I've always loved the outdoors, the raw untouched Wilderness
that seems like a stark contrast to the bustling City Life.
It was probably my dad's influence, always taking me and
my friends Jake and Ryan camping when we were kids.
That's where our friendship truly bloomed, among the
rustling trees and beneath the star studded Sky.
Jake Ryan and I decided it was high time for another trip.
A break from our city lives, we chose the forests of Utah.
A wilderness we had not yet, Explored its untouched Serenity
called to us. We started our preparations are
excitement building with each passing day as the day.
Finally arrived, we packed our gear into my old but reliable
truck. I could feel a rush of
exhilaration. Our phones were switched off.
Severing our ties to the city. We only had each other and the
wild for company. The drive was a blur of laughter
old stories and endless stretches of Road Ryan ever.
The jokester kept us entertained.
With his outrageous anecdotes Jake.
On the other hand, always a source of calmness just smiled
at our Antics. Eventually we reach the entrance
to the forest. I took a deep breath taking in
the sharp scent of Pine and damp Earth.
Something was different though. The forest was unusually quiet,
it wasn't the peaceful silence. We were used to the type that's
full of Nature's. Whispers rustling leaves
chirping birds. This silence was different.
Almost eerie. Weird, isn't it?
Jake said, echoing my thoughts. I looked over to see him
scanning the forest. His forehead creased in concern.
Yeah, I replied struggling to place why?
It seems so odd. There were no birds singing.
No Russell of the wind. Just a deep profound silence.
That seemed to swallow all other sounds.
Maybe they've all gone on a vacation.
Ryan joked breaking the momentary tension.
We laughed, appreciating the humor, but something still felt
off brushing aside. Our unease, we shouldered our
backpacks and started Our Journey Into the Wilderness.
Little did we know we were venturing into something far
beyond our understanding I didn't let the unease dampen.
Our Spirits the thought of a roaring campfire and old Tales
Under The Starry Night. Kept me going I led the way
unaware of The Uncanny silence that was wrapping around us,
like a cold shroud and the series of unforeseen events that
were about to unfold, the excitement of the upcoming
Adventure, was palpable in the crisp, air our camaraderie, and
The Call of the Wild were strong, unbeknownst to the
strange occurrences that were waiting for us.
We set off on foot our boots crunching on the pine needles,
strewn along the path. The forest was vast and
intimidating. But also Really beautiful.
It was a sea of green with light streaming in through the canopy
creating patterns on the forest floor, but it was the silence
that held us captive a quiet. So profound it felt almost
tangible. Isn't it weird?
I broke the silence unable to shake the nagging feeling.
I looked over at Jake and Ryan. They looked uneasy to what is
Ryan asked squinting at me? His casual demeanor was
beginning to falter. I paused the silence, it's just
too quiet. Bastard around at the Stillness.
Usually the forest would be filled with the calls of birds,
the rustling of leaves and the almost imperceptible, Buzz of
life. But this silence was absolute.
Like we had stepped into an abandoned world.
Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.
Jake agreed nodding solemnly. It's almost as if the woods are
holding their breath. His words sent a shiver down my
spine. That's exactly what it felt
like. Like the woods were waiting for
what? I had no idea.
Maybe it's just a slow. Load a Ryan attempted to lighten
the mood clearly uncomfortable, but his joke fell flat, we knew
better. We had been camping enough times
to know that this was not normal.
I decided to push our concerns aside reminding myself of why we
were here. This was supposed to be an
escape, a fun adventure. We needed this trip to break
away from our everyday monotony. So we pushed forward.
The path was a winding serpent leading us deeper into the
forest, the air around us was still adding to the aura.
Mystery. I could see the Towering trees
around us, swaying slightly their trunks Whispering ancient
Secrets. The further, we walked the more
the feeling of unease settled. Deep within me like an Uninvited
Guest a few hours past the silence, which we had first
dismissed now seem to be a constant companion.
