thought we should do he's looking at the fire with this weird expression and he tells me to sit down and shut up so I do because I'd never seen him act that way before he's Whispering at me to ignore it and to just keep talking like we were but I couldn't think of anything to say he was saying something about an episode of some show but I could hear the deer Coming through the water so I really wasn't paying any

attention to him and I kept trying to see over his shoulder but every time I did he'd sort of hit me on the arm and make me look at him I wasn't really scared I remember that I was just sort of confused but then I hear the deer come out of the water and I could kind of make out what it looked like and I realized it wasn't a deer because whatever it was was walking on two legs I started to get up I was really freaked Out but Nolan just yanked me back down and

talked louder about the television show I could tell he was just as scared as I was probably even more he leaned in and poked the fire with a stick and he whispered that whatever I do I can't speak to it I could see it come closer and it stood right behind Nolan's back I was about ready to pee my pants and I think I'd probably have run if I'd been alone but I didn't want to leave Nolan so I kept sitting really still and Sneaking glances at it it wasn't that tall but the way it

carried itself was just wrong like its Center of balance was screwed up I can't really describe it but it was kind of like it kept shifting too far forward it just stood there behind Nolan for a long time and eventually Nolan ran out of things to say and we just kind of sat there for a second the fire was making noise but I thought I could hear this thing talking in a really low voice I couldn't hear What it was saying and I leaned forward a tiny bit and I actually did pee my pants when

it leaned forward too I couldn't see its face but I saw its eyes they were cloudy and milky and if you want to know what they looked like find that scene from The Lord of the Rings where Frodo falls into that Lake and all the dead people are floating toward him that's what its eyes looked like so all I saw were these two white eyes floating above Nolan's head and the really vague Shape of the adlers coming out of its head I don't know what my face looked like but at exactly the same time Nolan

and I [ __ ] booked it out of there and we ran nonstop until we got back to the main Camp my pants were soaked with pee so I took them off as we were running and threw them in the bushes we both stopped once we were in front of my dad's RV and we couldn't see anything chasing us so we stood there and caught our breath I asked him what that thing Was but he said he didn't know he said his grandpa had only warned him that if anything ever came up to him when

he was out in the desert he was never ever supposed to talk to it or listen to anything it had to say I wanted to know if he'd heard it talking too and he said that the only thing he'd been able to understand was help you I think we ended up sleeping in the RV with my parents and the next night we went back out and didn't see Anything and that's the end of H's story that does remind me in a lot of ways of the Wendigo legend there's a phrase used to describe it that

I think fits perfectly which is that the when indigo is the spirit of the Lonely places I know sometimes when I'm out in the woods where I know there's no one around me for miles and miles I get this weird kind of craving that I can't really explain I don't know if it happens to anyone else but it's the desire to Consume it's not like I crave anything in particular but more of this weird distracting hunger that comes from every part of my gut I also wanted to find out about the faceless man if I

would dis able and found a few similar things I asked around my circle of friends and one of them said when he was doing repairs at a park in his area he saw something kind of like that we were having dinner in town five of us including myself this guy he was Repainting an information Boo and heard a man ask him for directions to the nearest campsite he didn't turn around because he was up on a ladder but he informed the man that there weren't any campsites nearby but that if he headed down the road

about 4 miles he'd find one at another Park he asked if he could be of any other help but the man said no and thanked him my friend said he kept painting but he was listening and never Heard the man leave my friend said the second he came up and talked to me the hairs on my neck stood up but I wasn't sure why I just had this really uneasy feeling about the whole thing and I wanted to finish painting and get out of there I figured maybe part of it was that I couldn't turn

around to look at him but something just felt off there was also this weird smell floating around even before the guy talked to me kind of like old blood I had looked Around to see what was causing it but I didn't find anything so I waited for the guy to walk away but I didn't hear him leave which made me think he was just standing there and watching me so I asked again if I could do anything for him and he didn't answer I knew he was there though because I hadn't heard him leave so

I did this awkward turn on the ladder to look down and see what he was doing now I admit it could have just been my brain [ __ ] up but I swear to You Russ for a split second when I turned around that [ __ ] didn't have a face like he had no face it was almost concave and totally smooth and I just about had a heart attack because I couldn't even wrap my brain around what I was seeing I think I started to say something but there was this kind of Pop inside

my head and suddenly he was just a normal looking guy I must have looked weird because he asked me if I was okay and I was just like yeah I'm fine he Asks about the campground again and I point to where he has to go and he says I'm not from Round Here can you help me get there now this is when I know something is really up because there's no way this guy got out here and didn't know where he was and for that matter there's no car around so how'd he get here in

the first place I said I was sorry but that I couldn't take him anywhere in a company vehicle and he replies please I really don't know where I am can you come with me and help me get there so now I'm seriously weirded out and I start wondering if this is some kind of Ambush or whatever I told him I could call a taxi to come out here and take him to wherever he wants to go I pull out my phone and he just says no and walks away really quickly but he doesn't walk out

of the park he walks back into the trees and I get right in my truck and start to get out of there [ __ ] the paint or Whatever I looked in my mirror to see where he was as I was leaving and he was standing right at the tree line again I don't know how he got there so fast but this time I know he didn't have a face he was just watching me leave and right before I turned the corner he took a big step back into the trees and kind of dissolved I

guess maybe it was just dark so he Blended in but it felt more like he just melted away interestingly right after this guy finished his story Someone else piped up with another one but with a slightly different twist you know actually I heard something sort of weird like that happened a while back I was out doing some trail scouting and I was out in the middle of nowhere figuring out where we were going to have this trail run through I hadn't seen anyone else for probably a good 2 hours so I wasn't paying attention to

where I was going I was just looking at the ground for the most part then out of Nowhere I crested this little Hill and almost ran into this guy he was older probably in his 60s and I started to apologize to him for running into him and then I noticed his face and I probably looked like a complete douchebag because I stopped and just stared at him it took me a second to figure out what was wrong but this guy's face was huge I know that sounds weird but that's the only way I can describe

it his head wasn't big or Anything anything it was normal but the amount of space his face took up was just way too much like if you took someone's face and enlarged it all by about two times he doesn't say anything he just looks at me and I backed up and was kind of stuttering and saying I was sorry I went around him and got out of there and did what I needed to do the whole time I kept looking behind me because I was so freaked out that he'd pop up behind me or something

I know it sounds ridiculous but I swear to you it was one of the creepiest things I've ever seen and that's where the story ended I switched the topic to the stairs a little later and there was a definite shift in enthusiasm no one spoke up at first there's a real stigma around discussing them even when we're away from work but I broke the ice with a story of my own and the guy who told the story about the Faceless man told this one all be it very quietly a couple of years ago I was

camping with my girlfriend and we were about 2 mil from the road at this site I know we went to bed that night but we couldn't sleep because and someone interjected with a funny comment and we were dangerously close to going off on another subject but I got us back on track so he continues his story yeah really funny you [ __ ] no it was Because we kept hearing that grinding noise my brother used to grind his teeth in his sleep and it kind of reminds me of that my girlfriend was freaking out but

I just kept telling her to ignore it because I've heard it before and you just have to ignore it it goes away eventually you guys know what I mean we all knew what he meant So eventually I got her to sleep but I woke up probably 2 hours later because something was just Off I rolled over and she wasn't there I kind of freaked out because he thought for a second and then took a very long drink anyway I ran out of the tent calling her name but I didn't have to go far she was

standing at the edge of the camp looking at something in the trees and I could see she was really pale the fire was low but bright enough to see her anyway so I ran up to her to see what was going on and she was dead asleep but her eyes were open she had This real spaced out look you know so I put my arm around her to lead her back but she wouldn't move she just said really quietly something like I have to go now Eddie I have to go it's here I was like

you're just sleepwalking come back to bed but she wouldn't budge she just kept standing there and saying that she had to go I looked where she was looking and there was a [ __ ] staircase right there about 15 yard away a gray one concrete She started to walk toward it but I yanked her back and that woke her up she looked at me like I was out of my [ __ ] mind and she asked what the [ __ ] she was doing out of the tent I didn't tell her anything I just told

her she was sleepwalking the grinding noise was gone so she just went back to the tent with me and fell asleep again I don't know I don't like thinking about it you know we all knew you guys remember that kid we I Can't remember what it was some kind of disability not down syndrome but something like it someone else brought up well I got to read the report he gave when they found him a week after he went missing and it was [ __ ] up beyond belief I mean you have to take it with

a grain of salt but some of this stuff I don't think he could have made up like what someone asks well first of all he talked about the stairs he said he'd been watching His dad build a fire and the stairs came up to him and he had to go up them or something bad would happen the cops couldn't really understand what he was talking about after that because he just kept saying like the campfire over and over and he kept mentioning sounds but he couldn't say what sounds just that it was loud and he

covered his ears so he couldn't hear them but the thing I remember most is that they asked him where exactly he'd gone and he just said He was right there he kept pointing at himself and they said they thought that meant that he thought he' never left he said he wasn't scared because the stairs were there and he said they talked to him but not like people talk like I said said it was really convoluted and hard to understand and I have a feeling the cops didn't take most of it down they ended up saying

that the kid had some kind of Amnesia or Fugue and that they didn't think Foul Play was involved it Doesn't really explained why he came back a week later perfectly fine without a speck of dirt on him and well fed but hey what the cops say goes people ask me about the stairs it happens every day but when it does happen I never really know what to say my bosses know someone is talking about them and I'm sure that if they know the higher ups know and I can tell you that they aren't happy about

it I've been formally told that I am not to speak Speak a word about them to anyone anymore which is part of the reason that this has to be my final update I can't risk my job for this as much as it's been wonderful to get a lot of these things off of my mind I still do love my work and I need to be out here if anything my being aware of what's really going on is enough reason to stick it out I may not be able to tell people that they're out there but

if I see them I can direct traffic way to somewhere Safer because of the amount attention the stories have gotten I've heard a lot of Stories being swapped back and forth I've heard so many I can't even remember most of them the ones I do remember are the ones I wish I could forget one story that's made the rounds here was about a young woman who disappeared Upstate initially everyone assumed she was a runaway she didn't come from a great home life and so it really wasn't any kind of surpr That she choose to cut

and run but people started coming forward saying that they'd seen her around the park shortly before she vanished so some of the Rangers in the area were sent to make sure she hadn't hung herself or something on any of the back Trails they took them a while but they did find her well not all of her just half of her tongue and a quarter of her lower jaw very clean cuts from what I heard they've never found the rest of F so Many stories about children so many of them going missing and turning up in

caves wedged in between impossibly tight spaces so many of them found on mountain peaks or at the bottom of sheer gullies missing shoes missing socks were found with both in perfect condition despite them being miles and miles away from where they vanished so many stories of blackeyed people wandering around the woods and calling out in the night mimicking the sound of running water or A bobcat screaming one man in particular goes to every news station he thinks will listen to him and tells them the same story he was deer hunting had camped out in a

very remote area and woke up because something was scraping against his tent he thought it was a raccoon or a fox until the thing pressed its face against the door of the tent at which point he could very clearly make out a human nose and M M he kicked at it but it leapt Back and was gone by the time he opened the tent flap gun at his side he fired two warning shots and when the sound had faded he heard a snap behind him a man was standing at the edge of the campsite this

man was not wearing any clothing but he also didn't possess any kind of human flesh as this Hunter described it the man was made of some kind of amalgamation of raw meat and hair as if someone had scooped up roadkill and molded it into the vague shape of a man The face was lumpy and only a rough approximation of a human face the thing opened its lopsided mouth and from it came the sound of the gun the hunter had fired it did this twice before mimicking the sound of the zipper and fleeing Into the Night

a young couple out for a hike in the Rocky areas of my Park reported to me yesterday that they'd seen something strange out on a peak I'm very familiar with they were taking turns looking through a pair of binoculars When the man noticed the hiker climbing up a very steep part of the Cliff face he watched the man scale the slope and it didn't occur to him until the incident was over that this person had no climbing gear when the climber reached the top of the peak which was about 5 miles away they turned and

faced the climber waved in an exaggerated manner before or snapping in half at the waist sideways and leaping off the peak the young man didn't see where the Climber landed I sent them on their way with assurances that I'd check it out I lied I won't be turning in a report because there are 10 others exactly like it the climber is well known in that area I don't question it anymore there are so many things I won't ever be able to understand about my job and it will would take me many years to relate all

of the things I've heard in the last few months when I feel like my job isn't in Jeopardy I will come back it may be in a Different format but I will come back thank you all for sticking by my side and enjoying the things I've talked about if you go out into the woods I encourage you to be safe bring water food Survival equipment let people know where you're going going and when you'll be back don't go on Uncharted paths unless you know exactly what you're doing and above all don't touch them don't look

at them don't go up them this sure isn't as creepy as most Stories but just something I think about from time to time for a bit of background I grew up in a very emotionally and physically abusive home I've never had anything but negativity spoken to me and as a child I believed it my self-esteem was rock bottom and I believed that I was no good and that everyone hated me as I was being told I became a very shy withdrawn person who really made little effort with friendships I held everyone at arms Length but

was desperate for any small scraps of positive attention I found this positivity and a wonderful young couple who came into our church to be youth leaders I was bullied terribly by the kids at my church and hated going until this couple came there they were young sweet and kind and they went out of their way to be especially nice to me they arranged a picnic and Hike at a close by state park for one Saturday I was around 11: at this point and Ordinarily I wouldn't participate in these outings but since they'd both be there

I was excited to go we met at the church and all got on the bus I heard a few whispered comments about why is she here and about my clothes I ignored them and sat by myself in the back of the bus we got there and I mostly hung out with the couple Shawn and Claire we had a big cookout near the lake and afterwards we went for a hike there were quite a few kids there so Shawn and Claire had their Hands full on the hike keeping everyone on the trail I of course was

in the rear of the line the kids I was behind started making fun of me and telling me I was too lazy to make the hike and no one wanted me there anyway they ran ahead laughing I slowed down till they got out of sight I then sat on a rock and started crying in a minute or two I heard someone speak to me I looked up wiping my eyes and there was a man Standing by me I hadn't heard anyone walk up the trail I stood and he asked if I was okay I nodded

yes he then told me I looked sad and asked me to talk to him I opened up to him told him why I was there and that the other kids didn't like me or want me there he asked my name where I was from how was old I was and me being a dumb 11-year-old kid told him he was probably in his mid-20s with blonde hair and was cute I was thrilled he was being nice to me he gave me a hug And said that he and I could hang out and that he'd take me

back to my group once they came back down off the hike he took my hand and told me we'd go hiking a trail he knew I agreed all of a sudden I hear Shawn yell my name and tell me to stop and to get away from that man he came running up and got in between me and that guy and he started asking him what he thinks he's doing the guy just Shrugged and started walking away through the trees Not on the trail Shawn asked me if I was okay or if the guy hurt me

