r/BackwoodsCreepy

So this is about a few stories that have been known by a lot of people in my hometown.

My hometown is a fairly rural area on a mountain the road hasn't reached people's homes so you can only reach a certain point on a vehicle and then have to walk a km or 2 downhill to reach your home.

When the road to this point was being built the excavator employed to dig out the payload to clear area for the road broke a pipeline of water that supplied water downhill to the town and people were left with no option than to use their personal hose/ pipe to connect the 2 ends in between the broken ends to of the pipe to connect the supply line and then turn on the tap on the top.

Now the supply was a common line so if anyone having a house higher from your house turned on the tap the supply would slow down at lower levels and people wanted that if their pipe is being used they should be able to use the most pressure of water.

One day an uncle of mine was drunk and decided to turn this tap on. My house is literally on the trail to reach that point on the mountain with the broken line so he had to tell us where he was going at night cuz we would have known anyway and asked us to use this water judiciously till the supply was open due to his pipe.

He started off to walk uphill on this trail at around 9-10pm at night and would have been scared to walk at pitch dark night but as I say he was drunk and didnt care a bit.

The whole of this trail of this mountain is visible from outside my house so we were watching him walk

We saw him go uphill with a torch and then watched him walk downhill

The light of the torch used to disappear as he walked among the trees and then become visible again at a point lower than that.

Now as we watched him walk downhill the light went invisible due to trees but the light became visible much lower than what he could have walked at a normal pace we were confused as the light seemed more like a fire lamp and the light hovered around that area.

Then a few seconds later we saw the torch light become visible At a point higher than this flame light and realised that was actually my uncle. We realised something was wrong as nobody walks that trail other than people from my town like there was no reason that flame light could be there in any possible case.

Soon when the torch reached the flame the flame went off.

When my uncle reached my home he said he was not scared at all(drunk ofc) and said he had seen the flame much earlier and knew it was an entity. He had known people say (and this is funny) if you encounter such situation just keep your footwear on your head and try not to act scared and this actually worked for him.

Another incident of this trail has been where another uncle of mine used to go to a field uphill on this trail at night to reach a Field and burst a firecracker or 2 to avoid hogs eating up the crop they had sown. They appararently are scared of smoke and avoid places where they can smell it. He used to do this everyday and stay at our house for a cup of tea and chat later.

Then one day he came back from that trail but didn't stop at our house.

Later we found out he had been spooked by something on that trail at night.

The 'thing' apparently kept surrounding him coughing in his ear sliding a rock and scaring him. He wasn't drunk so he just got scared and didnt wait at our house and decided to just go home.

My wife and I always dreamed of living off-grid on our own land, but we were never able to afford anything—not even a small quarter-acre lot. We were sick of paying rent for shitty houses and apartments that charged way too much for the condition they were in, so we started wondering if there was anywhere we could actually afford to live.

After scouring the internet, my wife Meagan found one acre of land in Laguna, New Mexico, for three thousand dollars. That blew my mind. After we bought it, we were so excited that we packed up and moved almost immediately.

So my wife, my two kids, our two dogs, two cats, and I packed everything we owned into a uhaul and drove nineteen hours and forty-nine minutes to our new home.

The first few days were rough, but we started figuring things out. Before moving, we had ordered one of those big sheds that look like tiny houses so we could convert it into a home. We expected it to be there by the time we arrived, but Valencia County made things difficult with permits and zoning laws.

Luckily, we had some great neighbors who let us borrow an old motorhome to stay in until the shed arrived.

That’s when things started happening.

We had this shower tent set up outside, and one day while Meagan was taking a shower, she saw something strange: a transparent silhouette of a woman carrying a lamp close to her chest, walking toward her before vanishing right in front of her eyes.

We started calling her “the Lamp Lady,” but later we found connections to something called Spider Woman, a figure from Navajo and Pueblo legends. We saw her multiple times after that. She never seemed malevolent, but seeing something like that in the middle of nowhere was terrifying.

The second occurrence happened when I wasn’t there, but Meagan and the kids told me about it afterward.

They heard someone outside the camper say, in a Hispanic accent, “Hello? Is anybody there?”

Meagan went outside to check, but nobody was there. Even the dogs stayed quiet.

At the time, it seemed minor, but it was only the beginning.

As soon as the shed finally arrived, it felt like we had pissed something off.

It was the middle of winter, snowing outside, and we had no way to heat the shed yet, so we all bundled together to stay warm.

In the middle of the night, I heard it.

“Daddy, can you help me?”

It sounded exactly like my daughter Emery, but she was lying right behind me.

I reached back to make sure she was there and immediately panicked.

“NOBODY GO OUTSIDE!” I yelled.

I looked at Meagan, and she was staring back at me wide-eyed and petrified. She heard it too.

At the time, I worked in Albuquerque at a restaurant called Campo with a Navajo man named Joshua. I told him about everything we’d been experiencing.

He explained that some people in the tribe practiced black magic, and some would even kill the people they loved most to gain certain abilities.

Yes, I’m talking about skinwalkers.

Not the internet version where every creepy thing gets labeled a skinwalker. I mean the real stories people out there genuinely believe in.

Joshua gave us cedar stakes and cedar wood scraps to create a barrier around our property. He told us to burn the scraps, keep the ashes, and place stakes at the four corners of our land. He also told us to sprinkle cedar ash under the doorframe and windowsills in case the barrier failed.

One night, while Emery was in the outhouse, she saw a dark figure standing near the fence by the road. She said it had to be at least ten feet tall. Then she watched it drop down onto all fours and run off into the darkness.

After that, things like that started happening regularly.

Dogs with unnaturally long legs.

Black shadow figures.

Disembodied voices.

Eventually, we started brushing it off because it happened so often, but then something happened that put me on edge again.

By then, I had started working at Texas Roadhouse. One day, a young Navajo guy I worked with told me he knew who I was.

“My grandma’s been watching you guys ever since you put that shed up.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up instantly.

“Watching us? Why?” I asked.

“Oh, you just piqued the interest of some of my family. You live off 6, right?”

I hesitated before answering.

“Yeah. Highland Meadows.”

“You don’t have to worry about us,” he said, “but some people around the reservation practice witchcraft, so be careful.”

I stared at him without blinking.

“Like skinwalkers?”

He nodded.

“Not everyone likes white people out there, and you could be seen as unwelcome.”

I told him about the cedar barrier, and he smiled.

“That’s good. As long as you stay inside it and don’t go outside at night, you should be fine.”

Not long after that, we found our dog Sweetie Belle dead in a field.

No wounds.

No broken bones.

Just blood coming from her mouth.

A couple of days later, Charlie died the same way.

I went back to work intending to ask that same guy about it, but he had quit a few days earlier.

I never saw him again.

One day while walking the property, I discovered one of the cedar stakes had been broken.

I tried replacing it, but I guess just any cedar wouldn’t work.

That night, our door handle started turning while we were sleeping.

I grabbed my gun and pointed it at the door until sunrise.

I barely slept anymore during those days.

Another night after work—we usually stayed in town while I worked because we didn’t want to be out there after dark—we came back to find the shed door standing wide open.

After that, we stopped going outside at night completely.

We would hear whistling and disembodied voices surrounding the shed after dark.