Shadowing our steps, it was almost deafening filling our
ears pressing against us, even our conversations quiet and our
voices seemingly. Sword.
By the surrounding Stillness. The silence was eerie and
unsettling, but we were determined to enjoy our trip.
We made jokes trying to lighten the mood and I could see Ryan
forcing laughs. But I could also see the concern
behind his eyes mirroring my own.
The beauty of the woods was a stark contrast to the unnerving
quietness nature was after all a paradox, it could offer Solace
and yet it could be terrifying. And it's Solitude this
realization dawned upon us as we venture, Deeper into the forest,
towards the unknown, despite the uneasy quiet, we continued our
journey pushing forward drawn by the promise of Adventure, but
the silence was a specter that refused to leave lurking around
us. An omen of the chilling events
yet to unfold little? Did we know that this was just
the beginning? We decided to take a break after
what felt like a couple of hours of hiking Ryan.
Pulled out sandwiches from his bag and we sat on a fallen tree,
log biting into our lunch, trying to ignore the unsettling.
Quiet around us. The forest was still unnervingly
silent. But we had managed to brush off
the unease for the most part. No sooner had we finished our
sandwiches. Ryan got up and started
exploring the area. Ever the Restless one, I watched
him from my perch on the log while Jake busied himself in
packing up. Our lunch remnants suddenly
Ryan's voice cut through the silence guys.
Come over here he sounded excited Jake and I shared a
glance and quickly got up heading towards where Ryan's
voice had come from. We found him standing in front
of a cave partially hidden by a curtain of thick IV.
The entrance was narrow not more than a couple of feet wide.
It was a Wonder. Ryan had even noticed it.
This looks interesting. Ryan said his eyes shining with
excitement. What do you think he looked Jake
and me, I squinted into the darkness of the cave.
Curiosity piqued. Let's take a look.
I said, pulling out my flashlight as we stepped into
the cave. The temperature dropped
noticeably the beam of my flash light, illuminated, the dark
surroundings. And we walked further in the
cave walls were rough with strange formations of
stalactites and stalagmites jutting out, we move deeper into
the cave. Our flashlights, casting Long
Shadows on the cave walls. Suddenly I noticed something on
the wall, it looked like paintings.
I moved closer. My heart pounding, in my chest.
They were indeed paintings and not just any paintings, but cave
paintings, guys, look at this, I called out my voice.
Echoing off the cave walls, Jake, and Ryan came over their
flashlights, pointing at the wall.
The paintings were intricate depicting.
What? Looked like deer with
exaggerated antlers. Whoa, Ryan breathed, his eyes
Eyes wide with astonishment. These must be really old Jake
nodded in agreement. His gaze fixed on the paintings.
I didn't know we had cave paintings in Utah.
This is incredible. We stared at the paintings are
worries of the Silent Forest temporarily forgotten the dear
seemed almost lifelike under our flashlight.
Beams their eyes seeming to follow us.
We were awed by the site, our hearts filled with a strange mix
of excitement and unease There was a sense of the ancient and
mystical about the paintings here.
We were three friends on a camping trip standing in front
of a relic of the past. We were humbled by the Artistry
in the history that the paintings held completely
unaware of. What else, the cave had in store
for us. As we venture deeper into the
cave. Our initial excitement turned
into a creeping sense of dread. The discovery of the cave
paintings had been fascinating, but we were far from realizing
the true horror that laid deeper within this cave.
We've ventured further into the cave.
The eeriness of the space growing with each step the cave
seemed to stretch on forever. Our flashlights Illuminating
only small portions of the area as we rounded a Bend.
I stumbled upon something that made my blood run cold, guys.
I croaked my voice barely above a whisper, Jake and Ryan were
right behind me. And when they saw, what I was
pointing at their faces turned pale there in the dim light of
our flashlights was a shrine of Bones.