I could tell Shawn was very angry so I teared up again because I thought I was in trouble Shawn squatted down in front of me and told me I wasn't in trouble that I'd done nothing wrong I told him we just talked a bit and he was going to show me another Trail to hike Shawn nodded and told me we'd just catch up to the others he pulled CLA to the side once we caught up and they talked quietly she then Motioned for me to come over to her she put her arm around me and

we sat on a rock talked and laughed she had me walk beside her on the way back down and sit with her on the bus the two two of them made the rest of the day nice for me it took me years to realize what could have happened to me that day and why Shawn was so angry obviously once Shawn and CLA got to the stopping point on the trail which was a stream with a sliding rock they Realized I was missing and Shawn came back down the trail looking for me if he'd been a

few seconds later I would have gone with that man and God only knows what his plan was what once he got me out of sight my poor Guardian Angel did her job that day I have no clue if they reported this encounter to the Rangers or not I hope they did this is actually the first time I've told this story ever I didn't tell anyone when I got home because I knew that either no One would care or more likely I'd get yelled at and berated for being stupid and accused of trying to sneak off

with him starting at the age of about 9 to 10 I was being accused of fooling around with boys in my neighborhood which I wasn't but if I got caught riding bikes playing on the school playground or just sitting and talking with a boy I was paraded for hours as being a [ __ ] so I was terrified for a while that someone would tell my parents that this happened Anyway thanks for all the sweet and kind comments you folks are awesome well you really screwed up this time didn't you you found a gnarly deal

on a beautiful home that almost seemed too good to be true and you jumped at it and now that you're all moved in you've started to notice some anomalies you know the type the spooky anomalies of the supernatural persuasion bumps in the night doors opening and closing by Themselves auditory hallucinations of voices and Whispers it's more common than you may think but not everyone realizes the danger these signs could be proof that some forsaken lost souls inhabit your property maybe the previous grandmother self- ulated in the Attic Maybe maybe dear old dad went suddenly insane

and repainted the house with the blood of his children or Mom tried seducing demons in the basement if this sounds even Vaguely Familiar to you and You were looking to the good old internet for help then you've come to the right place you see I have this friend well had this friend named Nathan a couple months back Nathan found a house for sale in southern Georgia it was nestled along a remote stretch of woods just outside of woss it was a historical area an old colonial style home just under 5,000 square ft six bed and

six bath with white picket fences and a dozen Acres the quintessential American dream house by all accounts the price was unbelievably low but after Nathan contacted the real estate agent he found that the price that he had seen listed was indeed the price that was being asked for most people I imagine this would have raised some pretty big red flags but Nathan was an idiot The Confident type of idiot that believed machismo is substantial for conquering all of life's obstacles I know it's not kind to speak Ill of the Dead like that spoiler alert but

I'm just trying to give an accurate portrayal of the kind of person Nathan was you know the alpha male who hits on your girlfriend friend lives at the gym and probably finds too much pleasure to his own selfies for people like Nathan friend is really just another word for ego reinforcer he was cocky and often let pride get the better of him his wife Janelle was actually my ex-girlfriend From a while back bit of a skank but practically a supermodel they had two kids Natalie and Mason who were both spoiled brats again I'm just trying

to give an honest perspective of them in hopes that we may all learn something from what happened you see what happened to Nathan which I'll get into later was something which I believe could have been easily avoided if only he had followed a few simple instructions after the funeral I got to Pondering on the matter and realized that what we all really need is a set of rules to follow if you believe your house is haunted let's begin rule number one when looking to purchase or rent a house always ask for the history odds are

if a house is being offered at way below market value then there is a very good reason for it being that way Nathan didn't do this and thought that the underaredsky approved to begin moving in I volunteered to help them move in and I'll be honest the house was absolutely gorgeous things were great for them at first but Nathan soon started noticing some odd occurrences it started with this knocking sound that seemed to reverberate all over the home at odd hours he said he could never seem to pinpoint where it was coming from and it

never seemed to originate from the same place twice eventually he just chocked it up to the house settling but that was Just the beginning rule number two trust your gut your home is the last place you should feel uncomfortable if you get that inkling of discomfort in the back of your mind that never seems to fully dissipate pay attention to it it's probably your subconscious trying to warn you Nathan tried ignoring these sounds told his wife that it was just normal or the wind and comforted his children when they felt scared he had two dogs

Rusty and sailor both of them Black labs and both seemed to become very anxious after moving in Nathan did his best to get medication to help the dogs relax but it didn't seem to help much that brings us to rule number three along with your gut you should also trust your pets animal have instincts far greater than humans it's been said that man is the only creature who will sense danger and still wander into it animals have a sense for the supernatural dogs and cats in particular If you find them growling at what appears to

be nothing or constantly staring into specific areas of the house then pay attention to that odds are they can see something you can't Nathan told me that Rusty the older of the two dogs would past the hall each night for hours he said it was like he was standing guard over something on more than one occasion Rusty suddenly blurted into a ferocious bout of barking and snarling Nathan would come out into the Hall but never found anything he grew concerned for Rusty and took him to the vet but the vet confirmed he was in good

health meanwhile sailor the younger dog slept at the side of Mason's bed each and every night the poor boy soon developed crippling nightmares that would torment him relentlessly and sailors seemed to sense it each time Mason would wake up screaming sailor would be there to try and comfort him and that Segways perfectly into our next Rule rule number four Beware of the nightmares young children are similar to animals in the way that they seem more perceptive to things that adults are not this one can be difficult because there are many root causes of nightmares with

things like anxiety depression and other mental illnesses The Telltale sign is whether your child suddenly develops them soon after entering the home poor Mason had absolutely horrific dreams and night after night he would be Tormented by them he often spoke of the blurry man that came to him while he slept and whispered terrible things he even said that sometimes he would see the blurry man while he was awake but never more than a quick Glimpse and always in the shadows or outside in the woods Nathan and his wife worried that perhaps Mason was schizophrenic but

multiple doctors confirmed this was not the case they tried giving Mason sleeping pills Various supplements and burned incense to help him sleep more peacefully it worked for a while until Natalie started having them too rule number five try to determine what kind of spirit you're dealing with if you see flashes of a small child running through the halts at night or orbs spiraling in the air then odds are your ethereal neighbor is rather benign some people even discover they rather enjoy life with a spectral roommate and find Their Antics to be rather interesting most believe

that spirits who pass away before completing what their soul desired will become stuck in a sort of purgatory many are scared confused and angry but some primarily young children seem to be almost jubilant at times most of these are unnerving but altogether harmless but then there's the other Spirits rule number six if you or any member of your family develop inexplicable bruises cuts or lesions Then do not take them lightly this should be a massive red flag and is a very bad sign if you feel as though you're being attacked as you sleep and wake

up with unexplained scratches or wounds then just get the hell out of the house honestly a malevolent Spirit capable of inflicting physical wounds is not something to be trifled with odds are it's a demon and honestly that is the best case Ario there are other Non-abrahamic related entities that could be responsible as well they are very rare but if encountered well I'm afraid even my handy set of rules won't be enough to stop them Natalie and Mason suffered multiple scratch marks wounds and even a few bruises that almost looked like bite marks Nathan's wife Chanelle

was also subjected to these attacks the children 's teacher at school began to notice and became quite worried for their safety Obviously their first thought was not paranormal but rather that the children were being abused at home only when Social Services threatened to remove the children from his custody did Nathan finally agree to move them out of the house Janelle and the kids moved in with her mother a couple hours away and Nathan was left all alone with the dogs Rule number seven let people know what is going on yes I know the thought of

admitting to a close friend that you Believe your house is haunted may be a daunting one but it's usually better than the Alternatives the modern world rarely takes these claims seriously we put ghosts in movies and video games but when someone actually claims to see one we aren't so quick to believe them technology and science have led us to believe believe we are safe that is our Folly but it's also a topic for a different day this is yet another rule that Nathan Did not abide the worse that things got for him and his family

the more secluded he became on numerous occasions he phoned the police saying that he believed someone had broken in but they never found evidence of it eventually they even put him on a black list and warned him that any further contact would result in legal trouble rather than tell his parents or brother or any of his friends what was going on he retreated into himself he became fidgety And paranoid at times refusing to return phone calls and texts from his loved ones he just broke contact and things only got worse rule 8 and N sort

of belong in the same category although one is a little more extreme than the other rule number eight if you suspect something is up it doesn't hurt to perform a cleansing like I said earlier the modern world has little time to entertain the notion of ghosts and the supernatural but that shouldn't Ward you Off if you're unsure about whether your home is haunted or not then a routine cleansing can do wonders for you I'm willing to bet there are mediums and priests in your town that can get the job done even if you can't find

anyone local you can always just go online L and find instructions for yourself it's not as effective that way but it's better than nothing rule number nine if you're really feeling as though you were in Danger get someone to perform an Exorcism it's the step that no one wants to take but desperate times call for desperate measures priests and spiritual leaders are your go to for these kinds of things even if you yourself are not religious these people honestly do know how to help there's some evidence that Nathan was attempting to do this but it's

unknown why exactly it didn't work out maybe he second guessed himself and thought he could handle it or maybe his ego took control once again Nathan had Been collecting evidence for a while and had amassed quite a stash of Clues he had audio recordings which relate banging on the walls and Footsteps in the Attic he took multiple videos with none of them really showed anything except for the last one but by that point it was too late in his journal he also wrote that he experienced items in the house levitating on several occasions but sadly

he had no recorded proof of this Rule number 10 the big one whatever you do don't try to antagonize this spirit this should really go without saying but angrily challenging the spirit or daring it to manifest itself is a really bad idea but as you may have guessed Nathan and his unlimited stream of testosterone decided to do just that he got really drunk one night and began ruminating on all that had been happening Nathan was always a skeptic but even he couldn't ignore the psychological impact on his Family whether it was imagined or not he

realized his relationship with his children and wife were being heavily strained and his new house had become a place of hostility this made Nathan very angry so Nathan stood up and shouted at his empty house for the spirit to come forth and face him he was met with only silence and so he shouted again never once did the spirits answer his call after a few more bothast challenges he broke into a bout of laughter probably Believing himself to look ridiculous apparently not everyone who was watching felt the same though Nathan managed to stumble into bed

not long after and was out cold within a couple of minutes Nathan had kept a security camera in his room in hopes of capturing proof and that night he found something at around 213 a.m. Nathan is seen beginning to stir in his sleep in the security video he Grunts and speaks briefly but the words were Unintelligible suddenly his eyes sprung wide open in the bed and began glancing around the room Nathan appeared to be struggling but his body didn't move it was believed he was suffering an episode of sleep paralysis which left him temporarily paralyzed

his eyes continued to Dart rapidly around the room then something happened that no one who saw the video could explain the bedroom door slowly rolled open but the darkness of the hallway was All consuming Nathan's chest began frantically pumping up and down and his eyes stretched wide open something was then seen moving in the hall it could have been chocked up to a trick of the light at first but then a hand was seen reaching through it was gnarled and spindling like The Wretched malformed appendage from some Abyssal Denison the figure slowly sauntered through the

doorway its tall dark silhouette nearly grazing the top of the door frame it had No definite features appearing only as a hooded humanoid individual no eyes or face just a shadow corporeal lied from Nathan's deepest nightmares poor Nathan was heard mumbling and whimpering fr frantically but in his paralyzed State he was unable to fight back or flee he could do nothing but watch in absolute horror as the thing approached him it stopped at the foot of his bed and just stared at him for about a minute Nathan continued to hyperventilate and didn't Appear to Blink

once during the entire ordeal the thing then finally moved closer it then leaned down on only a couple inches away from his face and appeared to whisper something it was too quiet for the mic on the camera to pick up but needless to say it did not make Nathan feel any better about the situation suddenly the thing lashed out with its Twisted hands constricting like pythons around Nathan's throat in his paralyzed State he couldn't even Struggle against his shrouded attacker within a minute Nathan's chest stopped moving and his eyes fell still The Entity retracted its

hand and just stared at him for about a minute then as if taunting those who see the footage it looked directly into the camera it whispered something again but again it was too quiet to discern what it was then as quickly as it had happened it walsted out of the room and vanished back into the Darkness Nathan was found by his wife Janelle a few days later and she called the police after an autopsy Nathan was determined to have died via strangulation much as what was shown in the video cops scoured the premises and found

footsteps from the Intruder however the footprints were soon matched to a pair of Nathan's own Boots the police of course were not so quick to believe that Nathan was simply killed by Supernatural forces they Conducted interviews with neighbors friends and family members but none of them seemed capable or motivated enough to have done it there were no signs of breaking and entering and nothing had been stolen from the home they came to me and conducted an interview as well but of course that was a futile effort I mean sure the fact that Janelle was my

ex-girlfriend was reason to suspect me but I quickly dissuaded their actions Nathan was my friend despite him not Really being a good friend what kind of friend Bones your girlfriend behind your back anyways I'm not bitter about it though at least not as far as the police are concerned my aliis were solid and that's good enough reason for them this brings us to my final rule rule number 11 make sure you exhaust all other options before coming to the conclusion that your house is in fact haunted if only Nathan had taken a little more time

to Investigate his home and himself more thoroughly then maybe he'd still be alive today maybe he would have found the mini wireless speakers hidden in his attic to play the sounds of knocking maybe he would have found the patches in his air ducts that leaked mild doses of hallucinogenic drugs into his home maybe he would have detected the dog whistle alarm that caused his dogs to react so strangely if he bothered to check himself he may have found Trace Amounts of suxamethonium a paralyzing toxin that once ingested will leave the person immobile yet conscious to

all pain it would have been difficult to find as even coroners do not normally test for the substance unless specifically requested no matter how you really slice it this entire ordeal really comes back to Nathan himself if only he'd been a better person and not constantly demean his peers at every turn if only he Hadn't been so stubborn and proud if only he hadn't gone behind my back and boned my ex-girlfriend thus ruining our future and sending me into the spiraling depths of crippling depression then maybe I would have helped him so you may be

wondering is this my confession no of course not this is only my list of suggestions and rules for how things may have turned out differently for Nathan and his family these are all hypothetical explanations and are in no Way to be considered incriminating evidence to be used in court against me or anyone else for that matter besides if this really was a confession then that would make anyone who read it and accept accessory to murder and we certainly wouldn't want that I hope you can understand that and I do hope that we can trust each

other in this regard after all I have really good software for tracing IPS and Reddit makes it incredibly easy to access them we Wouldn't want your house to suddenly become haunted now would we I've been a national park ranger for close to two decades protocols have changed a lot in that time I write this just to try to keep people safe for the next time you venture to the big Outdoors let me tell you about the last Park I worked I can't be too specific about the location for my job's sake anyway we had cluster

of campsites that we rotated annually the idea was to Prevent one group from getting overused and worn down let nature regrow a bit the winter had just passed and our big summer season was a few months away I'm sent out to check the suitability of the campsites to decide which ones need time to recover and which ones we can open up Winters here are cold not too many people camp during the winter aside from rugged masochists and Boy Scout Troops groups led by people who believe they are rugged Masochists I didn't expect to find much

out of the ordinary the first site was clear and ready to go as I'm trekking to the next site I see what looks like some debris and junk down a was in a river valley looks like some jackass set up an unauthorized Camp down there usually when that happens they leave garbage and smoldering fires this is going to be a pain to clear up I approach seeing The Telltale wreckage of what must have been one hell Of a party [ __ ] scattered everywhere the skeletons of tents still raised up and blood I stop and

time stops with me pools of blood are spread out along the ground next to signs of something heavy being dragged into the brush I pull my radio off my belt and pause I then pull my Glock 22 out of my holster and rack one round I'm a certified law enforcement officer but I haven't had to use my gun in a long time I quickly look around for any Movement then get on my radio and call in for backup while I wait I listen silence silence in nature isn't good pray get quiet when they sense a

predator I hope all the birds are being still on my account I Edge forward slowly looking for anyone or anything thing a shredded plastic cooler a tent that has been annihilated with more blood splashed on the walls and inside people died here I know it you can't lose that much blood and just walk off But no people shreds of clothes and a little viscera drawing all the damn flies here but no people I've seen Bears rummage through camps and Destroy anything that looked edible there are wild hogs here that cut Trails through the Deep brush

and are even more dangerous than the bears but this isn't either of them the devastation here it's just too much some scourge of God came through here and just ripped Everything To Pieces finally backup arrives and I'm sent to report to HQ they even brought Medics out here I don't know why there's no one here to save one of the new recruits vomits at the scene I'm glad to get the hell out of here I get back and HQ is a buzz only four people work here but calls are ringing printers Printing and the air

feels electrified the manager sees me and signals me to his office he's pale Ashen looking with bloodshot Eyes I sit down by his desk and he goes to the door and locks it I've never seen him lock that door he asks me what I saw I tell him uninterrupted he looks even paler afterward and His Hands tremble a bit there's a very long pause and I expect more questions he doesn't ask any I leave then hear the door lock behind me after a few minutes I hear him call someone up and the long low conversation

ensues I never see him again word comes Down from on high we're assigned a new manager one who excels at what he calls crises his first order of business a controlled burn of the unauthorized camp and the sight's closest to it I'm not arguing I watched the smoke rise in the distance and pray that's the end of it new orders relocate the existing campsites closer to HQ before we do that we take out a few trail cameras at the new location s just to make sure it's not in the middle of a nesting ground we