Then I saw it.

At first, I thought I was dreaming.

A humanoid snake with needles for teeth was staring through our window, drooling as it watched me.

Years later, I finally brought it up to Meagan.

She said she saw the same thing.

So did Emery.

Eventually, we left New Mexico and moved back to Alabama.

But I’ll tell you this right now:

I will never live near a Navajo reservation again.

Hiking has been an obsession of mine for a while now.

Finding a new trail and exploring the woods just makes me feel alive.

I remember living in Birmingham Alabama and hiking the trails at Oak mountain state park, the blue trail was my favorite cause it led to a waterfall at the end.

It's been a dream of mine to hike the Appalachian trail, it stretches across 14 states and tomorrow I was going to start my 2,198 mile hike.

The start of the Appalachian Trail begins at the top of Springer Mountain in southern Fannin County Georgia and ends at the summit of Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine.

I had to make sure I packed everything I needed that included my thermoelectric stove to charge my phone, my led flashlight, firestarters, lighter, matches, flint and steel (just in case), bug repellent, emergency snake bite venom extractor, first aid kit, 1 person tent, sleeping bag, lifestraw, tea kettle, my .22 pistol and box of .22 bullets, and enough mres for the entire hike.

My wife Meg decided to drop me off at the starting point and see me off.

I wasn't sure how long it was going to take me to finish so she wanted to squeeze every second she could out of it.

She couldn't come with me cause her job was very overbearing, being a registered nurse in Nashville you know.

Though I wish she could, it was just out of the question.

She used her only day off to drive me down here, I'm going to miss her.

One person I definitely could bring with me is my blue heeler Charlie.

I needed some companionship on this trip and he goes on all my hikes with me.

He had his own little rucksack on his harness with his water bowl and food bowl as well as his flea and tick repellent.

We pulled up in Meg's blue 04 Toyota Highlander and I recorded myself as we pulled up.

Kevin-"Well we're finally here and boy am I nervous." Meg - "You'll be fine, you have Charlie with you." Kevin- "Yeah but I won't have you, you 2 are kind of a package deal.

This would be the first hike I've ever done without both of you" Meg- “I know I'll miss my boys, but make sure you keep an eye on Charlie.” Kevin- “Well here we are, I love you so much.” I leaned in to kiss Meg welling up with tears at the thought of spending a long time away from her.

Meg- “OH honey it's ok.

Please don't be upset, this is your dream.

Now I love you both so so so much” She kisses me back and kneels down to let Charlie lick her face before walking back to the Toyota.

Kevin- “Well you ready buddy?” Charlie let out a happy bark and we started walking through the archway.

I stopped recording.

It felt amazing, finally walking America's most famous trail.

The sound of birds singing, leaves swaying as the wind blew through them, and the smell of oak and pine.

I took a deep inhale and looked down at Charlie.

Kevin- “I swear buddy I could live out here, no electricity, no cars, just us.” We walked for miles before we found a good spot to hunker down and make camp.

We gathered some dry wood to build.

I also gathered some twigs for my thermoelectric stove to charge my phone.

Charlie decided he wanted to play for a minute after seeing me pick up a bunch of dry sticks.

Even though I was pretty tired from all the walking and gathering I figured what the hell we still have a couple of hours before dark so we played a quick game of fetch.

Charlie brought me something back that wasn't a stick, it was an arrow.

Not a plastic modern arrow like you'd get from wal-mart or Bass pro this was handmade.

The head looked hand forged as well and very sharp.

The feathers were real and looked like they came from a red tailed hawk.

This was such an awesome find! I ran over, picked up my phone and started recording.

Kevin- “OK so I was just playing fetch with Charlie and look at what he brought back to me! A real handmade arrow! This is so sick it looks like the arrow head was hand forged as well and it's sharp as hell! Dude I can't wait to find more cool shit like this along the way.” I stopped recording and stuck it in my pocket when I heard a twig snap.

I looked over at Charlie and he was frozen, he started growling off into the direction I heard the snap.

Kevin- “Hey buddy do you see something?” I knelt down next to him and scratched the back of his neck, he didn't relax.

Could be a bear or something, Charlie was always really good at sensing danger so I decided to pick up my rucksack back up and move further down the trail so as to not be in the animal's way when it came down.

Bears usually won't attack unless they're starving or a mother has cubs.

Either way I wasn't dumb enough to hang around.

We made it to a nice flat clearing and I started to set up, all the time wasted before had me rushing to start a fire, and set up my tent before it got dark.

I heated up some beef stew from my mre stash and fed Charlie as well.

It was quiet and the clearing gave me an amazing view of the stars.

I laid out placing my head against a rock and watched the night sky with Charlie lying next to me.

suddenly Charlie stood up, staring off into the woods.He looked stiff and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, I wondered what had him on high alert.

Maybe a raccoon smelling my trash I have tied up in a grocery bag.

I picked up my led flashlight and showed it into the woods where Charlie was looking.

Nothing….

No glowing eyes, no animals, nothing.

I felt uneasy like someone was watching me.

I figured I'd be safer in my tent for some reason so I put out the fire and coaxed Charlie into the tent with me with a treat, the only way I could get him to come inside.

I didn't sleep that well but it was pretty quiet after that.

I woke up around 6 am and started breaking down my tent after eating a cookies and cream protein bar, packed up and set out with Charlie.

After about 10 minutes I pulled out my phone and started recording.

Kevin- “I didn't sleep that well last night.” I proceeded to explain the events that happened.

Kevin- “I feel like I'm overthinking everything.

I had to be a raccoon or something waiting for me to go to bed so it could raid my trash.” I held up the grocery bag to show I didn't leave it behind.

Kevin-”Dont worry I didn't litter.

Anyways Charlie and I are going to do some exploring today.” I ended the recording and slid my phone back into my pocket.

We walked for miles before we decided to take a break.

We walked up on a large log and I took a seat before giving Charlie water and a treat.

After 10 minutes someone was coming up on the trail.

We both jumped as he turned the corner.

Kevin-” OH FUCK!” Hiker- “JESUS!” We both laughed after scaring each other.

Kevin- “Sorry dude, didn’t expect to run into anyone.” Hiker- “All good bro, you posted up on a sharp turn though.” Kevin-”Yeah I guess it was a bad spot to rest.”Charlie started barking hysterically at the stranger and growling.

He's never acted like this before, he doesnt even bark at strangers.

I stuck out my hand.

Kevin-”Charlie chill the fuck out!! I'm Kevin, sorry about him” He shook my hand.

Hiker- “Paul, it's all good he's just doing his job” Kevin- “You're traveling kind of light Paul.

What kind of gear are you carrying?” Paul only had an eastsport backpack on and didn't look like he even had a tent.

I was worried he was possibly a rookie who didn't come prepared.

Paul- “I do a lot of bushcraft so just a knife, some cord and basic tools.” Kevin- “that must take you a while to set up, what do you do for food?” Paul took a step back and scrunched his face clearly annoyed by my questions.

Paul- “what's up with the interrogation bro? I hunt if you must know.

I don't plan on returning to society until I get to Maine.” Kevin- “I apologize, I'm just making sure you're not a rookie who's unprepared.

You could die out here.” Paul- “Alright good luck Kevin.” I didn't mean to offend him.