Deer bones to be precise arranged in the shape of a
human. The site was absolutely
terrifying. Chilling us to the Bone.
The Silence of the cave became oppressive.
The are heavy with a sense of dread.
We stood there for a moment, unable to tear our eyes away
from the horrific sight. The eerily life-size structure,
seemed to loom over us casting an ominous shadow on the cave
walls what is that? Ryan whispered his voice echoing
around us. The bone Shrine was an
unexpected and chill. Recite, none of us knew how to
react to this unsettling Discovery.
I I don't know. I replied my voice.
Shaky the Grim realization that we were possibly intruding on
something sacred. Something ancient and ominous
was settling in as we were still reeling from the discovery
allowed unnatural shrieking, sound echoed from the entrance
of the cave, we all froze. The sound ricocheting off the
walls and drilling into our ears Ryan quickly Drew out his
hunting knife, the metallic sound of it being unsheathed.
Echoing in the unnerving silence that followed the shriek.
I could see his knuckles, turning white around the handle
the fear was palpable. I think we need to get out of
here. Jake said his eyes wide.
We nodded turning around to head back towards the entrance of the
cave as we slowly navigated the narrow tunnel.
The echo of that Dreadful, shriek still ringing in our
ears. Our flashlights cast ominous
Shadows on the walls. The once intriguing cave now
seemed like a chamber of Horrors Each step we took away from the
bone. Shrine felt like a minor
Victory, but our hearts were pounding with a deep-rooted
fear. Once we finally saw the light of
the day at the entrance, we rushed out of the cave, gasping
for fresh air. But the light of day wasn't
enough to erase the chilling memories of the cave.
We were three grown men, seasoned, campers yet, what we
had stumbled upon had shaken us to our very cores, the bone
Shrine and the chilling shriek had transformed, our adventurous
Spirit into to a haunted fear. We were out of the cave but had
unknowingly stepped into a world that we never knew existed.
Stepping out of the cave, we were greeted by the bright
sunlight, which was a stark contrast to the Gloom of the
cave. I blinked my eyes adjusting to
the sudden brightness, but the terror we had experienced in the
cave, still lingered sticking to us like a second skin.
The shrill shriek still echoed in my ears.
I looked around half expecting something to LEAP out at us from
the surrounding. Freeze.
But all we saw was a Red-tailed. Hawk circling overhead.
It made a couple of Loops in the sky before disappearing.
Beyond the Treetops, I pointed at the bird could the shriek
have come from that. I suggested trying to find a
logical explanation for the terrifying sound.
We had heard Ryan shook his head, his grip on the hunting
knife, not loosening that wasn't any bird I've ever heard before,
he muttered his gaze fixed, on the spot where the hawk had
disappeared Jake seemed to agree.
Three. He had a thoughtful look on his
face and he was staring at the cave.
Entrance, something's not right here, he said more to himself
than to us. We decided to get moving again.
The cave experience had spooked us but we were still determined
to make the most out of this trip.
We were seasoned campers, after all, we had braved storms and
wild animals, and a creepy cave was not going to ruin our trip.
We resumed our hike to the campsite the trail seem to wind
on endlessly, like a snake slithering through The
undergrowth we walked in Silence the quiet around us Amplified by
our encounter with the cave. Finally, we reach the camping
spot. We set up our tents in Silence,
the usual chatter and laughter conspicuously absent.
Every sound, every movement seemed to startle us, we were on
edge hyper aware of our surroundings as night began to
fall. We gathered around the fire, the
crackling Flames. Casting flickering, Shadows
around us. We were in the heart of the
Wilderness miles away from Civilization, the ominous
Silence of the woods wrapping around us like a blanket.
We tried to lighten the mood sharing stories of our past
camping trips. When we were kids laughter, rang
out breaking the Eerie silence, but it was forced lacking, the
genuine joy. We usually felt Ryan was the
first to retire for the night, citing exhaustion, Jake, and I
stayed up a while longer staring into the fire, but the events of
the day hung over us like a dark cloud turning.