Put up a few cameras pointed at the hog trails through the brush for good measure a couple days pass and we go out to collect the footage the new manager takes it all and starts studying it in his office a couple hours into reviewing he freaks out starts screaming and yelling he gets on the phone calling up the line spitting more obscenities he spends the rest of the day and that night in the office calling up Specialists and planners the next Morning I show up for a meeting the manager doesn't look like he slept massive

changes of foot he lays out new plans including massively bright lamposts circling the park border as well as flood lights around the ranger station campsites need to be moved even closer in clear lines of sight from the light if possible I but in telling him that defeats the point of going camping if you're just going on a short walk through the grass then setting up so Close you can see the parking lot he tells me to shut up that it's just the start the park now closes it sundown sharp also we're now required to have

a long gun on our person at all times now it isn't uncommon for Rangers to carry an AR-15 or a Remington 870 shotgun going out in the Deep Woods there are wild and rabbit animals out there the real concern are massive pot growers these aren't your chill neighbor who hides a few plants behind the tomatoes They've run the Spectrum from large-scale suppliers who like their privacy and dislike law enforcement to anti-government crazies who think we have no right over them the true Patriots both groups have a few common points they tend to be well-armed they

do not like lawmen and they won't shy away from taking a pot shot at some dumb poor Ranger who finds himself in their fields keep in mind Elliot Ness mister I fought elk opponent one got scared off Busting up Appalachian Moonshiners because they constantly sniped at him in the Foothills they shoot to kill those are the reasons we keep the big guns around not routine patrols I drew the Short Straw and got the overnight shift the manager tells me more changes to protocol will be listed when I return overnights used to be easy monitor the

radio bust up the parties if needed check for poachers if they're operating nearby make sure the forest doesn't burn Down I clock in and per instructions go to the gun cage my things have changed our shotguns have new rifled barrels so they can handle the solid slugs we've been issued that's the kind of Firepower you want to take down a charging barar God forbid you ever need it the AR-15s have been stepped up too the old 15 round magazines have been replaced by 30 round ones someone even snuck Us in hollow point rounds it makes

no damn sense shooting in the woods you need Full Metal Jacket ammo so the rounds don't go wild when they touch a twig hollow points just exist to do more tissue damage this is ridiculous this is overkill we're not a war zone we don't need this Firepower next to the radio there are new instructions now we're not allowed to directly respond to emergency calls we can reply figure out what the issue is then we report to a new phone number I don't recognize time passes slowly Tonight I'm not even allowed to leave the building until

sunup a few uneventful nights pass the new flood lights and lamposts are frying my eyes it's so bright out out there a blind man could see a week later some kids roll into the lot they grab their backpacks and start hiking up the ridge I know what they're up to no one has booked a campsite that night cheap young ones going on a camp that will be a raging party I wait for the sun to go down Confirming they're not out for a Day hike I call my manager to report he instructs me to call

the new number I report up to them now a Curt voice answers the phone he asks my Park then pauses he asks the issue bunch of kids on an unauthorized site do I go break it up I can see their campfire out on the ridge right now I say no do not Le the building do not attempt communication that is all report if there are any developments right after Daybreak the Manager writes up it's real Hur early have you seen them did they leave he asks no the car's still there let them rest they're probably

all hung over I reply he curses nonstop he then goes inside to make a call I'm outside looking up the ridge when he exits the station one AR in his hand another one strapped across his back Glock on his hip he marches single-handedly towards his car I try to ask him what in God's name he's Doing but he isn't listening or responding he takes a Jerry can of gasoline from his car and marches up the ridge I yell after him to no reply I consider following him but that doesn't seem like a good idea I

go back inside and call the number the same Curt voice the same direct questions yeah the manager went up to that campsite armed to the teeth and carrying gasoline what the [ __ ] do I do stay there do not interfere backup is inbound report if There are any developments about the same time I start to see smoke wafting off the ridge two Vans right into the lot at screaming speed a dozen men heavily armed and armored exit quickly I go out to check who are you guys what's going on I asked the men are

all lined up with that impeccable military Precision one of them a commander I assume exits the vehicle last he says which direction did he go I mean he's up there I point at The increasing smoke the men fan out and start jogging up the ridge I hear rifles cocking as they leave I try to shout after them but no response I look at the Vans they came in large nondescript they just say DOI Response Team on the side half an hour later they return dragging the manager with them he's Bound in zip ties he screams

I did what needed to be done trust me it's worse than they thought we can't stop this burn it all they throw him in the Back and sedate him the commander approaches me my neck hairs bristle in cold fear here I need to see the office all computers and anything with a hard drive is coming with me he mentioned videotapes I need those too I unlock the doors and they rans sack the place everything gets taken printed reports from the last few years disappear into those fans the videotapes get bagged up and held by the

commander himself he studies the gun cage cute you're out of Your league he SC shops finally they found everything they looked for the commander tells me call the number tell them it's contained you need a new supervisor also don't talk about this to anyone they leave and just on Q the fire brigade and a few news Vans show up the fire is contained and the news reports say rumors of missing campers are unsubstantiated at this time still the rumors alone are enough to scare off this season's campers the Quick Change Up of managers is chocked

up to bureaucracy the Press dies down after a week or two the new manager is very good at dealing with them thankfully with no new campers and are now even shorter open hours we can get more work done around here rebuilding the station took some time and we just set up the new campsites they're practically spitting distance from the station nothing dramatic happens for a few days then on a whim the manager tells us to Set up some cameras around the station and the campsites there's usually so much human activity around here all you see

are some raccoons maybe the rare Hungry Bear but we humor him and set them all around a couple days pass we collect the footage I play poker with one of the rookies while the manager watches hours of footage of an empty but brilliant ly illuminated parking lot then he gets to the footage around the station Screams Come From the office we Barge in and he's stamping on the camera hard drives gibbering things I can't understand along the lines of told me it was clean safe no recent activity [ __ ] here I'm not going to

do it he barks at us to leave later he makes a call the rookie goes up to the door and listens in the rookie comes back reporting yeah he's demanding a transfer says they lied to him something about they didn't do their jobs properly he's not prepared or equipped here then I Just heard the phone click and some sobbing hours later my manager exits the office his shoulders are slumped defeated we cut our hours even further practically open on weekends only we'll have a full staff ready those days but a skeleton crew the rest of

the time campers are required to check in to one of the closest sites no campsite and they're told to leave we're not authorized to leave the station after dark under any circumstances in an Emergency do not call 911 call the number and do exactly what they say we draw straws for who gets overnight shifts why we need to stay overnight if we can't do anything is Beyond me I asked the manager about it and he just said that standard protocol is to have someone on hand to report any irregularities overnight I have to work my

overnight shift I keep my phone close the number dialed in ready if I need to call it's a Bad night I just wind up pacing around with my shotgun glancing into the bright flood lights trying to see what's past them I hear crickets and it relaxes me prey is quiet when predators are around and it's a long night the next night my manager draws the Short Straw he seems resigned in the end we all have to take a turn he brings the brightest damn tactical flashlight I've ever seen he says he brought it just because

he's Afraid of the dark he isn't really he's afraid of the things in the dark I get a phone call at 3:00 a.m. it's him get over here now and bring guns he demands what you have a damn Arsenal I responded now I swear to God I [ __ ] up oh man I think they're attracted to the light I called that number and all they said was backup would be here in the morning oh [ __ ] my manager says I hear they're piercing staccato with gunshots I pause more gunshots screaming scuffling the Line

goes dead I call the number a new tur Voice Answers look I work at Jefferson Park I just got off the phone with Bennett I say I just spoke with Bennett what can you report the voice replies something bad it's serious I heard gunshots I told him we will have backup there as soon as possible did he say anything else he asked me yeah he said he thought they were attracted to the light it doesn't make sense to me I told him interesting thank you for your Report the park is now closed you will be

reassigned goodbye click officially the park was closed to be scheduled for a controlled burn let the old trees die and make room for new ones there was nothing in the official report about what happened to the manager on duty the public understanding was bureaucracies need to be shaken up on occasion no one asked any more questions I get transferred to a new park halfway across the country a Change of scenery and beautiful they've got some odd rules here too don't go for after dark and don't carry a flash flashlight I'm concerned about why why can't

you use a flashlight at night when you need one they won't tell me be safe everyone this all went down during the Spring Break of my junior year of high school my school was in a pretty small Iowa town with the district spanning several smaller hamlets during the summer of 2014 a few friends of mine put Together a film club that would make short films and compete in National film festivals against other schools we were a pretty small group and found it kind of difficult to get together for any actual filming until spring break of

2015 when we made plans for a little Excursion four of us ended up going on the trip myself and three members of the club Jake Bill and Kyle we ended up choosing to go camping out at mosy Glen Hollow a supposedly haunted State Park Up in northeastern Iowa since the 1850s there have been several murders and suicides out at Mossy Glenn including a few decapitations and a hired Hitman in the 1930s being the edgy teens that we were we jumped at the chance to go hiking and camping some somewhere like that it was within 15

minutes of a small town as well so stocking up on food wouldn't be that big of an issue either so all lights green we loaded up two of our Sedans programmed the GPS and off we were for a spring break camping in some Haunted Woods after the first hour and a half on the road a few red flags began to fly after the last large town before getting way out in the Boondocks my phone data signal cut out and the GPS randomly changed directions on us since none of us had any idea where the hell

we were or where Mossy Glenn was supposed to be we didn't have much choice but to Blindly follow the new route to save on continuity I'm going to throw this section in the end it's not really important to the story but it can give a bit of perspective on how places like Mossy Glenn Hollow end up in the legal state that this place was in once we were firmly in the middle of nowhere our GPS took us off the paved highways and onto gravel roads at this point you typically would see the usual Brown Iowa

DNR signs designating that you were near A state park but there were none there weren't even any tree clums to indicate that he were near some sort of forest red flag number two about another 10 minutes or so into the drive and the gravel road soon turns to a dirt road then a low maintenance road then a Class B minimum maintenance road with Iowa's dedication to Road preservation this basically means that somebody probably came by and took a peak in the '90s and then probably forgot about its existence As we come around the last hilly

band that the GPS shows on our route we see a farmhouse with a large Machine Shed with no lights or activity around either and no cars in the driveway a bit weirded out that a house would be right next to a state park we slow down and keep rolling to our dismay however the road dissolves into a mess of washed tractor tire gouches from last Fall's Harvest we stop the cars as far down as we can pass without getting hung up on a frozen rut And unpack some of our equipment the road gradually Narrows snakes

down the middle of a field and turns down into the small but very thick clump of wood at the bottom of a wide Ravine we get out and hike down the gradually steepening slope and take in the scenery at first everything looks like a pretty damn cool set to film at there are several Limestone outcrops hanging off the hillside a footpath with some picturesque tree overhang and even A few birds out that made an unseasonal return from wintering down South we can all hear some water running but can't identify a source from the TR Trail

looking off in any direction all we could see was a seemingly Endless Sea of trees at the bottom of the hill was a small pond in the middle of a grassy clearing with a fence as we approached the fence we notice a sign private property keep out Bill checks his watch and realizes that it's almost time for Dinner so we Trek back to our vehicles and hook up the GPS the nearest town over was a little place called Edgewood that had several diners and a gas station to load up on supplies for the week we

brought some canned food but not much beyond that as we got to town we realized that Edgewood was a lot smaller than we had expected less than 900 people it would turn out everyone knows everyone in these small towns so we got several weird looks when four Strangers rolled up with plates from the other side of the state Kyle thought to ask the cashier and a few people at the gas station about Mossy Glenn Hollow and why they only route in was through some guys field on a busted out dirt road to our surprise nobody

had even heard of a place called Mossy Glenn nor could they figure out why the hell four high schoolers suddenly rolled into town looking for the place red flag number three we shrug it off as just a few Crazy locals and take off back down the dirt Trail as we round the corner back near The Farmhouse we noticed that all the lights are still off and nobody seems to be home I suggest that we leave some sort of note on the house door that we're going to be parking on the side of the road near

their place just to be safe it is starting to get late in the day and being this far out in the country it wouldn't be unheard of to come face to face with a shotgun when The homeowners find our cars since the road is impassible from that point on anyway parking there wouldn't realistically block anybody off of the road and would still technically be on public land we hike back down the Wooded Trail and start scouting for a place to set up camp for the night making sure to be on the public side of the

fence Pond area we discover that the Sea of trees that we saw earlier was actually quite a bit thinner when seen from Below in fact The dirt path l to a decently sized clearing with a Creek in small waterfall cutting through the Limestone deposits none of us could believe that we had missed such a thing a few hours earlier when Bill comes to a realization he disappears around the corner back into the trees and emerges at the top of the trail a few minutes later though we could plainly see him the trees lined up just

right so that he could not see anything beyond the Rocks Below the path l ledge continuing further up the creek we notice there are conveniently placed rocks about the perfect distance apart to step without disturbing the water or surrounding rocks one could walk almost silently up and down the creek while the sound of the water masked the steps not thinking much of it we take some pictures of the large moss covered Boulders all around and get some pretty nice Scenic shots we find a place to make camp and everything Is going great until we approached