Maybe Charlie's incessant barking put him off.

Whatever, he left.

Kevin-” what's up with you bud, that's not like you.” I emptied what was left in Charlie's bowl and started walking.

That feeling hit me again, that someone is watching me.Charlie stopped on a dime and started growling facing off the trail.

I felt uneasy so I just kept walking, and had to pull Charlie away.

I keep telling myself that it's just an animal.

I'm not a superstitious person and I don't believe in monsters but I have heard about people who live out here deep in the mountains but I mostly heard that if you don't bother them, they won't bother you.

After several days we ended up in North Carolina.

Things seemed to mellow out for a while, haven't seen anyone else on the trail since Paul.

I pulled out my phone and started recording as soon as we crossed the state line.

Kevin- “ Here we are in North Carolina, Charlie and I are really missing you Meg.

Anyways love you.” I feel so awkward filming myself.

After a couple of days in NC we see a man wearing what looks like a gillie suit with mud covering his face.

Kevin- “H-Hi there….” No response.

Kevin- “Are you out here hunting?” No response.

He turned and walked off the trail and disappeared into the brush.That was strange, Charlie didn’t make a sound, no growling, his ears didn't even perk up.

Weird all those times of him snarling off the trail he seemed totally unbothered.

Kevin-”Good to see you're not freaked out.” I sat on a tree stump and drank some water in-between panicked breaths.

I tried to reason with myself.

Kevin- “Maybe he's just into talking.” He did look like a hunter wearing that homemade gillie suit and mud on his face.

Maybe being away from humans this long is starting to fuck with me.

I decided to stop and make camp a few hours later, far away from where I ran into that hunter.

Ran into Paul again, he had made shelter under this rock formation that protruded out to block the rain.

Not that there was any.

He waved for me to come over and sit with him so we did.

Charlie still didn't like him so I set him up a runner just off Paul's campsite.

Kevin- “Sorry about before Paul, I really was just trying to be nice.” Paul- "Don't worry about it.

You're welcome to camp here tonight if you want.

Under this formation we should be sheltered from any rain.” Kevin- “What about the wild animals?” Paul- “Your loud ass dog should help with that.

I got some fresh game if you want a break from mres.” Kevin- “Yeah, I'm pretty sick of them at this point.” Charlie wouldn't take his eyes off Paul.

I tried to be nice and take Paul up on his invitation but the fact Charlie stood upright staring at him made me immensely uncomfortable.

Kevin- “Actually Paul I should probably keep moving, I usually sleep with Charlie right next to me and with the way he's behaving it seems like that's not going to happen.” Paul- “ It's ok, more meat for me.” Kevin- “Thanks anyway bro.

Have a good night.” I can't explain it but Paul makes me very uncomforble.

Again, maybe it's the lack of social interaction but when your gut tells you something ain't right, trust it.

Charlie never acts like this back home or when we go hiking on other trails.

We made camp a few miles up the trail……I should have gone further.

That night I didn't sleep a wink.

I set up my tent and lit a fire in my thermoelectric oven to charge my phone and heat water for my mre meal.

The trees were still, it was dead silent.

No birds, no wind, nothing.

Charlie went on high alert, his eyes wide.

After a few minutes I heard a woman scream.

I got down low and stayed silent.

“PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!” It was Meg's voice! I jumped to my feet and almost screamed out for her before realizing that there's no way she'd be here.

I picked up Charlie and ran into the tent hoping whatever was out there didn't notice us.

Silly a notion as it may be it's all I had to work with.

I dug through my bag and found my .22 pistol and sat silent with Charlie.

Dusk came and I kept hearing Meg's voice getting closer and closer.

“WHY WON'T YOU HELP ME!” Charlie tilted his head confused.

Kevin- “It's not her buddy.” Darkness came and I started hearing what sounded like Meg crying outside my tent.

It couldn't be her, that's impossible.

The footsteps sounded like an insect.

They stopped in front of the entrance and the zipper started moving.

I panicked and shot twice through the tent.

I heard a painful screech and whatever that thing was running away.

It didn't sound human.

At dawn I unzipped the tent shaking like a leaf.

Blood, there was blood in front of the tent and trailed off into the woods.

Whatever it was I definitely hurt it.

I packed up and made the decision to end my trip, I was going to find an exit off the trail, and go the fuck home! The issue it its at least 2 days walking to get there.

I can't take much more of this shit.

I can feel that thing watching me and Charlie is on high alert and pulling me forward so hard it feels like my shoulder might pop out of its socket.

I swear I keep seeing what looks like some shit from the movie Predator.

ARE THERE MULTIPLE MONSTERS OUT HERE?! That night Charlie and I tucked ourselves in a root hollow and covered ourselves with limbs and leaves.

I could hear something moving past us but I was so exhausted I passed out anyway.

A quiet morning and singing birds is always a good sign.

The moment I crawled out of the hollow I felt a bag swing over my head and something dragged me out.

I heard Charlie growling and barking at whatever attacked us.

Kevin- “DON'T HURT MY DOG!” I heard a yelp and muffled barking.

Kevin - “CHARLIE!” Someone grabbed the back of my neck tight and spoke in the thickest southern accent I've ever heard.??? - “The dog's good, hush!” Kevin - “ Where are you taking us?” Silence.

We walked for about 6 hours every once and a while they stopped to give me and from what it sounds like Charlie water.

I'm confused.

Why would these people kidnap me and my dog and make sure we are hydrated.

I could hear some kind of wooden mechanism and large doors creaking before I could hear what sounded like a crowd of people whispering and mumbling to others.

I was set down and the hood removed from my head.

In front of me was Paul.???- “Do you know what that is?” A man sitting on a throne made of animal skulls, wood and stone spoke to me.

Kevin - “What are you going to do to me?! Where's my dog?!” Chief - “The dog is fine, it's being fed.

Now answer me!” Kevin - “What what is?” What I'm assuming is the Chief pointed at Paul.

Kevin - “That's Paul, he's a bushcraft nomad.” Chief - “That thing almost killed you and your dog while you slept.

Wise boy trying to use a root hollow to cover yourself.

This thing right here is a predator.

It hunts using smell and tricks.” Paul - “Kevin these people are crazy, they've been stalking me since you left my camp trying to kill me.

You gotta help me please!” The Chief stood up and struck Paul with a large wooden mallet.

Chief - “ HUSH YOUR MOUTH DEMON!” Paul barely flinched.

Chief - “ It's a mimic, they make themselves look and sound like folks, they can look and sound like anyone or anything to lure people out….and eat them.” Paul - “That's insane! I was just enjoying the trail!” Paul started crying.

Paul- “ please don't kill me.” The Chief cut the ropes and had my hands tied.

Paul - “Kevin please they're going to kill me!” Paul's fear was visible as he had snot pouring out of his nose and he was drooling while sobbing uncontrollably.

Kevin - “I shot it… if you're not what they say you are you shouldn't have a bullet hole.” The Chief ripped Paul's flannel shirt off.

Sitting on the left side of Paul's ribs was what looked like a bullet wound.

………Paul started laughing The Chief started wailing on Paul with ferocity, he didn't stop laughing.

I started backing away as I watched Paul change.

Bones popped and muscle stretched into something resembling a stick insect.