What should have been A relaxing camping trip into a tense,
vigil. The site of the red-tailed, hawk
circling overhead. The bone Shrine the chilling.
Shriek, they all merged into a single haunting memory.
We finally decided to call it a night hoping that the morning
would bring with it. A sense of normalcy, little did
we know that the night was far from over and the forest had
more chilling surprises in store for us?
I was jolted awake in the dead of night by a voice.
A voice that seemed to drift from somewhere far.
In the distance, it was distorted almost as if someone
was playing an old recording, my heart pounded in my chest, as I
strained, my ears to make sense of the voice.
Help me. It was a cry for help.
A plea that made my blood run cold.
I quickly shook Jake awake, who groggily sat up rubbing his
eyes. Jake, listen, I whispered
urgently he froze as he heard the voice, Voice his eyes
widened and he nodded indicating that he too had heard the cry.
We exchanged a look of dread and quickly got up to wake.
Ryan Ryan was out of his tent in an instant.
His face is pale as a sheet. Did you hear that?
He asked his voice, trembling we nodded the sound of the distant
cry. Echoing in our ears.
It seemed like the voice was coming from deep within the
woods. We decided to investigate our
hearts pounding in our chests as we stepped out of our tents, the
Forester. And us felt eerily quiet.
There was no wind rustling through the leaves, no,
nocturnal animals scurrying about just that haunting cry.
That seemed to Echo around us. We shouted back.
Hey, we are over here. Where are you?
Hoping that whoever was crying for help would hear us but there
was no response, just silence, a silence that seemed to stretch
on forever. Suddenly we heard a twig snap in
the opposite direction. We world around flashlight.
And over the trees but saw nothing.
Then the voice went completely silent.
We stood there are Hearts thumping in our chests
flashlights, casting Long Shadows on the ground.
The Voice had stopped and we saw no sign of anyone around us.
We decided to head back to our camp.
Every step, we took filled with an uneasy dread, we called out a
few more times, but the silence around us remained unbroken.
When we reached our camp, a red-tailed, hawk was perched on
Ryan's tent, its eyes. In the flashlights beam, it was
an eerie sight. It looked at us for a moment
before flying away its wings, cutting through the silent
night. We stood there taken aback by.
What we had just experienced The bone-chilling Voice, The Twig,
snapping the hawk, everything felt unreal.
As if we were living in, some kind of a horror movie, it was
as if something was luring us deeper into the woods.
We decided to stay together until morning, not daring, to
split up after What we had just experienced, we sat by the fire.
Our eyes darting around nervously, the excitement of the
camping trip had evaporated replaced by a sense of dread and
Terror. None of us slept that night we
sat huddled together. Our minds racing jumping at
every small sound, the night was filled with a tense silence,
broken only by our hushed Whispers And the occasional
crackling of the fire. We could hardly wait for Dawn,
not knowing what more the forest had in store for us.
Morning couldn't have come sooner.
The first rays of the sun pierced through the dense canopy
of leaves overhead. Washing over are tired faces.
We had stayed awake throughout the night clutching our weapons
closed eyes darting around in fear.
We sat there in Silence the heat from the dying Embers of the
fire. Barely warming us as daylight
crept in the forest started to come alive but it didn't feel
the same. The chirping of the birds, the
rustling of the leaves. They all seem to hold a note of
Menace that wasn't there. Before Ryan was the first to get
up. He started the camp stove.
And soon, the aroma of coffee filled the air, but none of us
felt the excitement that usually accompanied the first cup of
coffee. In the wilderness, we sat there,
sipping, our coffee in Silence, the events of the previous
night, replaying in our heads, the chilling voice, The Twig,
snapping the hawk. It was all too much to
comprehend. We should look around once more.