the waterfall just before the waterfall sat a clearing without any large Boulders or rocks and an odd arrangement of logs one sat horizontal supported at each end by two piles of rocks in front sat a crude stone circle with a pile of burnt logs inside a fire pit with a bench though a bit surprised at first we shrug it off as some weekend project that the people up the house put together after all with such a cool place just a short walk from Home why not I have a similar fire pit set up at home

so I'm not too concerned hey what the hell is this Kyle yells from a boulder a few yards ahead on it sat a blaze orange hoodie a single gardening glove an empty can of beer and a stick of deodorant that had seen some serious wear looking closer at the beer can we realized that it must have been opened fairly recently foam is still fresh in the bottom of the can and it still had a funny smell bewildered by What the hell we just found Jake starts looking around the other side of the boulders Upstream of

the items holy [ __ ] there's a cave over here he shouts back to us later he told us that the cave was large enough to comfortably fit a person inside and that more disturbingly he saw some red fabric inside as well before he can get a good look around Kyle calls the three of us back over to him with a sense of urgency he speaks very quietly to us and indicates that we shouldn't Shout back shampoo [ __ ] shampoo he whispers pointing urgently down at his feet sure enough in the mud and leaves

there's a bottle of sve shampoo right next to the creek at this point we're all adequately freaked the [ __ ] out and ready to call our little Suare quits Bill remains pretty sure that this is just junk left behind by the people up at the house after a weekend a few too many Bush lights but things just didn't add up to me there's One detail that I've been leaving out up to this point the day before this part of Iowa got some heavy rain which attributed to the mud situation on the road and on

the trail with the combination of wind and rain the items on the Rocks would have shown some signs of being wet if not been displaced entirely also the air was pretty cold as it is every year around this time not getting above the mid-40s for the whole week then everything starts to click for Me whoever drank the beer and left the shampoo hat glove and deodorant there must have done so sometime this morning the fire pit also had some fresh charm marks on the rocks and the wood had not been wet for a while meaning

that it must have been lit last night at the earliest the small cave would have provided enough Shelter From the rain to stay dry with the freezing temperatures all throughout the day whoever was using the shampoo out here must have had Little other choice to do so if it was the homeowners they would have had to be serious masochists to bathe in the shallow freezing Rocky Creek rather than at home if it wasn't them then we likely weren't alone right now whoever left these things out left in a hurry and if they were here 4

hours ago they would have been able to see us on the trail Cliff long before we even knew they were down here remembering the arrangements of rocks on the stream they could have Even been leaving leaving their Camp just as we were coming down the dirt Trail as I processed this I started to look around at my surroundings and realized that the small area was bordered by the thick trees on the trail side several sets of huge Boulders on the pond side and Limestone Cliffs everywhere else due to the tree Rock and Hill cover you

could light a fire in the pit at night and nobody around would ever know The illusion of being able to see up the dirt trail from the camp but not down played in Reverse from The Cliffs if you were wearing brown or green you could easily see down from the rocks on top to the camp below while blending in with the trees above coming to these realizations I noticed something else something more Sinister the birds and small animals that we previously heard are now quiet aside from the soft babble of the creek the entire place

is Completely silent as I start to explain this to the rest of the group I see the wheels turning in their heads as well Jake starts to head back to the small cave when a rustling up on the Limestone R line catches our attention something large was shifting around up there something that apparently didn't want Jake to see what was in that cave we all look up and whatever or whoever made that noise start shuffling down the ridge toward the makeshift Camp because Of the high cliff the only way back down to us would be

by going all the way back down to the pond and then double back up the stream realizing this and almost [ __ ] ourselves at how open we were we book it back up the stream up the dirt path across the field and back to our cars on the drive back to Edgewood we all try and process what the [ __ ] just happened back there I take a look at a satellite map and the only really accessible way to the cliff where we Heard the noise would be to walk up there from the pond

it was too craggy to approach from the adjacent field to the east whatever made that noise would had to have been large too and a deer getting up there wouldn't necessarily be out of the question it would have had some incredible timing to have started moving around just as Jake started looking at the cave and whatever red fabric was inside Kyle found a report of an escaped convict From a local prison a few weeks ago and was convinced that it was his camp that we found though we were all doubtful at Best of this idea

to satisfy his concerns we agreed to report the strange things we found to the police anonymously since we all wanted to really get home at this point none of us followed up on them though and I doubt anything came out of it it a Small close-knit Town Police Department gets a report of strange sightings from some Stranger the same day that four high schoolers roll up and park outside a farmer's house for a few hours and then book it out doesn't exactly spell High threat criminal activity to me still things just don't seem to add

up whoever came running down that Cliff if it indeed was a who wanted to keep whatever was inside that cave hidden but not enough to actually fight four decently tall and able teenagers we figured he just wanted to Scare us off since the noises seemed to stop once we reached the dirt path I thought it odd that someone living out in the woods with something seemingly to hide would set up shop in a state park that is until I checked my GPS again that little rout that it took us on was an old entrance to

the park that had been cut off by the purchase of the lake area sometime between the map records used for Google's navigation being updated and that day the current Entrance to the park is about 2 mi north of where the GPS sent us thinking it found a faster route the place we were at was still public land for sure but not quite what we pictured so guy in Mossy Glenn Hollow let's not meet I have always been an avid Mountain person when people say they go to the beach for vacation I respect it but I

prefer the mountains 100% something about these old giants has always fascinated me as if I just Cannot avoid but to be drawn towards them and be in awe when hiking on them over my short life a 21-year-old student I consider that I've seen a fair amount of mountain ranges in Europe from the Alps in Switzerland to the Pyrenees in Spain and from the Italian dolomites to the Czech staway mountains I have always hiked and camped Outdoors a lot with family and friends but also by myself now I went to the United States for college and

I have always been Tempted to do a part of the Appalachian Trail from the pictures I saw on the internet I always wanted to see them in person and I'm not going to lie I must say that the great amount of scary stories of these mountains always attracted me a little as well I'm definitely not a person who likes scary movies or anything but I enjoy reading fellow Mountaineer experiences and to be honest I mostly just read stories about the Appalachian Trail to know how to Prep myself for when I was going to do it

the scary stories just got my attention every now and then that being said I decided to go this year and do a small part of the Appalachian Trail I went to do a small part between the borders of Tennessee and North Carolina with klingman's stome being the icing on the cape I was a little bit hesitant to go by myself since I'm not very familiar with both the geography as well as the wildlife in this part of the states I Wanted to go with a friend or my girlfriend who's from North Carolina herself but both

my friend and my girlfriend declined because they had to go to work this was during spring break so I decided I just had to go by myself since I'm graduating this year and will return to Europe I started at this place called Bryson City and walked along the tusi river until I reached the Nolan Creek Trail Head from there on I just followed the trail until I would reach Klingman's Dome and from klingman's Dome I would follow the Appalachian Trail for about a week I had prepared well for this trip I carried bear spray and

pepper spray I read some freaky stories about people in the Appalachian Trail and I also brought this hunting knife and an axe for wood I had some canned food and lots of water plus a water filter and for the rest just my tent and sleeping bag so when I started walking from Bryson City and I saw the beautiful Aura this mountain range had I couldn't be happier I had been wanting to do this since I had arrived here in the US and I was finally doing it I encountered some people on the Nolan Creek Trail

Head who were friendly but I'd made up my mind I would be better off alone than with strangers I reached klingman's Dome the same day and went a little further before I would set up camp it was beautiful at night I slept a bit off the trail with a small campfire while I had Dinner and with which I put out before I went to sleep the first night went really well as I was so exhausted from the hike to klingman's dome the next two days were just as beautiful and I saw lots of breathtaking views

the people on the Appalachian Trail I encountered were really polite as well then on the third night I feel like everything took a strange turn I'd set up my Camp just as usual around 160 ft from the trail no one was camping close to me or at least Not that I was aware of while getting dinner I just had this really weird gut feeling that I was not alone there I felt as if someone was looking at me from behind a tree or something I tried to convince myself that I was having an amazing time

that I was safe and that it was just my mind playing tricks on me I went to sleep and put the fire out as usual then before it was Daylight again I woke up I woke up with this same gut feeling that even though I was in my Tent that someone was watching my tent from a distance I did not hear a single bird which was weird because right before daylight is when they start chirping again I only heard the wind and the leaves it made me feel uncomfortable a bit scared even I didn't fall

asleep again and the first thing in the morning after having breakfast in my tent I broke up camp and decided to continue my hike during my hike I encountered a few people and again they were very nice but I stick to myself while walking on this part of the trail by myself alone I felt as if I was being watched again I even had the feeling as if someone or something was following me so every now and then I would stop dead in my tracks in order to hear if it was real now obviously my

mind could be playing tricks but I would swear that I would hear the steps stop a second after I'd stopped so according to me at that moment someone was following me I looked Around the whole time and I never saw anyone or anything which made it even more weird after the long day of hiking I made camp this time closer to the trail than usual but for some reason I thought it would be more safe I again had this gut feeling of being watched while having dinner outside my tent so I decided to finish my

food in my tent and went to the bathroom in a bottle because I did not want to go outside now I tried to sleep by closing my eyes but my mind Focused on hearing the whole time and that is when I heard it for the first time a knock as if a branch was hitting a tree or a small rock was getting thrown at a tree silence followed for what seemed like an eternity but was probably more like 10 minutes then it happened again this time more clear I was scared now and I had no

idea where to go since it was dark already I put on my flashlight in the tent and made myself look as big as I Could so that my shadow outside the tent would look bigger because of the light I don't know why this was my reasoning at the time I just thought of bears I held my hunting night in my hand silence followed the second knock but now I shouted to pierce the silence in the dark first I shouted that whoever was joking around I was armed and I was not wanting to be pranked I

thought this would scare them off it did not it was almost as if this person found it even More funny knowing I was pissed at them I heard another knock and immediately after a knock on what I I assumed to be the opposite side of my tent so now I was guessing it was two people instead of one and that they liked to pull a prank on an innocent passer by I tried to stay up as long as I could but around 4:00 a.m. my eyes just gave up and I drifted off I woke up

at around 8:00 a.m. again with the light of the sun being my savior I first tried to hear if Whoever was pranking me was still knocking I didn't hear anything I shouted again stating that I was now going to exit my tent with my knife in my hand and that whoever had been joking around should make themselves known I walked out of my tent and I didn't see anyone I looked for tracks around my camp but I could not immediately make something out of it I decided to get the hell out of there the next

part of my week basically continued being the same At night I'd hear some knocks from different directions and occasionally I heard what I would guess was a little bit of humming as if a person was just humming a tune now I never saw anyone except from the occasional hikers on the Appalachian Trail so I cannot say I saw something weird but I could never get rid of this weird gut feeling that I was being watched and followed during the rest of my hike on the Appalachian Trail I'm now back and I told this to my

Girlfriend she said it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me and I am inclined to believe her because I never saw anything but I still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night thinking that I'm in that tent in the middle of nowhere and someone is watching me and knocking on a tree and every time I wake up like this the thought alone scares me we've gone to visit my wife Sarah's family every summer since we got married four years ago they live in a small town Way up in the mountains her

parents own a lot of land so we would spend our time riding ATVs and hiking trails a while back I took a week off of work and we drove up to spend the time with Sarah's parents and siblings it was a good time and the week passed way too quick Sunday rolled around and we loaded up our shitty old sedan for the drive home we left her parents place in the afternoon and had started winding our way down the mountain towards the Highway when Sarah sighed great check it out she handed me her phone it

showed that the highway was red with traffic for something like 25 miles on the highway must have been an accident I guess we'll be sitting in traffic for a while Sarah said I pulled to the side of the road and pulled out my own phone I saw that there was a long winding road that cut through the mountains for nearly 50 mil finally rejoining the highway after the traffic ended I Figured that going slow on an old windy road was better than sitting and stop and go traffic for 5 hours Sarah was very against the

decision when I asked her why she just told me she had a bad feeling about it still somehow I convinced her that we'd be fine so instead of turning right and heading down towards the highway we turned left and headed deeper into the mountains the road turned to dirt pretty quick Sarah jumped into the back seat so she could Stretch out and she recorded some of what we saw out the window I was shocked at how deserted it was we only passed one house over the entire hour and not a single car Sarah recorded some

video of the drive we'd been on the road for a little over an hour when we came around a hill up ahead there was a single crashed car just off the road I pulled off to the side of the road and got out to take a closer look I grabbed my phone to call 911 but realized I had no signal not even roaming I proceeded to take a picture I came around to the driver's side of the car and saw that the driver's window was shattered with no sign of the driver anywhere Sarah walked to

the front of the car and put her hand on the hood the engine's cold that means it's been at least a couple hours since the crash right are we the first ones on this road to drive by she asked I told her I Didn't know but that it could be with how few people people we'd seen Sarah pointed to the broken glass from the window it seems like a lot of glass inside the car if the driver busted it to get out wouldn't it make sense that it would be out on the ground beside the

car she said she was right the inside of the car was littered with safety glass from the window I looked closer and saw Flex of blood covering some surfaces too where is the driver though I didn't like That I told Sarah it was time to go and that we'd call somebody once we had cell signal she agreed and we hopped back into my car I turned the key in the ignition and heard the rapid clicking noise that meant my battery was dead I popped my hood and saw that there was a bunch of corrosion built

up on my battery terminal I swore under my breath what does that mean Sarah asked I told her that it meant that there wasn't a good connection between the battery and The motor and that the battery was probably dead we could fix the corrosion but we'd need a jump to get the car started again I talked the problem over with Sarah we were already dozens of miles from her parents' place and we had no signal based on the car wreck it was likely we wouldn't see any more traffic for hours at Best and days at

worst on on top of all that the sun was starting to get low in the sky we needed to find someone with jumper cables I remembered That we passed a house a few miles back on the road I figured it'd be best if Sarah stayed with our car on the side of the road so I started walking back up the road by myself it took me a little more than an hour of walking before I saw the house again the house had a strange architecture with part at the top floor hanging over the lower floor