It bent down on all fours and its jaw stretched well past its natural capabilities letting out a shrill screech.

The Chief and 5 other men stabbed it with spears, the creature didn't even flinch.

It swiped at 3 of them knocking them into the wall.

I was frozen with fear trying to talk myself into running.

After a couple of seconds I finally mustered up the courage to get up and run.

I made it out of the long house and looked back to see the mimic grab the Chief with both hands and bite his head off.

I turned and ran as fast as I could out of the wooden gates.

Kevin - “Fuck!!! Charlie…” I ran back into the village to get my dog to find the mimic tearing through villagers desperately fighting it to no avail.

I snuck in-between cabins before seeing a young boy around ten hugging Charlie for dear life.

I had to make a decision at that moment to take the boy or leave him.

The mimic was still distracted by the other villagers so I grabbed the boy.

Kevin whispers - “if you want to live, do as I say, I'm going to throw you on my back.

Hold on tight and don't let go.” The boy nodded, his eyes flooded with tears.

I saw my rucksack and got my gun, my map, compass and phone.

Kevin - “ You're going to have to keep up Charlie.” I threw the boy across my back and ran as fast as I could out of the cabin and the mimic screamed in front of me.

I went for my gun but before I could shoot a woman shot it with an arrow.

Woman villager - “GO!” It turned and ran after the woman.

The boy screamed.

Boy - “MAMA!” Kevin - “Don't let go!” I held his legs tight to my waist as I kept running Charlie leading the way out.

We made it out and away from the village.

I must have ran 2 miles with that boy on my back before I had to stop.

No water, no food and I had no idea where I was going.

Kevin - “what….

what's your…..name?” I could barely breathe let alone speak.

Boy - “Judah.” Kevin - “ Ok Judah, can you read maps?” Judah shook his head.

Kevin - “Did your father ever take you hunting?” Judah nodded.

Kevin - “Ok so can you recognize any of this on here?” I showed him the map and he looked confused.

Kevin -” Ok what about an exit out of the woods to a place with cars?” Judah looked more confused.

Kevin - “ Buddy you're really not helping me here.

Big metal vehicles that go zoom.” Judah looked around and pointed back towards the village.

Kevin -” You've got to be fucking kidding me Judah! That's where the mimic is.” Judah looked at the ground.

Kevin - “Ok buddy I'm sorry….Is there any other way? Judah shook his head.

Kevin - (Sigh) “Ok well we're going to have to mask our scent with something.” I scooped up a clod of mud and started smearing it on my face.

Judah held up a vial of yellow liquid he had in his pouch.

Kevin - “ That's not what I think it is, is it.” Judah - “Doe pee.” I cringed at the thought of smearing piss on my body but it was a better idea than mud.

He poured some on my hands and I wiped it me and Charlie, Judah put some on.

This shit was rank.

Like aged fermented piss.

Judah led us off trail and back towards the village.

This kid's pretty sharp, staying off trail was a great idea.

Charlie is like a walking mimic detector at this point, anytime I’d see him perk up in a direction we would veer away from that area.

When we got to the fence of the village we could hear….chewing.

bones snapping and the grotesque sound of that thing gnawing on human carcasses.

I'll never forget that sound as long as I live.

We made it past the village and then some before darkness fell.

We didn't have anything to sleep in or on but Judah being the resourceful kid he found an old blind the villagers used to use for hunting and we hunkered down there.

Sometime late at night we heard a woman screaming in the distance.

Judah - “That's my Mama!”.

He jumped up ready to run outside.

Kevin - “Judah listen to me, that isn't your mother.

Your mother is dead, remember? We saw her sacrifice herself to save you.” Judah - “ What if she's still as l alive and she needs help.

I can't let her suffer.” Kevin -” You're very brave Judah but if you go out there you'll die.” Judah jerks away from me and runs toward the sound of his Mother screaming.

I heard Judah screaming not long after that before complete silence.

I grabbed Charlie and cried into him, I wanted to help Judah.

I tried to sleep but for obvious reasons I couldn't.

At dawn I felt it was safe to exit the blind and make my way back onto the trail.

I found Judah’s body or what's left of it.

There was nothing from the waist up and his entrails were strewn all over the place.

Poor kid….

Me and Charlie found the trail and after a quarter of a mile we saw signs stating a trail exit was a mile away.

I was relieved this was almost over.

I started hearing Judah's voice off the trail.

Mimic- “HELP ME!” Me and Charlie started running.

The voice got closer to the trail.

Mimic - “Kevin, please help me!” It was using Meg’s voice again.

I ran as fast as I could with Charlie in front of me.

I started hearing cars, we were close.

It was running along the wood line chasing me before it reached out and grabbed me.

Its jaw stretched out with insect-like mandibles with sharp fang-like protrusions along the edge of its mouth ready to strike like a praying mantis.

Before it could Charlie attacked, distracting it for a moment before I noticed that same bullet hole from before.

I pulled out my pistol, pulled back the hammer and shot it in the same spot.

It let go and let out a painful screech.

Its skin was thick like armor, that explains why the villagers had such a hard time with it.

Kevin - “Charlie come on!” Charlie paused for a second at the sound of my voice before that thing grabbed him with both hands and ripped him in half.

Kevin - “NO!!!” I froze in my grief, he was trying to save me and I got him killed.

The mimic stood over me and let out a shrill purr, sounded more like a chuckle.

It started stretching its jaw out again and got close like it was about to take a bite, *click* I shot it in the same place again, knocking it on its ass before shoving the barrel of the gun into the hole and shooting it 3 more times.

It twitched before it stopped moving entirely.

Fuck that thing.

I took the ID tag off Charlie’s harness before kissing his forehead and petting his bloody fur.

Kevin - “I'll be back to get you buddy.” I left the trail and pulled out my phone.

Fontana Dam was the sign out front.

I called Meg to come and get me.

It would be days before she would be there but she was relieved I was ok.

I didn't tell her about Charlie, not yet.

I turned back to the trail entrance before I went into town to get a room.

There stood Paul right on the other side of the entrance smiling at me.

I flipped it off and kept walking.

Fuck the Appalachian trail.

To anyone out there reading this, I hope you had a great Independence day and got to watch some great fireworks! I will be talking about my Fourth of July experience from yesterday, and some of the supernatural things that happened.

Basically, I don't have a great home life so I spent the fourth of july with my best friend. If you drive out of town a bit, there are these woods along a dirt road that has a great view of the sky and the town, so we thought it would be a perfect place to drive there and watch the fireworks while sitting in the back of her pickup with blankets and chips.

These woods are always a little creepy at night and we kind of joke about the paranormal creatures (aka skinwalkers) that might be there due to the number of deer around, and driving in the woods we saw a lot more deer then normal, like an abnormal amount that immediately raised some red flags.

The deer also seemed to be in a pack almost running away from something all together, almost like they knew something was wrong (we thought maybe they were scared of the fireworks but where we were the fireworks werent super loud).

The wifi is also kind of spotty and its away from a majority of civilization (minus this "haunted" cabin that is kind of a local urban legend, but thats for another story) but at the time, before everything (the skinwalker shit) happened, we thought it would be a perfect location to watch fireworks and that paranormal stuff didnt actually happen. Oh boy we were wrong.