See if we missed something in the dark, I suggested breaking
the silence Ryan and Jake nodded a silent agreement passing
between us. We knew we had to get to the
bottom of this. So we set out once more.
This time in the broad daylight, we moved carefully, our senses
heightened, as we move deeper into the woods, something caught
my eye. I called Ryan and Jake over
there on the bark of one of the trees was an odd symbol.
Carved. It was unlike anything we had
ever seen before it was complex and detailed like a language of
its own, the site sent a shiver. Down my spine, we noticed five
other trees around the campsite with the same symbols each more
intricate than the last the site spooked us.
It was as if we were being warned or Worse marked.
Maybe we should leave Jake suggested looking visibly
shaken. None of us argued.
We silently nodded the fear settling deep.
Within us, we packed our stuff as quickly as we could.
The lingering dread making us move faster.
There was an urgency to our movements, an unspoken agreement
that we needed to put as much distance between us in the woods
as possible. It was supposed to be a trip
filled with excitement and Adventure.
Instead, it had turned into a nightmarish experience.
One that would haunt us for the rest of our lives as we left the
campsite I couldn't help, but look back the forest.
Once a Haven of Peace and tranquility.
Now, stood ominous and threatening, I couldn't shake
off the feeling that we were being watched.
That something was lurking in the shadows.
Watching us leave. As we started our journey back,
the wood seemed more menacing than before the Eerie silence.
The strange symbols everything added to our fear.
We had come in search of an adventure but we were leaving
with a terror that would stay with us forever.
We walked in silence each lost in their own thoughts, the
excitement. We had felt at the beginning of
the trip, a distant memory. Now, our Pace was brisk, the
need to get away from the ominous Woods, driving us
forward but as we moved on it, felt as though we were getting
nowhere the trail which we had traversed just a day before
seemed unfamiliar it was as if the landscape has shifted over
night. I looked around trying to spot a
familiar tree or Rock, but everything seemed different
transformed by our terrifying experience.
We walked for what seemed like hours.
Here's the trees towered above us, their Shadows, casting long
dark shapes on the ground. Every rustling Leaf.
Every creaking Branch filled us with unease.
I could see the same worry reflected in Ryan's and Jake's
faces. We should have reached the car
by now. Jake said his voice.
Echoing the confusion, we all felt.
We were seasoned hikers. Good with directions and maps,
but the trail was unrecognizable, it was as if the
forest was playing tricks on us distorting our sense of time,
and Direction. We checked our compass and Maps
trying to make sense of our location, but none of it made
sense. We were on the same Trail yet.
We seem to be making no progress.
We were lost disoriented and the reality of our situation was
setting in the sun began to dip casting an eerie glow over the
forest. Fear gripped us as we realized,
we had to spend another night in the woods.
The thought of staying another night in this haunting place was
terrifying, we decided to make camp Too scared to move deeper
into the woods. We set up a small camp our
actions mechanical and devoid of any conversation we gathered
around a fire its warmth barely comforting us the darkness
around us seemed to grow more intense the woods denser every
small sound made us jump. Our senses heightened with fear,
we sat in a huddled group, our eyes, scanning, the darkness
half expecting something to jump out at us.
The night wore on the terrifying events of the previous. - night
replaying in our minds. Suddenly a blood-curdling,
scream pierce, the night, making our blood run cold.
We jump to our feet, our hearts pounding, it was coming from all
around us, the screams echoing off the trees, filling the air
with a sense of dread. We could only huddle closer.
Our weapons clutched in are trembling hands all around us.
The would seem to come alive with fear twig, snapped leaves
rustled, and the screams echoed creating a terrifying Symphony
that. It shook us to our core with our
backs to the fire. We kept a Vigilant watch praying
for the night to end. It was a night of Terror a night
that tested our courage Insanity.
As we sat there, The Haunting cries, echoing around us, we
felt the woods closing in its Darkness.
Swallowing us whole as Dawn broke, we were a picture of fear
and exhaustion the terrifying ordeal had shaken us.