I saw there was a small Garage in the woods behind the house I walked up to the door and Knocked calling out as I did there was no answer I walked to a window next to the door and looked through the inside was abandoned but I saw that there was a message scrolled on the wall I looked closer and could just barely make out the words it said they can't see you if you don't make noise I read it over and over they can't see you if you don't make noise what did they mean I

checked my phone again but Still had no signal I yelled out for help but hurt nothing judging by the state of the place I figured it must have been abandoned on top of everything else the sky was starting to get dark I made my way towards the Gage behind the house and kicked in a door the inside was in Fairly good condition still there was an old cabinet against the wall I opened it up and saw some rusted jumper cables and a flashlight sitting on a shelf I figured the battery and the Crashed car might

still have enough charge to jump my car so I grabbed both of them at this point it was completely dark outside I started walking back toward my car and was happy to see that the flashlight still worked I was alternating walking fast and running something about the house and message had given me a bad feeling and I was eager to get back I was walking alongside the road when I heard a scuffling sound out in the woods behind Me I stopped and looked back for a long moment that's when I saw movement out of the

corner of my eye I turned my flashlight forwards and saw a creature standing behind a tree it moved its head in an erratic motion constantly twitching it looked like a gigantic spider with a human head its eyes reflected the light of my flashlight like headlights I heard more Motion in the woods behind it I locked my muscles in place I gripped my phone hard and Accidentally pulled the volume button which I have set to take a picture on my phone's camera my phone made the clicking camera noise at that sound the creature snapped its head

in my direction and began moving around the tree I pulled my arm back and threw my flashlight as hard as I could behind me on the road the creature looked back behind me and with its spindled legs started walking towards the flashlight I noted that it moved pretty slow the Moments it took to walk by me were an eternity when I saw it was a dozen meters away I started running down the road and did not look back after an eternity I reached my car completely out of breath and full of adrenaline Sarah opened her

door and got out hey you find any help she asked I yelled for her to stay in the car and ran up to the crashed one I reached my hand into the broken window and popped its Hood then ran around and pulled its battery out I Attached the cables I brought to both batteries and Sarah turned over our car's engine I ripped the cables off of our battery and slammed the hood shut I then jumped into the driver's seat and sped down the road once we made it home I told Sarah about what happened she

started balling and told me that she'd heard stories while growing up about the valley that we'd been in and that it was the reason she was hesitant earlier she never imagined that there was anything To them I don't know what to think now if I find anything else out I will update you this happened to my mom a few months ago in rural Montana my mom took her dog outside to potty in the middle of the night she has a big yard and her dog would go out off leash while she waited for her dog

my mom said that she heard a strange whistling she would have thought it was a human except whatever it was didn't seem to need to breathe The Sounds were continuous she described it as a combination of every dog whistle you could imagine all at once she was convinced that some creature was attempting to lure away weigh her dog Into the Wilderness luckily the dog didn't seem to react to the sound and return to her after doing its business a few days prior my mom and stepdad had been rockhounding near their home and they saw what

looked like two footed Dog Tracks going across the road that had an 8ft stride she thinks that this might have all been the work of a Dogman the crypted dog that walks upright on two feet as a child she had a Bigfoot encounter she's terrified of and believes in the existence of Cryptids because of this when I came to visit her this summer she would not let me take the dog out after dark and she would not do it either she very frantically and emphatically made me promise not to go out after Sundown there were

several Strange occurrences at her home over the summer that I saw for myself she is still seeking out other stories since experiences like hers to shed light on what might have happened and so far has been unable to find any stories like hers if you or someone you know have experienced whistling like that please share I have a story story it isn't mine but it happened to my uncle he used to tell me this story when we went camping and it scared the lights out of me every Time I heard it we live in Utah

and my uncle Mark went on a mission at 19 they sent him to reservation in Arizona they paired him up with a companion named Carl when they first got there there was a huge Rift with the locals on the reservation with them being there they didn't want my uncle and Carl staying on the reservation grounds eventually they came to a compromise that they would stay on the outskirts in a trailer this reservation Wasn't very big and it was located next to a heavily wooded area the first night they were trying to sleep when all of

the sudden their trailers started to shake violently back and forth startled and not sure what was happening they climbed under their table for cover Mark could distinctively hear someone pushing it from both sides of the trailer kind of like a group of people after about 5 minutes it stopped the next day they made rounds on the reservation and were Talking to the locals Carl made a comment to one of the families that their trailer was shaking the night before the family got very quiet and then told them they had to leave they thought it was

strange but didn't think much of it the next night it happened again they awoke to their trailer shaking back and forth again they climbed under the table until it stopped this went on for two more nights anytime they tried to Talk to anyone about it they got quiet and told them to leave Mark started thinking that due to the tension of their arrival the locals were doing this to scare them off the reservation they then go into a convenience store and they were talking together about how frustrated they were with the situation the clerk overheard

and said they can't talk about it it's forbidden confused they ask him can't Talk about what the guy continues to tell them about the Skin Walkers he says they are evil demons that were once Native American witches if they talk about it the skinwalkers will come for their souls they just walked out of there baffled they thought it was another scare tactic so that night when the shaking started again my uncle decided to be brave and confront them he went to the trailer door threw it open and yelled hey when he did that he saw

These three animals run off two were a wolf and one was a bear but they looked strange almost with human features as he watched them run towards the trees all three stood up on two legs and walked slowly towards the trees making a human cackling laugh it scared him so bad that they called their mission president the next morning and they asked to be moved they were relocated that day for a year nothing happened one day they announced that Carl was being relocated to another city and Mark was getting a new companion Jimmy they had

to drive for about an hour to picked Jimmy up from the airport the road they traveled went through the boundaries of the reservation they arrived at about 8 p.m. and met Jimmy and they go to leave the mission president tells Jimmy we are driving through a dangerous area at night so we can't make any stops if you need to use the restroom you need to go now Jimmy Says I'm fine the mission president gets serious enough to even freak out more I'm not kidding go do your business Jimmy was insistent he was fine so they

hit the road as they were about 30 minutes into the drive they were going through the area of the reservation boundaries Jimmy starts complaining that he needed to pee badly the mission President says we can't stop here you'll have to hold it Jimmy keeps going on I really can't hold it so the mission President stops the car and says says okay but you will do your business next to the door and if I say get into the car you better get into the car fast with a look of confusion Jimmy says all right he opens

the door and starts to do his business about 5 seconds later the mission President says nothing and just Yanks Jimmy into the car and Floors it Jimmy and Mark start freaking out what's going on the mission President says nothing and just increases his speed all Of a sudden Mark sees something next to the car on his right a giant wolfl looking man was running on two feet next to the car Mark looked at the speedometer they were going over 60 M an hour and still increasing the wolf creature kept right next to the car for

10 minutes until it finally took off in to the tree shaking Jimmy gets out of the car when they arrive there was not a word spoken through the whole ordeal and Jimmy says What did I just see the mission President says next time I tell you to take care of your business you take care of your business thanks to horror rider for letting me share their original stories I'd link their details below I hope you're ready for this I'm from a small Midwestern town I'm sure you've never heard of and you never will it wasn't

even a DOT on the map just 761 people on their own in the Middle of nowhere that's why I'm telling this story so that someone knows what happened here I remember as a kid we used to play in the cornfield all the time we lived on a farm just outside of town the sidewalk literally began one block away from our house it wasn't much a single Main Street with a general store drug store and hardware store the grocery store and Diner were around the corner just off the main street the only reason we had a

post office is because The nearest town was 20 mes away it was the kind of place even Norman Rockwell would miss if he drove through my brother sister and I didn't have a lot of toys or games so we played hide-and seek almost non-stop with a few of the other neighborhood kids we tried playing around the house but with there usually being six or seven of us it was just too easy the best time was during the summer after the corn got above our heads nobody wanted to be the Seeker then Because it was literally

impossible to find anyone games would go on for hours with no one found our mom would have to come out and yell for us to come in for meals the best part of hiding was when the Seeker walked right past you the excitement and sheer Terror as you held your breath and tried to stay as still as possible was incomparable I'd nearly pee my pants if the Seeker stopped right beside me there was that moment when you didn't know if They had no clue where you were or if they knew and they were just toying

with you there were a couple of times when the Seeker was toying with me and they would stop right beside where I was hiding then take a step or two and lunge back and grab me I screamed both times not the oh you got me squeal that kid St I mean serious blood curdling someone is trying to murder me scream my mother came running to make sure I was okay and I got into trouble For scaring her so bad I usually had to sit out the next turn as punishment watching the cornstalks sway and bend

as the pursuers hunted down their prey the fun suddenly changed when the strangers came to town I remember there were a lot of strangers around during that time in my life by strangers I don't mean people who act odd they acted much more than than odd remember when you were a kid and you dressed up as a superhero you acted like the superhero You were dressed like you would talk like him walk like him pretend you had the powers he had you just did everything you could to fool anyone into thinking you were that Superhero

this was the same only these people seem to be trusted up pretending to be people it was weird we would go to town and some of them would just be standing around pretending to be nonchalant they were staring at nothing Not the Thousand M stair some people have but literally staring at the strangest things an old man in a rocking chair in front of the general store would sit staring at an unlit street light in the middle of the day a man leaning against a door frame was staring at his hand as though he had

never seen it before odd things like that became more common place and the people who lived in the town their entire lives noticed as Well the strangers were approached and asked who they were and where they were from they would answer without taking their eyes off the object they were focused on they said they were from a ways off and were traveling to their Homeland that seemed to appease people for a while weeks later when they were still hanging around people started to get anxious my parents told us kids that the strangers were down on

their luck and hadn't done anything wrong that's What they said to our faces but behind closed doors I got the feeling they weren't so optimistic I went to the bathroom one night and had to pass by my parents bedroom to get there I overheard them talking about the strangers and my dad's saying he would keep the gun loaded in case they ever came around it seemed odd that these strangers had never done anything wrong and yet were the subject of such hushed tones conversations Spoken in fear I remember when our neighbor Mr Hutchins went missing

he was a nice older man in his 60s or 7s I think he always gave out full-sized candy bars on Halloween he used to be out early every morning tending his animals we'd see him when we were on our way to school and he'd always wave to us one morning he just wasn't there we didn't think much of it at the time we thought maybe he was sick or something in the evening he Wasn't there either we told our mother about it but she just said he was probably in town getting groceries or Farm Supplies

the next morning when we went to school there was still no Mr Hutchins when we told our mother after school she decided to go visit to see if he'd Fallen when there was no answer at the door and the animals were out roaming my mother decided to call the sheriff my mother tried to shoe us inside when the sheriff's car showed up But we just went upstairs to Bobby's room and watched out the window the sheriff knocked and called for Mr Hutchins then went inside he was in there for a long time we started to

think one of Mr Hutch's dogs had chewed him up or something when the Sheriff finally came back out he got into his car and used the radio the next thing we know three more sheriff's cars show up and they start going in and out of the house and barn like a swarm of angry Bees we asked our mother about it at supper and she wasn't too pleased that we had been snooping my dad was out of town doing his deliveries but he would have told us to mind our own business and stay out of others

Affairs my mother told us the sheriff didn't know where Mr Hutchins had gone to but his truck was still there so he couldn't have gotten far they said he might have had a spell and wandered off they looked for him for 2 days then Suddenly he showed up at his house as if nothing had happened we were happy he was back but curious where he'd gotten to after he came home he just sat on his porch and stared at the tree in his front yard we went over to visit him and ask him where he'd

been he kept staring at the tree like we weren't there Mr Hutchin I said yes he replied staring at the tree how are you sir I asked he didn't answer right away his stare never wavered finally he said Good we were wondering where you'd gone sir Bobby asked I was he seemed to struggle with the right word away well we're glad you're back sir Candice said do you need any help with your animals animals he said as if the word was unfamiliar to him yes sir taking care of your animals like we've done before she

said he didn't reply just stared at the tree I looked at Bobby and Catherine they both seemed as shocked as I was that he would is ignoring us we'd always been on good terms with Mr Hutchins there were times we would help out around his farm and with his animals he would reward us with some money or some treats but he was always grateful for the help I waved my hand in front of his eyes and he didn't blink we shook our heads and walked away when we got home we told my mom how he

was acting we told her we thought something was wrong with him like he was sick my mom told us To leave him alone that he'd had a hard time and we shouldn't be pastoring him but we soon had more to worry about we played hideand-seek all weekend when we weren't doing our chores it was the last fun weekend of my childhood we went to school on Monday and got a nasty shock one of my classmates and buddies that I hung out with was Mike when I got to class Mike was already in his seat staring

at the Blackboard morning Mike I said he didn't move or speak what's up With you I said you stay up too late last night no he said still staring so what's with the zombie routine I asked are you practicing for Halloween no he replied not blinking okay so you're playing a joke on me haha very funny I said you can return to earth now zombie Mike he didn't move and stopped talking whatever man I said and let him play his game all through class he didn't say a word even when the teacher Called on him

he just sat there and stared at the board she chided him for ignoring her but then when she came over to his desk and waved her hand in front of his eyes he didn't blink Mike she said he didn't answer I I haven't seen him move in over an hour I said to the teacher she took him to the nurse mumbling that maybe he'd had a stroke when the teacher returned she was alone and very rattled she made us read for the rest of the period while we heard Her out in the hallway discussing Mike's

odd behavior with another teacher Mike never came back to class that day when class ended I approached her how's Mike I asked she seemed nervous I'm not sure she replied is he okay I followed up I don't know she said getting up and walking to the door if you want to know any more about him you'll have to ask his parents she held the door open as I walked through it then shut it and went Back to her desk I saw her pick up her phone she didn't look very happy as she talked I went

home confused and concerned for my friend I asked my mom if I could go over to Mike's house to check on him she told me to go over and come back in an hour for supper as I walked down the street towards Mike's I saw more people standing around staring at nothing it was like they just paused in the middle of whatever they were doing and found something extremely Interesting it was creepy when I knocked on Mike's Door his mom answered oh hey Billy she said Mike isn't feeling well right now I know I saw

him at school today and he was acting weird I just wanted to check and see if he was okay I responded she glanced inside the house um I don't know if you would call it okay or not she told me is he still acting like a zombie I said expecting her to laugh she shot me a horrified look Maybe you should come in and see for yourself I stepped inside and she led me back to his room he was standing there in the middle of the floor looking up at the light fixture it wasn't even

turned on hey buddy I just came by to see how you're doing I said good he said still staring I was a little worried about the way you were acting at school today I said said he stood silent okay Mike whatever game you're playing you win now it's time to snap Out of it and be normal again his gay slowly slid down from the light and landed on me normal he said slowly yeah normal you know like everyone else he didn't answer but his stare freaked me out it was like he was looking at me

but not looking at me at the the same time you know what Mike I've had it with this stupid game if you don't quit it we're not friends anymore friends he said staring through me yes friends I said you and I have Been friends for years and you know that he stood silent and unmoving okay I'm done I said walking out of the room his mom followed me out are you really not going to be friends with him anymore she asked I was just trying to get him to quit playing I said peeking around the

corner to see Mike staring at the spot where I had been standing did the nurse say anything about what could have happened I asked she said it might have been a stroke but His Vital Signs say everything's fine this is too weird I said he's acting just like like who she asked as I rushed out the door like who she called after me I ran to Mr Hutch's house and found him sitting on the front porch he was staring at the tree like the day we came to talk to him Mr Hutchins I said what

happened when you disappeared he didn't respond Mr Hutchins I called grabbing him and Giving him a bit of a shake I need to know no his head slumped forward I jumped back Mr Hutchins I said while slowly approaching him again I reached for his neck to feel for a pulse I waited a long time before realizing that there was none as I pulled my hand away he grabbed it I jumped trying to get away but his grip was too strong he stared into my eyes normal he said in a raspy voice that I Didn't recognize

then he slumped over again when he released me I ran home mom mom I shouted as I burst through the door Billy what is it she asked it's Mr Hutchins I told her has he gone missing again she asked no I think he's dead I replied she stopped making supper and turned slowly toward me dead she asked yes I told her how do you know she asked I explained what happened with Mike and how I went to Mr Hutchins house after I told her what happened there and she got This far off look stay here