Sorry for the long background, time to get into what happened; basically we were watching the fireworks but both me and my friend had this weird, eery feeling, like the forest got super cold all of a sudden and the wind was so creepy. we also were hearing human screaming in the distance, we thought it was a coyote or smth but it really sounded like a human.

its possible someone else was out there but i doubt it and we didnt see any other people. we were getting kind of freaked out and it was getting late so we decided that maybe we should drive back, but as we got out of the truck bed to go into the car, there were these two glowing dots kind of in the distance from behind a tree.

i thought i was going crazy and just got in the car. as we were driving away cuz we turned the other direction, my friend looked into the car mirror and said that she saw those eyes from behind the tree cuz we were turned around and when i looked at the passenger car mirror from my side i saw it too, except it was closer this time. she started speeding cuz we were both getting really really bad vibes and like the sinking gut feeling like dread and death and i glanced at the passenger side window and the glowing eyes were gone.

thats when i started to hear weird scratching sounds and the car was slowing down like something was holding it back, my friend had her foot completely on the gas and was confused and trying to book it, the gas also started draining even thought she had a 3/4 tank and the car's engine was making weird sounds. the scratching continued and I started praying so hard for it to stop and me and my frined were panicking and thought we were going to die.

then, suddenly the intense scratching stopped and the forest just got completely quiet, i glanced again in the passender mirror and saw a deer running away. i was so confused but grateful and even though my friend had barely any gas left we made it back to town. when we were filling up gas and checked the back of teh car, it was covered in dents and scratches, and the back ligths were broken. there were also long scratche dmarks on the truck bed like someone was trying to climb in, but we were kind of confused at this cuz we ddint see anything on the truck bed that we couldve seen in the mirrors, but we also couldnt see anything that well cuz it waws so dark.

also, this forest area is also close to many Native American lands so thats why I am idenitifying this entity as a skinwalker taking the form of a deer, as they are a part of their culture and it has always been what i have been told. However, I may be incorrect so feel free to correct me. anyways, i just wanted to share this story from yesterday because me and my friend are both extremely shocked and scared about it and couldnt sleep all of last ngiht. please comment any thoughts down below!

Carriers of any kind are welcome, usps, fed ex, ups. Etc.

Drop your hardest hitting true story that still gives you chills

Looking for Appalachian true crime stories and paranormal encounters that aren’t often discussed. This will be shared on my podcast, Banshee in the Barn.

Me and my buddies (5) were at a Boy Scout reservation in the Cumberland Mountains and it’s about 11:00pm and me a one of my buddies hears running in the grass so we tell the other 3 to shut up. We are by a lake and all the frogs go dead silent. We decide that there’s probably something out there so we head to the closest shelter(which is a bath house) and we stay there for a while. One of them decides to leave and when he comes back he’s pale face saying he saw a white figure floating in the trees about 20 feet from him. We still have no idea what the fuck it was.

I've done some light digging, but I've found very little horror material about the Canadian wilderness! Maybe I'm not looking up the right words. I'm looking to find stories, myths, legends, literally anything creepy that takes place in that kind of setting. There are lots of posts about specific haunted buildings, which is great, but is there any lore on forests/hiking/nature areas? Deserted places? Sasquatch Park, Vancouver Island, or Banff are close to what I'm looking for. Creepiness in the PNW vibes? I'd appreciate being directed to other sources, as well!

Hi, it all start around 2015 during a hot summer. I bought my firts Motocross from a friend (KX250) and started freestyling. I considered myself like a Evil Knievel at this point, but i soon find out that the universe had something to teach me.

It was a hot summer evening, i was alone in the wood riding my dirt bike. None of my friends was able to ride with me so i decide to go lone wolf. I took the same trail i used to take with my friend. After a few miles something caught my eye on my left, a small trail i never seen before. There was fresh tire mark on the mud...like car tires. the trail was wide as a small car and covered with bushes. I decide to take a guess and follow it, soon i found a old shack. There was no cars in the driveway and no foot print in the mud/sand near it on the ground. the car tire mark on the mud in front of the Shack was doing a turn around in front of it but no foot print. At this point i was about to turn around but i seen a weird rectangle shape on the ground near the old shack. So i let my dirt bike on the ground and took a walk. I soon discover a big containers buried in the ground with only the ''door'' visible. There was 4 hunt camera around it on trees and a Star Choice kind of antenna screwed to a tree close to the containers. i stick my ear to the door and heard a weird distortion noise and maybe someone talking. I freaked out and ran to my bike. I went full throttle to my truck and go home. I ask a friends a few weeks later about that weird shack and decide to go there again together. The old Shack was still there sleeping in the wood .....but the container door was open so we took a look inside. A big empty space with A LOT of wiring like HDMI and stuff like that hanging from the ceiling. We never knew what was this place and never asked anyone about it. Life goes by and today after 11 years i have no clue what it could have been.

I live in south texas. I was sitting alone on the porch late one night when I heard what sounded like my own dog whining and injured. It sounded just like my dog but she was inside sleeping, so it couldn’t be. I stayed on the porch and just stayed quiet. I then heard the whiny dog sound get closer and closer but couldn’t see anything. The sound was flying through the air going left and right. Sounded as if a bird was flying erratically mocking my dogs whines perfectly about 10 feet out from me in the yard. I stayed outside stuck in place until it stopped after about 2 minutes. I went inside and locked the doors because fuck that😭😭😭. i’ve looked up and hear audios of birds that typically have whiny voices but none of them match up to what I heard that night. My property has belonged to my ancestors since the 1700s so I know it’s for sure haunted. I also have ancestors that practiced brujería for good and for bad intentions. Has this happened to anybody? Or what is your take on this? I genuinely cannot explain it other than maybe it was la lechuza. I know that’s corny but ?? any help is appreciated

Hi, I have a short story I can't get out of my head, so I decided to write it down. Sorry for my bad English!

So, I live in Poland, and during the winter break back in February, my friend and I had planned this whole sunrise hike in the mountains south of our city. Unfortunately, this friend of mine had to bail on me at the last minute, just a few hours before we were supposed to start. I was super disappointed, so I decided to go completely alone into the woods at night (which, looking back, I realize was a pretty dumb idea).

I caught the earliest bus available, way in the midde of the night and I was the only passenger on it. After the bus dropped me off at the foot of the mountain, I started my ascent. (Just for context, there was heavy snowfall the day and night before, so there was a ton of fresh snow). I hiked through the forest with my headlamp on, a sled in one hand, and a bottle of bear spray in the other, because I like to be cautious and ready for anything. Right from the start, I was a little anxious and freaked out since it was my first time hiking alone at night, so I was intentionally making a lot of noise. (Making noise in the woods alerts nearby animals that a human is around, which reduces the chances of accidentally sneaking up on a bear or something, scaring it, and triggering an attack). The first part of the hike went smoothly. I occasionally saw some eyes reflecting my headlamp in the dark woods, but that's pretty common—usually just some deer or foxes.

Now, here is the part that makes me question what I actually saw.

About 40 minutes to an hour before sunrise, when it was still pitch black, I was hiking through a very wide and winding part of the trail. Suddenly, I saw something move incredibly fast on the section of the trail right above me. I couldn't get a good look because it was moving so quickly, so I just figured it was a deer and ignored it. Next thing I know, this thing appears right in front of me, rushing straight at me. I totally freaked out and, in a split second, was ready to fight for my life—until I noticed it was just an old man on skis.