she said walking out the door I watched her walk over to Mr Hutch's house I saw her look at the body then I saw her cover her mouth and run home when she burst through the door she went straight for the phone and called 911 within 15 minutes there were just as many flashing lights at his house as the day he went missing the sheriff asked me some questions about it I don't think he believed me about the grabbing and Talking part he said Mr Hutchins had been dead for hours when he was done we

finally had supper none of us talked much except for asking to pass the food after supper I went to my room and laid down on my bed staring at the ceiling and wondering what was going on before I knew it I had fallen asleep when I woke I was surprised that I was still in my clothes from the day before and it slept on top of my blanket usually if I fall asleep like this my mom comes in and Covers me up she must have been tired last night from all the excitement I thought I

got up and went to the kitchen there was no one there and nothing cooking that in itself was odd my mom was always the first one up in the morning cooking breakfast even if we just had seral she was up making coffee for her and my dad it was Eerie walking into a dark kitchen and getting my own cereal I expected her to show up at any moment but she never did Bobby and Catherine stumbled into the room and got their breakfast too is mom sick or something Catherine asked I don't know maybe she's just

upset from the whole Mr Hutchins thing I replied Bobby just sat and munched on his cereal half awake we finished breakfast and got ready for school still no Mom I went to my parents' bedroom and peaked inside my mom and dad were both laying in bed so I let them sleep that school day was completely Surreal half the kids were out sick I'd never seen anything like it except on the first day of deer season even a couple of the teachers just sat there staring like mad they didn't talk to us all day we just

sat there reading or talking quietly to each other hoping that no one would be loud enough to break the teacher out of her stuper I knew something was wrong the strangers had done something to make these people into these weird zombies I wish I had Another word for it because I hadn't seen anyone trying to attack or bite anyone else yet they just hung around like zombies would before they attack I just hoped the attack would never come when we got home from school that day my mom and dad were still in bed I went

into their room and stood beside the bed my mom's eyes were open staring at the wall mom I said are you okay yes she replied without blinking is that okay I continued yes she said have you been in Bed all day I asked she didn't answer are you going to cook supper again she didn't answer I waved my hand in front of her face face and she didn't blink please Mom I said please snap out of it we need you but the slightest moment her eyes met mine and a single teardrop fell from her eye

then she went back to staring at the wall I left the room and told Bobby and Catherine that they were still in bed and I didn't think they would be coming out anytime soon should We call someone Catherine asked why who Bobby replied I don't know maybe the doctor she said okay I said pulling out the phone book and looking up the number for the doctor I dialed it and waited as it rang and rang no one's answering I said who else can we call Catherine asked we used to ask Mr Hutchins for help when

we needed it Bobby replied a horrible thought suddenly struck me you don't think Mom and Dad Will end up I said unable to finish the sentence like Mr Hutchins Catherine asked I nodded Bobby started to cry we don't know that'll happen Mr Hutchin was old much older than Mom and Dad Catherine said Bobby sniffed a few times and stopped crying so what do we do now he asked let's make some sandwiches for us and for Mom and Dad I said we can take them in and see if they're hungry we did exactly that but neither

of them responded they just remained in bed Staring at the walls the three of us ate our sandwiches and put ourselves to bed we agreed to call the doctor again in the morning and if he didn't answer we'd call the sheriff none of us went straight to sleep that night we were too worried about mom and dad I was also worried about Mike this whole thing seemed like it was out of a late night movie I couldn't imagine it being real I kept trying to pinch myself to wake up from this bad dream before I

knew it I Could hear my brother and sister's breathing settling into the rhythm of sleep I smiled for the first time in a while listening to them in a peaceful Slumber as I listened I I heard another sound floorboards creaking I froze at the thought of a burglar breaking in and dad not being able to do anything about it the steps came closer I huddled under my blanket for protection the door creaked open I snuck a glance and felt immediate relief it was mom she was Still dressed in her night gown she moved slowly to

Catherine's bed and lifted her up she turned and carried her out of the room then my dad came in and carried Bobby out I got up and followed Mom Dad I said where are you taking them my mom had the door open and was walking outside my dad stopped and looked at me don't worry he said we'll come back for you then they walked out into the cool night my blood froze I didn't know where they Were going but I knew I didn't want to go there I threw my shoes on and stepped outside as

I flew down the stairs I saw a strange light at the end of our driveway there were two Silhouettes in it and they were heading back toward the house I squinted against the light trying to see if it was my parents or whatever those things were that looked like my parents as the figures grew closer I could see they were empty-handed I stood in the middle of Our yard Frozen with fear I didn't know what to do if I went back inside they would find me and take me to be turned into a zombie too

I couldn't run to Mr hutchins's house running to town would leave me wide open to be chased down I turned round and round in a panic looking for options the barn was an option but not a good one there weren't many hiding places there then it hit me hiding places where was my best hiding place I ran into the corn field it was Nearly Harvest Time and the corn was as tall as it was going to get it was dark and would be even darker in the rose of corn the only light came from the

house and whatever was at the end of our driveway I threw myself into the forest of green stocks and ran partway in I stopped and realized what I'd done I had run in a straight line making myself an easy target I refocused on my usual hide-and seek strategy I started from where I was counted a certain number of Rows up and a certain number over I was careful to move slowly and Disturbed The Corn stocks as little as possible I duck walked staying as low to the ground as possible and moving as quietly as I

could I was near where I wanted to hide when something in my head told me to stop where I was it was almost totally dark the lights from the house and that thing cast strange Shadows at the base of the Corn I could barely see a few feet in front of me I resisted the urge To sit down and instead stayed in my crouched position on my toes so I could be ready to bolt at a moment's notice I settled into my spot and focused on slowing my breathing my adrenaline fought against me telling me

to run and never stop running I pushed those thoughts aside and tried to be as silent as possible the air was still there was no wind and nothing moved I became hypers sensitive to the sounds I was making Each time I inhaled and exhaled it sounded like a steam engine chugging to get up a hill any movement I made I heard the creek of the soulle of my sneakers I could even hear my neck muscles as I turned slowly searching for any pursuers it was like my body was conspiring against me bound and determined to

get caught somehow over all the racket I was making I heard a sound I closed my eyes and focused on Listening for a long moment there was nothing I mean nothing not even the nightly crickets were singing and then I heard it someone was in the cornfield they were moving slowly I tried to tell if it was one or many at first I couldn't but then I heard another sound coming from behind me they were still a little ways off I thought they had just entered the cornfield I painted a mental picture of how close

they were my mental map showed Me one coming from the direction of the house and one from the driveway as I heard them getting closer I had to fight to stay still my mind was screaming at me to run I knew from so many hide-and seek sessions that that was the worst thing to do I kept my eyes closed and waited for them to pass me by then I would sneak out in the other direction that plan seemed to appease my nerves enough to stop yelling I heard one of them approaching they were coming right

At me I could see the stalks beside me moving but I stayed still two Rose before one of my pursuers would have literally run me over they stopped it seemed like there was a moment of indecision and then they started off again in a different direction I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but theond another one was still approaching they were slowly walking up the road beside the one I was in they walked right beside me and stopped I Recognized my dad's boots I just didn't know what was wearing them now he turned towards

me I knew I was done there was nowhere I could run that he wouldn't catch me I kept my eyes closed refusing to move even to look up at the man I called father or what he had become he stood there unmoving for what seemed like an eternity self-preservation was all that kept me from surrendering I had seen these empty shells of people I used to love and I Wanted to survive to pass on the memories of who they were before he turned and took a step away from me then another I wanted to jump

for joy I wanted to to run as I'd never run before but mostly I wanted to be careful I remembered the times playing hide and seek when the Seeker pretended to walk away only to turn around and lunge at me I held my breath as his footsteps continued away from me I counted to 100 before I would allow Myself to move as I started to sneak away I saw an ear of corn lying on the ground I picked it up and threw it as hard as I could in the opposite direction of my Escape Route

when it landed I heard both of my pursuers Converge on it I ran quickly and quietly away from them before I knew it I was at the edge of the cornfield near the road I peaked out and saw the light at the end of my driveway it didn't look like headlights From a vehicle it was just a bright light hovering a few feet off the ground it was so bright I couldn't tell what it was attached to or if it was attached to anything at this point I didn't know what I believed anymore I just

knew someone or something i' taken the people I love and turned them into zombies no zombies wasn't right it was more like robots they would just stare at whatever until needed then they would be called into action like my mom and dad I turned Away from the light and ran it wasn't long until I heard a strange sound it was like a mechanical scream it chilled my bones to hear it it seemed to be coming from behind me the light was getting brighter too I knew it was following me my dad dashed out of the

cornfield and tried to grab me but I was already out of his reach I could hear hear him running behind me when my mom came around the corner and I nearly ran into her I have no idea how I avoided Her Open Arms maybe somewhere along the line there was some football player jeans in me but I did a stiff arm spin move that would make any running back proud I ran like my life depended on it which it did my legs were burning my lungs were on fire I had a stitch in my side

and and yet I kept running my parents and the light chasing right behind me just waiting for me to trip or make some mistake I was almost in town when a light Shone in front of me it Also hovered just off the ground I was trapped with nowhere left to go I stopped it wasn't more than a heartbeat until my dad got a hold of me my mom was right behind him they each grabbed an arm and turned me around to head back towards the driveway light at least they were walking and I could take

a breather before being turned into a zombie robot the light behind us got brighter and I heard a strange sound from that direction they sounded somewhat familiar Though as the light got closer suddenly my dad started convulsing he fell to the ground followed shortly by my mom someone ran up and grabbed me come on kid a large man said let's get you out of here I turned from my now andc conscious parents to the man he was in a soldier's uniform and holding a taser he dropped it and ran with me halfway over his shoulder

toward the other light the closer we got I turned to see it was a helicopter it touched down just long Enough for us to get on then it took off again I watched and as we flew over my parents laying there looking very dead could the shock bring them out of it I said hopefully sorry kid it doesn't work that way he said once they've been turned There's No Going Back a tear slid down my cheek as I watched my parents disappear into the distance I looked back at their house I'd lived my entire life

and hopelessness overwhelmed me for a Fleeting moment I felt like I would have been better off with them at least we would all be together as a family my eyes caught a long line of Lights driving into town what's that I said pointing at the lights containment he said what does that mean it means we can't let anyone Escape who's been infected infected I questioned he Shrugged I don't have a better word for it I thought for a moment am I infected I asked he looked at me are you talking he asked yes I replied

are you staring mindlessly at inanimate objects he asked no I answered you're not infected he told me I slumped back in the seat and closed my eyes happy to be alive but incredibly sad for those I'd lost I don't remember falling asleep but when I woke we were on a military base soldiers were hustling around like ants on an antill a man in a suit came over to the helicopter and took me inside What happened next is a long story that I might tell someday suffice it to say for now that after a long time

I was taken to a foster family who raised me as their own the town I used to live in see least to exist I never saw a single soul from there ever again I was told I was the only one that was rescued that night before I don't want to get into that right now I've tried going back but it's surrounded by a fence with no Trespassing government property signs posted every 20 ft it surrounds the entire town I can see my old house from the fence but no matter what I do they won't let

me back in I have to wonder if they don't have the people in there standing around staring at nothing waiting to die I've searched the internet for any traces of the town there aren't any it's like every piece of History every shred of proof that the town ever existed has been erased I've Talked to others who've heard of similar experiences the word paranormal possession and alien come up the most for possible explanations but I wonder if it isn't something deeper than that if it isn't something so Sinister that explanations could be dangerous maybe it's for

the best maybe I should just drop the whole thing and move on with my life I just can't help but wonder what really went on it's a Mystery I need to unwrap travel for Mom Dad Bobby Catherine Mike Mr Hutchins and everyone else whose life was erased first by whoever or whatever did this to them and then by those who want to cover it up I posted this to let everyone know about the people who used to be my friends family and neighbors I don't want their memories to be in vain but but mostly I

don't want to allow others to fall into the same trap if you see someone staring at Nothing in particular and they refuse to speak get away from them as soon as you can they aren't as lost and helpless as you may think how many other tiny towns in the middle of nowhere have suffered the same fate I wonder it was one of those nights the fog hovered in the air like a curtain waiting to rise on a show I would never forget being called into work early on 3 hours of sleep was bad enough driving

Through the fog that was so thick you can feel it holding back the car makes for an interesting morning maybe listening to Metallica All Night Long at 3:00 a.m. wasn't the best choice it started with the floating legs as I drove I saw a pair of blue jeans standing along the side of the road just the legs it was like someone had stood half a mannequin beside the road to freak people out as I came closer I could see there was a black hoodie on Top of them in a vaguely human form the head turned

toward me but I could see nothing inside the hood the chill went up my spine as my foot went down on the accelerator I was so freaked out that I never saw the deer running straight toward me it wasn't until it was right beside my car that I noticed it it startled me so badly that I swerved to miss it and ended up on a side road I'd never driven on or even seen before I hadn't gone far before I calmed down and Realized I'd made a wrong turn I stopped in front of a road

sign that mesmerized me it had once been a standard deer crossing sign the one with a silhouetted Buck leaping into the air however this one had been modified by a talented artist The Painted additions made the deer enormous bigger than a moose it also had a mouthful of shark-like teeth a spiked tail and glowing red eyes the sight of this fanciful C nature should have made me laugh but after the Mourning I'd already had it chilled me to the Bone I immediately did a three-point turn and floored it I made it maybe 100 yard my

front tire which wasn't in the greatest shape gave into the stress and had a catastrophic blowout this plus my speed sent me kening off the road and into a deep ravine at least that's where I woke up in a deep r Ravine I willed my blurry eyes to clear and was immediately sorry I had every window was shattered tree Limbs shot this way and that all through the car's interior it looked like the love child of an ant and a Buick my seat belt held me fast and the deflated airbag laid out before me like

a miniature blanket of snow I leaned forward and was twice rewarded the first by pain my chest and arms felt like they were on fire the second was the realization that I wasn't on the ground the car creaked and groaned when I moved it stood Straight up resting precariously on a large tree limb I couldn't see how far it was to the bottom because of the same fog that got me into this predicament okay this is bad I can't even hope for help no one would ever see me down here here to keep me calm