A massive wave of relief washed over me. As he passed by, I laughed out of pure adrenaline and told him how much he had fucking scared me. But here's the weird part- right after that, he stopped behind me for a second. I tried to make out some details, like his eyes, but I couldn't see them well. He just let out this faint, hollow, empty chuckle, and then skied off.

For a while after the hike, I didn't think much of it. But later, I started to really reflect on it. First, there was his completely emotionless, empty expression. Second, his features were strangely faint and hard to make out. And then it hit me: this dude was skiing down a mountain, through a dense forest, nearly an hour before sunrise in pitch-black darkness... and he didn't have any light. No flashlight, no headlamp, nothing. Yet, he was skiing down perfectly in the absolute dark.

Now, it might not sound too crazy to you, but why would someone ski down before the sunrise? Like, he could've waited just a bit to actually see it, but he chose to head down in total darkness. (also this would mean that he had to skitour up the mountain throughout the whole ass night) Also, there weren't any other buses running at that time, and there were zero cars parked in the lot at the foot of the mountain. On top of that, skiing without any source of light in those conditions should be physically impossible.

Do I think it was a mimic? I honestly don't know. I don't know what to think. Maybe someone out here has some insight or experience with that sorta crap. I don't know a whole lot about this mythology/paranormal/folklore stuff, but I do know that near the place I was hiking, there's a peak with a history stretching back to 500 BC, which was used by early Slavic people as a fortification and an offering/burial site.

Hi everyone,
I frequently walk my dogs at around 4 a.m. through my local woods, and I’m not easily spooked. However, this morning I had a really bizarre experience, and I’m wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar.

We were following our usual route when, all of a sudden, I heard a loud, short, almost guttural scream, followed immediately by a really strange laugh. At first it sounded like it was right beside me, but then it seemed to come from a few different directions before gradually fading away.

My dogs immediately started growling and became really unsettled. I suddenly felt freezing cold, started shaking, and my heart was absolutely pounding. I’ve never felt fear like that before, especially in those woods, where I’ve walked countless times without any issues.

I know there could be a perfectly rational explanation, but the sound was unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Has anyone else experienced anything similar or have any idea what it could have been?

Ok so I may have experienced the hum? I been reading about things similar to what happened to me and its leading me to a phenomenon called the hum apparently, maybe? Anyways heres my story...I like hiking, I just got into it as a way to exercise post partum that was easy enough for me to do, but the ability to be more challenging if needed. I hike a trail outside of town quite often, it's kinda well traveled but kinda rough terrain so you gotta be somewhat fit to make it all the way through so its not everybodys cup of tea. Its out in the country, few houses down the road, a couple yards close to parts of the trail as well, so not the boondocks, but out there a bit. But like i said anyway, im real familiar with the place, i can navigate it without help, and hike alone more than i should. A couple days ago I decided to head out, my buddy was at work so alone again. I arrive, get myself ready to leave the car and head down the opening of the trail. I immediately notice a buzzing, sounded far away, kinda like a horse fly was following me or something, no biggie, I keep going. I head off the main trail onto an offshoot around the shore of a small lake and then i hear knocking, mind you the buzzing hasnt stopped. I stop and look for the knocking, it sounded out of place/rarer than usual. It was a big woodpecker ontop a dead tree, slowly stabbing into the tree trunk, id never heard a woodpecker do it like that so i just sorta stared for a minute, got a weird feeling and turned to continue. The buzzing now gets a little louder. I keep going a little way. Louder. I start to slow down at this point and notice that this buzzing/humming, is like its inside my ear at this point, i could almost feel vibration from the sound. Then as I approach the end of the trail section I had this feeling come over me, like you know when you see something about to hit you but you cant avoid it, you just gotta brace for it? Felt like that and I finally stopped in my tracks and asked myself "is this....dread?". That made me turn around, I just felt I had to leave NOW. I head back down to the trailhead, the woodpecker is gone, the sound is getting loud, it seems like the whole forest got louder, leaves shuffling, birds, trees creaking. I was probably panicking but as i turned back onto the main trail out but I swear I saw something pass over the trail behind me, i dont know what because it was out the corner of my eye. As I hit the light outside the forest canopy the sound grew faint, and when i got in my car, it was gone. I even got back out to see if I would hear it, nothing. Now all I can wonder is, what the actual fuck just happened??? I keep thinking about it. That place has never been like that for me, couple times I got the creeps out there alone, but thats normal, anyone anywhere when theyre alone. It wasnt creepy enough to stop me from going out alone anyway, until now. And as I'm reading about this thing that happens, apparently it happens all over the place.

There's something out there.

This is a true story—a camping story I still remember with unsettling clarity.

When I was twelve or thirteen, I was adventurous. So was my family. All five of us decided it would be a great weekend to go camping. Tent camping, actually. We rarely did this since we had an RV, but the idea excited us kids with its novelty and promise of something different.

I don't remember the exact location of this campground, but I can tell you I've always lived in west Tennessee, near the Kentucky border. That's where this happened.

\---

We arrived late in the day—my dad had to work first. My sisters and I (I'll call them H and K) immediately started running around, exploring everything we could find. We discovered a creek bed with cool rocks and little fish trapped in shallow pools. We played through the fallen leaves—it was around fall—while Dad set up the tent and Mom unpacked our sleeping bags.

The sun was already sinking by the time we sat down to eat. Dad quickly cooked hamburgers for us, and we enjoyed our meal as the temperature dropped. It didn't get super cold, maybe around fifty degrees. Perfect, really.

We all lay in the tent, watching the last light disappear through the fabric walls. We snuggled up and made ourselves comfortable. Back then, none of us kids had phones, and my parents weren't on theirs either—they wanted to spend time with us. So it was just dark in our tent. We lay there chatting and laughing, and eventually the conversation died down and we all fell asleep.

\---

At some point in the night, when it was pretty cold, I woke up. I really had to pee. I wasn't necessarily scared to get up, but I didn't want to go without my parents. Still, I pushed myself because I really had to go.

One thing I should mention: this was a campground with designated spots for tents. A lot of the areas were actually raised wooden decks because the ground was uneven. There was also a bathing area with showers and bathrooms. I could see it in the distance, illuminated under a street lamp, as I quietly climbed out of the tent.

I'm a guy, so I could just go in the woods. I found a tree nearby and relieved myself. I was still really tired, my eyes barely open, when I heard a strange noise.

My eyes snapped open. I looked around toward the sound and saw a tall, shadowy figure standing next to the bathrooms. It startled me at first, but I reasoned that if I had to pee, someone else probably did too.

As I finished and walked back toward the tent, I noticed the guy was just standing there. That sound I'd heard earlier—I assumed it was the bathroom door shutting. But he was just standing there, facing me, leaves slowly falling from the trees between us.

I was pretty unsettled. I hurried back to the tent and zipped it up. Before I climbed back into my sleeping bag, I took one final look.

He was gone.

This made me uneasy, but I was still exhausted. I snuggled up to my mom, got warm, and eventually fell back asleep.