I did some physical assessments starting at the feet toes wiggle that's good right leg bends left leg oh my God I'm going to call feeling like I've been stabbed by a thousand knives bad I leaned Forward just enough to see my leg my pants were covered in blood I tried to reach the wound but stopped when the branch made a cracking sound okay we'll come back to that moving on my lower abdomen seems okay my ribs feel like they're the main course at a barbecue and my arms shoot daggers every time I try to move

them the most disturbing part of all of this is the lack of blood on my shirt okay end assessment possible broken leg possible Broken ribs possible internal bleeding car destroyed hanging precarious ly in a treeve that could give out and send me falling to my death at any minute low possibility of rescue due to the early morning hour fog and being out of sight of the road so essentially I'm dead the worst part of all this was being alone with my thoughts knowing that death was on its way and there was nothing I could do

about it all these thoughts disappeared as a slight breeze Made the hair on my neck stand on end and I heard a low Rumble I slowly turned to face the noise and wondered if I was hallucinating I saw two huge red orbs coming steadily towards me out of the fog as they approached I could see they were attached to a monstrosity the creature stopped right beside the car the artist on the sign didn't do it justice my breathing became rapid and shallow as my heart jackhammered in my chest a warm liquid ran down my leg

that Had nothing to do with the car its glowing red eyes were the size of basketballs its teeth looked like they came straight out of the shark from Jaws its claws were as long as hunting knives I stifled a scream as my injuries were forgotten the huge red eyes were so close I could feel the warmth coming off of them it stared at me don't move don't breathe don't think it ripped the door off the car and inhaled as it sniffed me oh my God oh my God oh my God damn the roof collapsed from

the weight and missed crushing My Head by mere inches I nearly lost Consciousness from the agonizing pain as I hung upside from my seat belt strapped across my broken ribs the car began to move metal protested as it was dragged through the woods oh no it's taking me back to its cave I tried to reach the seat belt release but the pain was too great I was being dragged helplessly to my death for what seemed Like an eternity this ride from Hell taught me the meaning of pain every bump in jostle was a new lesson

the metal screeched in protest as the car finally stopped the creature sniffed me again go ahead eat me I screamed I hope I give you indigestion the red orbs stared at me as if sizing me up to see if it would be enough trouble to rip me out of the car in desperation I used the only thing I had available to me I reached up Painfully and pressed the horn the creature jumped and screamed a horribly loud cry that defied description the last thing I remember seeing was it running off into the trees as my

mind led me into Blissful unconsciousness beep beep beep all right I'm up already I reached for my alarm clock but it wasn't there in fact my bedroom wasn't there either I woke to incessant beeps pounding my aching head my eyes settled on the man in uniform Standing at the foot of my bed staring at me good morning he said good morning I rasped back my name Sheriff Secrest I realize this isn't the best time but I need to ask you a few questions about your accident okay I replied from the skid marks on the road

I figured you were doing at least 80 when your tire blew any reason you were going that fast he asked am I under arrest I questioned the sheriff studied me for a moment no You're not under arrest I'm just trying to figure out what happened I was scared I said barely above a whisper scared of what of whatever was in the fog I continued so what was in the fog he asked I quiet for a long time I wrestled with the implications of telling someone else what I saw I wasn't even sure myself my imagination

I told him the sheriff seemed a bit disappointed so how did your car get out of the tree dragged a 100 yards and set on the side of a road I don't know Sheriff I wish I had the answers for you but I blacked out when I landed in that tree and woke up here I explained to him and that's all you remember he questioned yes sir I replied was there any Wildlife around what do you mean Wildlife I asked back oh you know squirrels foxes deer he said emphasizing the last word nothing that I

saw as I said I blacked out he closed His Notebook thank you for your help I hope you recover soon I hope so too the sheriff started for the door stopped turned back and looked into my eyes as if he desperately wanted to say something he then faltered and said you're very lucky to be a lie he stated I told him I know just after college my two best girlfriends and I decided to take an epic road trip along Route 66 we always Planned to do a road trip when we finished as we all had

job prospects scattered across the country we figured this route would allow us to see most of the country and I love driving always have so I've volunteered to do the majority of it and you know I would have control of the radio we had MP3 players back then but I couldn't afford a modern car and the radio was a little outdated we packed our bags stocked up on snacks and set off with the windows down and Music blasting ready for whatever the journey had in store for us the drive was everything we'd hoped for stunning

desert Landscapes quirky wrot side attractions and the kind of Carefree conversations that only with quality time like that mainly about the future we laughed sang along to our favorite songs reliving memorable College nights and stopped at Scenic overlooks to take pictures and soak in the vast open beauty of the American Southwest our first day on the road was magical we left Santa Monica behind and watched as the landscape transformed into the rugged Beauty of the desert cacti dotted The Horizon and the sun painted the sky in Hues of orange and pink as it set we

spent the first night at a quirky little Motel giggling over the day's adventures and planning the next leg of our trip the second day we pulled over at random spots from abandoned ghost towns to Oddball Roadside attractions like the Leaning water tower of groom and the giant blue whale of katusa each stop added to our growing collection of memories and selfies it was an amazing day until that evening as the sky began to dim we pulled into a gas station in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma to refuel and relieve ourselves we were in High Spirits

relishing the sense of Freedom that comes with being young and driving Down a long empty road as I was filling up the tank I noticed a guy wearing a a weathered backpack sitting by the side of the road with a cardboard sign my heart went out to him here we were having an amazing time he was a fellow Adventurer after all he looked tired and in need of a break and I couldn't help but think of the times I'd relied on the kindness of strangers he looked around our age and I figured his Spirit of

Adventure was much The same as ours naive I know I brought up the idea of giving him a ride to my friends they were understandably hesitant Diana always the cautious one raised an eyebrow and said we don't know him what if he's dangerous but Marie the more adventurous of the two Shrugged and said he looks harmless enough maybe he's just another traveler like us after some discussion we agreed to at least talk to him and see if he was a fellow traveler in need the plan was for me to approach Him first verify his story

and then decide whether to let him into the car naturally things didn't go as planned as soon as I pulled the car over and started to get out this man sprang into action he quickly opened the hatchback tossed his pack inside and climbed into the back seat next to Diana before I even had a chance to say a word my friends and I exchanged nervous glances there this was not the plan at all we had come prepared just in case before Picking him up we had distributed pocket kns and pepper spray between us ready to

defend ourselves if necessary now with a stranger in the back seat we were on high alert The Hitchhiker in his mid-20s it turned out seemed friendly enough despite being visibly high he introduced himself as douge and immediately lit up a joint filling the car with the pungent scent of marijuana none of us were comfortable with this but he casually offered to share which we declined douge Didn't have a clear destination in mind other than heading Northeast we still had hours of driving ahead of us and the thought of spending all that time with a stranger

was unsettling as the driver I felt a growing sense of urgency to get him out of the car my friends were texting back and forth trying to come up with a plan while I kept my eyes on the road and my mind racing with worry an hour passed with douge in the car my nerves were Shocked and I could feel the tension Rising among my friends although douge hadn't done anything overtly threatening the reality of picking up a stranger at night had finally sunk in the initial camaraderie I'd felt for a fellow stranger was replaced

by a cold hard realization we had no idea who this guy really was he hadn't hesitated to jump into the back seat and my friends sitting next to him were forced to inhale his secondhand Smoke they looked so uncomfortable leaning as far to the far sides of the car as possible douge oblivious to our discomfort began to chat incessant he told us wild stories of his travels some of which were hard to believe he claimed to have hitchhiked from coast to coast met celebrities and even survived a near-death experience in the Grand Canyon his stories

were entertaining but there was an unsettling Edge to them occasionally his mood would Shift abruptly and he'd become agitated ranting about government conspiracies and the end of the world we tried to keep the conversation light and steer it back to safer topics but douge kept aing into darker territory at one point he pulled out a harmonica and started playing a tune it was jarring and out of place and while he played his eyes darted around nervously the atmosphere in the car grew increasingly tense I felt the weight of Responsibility pressing down on me as the

driver I felt it was my responsibility to keep them safe and I could sense their growing unease doggy's erratic Behavior and the marijuana smoke were making it difficult to concentrate on the road I knew we needed to get him out of the car but I wasn't sure how to do it without escalating the situation we were in the middle of nowhere and the sky was growing darker which was even more Frightening by this point all sorts of scenarios were playing through my head what if we ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere at

night with this guy I SP started a sign for an upcoming Diner and an idea hit me I pulled into the parking lot anyone else need to use the little girls room I asked my friends I hope they would pick up on my idea douggie let's buy you some dinner we all got out of the car moving quickly but casually as soon as we were out we grabbed Doge's Pack from the hatchback set it on the ground and with a pointed glance at my friends I jumped back into the car and thank heavens that my

friends were on the same page they piled back into the back seat slammed the door shut and we drove off douge stood there looking confused and probably a bit annoyed but we didn't care we just wanted to be away from him and the anxiety he brought as we sped away a wave of relief washed over me I know we got extremely lucky The situation could have gone wrong in so many ways and I was grateful it hadn't but I felt so guilty for suggesting we give him a ride in the first place I was quiet

and I think my friends sensed how I was feeling because they nervously trying to shake off the tension reassured me that we were out of danger but the lesson was clear I had been Reckless and it could have cost us all dearly I've never picked up another hitchhiker since that night and I never Will the experience left a lasting impression on all of us what Diana found in the back seat afterward made chills crawl of my spine my heart was beating in my mouth as I examined what she found in the crease of the seat

a small crude Shi fashioned out of what looked like a piece of soda can and an old toothbrush and what's more the cardboard sign was lank this led us to question whether he really was trying to flag all those other cars down or if he saw a vehicle Full of girls and saw an opportunity for something sinister I often think how close we could have come to something much worse and this experience is a reminder to trust my instincts and prioritize safety over misguided Goodwill that road trip remains one of the most memorable experiences of

my life not just for the stunning scenery and the fun we had but for the valuable lesson it taught us sometimes the open road holds more than Just Beauty and Adventure my advice to you don't pick up hitchhikers in the late 80s when I was 18 I lived in Omaha Nebraska working as an intern at a local radio station my name is Tracy and my friend is also named Tracy with an E she was a fellow intern our close friend who completed our Trio was Candice one weekend we decided to take a trip to Nashville

Candice was driving and her Lead Foot got the better of her we were Speeding down the highway laughing and singing at the top of our lungs and yes we were going too fast before long a State Trooper pulled up behind us with his lights flashing Candice immediately pulled over by the time the officer reached her window she had her license and registration ready the officer a Stern looking man glanced at her documents then looked at Tracy and Dy in the back seat he said I want you to to follow me don't try to run off

or you'll All be going to jail with that he returned to his car needless to say the three of us were puzzled we whispered amongst ourselves wondering why he didn't just issue Candice a speeding ticket nevertheless we obeyed his instructions watching as he pulled out slowly and led us down the highway after a few miles he exited onto a smaller Road and eventually turned on into a dirt path surrounded by towering cornstalks my friends and I were very Alarmed at this point but being young and scared and not wanting to question his authority we continued

to follow him I know we were naive the years have taught me this and I'm certain I would handle the situation differently now the officer drove for what felt like an eternity before pulling into an area with a large decrepit Barn the officer walked back to our car and ordered Candice to get out and follow him the terror in her eyes was unmistakable as She complied she glanced back at us before getting into the officer's car and I saw the sheer fear on her face Tracy and I sat stunned in silence tears streaming down our

faces praying for our safety and Candice's minutes felt like hours we clung to each other quietly praying that Candice wasn't being harmed and that we would somehow be allowed to leave suddenly Candice bolted from the officer's car and ran back to us jumping Into the driver's seat crying hysterically our tears intensified as we tried to comprehend what had happened the officer followed Candice back to our car and approached Tracy's window is it true all of y'all work for the radio station he asked Tracy through her tears managing to reply yes sir the officer nodded and

calmly said get out of here and go back to where you all came from I better not see y'all again Candice didn't wait for another word she turned On the car whipped it around and sped back down the dirt road she navigated the mace of Roads back to the highway and we drove in stunned silence broken only by occasional sobs once we crossed back into Nebraska Candice pulled over to the side of the highway and broke down sobbing uncontrollably Tracy and I hugged her tightly asking if she was hurt she shook her head unable to

speak for a moment after she calmed down she told us what Had happened in the officer's car when Candace had gotten into the car she offered her identification and apologized for speeding the officer took her information and then made an inappropriate proposition suggesting that if she would do certain favors for him he might let us go with a warning overwhelmed with fear Candice had a complete meltdown while she was sobbing the officer Finally noticed her work ID from the radio station and asked if we all worked there through her tears Candice told him that we

did he then ordered her to return to our car the realization hit us hard the only thing that saved us was our connection to a reputable organization we hugged each other and cried until we couldn't cry anymore we never reported the incident we were just teenagers and we didn't think anyone would believe us over a law enforcement Officer we never spoke about it after that day that incident has haunted me for years the what ifs plague my thoughts but as I've grown older what haunts me more more is the thought that others might not have

been as lucky as we were it was 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday night I was getting back home from a road trip with my boyfriend we just reached my home state and my car was almost out of gas We were on the freeway driving through a boring stretch of my state that was mainly corn fields and little neighborhoods and the occasional store we Google mapped a gas station that was seemingly right off the freeway now it was Pitch Black outside it was kind of Stormy all day but at the time it was only just a

bit windy with some sprinkles here and there we pulled off an exit I'd never seen before the gas station was farther than it seemed on Google Maps and I was really close to completely running out of gas we drove for about 5 minutes on Long stretches of Road passing a church some houses but mainly empty land we get into the Hub of a small town I'm not even sure what city we were in I see a gas station up ahead but it was not the one we had Google mapped I had to stop I had

no choice because I would not have made it to the other gas station this was a small t that had one intersection we passed some Side streets that had a little neighborhood we did not see a single car or person walking pulling up to the town portion it was creepy the town had old buildings one or two street lights we pulled up to the gas station it was a small gas station with four gas pumps all lights Illuminating the pumps were flickering I immediately got the creeps but I could not go any further without getting

getting any gas I stepped out of my car started putting in my card it was Cold it was windy there was a car parked right in front of the gas station like right where a car could turn in it was strange the pump ordered me to go inside to get the attendant to pay for gas I walk inside and there was only the attendant and a woman buying a birthday card she was shuffling at the counter finishing the transaction the woman greeted me but the attendant did not while waiting I suddenly hear very loud sirens

like tornado sirens Start going off I start looking outside it was a bit windy but not gale force winds I tried looking in the sky but I couldn't see anything I looked to the street but I did not see a single person or a single car I look over to the two other people in the gas station to take direction from them for where to hide or what to do they had no reactions the woman said something about how annoying it would be to live near the sirens and the attendant agreed she Said bye to

me for some reason and walked out I wanted to panic because the sirens were still going off but I did not know what it was while finishing the transaction I asked the attendant what it was for he looked at me like like I had four heads in said an emergency never would have guessed he was eily calm no reaction to the emergency I walked outside and got my gas and the sirens were still going off I kept waiting to hear emergency Sirens Like for ambulances or police but I heard nothing I didn't see a single

car drive by a single person it was a because the sirens were going off essentially right next door so I logically should have seen some sort of emergency vehicles but I didn't I got in my car my boyfriend asked what it was I just said nothing and sped off towards the freeway I could not Place why it was so eerie but I haven't been able to get the Eeriness out of my head so I guess I found out why people don't pick up hitchhikers now as I was driving from Texas to Cali around an hour

after I started my drive I saw this guy with his dog on Route 66 in the middle of nowhere at least 3 mil away from even the nearest gas station it it's cold and I wasn't in a rush so I decided to ask him if he wanted to ride turns out he was trying to go to a city in Arizona that was only 20 mi off my route so I offered to let him join the trip he was chill seemed normal and looked like he cared for his dog his original story was that he started

walking in Mississippi after some [ __ ] reason he lost his job and everything went down the drain so he walked in hitch hied to Texas where he got stuck for 3 months and was trying to get to his mom so she could help him out I bought him some food after asking if He ate which he said he hadn't okay them good deed endorphins are hitting just right and I feel like I'm doing a good thing after around 200 miles he tells me he just called his mom while I was refilling my gas and

apparently she went to LA for a vacation so he would just ride with me until I got to Cali okay kind of weird and sporadic but I didn't pay it too much mind we chatted and again seemed pretty normal until we got to Arizona he starts bringing up Trump and how the election was stolen by Predators during this timeline okay red flag but I just ask him to drop it as I don't like to talk about politics he then asks if I could just drop him off at his quote two girlfriends at his house which

he got after his mom passed and he inherited in a town in Arizona he said he called beforehand and they're expecting him after 3 months away mind You also he mentions almost like nothing during an earlier conversation that he has mild schizophrenia I start putting it all together oh [ __ ] I don't think he even has a coherent goal of what he's doing so when we get to Arizona finally and we're on the last 10 miles to his now want girlfriend which he claims he loves I start to wonder if I'm about to drop

a mentally ill man off two states away in the middle of nowhere where it's about To get freezing temperatures tonight oh and plot twist he apparently didn't even have a phone as we got to his girlfriend's house I told him hey want me to wait here just in case she isn't home thinking I could at least talk him to letting me drop him off at a nearby homeless shelter or something and exactly what I thought happened happened I guess I got the wrong info and she doesn't live there my other family members live there though

yeah let's Just go to Cali to see my mom he said as he sat down in the car which we've been together in for over 9 hours I told him that maybe he isn't in the best mental state at the moment and his mental illness could be playing tricks with him he flipped his [ __ ] out of nowhere and said if I bring up his schizophrenia again he would kill me he wasn't threatening at all so I simply said bro I don't feel comfortable driving you to Cali but I don't want to leave you

and Your dog in the about to be freezing cold do you at least want me to drop you off at a homeless shelter [ __ ] it I'll just walk to Cali myself he said in the mountain town of Arizona where it's about to be freezing cold and he has no money food or water with at least 10 miles down a pretty uninhabited Road and I'm pretty sure he didn't have family that lived in the house that he went to and he just left with his dog I sat there dumbfounded and Then I left as

there was nothing more that I could have done at this point I don't know where you are dude but I hope you're safe and get the [ __ ] help for you and your dog say a bit of background I was about 8 and my mother my little sister and I were taking a road trip across Wyoming this wasn't unusual as we had family living across the state and my mom loved piling Us in the car in driving my memory of this event is patchy and I Remember it more for the way my mom reacted

than for the event itself I don't remember exactly where this was or where we were headed but anyone who has ever driven through Wyoming knows that the roads are mostly deserted we had been driving several hours behind an old green and white truck we were approaching a gas station and I remember my little sister being so excited because she wanted to get those little bottles made of wax that had juice in Them the green and white truck pulls into the gas station and we follow we use the restroom get some snacks my mom fills up

with gas and we get back into the car and back onto the road a little time passes and my mom asks is that truck behind us the same one that we followed into the gas station I turn in my seat and confirm that it is the same truck I sit back down and continue gorging myself on snacks but I sense that my mom is uneasy she keeps looking In her rearview mirror and watching the truck it was a long drive to the next gas station and along the way the truck behind us would speed up

and get dangerously close to us and then back away a bit after a stretch of several miles we were nearing another gas station my mom adjusts her mirror so she can see us in the back seat she says I'm going to pull into this gas station and open my door more like I'm getting out I don't want you two to open your doors Don't get out just sit tight and hang on my little sister and I look at each other like okay I thought it was strange but the look in her eyes scared me a

bit my mom is a calm person but she has this presence about her that makes you aware that she isn't one to be messed with all my friends throughout the years have been a little scared of her which is odd considering she's just over 5T tall and about 100 lb anyway we pull into the station and up to a pump my mom adjusts Her mirror to see behind us and opens her door with the car still running the green and white truck pulls in and Parks just to the side of the Turnin the driver pops

his hood gets out comes around to the front of his truck and props his hood up he starts messing around under the hood with his back to us from what I remember of him he was a really big guy but who isn't to an 8-year-old girl my mom slams her door and peels out Of the gas station I turn in my seat to watch the man he turns around like he was startled looks right at us quickly closes his hood even though he's only been looking in there for a few seconds at this point my

mom is driving so fast that I lose sight of him I was terrified and I knew it must be serious ious for my mom to drive like this up ahead the road bent sharply to the left and there was a small road to the right with a few buildings just before the bend my mom Slams on the brakes pulls the steering wheel all the way to the right and as if it were straight out of an action movie slides around the corner she speeds through the small parking lot of one of the buildings and parks

behind it from our vantage point we were hidden from traffic behind us but we could see anyone passing a short time later we watched the green and white trucks speed right past us and around the bend in the road obviously my sister and I were very Shaken up my mom asks if we needed to use the restroom and I said yes she said she did too but we would wait here for a bit then make our way to the next gas station I'll never forget what she said next because it was so out of character

for her she said I'd rather piss my pants in this car than be murdered on the side of this road a little time passes and we got back on the road and we continued our trip we never saw that truck again Some years ago my wife and I decided to go on an impromptu road trip to the cat skills in New York for some hiking and sightseeing with a free Saturday we thought why not little did we know or drive home between the North South Lake state campground and the devil's Tombstone Campground would get real

weird real fast we set off early pumped about our impromptu Adventure the Sun was shining and the roads were clear as we left the city and headed into the Beautiful countryside we packed some snacks and a picnic lunch ready for a fun-filled day the drive itself was pretty awesome winding through Charming small towns and Rolling Hills covered in Greenery as we got deeper into the cat skills we stopped a bunch of times to take in the views and snap some pictures really soaking in the spontaneous Vibe around midday we hit North South Lake state campground

and decided to stretch our legs we found a great spot by the Lake for our picnic relaxed and enjoyed our meal the peaceful setting and the gentle sound of the water with the perfect break from driving feeling refreshed we continued our exploration we hiked some popular Trails taking and breathtaking views from the mountain overlooks we met a few fellow hikers exchanged tips on the best spots and everything just felt right as the afternoon turned into evening we decided to head back home we stopped at a local Diner for a quick bite before hitting the road

again both of us happy and content however it was the stretch of road between North South Lake state campground and Devil's Tombstone Campground that turned our Perfect Day upside down as Darkness set in we both started feeling uneasy I said we shouldn't stop for any reason and she agreed and admitted she felt weird too suddenly the car's headlights flickered off and I had to stop as Visibility was getting incredibly low I let out a hefty sigh as at this point I thought the bulbs had gone or that there was an electrical failure but no sooner

had I had the thought the lights flickered and came back on I quickly started the engine and this time it roared to life without a second thought I hit the gas as we sped away that was definitely unusual knowing that headlights don't just fail and then come back on I think we were both feeling Uneasy we drove in silence until we passed the devil's Tombstone Campground when we finally talked about it we both admitted how unsettling the whole experience had been we continued home trying to shake off the unsettling feeling but the weirdness wasn't over

as we reached a dark winding part of the road our car's headlights flickered and went out again plunging us into darkness they came back on but they flickered and died again utterly bewildered I checked The dashboard and saw the battery light was on this made no sense since we just had the car serviced my wife was pale-faced I pulled over and we sat there unsure of what to do the woods were eerily quiet and Dread started creeping in after waiting for a while the headlights came back on by themselves relieved we decided to continue our

journey home but as we drove on the headlights flickered and went out once more forcing us to stop Again this time the car wouldn't start at all we were stuck in the dark the road surrounded by the dense forest I tried calling for help but there was no signal the Eerie silence pressed in on us and the sense of dread grew stronger as we sat there we noticed another faint flickering light in the trees to the side of the road moving slowly like the one before we exchanged worried glances and my wife tried the car

one more time miraculously the headlights came back on And we drove forward cautiously my wife told me that the light in the trees had gone out as soon as we drove away we finally reached a gas station and took a moment to catch our breath inside we told the attendant what had happened he listened seriously and said people often reported strange things on that stretch of road lights in the woods weird occurrences some said they were spirits of lost Travelers his words sent chills down my Spine as we continued home we didn't have any problems

with the headlights and not one in the days following I took the car back to the mechanic to be sure and he said they were working fine we couldn't shake the feeling that something otherworldly had been watching us from the tree line now trying to make sense of it all I can't help but question my sanity car troubles happen all the time right but I know there was no real scientific explanation for it I'm searching for answers has anyone else experienced something like this in the area I'd appreciate any insights or reassurances that we are

not alone in this bizarre experience the summer after graduating high school my two best friends Emma and Jack and I decided to embark on an unforgettable road trip our destination a series of reputedly haunted places that we'd read about in various ghost hunting books and websites we were all deeply fascinated By the idea of the supernatural though none of us had ever experienced anything that couldn't be logically explained our first stop was a small New England Town known to be extremely haunted eager for a thrill we packed our bags and hit the road early one

Sunny morning we drove through the Rolling Hills and Lush forests it was truly gorgeous after a few hours we reached the quaint town with narrow streets lined with colonial style houses and towering maple trees we Had read about the haunted history and our first stop was the old Asylum an abandoned building on the outskirts of town with a frankly stomach turning past the Asylum stood at the end of a long overgrown driveway partially obscured by the thick Ivy and dead trees the imposing structure loomed before us its broken windows and crumbling facade giving it an

air of disp spare according to local Legend the Asylum had been the sight of numerous tragedies mistreatment Of patients and was now home to Restless Spirits we arrived at the asylum in the early afternoon the sky overcast and we were all eager to experience something whether it was the power of suggestion or something metaphysical the creaky wooden floors peeling wallpaper and antique medical equipment left to rust the place had a seriously creepy atmosphere we were immediately captivated by this and spent the afternoon exploring the building Snapping pictures with our new digital cameras hoping to capture

something paranormal the Halls were lined with old photographs and medical records adding to the building's Eerie charm every now and then we would hear a creek or a groan but we dismissed it as the sounds of an old building settling that evening we ventured into town for dinner indulging in Greasy burgers and milkshakes at a local Diner the staff at the diner were friendly but never seemed That willing to answer questions about the Asylum we brushed it off attributing it to small town quirks and returned to the Asylum late the building taking on a different

atmosphere as the sun set the other visitors who had been exploring like us fairly quickly left giving us the perfect opportunity to conduct our ghost hunting Expedition without interruptions we crept through the hallways our excitement mingled with a touch of fear and began taking photos in The dimly lit rooms we were all feeling that mix of fear and excitement as we whispered and giggled nervously trying to Spook each other suddenly we heard the door knob of the front door jiggle and turn we froze our laughter abruptly silenced the sound of the doorknob twisting back and

forth sent a shiver down my spine we stared at the door expecting someone to walk in but no one ever did a mixture of relief and Dread washed over me we knew we weren't really Allowed to be there after hours we were grateful the door was locked and decided not to linger downstairs any longer we headed back to the main hall The Thrill of the hunt giving way to a more genuine une the plan was to camp out in the Asylum that night as you might imagine none of us got any sleep we had set

up camp in one of the larger rooms laying out sleeping bags on the dusty floor every Creek of the old building made us jump but no spectral visitors appeared Emma usually the bravest of us kept a flashlight light on all night Jack on the other hand refused to acknowledge his fear insisting that the noise had a rational explanation around 3:00 a.m. just as we were starting to drift off there was a s sorrowful humming it seemed to come from the hallway just outside our room I knew my friends had heard it too their expressions Frozen

in place and we were all straining to discern what the Humming was it was a haunting lullaby the kind that a mother might sing to soothe her child the sound grew louder and we realized it was moving closer to our door my heart pounded in my chest as I glanced at Emma and Jack Their Eyes Were wide they must have been as terrified as I was suddenly the humming stopped and the door knob began to turn slowly accompanied by a faint cold Breeze that seeped through the gaps in the old wooden frame the Knob Twisted

back and forth but the door remained closed the air grew heavy and a distinct chill filled the room it felt as if we were being watched by unseen eyes then we heard faint footsteps outside our door pacing back and forth the floorboards creaked under the weight of an Invisible Presence we huddled together on the floor too scared to investigate at one point we heard a soft whisper barely audible but it sounded like a woman's voice calling out Eliza The name sent a jolt of recognition through US was this the ghost of one of the asylum's

patients we held our breath straining to hear more but the whispering ceased replaced by an oppressive silence I was trembling I'd never understood the phrase my heart was in my mouth until that point then we heard footsteps receded as if whoever it was had walked away we all just sat there for a fairly long time unmoving we somehow managed to convince Ourselves that it was another Explorer playing a prank on us we figured that it was too coincidental that someone was calling for Eliza the patient that we'd read about maybe it was a ghost hunter

or self-proclaimed Paranormal Investigator trying to call out for Eliza yes that made the most sense after we came to that conclusion we decided to try and rest until the sun came up but none of us got any sleep that Night as soon as the sun came up we groggily prepared to leave for our next destination as we were about to exit through the front door Jack stopped St short as it turned out struck by sudden realization he reminded us that the heavy wooden door we've seen the not turn on the night before was protected by

a large iron gate door that creaked loudly when opened and slammed shut with a definitive thud we hadn't hurt that gate at all the previous night we Exchanged bewildered glances the unspoken question how could the door knob have turned turned without the gate making any noise the Eerie encounter left us spooked but I suppose none of us were willing to voice it muttering only a few words about how weird it had been we drove out of there trying to shake off the lingering sense of unease our next stop was an old abandoned mansion known as

the hallway house situated deep in the woods the place had A dark history with rumors of murder and mysterious disappearances we arrived just as the sun was setting casting Long Shadows over the dilapidated building armed with flashlights and our cameras we explored the decaying hallways and empty rooms despite our initial excitement the rest of our haunted road trip was relatively uneventful we captured a few orbs in our photos likely just dust particles reflecting the light and our overactive Imaginations did the rest we visited a haunted lighthouse a spooky forest and a creepy old Cemetery but

none of these places compared to the unsettling experience at the Asylum as the trip came to an end we returned home with mixed feelings the road trip had been fun and adventurous but the inexplicable event at the Asylum left us questioning what we'd encountered whether it was a ghost or just another admittedly braver Enthusiast seeking an encounter with Eliza but there really was no explanation for why we hadn't heard the heavy metal door in the years that followed we often reminisced about our haunted road trip particularly that night Emma and Jack eventually moved away for

college and we drifted apart but when we would occasionally reconnect that shared experience always came up that summer road trip remains one of the most memorable experiences of my life not just for the fun and Adventure but For the inexplicable event that left us questioning what we had encountered some Mysteries remain unsolved and sometimes it's the unanswered questions that make the best stories hey guys I hope you enjoyed that if you have a scary story you'd like me to read on the Channel please send me an email or post it to my subreddit you can

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