\---

Morning came, and I remember it clearly because before the sun was even up, the crows started going crazy in the trees. They were making all kinds of racket, and it was really pissing me off. I just lay there in the tent quietly, waiting for everyone else to wake up.

Eventually they did. My little sister K and I immediately ran out and started playing. We explored the creek, ran around, fought with each other—you know, what siblings do. My older sister H was around seventeen at the time, so she was in that "don't talk to me" phase. But of course we'd pass by her and do what kids do.

Honestly, I don't have much memory of the daytime activities. At one point I brought up the tall, lanky man I'd seen that night. My younger sister took it very seriously—she was only seven or eight years old. But my older sister and my dad quickly made a joke of it. They said it was Slenderman. Then H said she'd heard a squirrel last night and that she was “soooo scared” (sarcastically), and Dad called it "Slender Squirrel."

It was pretty funny at the time, and we kept teasing my little sister about it. But deep down, I was still unsettled. I just tried to push it off.

\---

Eventually, as it always does, the sun started to set. Everything started calming down. Crickets began chirping. Frogs called in the distance. The sounds of birds died off as a single owl hooted somewhere far away. It was quite a peaceful setting, and pretty easy to fall asleep to.

I nodded off next to my mother once again.

Then, around probably the same time as the night before, I woke up having to pee. This time I was much more tired—my day had been full of running around and playing. I lay there on my pillow, trying to decide if it was worth getting up, but I really had to go.

Just as I started to situate myself and get out of my sleeping bag, the loud zipper broke the silence.

And suddenly, I heard it.

Footsteps on the deck our tent was sitting on. Very, very slow footsteps, like someone was trying to be as quiet as possible. But I could feel the vibrations through the wood we were laying on.

I sat up slowly to make sure everyone was in our tent—that it wasn't one of my siblings or something. I counted. Five of us. We were all there.

But there was an uninvited guest right outside our tent, with only thin fabric separating us.

I continued listening as the footsteps slowly made their way around. They started from behind the tent and wrapped around to my left. Now they were at the front of the tent, where the steps of the deck led down to the gravel path.

I knew this was a person—or something of humanoid distinction. I could hear the heel-toe, heel-toe pattern of what sounded like boots.

Eventually they made their way to the steps, their pace quickening. I just sat there and listened helplessly, hoping whoever or whatever this was would just leave.

I heard them step down into the gravel and start crunching through the leaves. But instead of continuing straight, I heard them turn left—into the woods. Our tent was actually on the edge of the campground, so there was nothing behind us but pure forest.

I heard the footsteps disappearing into the distance. Eventually, they just stopped. I could hear nothing anymore. Slowly, the crickets and the owl in the distance came back into focus.

\---

After this unsettling situation, I was obviously pretty scared. There was no way I was falling back to sleep. And I still really had to pee, but I wasn't about to go outside. So I just laid my head back down, eyes wide open, staring at the roof of the tent, trying to listen for any more sounds.

Why didn't I wake up my parents you may ask? I was nervous about it. I thought it might've been my imagination, or they might be mad at me, or things might just get worse. So I left them alone and figured I'd tell them in the morning.

I never did sleep the rest of that night. Eventually, I saw morning light start to peek through our tent walls. And I heard those stupid, annoying crows again.

\---

Eventually, morning turned to day. As my sisters ran around doing whatever they wanted, I just sat in our camping chair, watching the trees blow. I couldn't stop thinking about those footsteps and how they'd turned left, straight into the forest.

( I should probably mention something important here. At this point in our lives, my family had been victims of a stalker—a very scary neighbor back at home. I'm talking someone who would knock on our doors, try to open windows, move stuff around outside. So as a kid, I was very worried and scared about strangers. That context matters for understanding why I was so on edge…
If y’all would like another story about that freakin creep, let me know!! )

Anyway, I was sitting there thinking about the sounds, wondering if maybe it had been my imagination from lack of sleep. I decided I should tell my mom—she'd probably take me more seriously than my dad.

I found her at the campsite and told her I'd heard footsteps last night. That it was pretty scary. That it sounded like someone was on our deck.

She said, "Honey, you were probably just dreaming. Or it was a squirrel or something. We're completely safe out here. Nobody wants to hurt you. Look at all those families out there."

At the moment, this made me feel a little better. My mom always makes me feel better.

\---

Skip a few hours, and here we are getting ready for bed again. Nothing weird happened during the day.

I'm in that familiar spot next to my mom in the cold tent, snuggled up. At this point I'm extremely tired—the lack of sleep last night and all the activities today had me worked. I was ready to sleep.

My family's chatter and giggles turned into silence as I drifted into what I hoped would be a good night's rest.

But late in the night, surrounded by my parents' snoring, I heard the loudest twig snap I've ever heard. Everything around us just went quiet. It made me dart awake.

And as if that wasn't awakening enough, I immediately heard what sounded like stomping—footsteps coming down the deck stairs, straight toward the entrance of the tent.

Whoever this was moved quicker than last time. They walked around the tent to my side, on the left, and I could feel the whole tent shift as they brushed past it. I could literally hear and feel their body touching against the thin wall between us.

At this point I was freaking out. I started to lightly shake my mom, but she was still asleep. I was very timid as a child, so I didn't want to push it too much.

And then I heard it.

There's a back flap on the tent, and the zipper started opening. Very, very slowly.

At this point I was panicking. I shook my mom really hard this time, not making any noise, but she woke and sat up.

"What? What? What's happening?" she said.

The zipper stopped. Just like that, no more noise came from outside.

"Mom, there is someone outside the tent," I whispered. "They're trying to get in."

"No, there isn't," she said in an annoyed voice. "Go to sleep."

"Mom, please wake up Dad. Please. There is somebody outside this tent. I heard them. I felt them. They are there."

At this point, my dad woke up, still groggy from sleeping. I explained to him what was happening. Very quickly, and without saying much, he grabbed his flashlight and unzipped the front tent flap—ignoring the back flap that was halfway open at this point. He shined light around the tent slowly, looked around.

Nothing. Nobody. No sign of anyone being there.

I was in disbelief.

\---

Morning rolled around with those DAMN CROWS annoyingly squawking in the distance. This time I was even more annoyed because I'd gotten zero sleep.

I spent the rest of the day in a really bad mood, not wanting to talk to anyone. Just reading my book, drawing on a piece of paper. Not exploring or doing anything a kid should be doing.

The next day was the day we were leaving, so my siblings were trying to get the best of it. I won't bore you with what happened throughout the day because nothing really happened—except at one point I saw an old, pale, tall man walking around in the woods, seemingly exploring. I didn't think much of it at the time.

\---

And once again, night rolled around.

I was genuinely terrified to even lay in that tent again. I just wanted to go home at this point. I made a point to leave the zipper unzipped from when it was unzipped that night, but it got zipped back up by someone in the family.

As I lay there, not sleeping, minutes felt like hours. I didn't have a phone, so I had absolutely no way to check the time. I just lay there waiting, hoping the man wouldn't come back, hoping the sun would come up faster. I actually waited for those crows, hoping they would start calling.

But time passed slowly.

I specifically remember at one point it got extremely cold. I started shivering. I swear I could feel the wind just blowing through the tent fabric. It was unsettling. I could hear leaves smacking into the tent and rustling in the distance, as if something were out there. But I chalked it all up to the wind. I was trying hard to forget what had happened. I was hoping someone had just been pranking us and had left already.

Another hour or so passed.

And then I heard it.

Footsteps in the gravel outside the deck. This time they were shuffling or dragging, like someone dragging their feet through the gravel. Very slow, very long and drawn-out steps.

I started shaking. \*Not again\*, I thought.

But the footsteps stopped. I could hear them last right in front of the deck.

Silence followed.

I sat there waiting.

All of a sudden, something sharp poked against the side of the tent—like a stake or a knife. But it didn't poke through. It scared the absolute crap out of me.

And then, suddenly, it poked straight through the side of the tent. I mean, this was like a foot from me. It was a knife—like an eight-inch-long knife—and it started cutting down the tent wall.

I started screaming.

My little sister woke up immediately, freaking out and crying. Then my mom. Then my other sister H started screaming, "Dad! Dad!" My mom was shaking my dad awake. We could all see this very obvious item poking through the tent, and what looked like a hand pushing down on the roof.

I started shuffling and pushing myself away from the wall of the tent, trying to get as far away as possible from whatever this was.

My dad finally woke up and grabbed his gun. But as he was doing it, I was just staring at the hole left in the tent.

And I saw a pair of eyes looking through.

I swear they were glowing yellow. (Obviously this could have been my child like imagination)

I saw hands start to open the hole in the tent, ripping it further. I started to see a face—a white, pale, wrinkled, disgusting face. No facial hair. Just yellow eyes. And I saw crooked teeth, smiling at me.

I swear to God, this is all real. I remember it so vividly.

My dad had the gun—some kind of pistol—and cocked it. The loud noise was followed by the face disappearing, darkness flowing through that hole. I heard running footsteps across the deck we were on. I felt the whole platform shaking. And then I heard the footsteps in the gravel, quickly pacing, and then into the leaves.

My dad got up fast and told us to stay. He opened the tent, fumbling with the zipper. I saw him leave and point his gun in the direction the visitor had run. My dad is very careful with guns, so he didn't shoot—we were still in a campsite with other people around. But he just continued pointing in that direction.

He yelled, "I don't see anything!"

I was holding my mom, and she was holding all of us kids. We were all shaking. It was still freezing, and we were terrified.

My dad poked his head back in the tent and said, "There's nobody there."

He got back out and walked around the whole platform, around the tent, and looked everywhere. He couldn't see anything. No knife. No footprints. Nothing.

He then reached back into the tent and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed 911.

\---

About twenty minutes later, a police cruiser showed up, illuminating the woods around us with blue and red lights. The cop got out and started asking my dad questions outside. By this point, my family and I were outside the tent, and we could see other people trying to see what was going on. It was still dark outside.

The police then asked my mom some questions—what she saw, what she heard—and then asked me and my siblings the same thing. They said they would do a sweep of the area and give us an update.

After this, my dad got back in the tent and just said, "All right, let's try and get some rest. We're safe, guys. We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow."

I don't know how he could simply ask this of us. We were terrified. But we lay there, trying to sleep.

I stayed wide awake, my eyes just staring at the roof of the tent, waiting for something insane to happen. But thank God, it never did.

Eventually, as time passed slowly, I saw sunlight start to filter through the tent fabric. And I heard a sound that made me happier than ever: the crows. The crows began squawking, and I was just so relieved to hear them again. When they crowed, it seemingly meant the nightmare had stopped.

\---

We packed up quickly, got everything in the truck, and left without looking back.

Thank God nothing more horrible actually happened to us. There's no telling what that man—or whatever that was—would've done if my dad didn't have a gun.

To this day, I don't know if it was our stalker, or some random person trying to prank us, or if it was something more sinister. Was it somebody fixated on us? On me? Was it that man I saw at the bathroom, just staring at me?

I'm not sure. But that memory will always be a part of my childhood.

I've only been tent camping one time since then. I'm twenty-five now, and the last time I went was with my fiancée when I was nineteen. I just don't find it fun anymore.

Thank you for listening to my story. If you made it this far, just let me know what you think, or if you have any similar stories.

My grandfather grew up in the small coal mining town of Horsepen. In that town there were a few hollars, little valleys where families could settle down. These people protected their land, but one hollar on coal company land seemed to be protected by something else.

It was named Haint Holler because of the odd noises that echoed through its hills. Even during the day the place seemed darker than it ought to be, the trees thick and close together. A groaning noise that could only be heard in the quiet hours of night. When no work was being done, and when one was all alone. Everyone in the valley would quicken as they crossed by the mouth of that hollar, and horses seemed to take notice as well. Many stories were told of them throwing their riders while going past.

One night my grandad found himself in one of those stories. His aunt had been sick for some time, it took a turn then, and he was sent out to get the town's doctor. With only the pale light of a half moon he navigated the empty town, taking the fastest route without thought. Until he came to the maw of Haint hollar. He slowed even then, questioning if he should go around. His aunt needed care though, so he continued. The thick trees took his only light, and between them he hard that mournful groan. The air seemed to stand still. When he was to the side of Haint hollar's deepest part, the sound faded, and he stopped.

A crunch rang out beside him, and through the pitch black he looked. He saw nothing there, the trees and the rocks sat just behind the veil of night. Slowly he went on, all too aware of how much noise he was making. Then in between the sound of his own, two more footfalls came from the woods. There was still nothing, no evidence the noise had happened at all. He quickened his pace, running away from the hollar, but once he was out he looked back.

The light of the moon gave him a new confidence, but there in his path where he had been was the eye shine of a tall figure, lost to the darkness behind it. And the footsteps didn't stop. Now he ran, and anytime he slowed he heard its steps over his own, and the groan that belonged in the dark recesses of Haint hollar.

My grandfather did not dare look behind him then, but he feared the doctors house was too far away. Closer to him was the property of his kin, a familiar place to retreat to, but not a safe one. Resting in the flat part of another hollar was the shack of a man he called his uncle. My grandfather was used to working for him for some spare change, but he knew his habit was to fire his gun blindly out of his one window at any noise he heard in the night. But the noise, was steady, the footsteps were bearing down on him, so he ran towards what he knew.

The moment he saw the house a shot cracked through the air, shattering the quiet of the night. My grandfather ducked, and called out that it was him. After the shot he no longer heard his pursuer, but he knew it could have waited in the hills around the house. The door opened, just a crack at first, but fully when my grandad jumped onto his porch.

The man had some words for my grandad, until he heard his story. He was reluctant, but eventually accompanied him to the doctors house. As they were leaving his uncles holler my grandad looked back just once, and there in the hills was the same eye shine, watching, waiting.

After they got the doctor, they took the long way around to avoid Haint hollar.

Hello anyone,

I already have done a true crime podcast but I’ve lately been playing with the idea of spooky storytelling. I plan to cover a WIDE range of topics from alien encounters, ghosts, cryptids, unsolved cases, missing people, Bigfoot, etc.
Anyone interested in sharing their personal experiences with me? You’ll obviously get full credit with a shout out. Thank you in advance! :)
Feel free to follow… “YourTwistedSister_” on instagram to see where we go with this.

- Christian

Send to: urtwistedsis@gmail.com