And as we packed our things ready to find our way back.
We couldn't shake off the fear that clung to us.
Little did we know the forest was not done with us yet?
The morning sun usually a comforting site.
After a long night, did little to ease our fears.
We were exhausted terrified and lost in an unyielding Maze of
trees. Our enthusiasm had turned into a
desperate desire to escape this accursed Forest.
We didn't talk much each of us lost in our thoughts.
As we trudged along, the path that never seemed to let.
Lead us anywhere. We were shaken to our core
questioning our sanity. The tormenting screams from the
night before still fresh. In our minds, I could feel the
heavy silence between us every snap of a twig or rustle of
leaves made us. Jump our eyes darting towards
the source of the sound. It was a nightmare one.
We couldn't wake up from hours, seemed to stretch into days as
we wandered. Hopelessly trying to find our
way out the map and Compass proved useless in this
topsy-turvy. V Forest, that seem to change
with every step. We took it felt as though we
were walking in circles. Suddenly, a glimmer of hope cut
through our despair there in the distance, was a vehicle.
A park rangers vehicle, our hearts leaped at the site
salvation was finally in sight. We started running adrenaline
pumping through our veins relief, washing, over us the
park. Ranger looked surprised to see
us, but quickly, shifted to concern as he took in, are
terrified exhausted state, We quickly explain that we had
gotten lost not mentioning the strange occurrences that had
left us in a state of Terror. He nodded listening to us as we
recounted our harrowing Journey, the Grim expression on his face
told us that we were not the first ones to get lost in these
Woods. He told us where we were and a
chill ran down our spines. We were several miles away from
our original spot. It was as if the forest had
swallowed Us in spat us out elsewhere, he offered to take us
back to our vehicles. Us and we gratefully accepted.
As we sat in the Rangers vehicle, a wave of relief washed
over us, we were finally getting out of the woods away from the
nightmares that held our cars were exactly where we had left
them, untouched and seemingly oblivious to the terror.
We had gone through the ranger left us with a warning to stick
to well-marked trails in the future.
His tone indicating that, he knew more about these Woods than
he let on as we thanked him, our eyes landed on a familiar sight.
Adding chills down our spines there on Ryan's car perched, a
red-tailed, hawk, it watched us with its piercing days before
spreading its wings and disappearing into the sky.
A shiver ran down my spine, the forest might have, let us go,
but the memories of what had happened.
Would always remain with us. We promised ourselves right then
and there never to speak about what had happened, not wanting
to relive the terror as we drove away.
Leaving The Haunting Forest behind, we could only hope that
the nightmare was truly over. And as we left the treacherous
woods behind silence fell over us, each lost in thoughts of the
horrors. We had encountered, we drove in
a quiet procession. The once familiar Road seeming
alien and hostile, we drove for hours, the dense forest giving
way to open Landscapes and the endless sky above, we did not
speak each lost in the horrors. That still clung to our minds,
the silence was only broken by the sound of the car engines, a
dull hum that did little To dispel the thick tension in the
air back home life. Resumed its normal Pace.
But we were changed the Carefree adventurous spirit that had
defined us was lost replaced with a fear that lingered on the
edges of our minds. We found solace in solitude the
company of others serving. As a harsh, reminder of our
terrifying, ordeal days turned into weeks and weeks into
months. But the fear remained buried
deep within us. We spoke little of our ordeal
the He meant to never speak about what happened in the
forest a pact that bound us yet. It was always there a silent
presence that loomed over us every rustling Leaf, every Birds
call sent a shiver down my spine, the memory of the forest,
all too fresh. I found myself avoiding the
outdoors the once comforting nature.
Now, a source of fear, I could see the same fear reflected in
Ryan and Jake sighs The Adventurous spark that had once
been their replaced with a haunted.
Look, One day months after our encounter, we gathered at our
usual spot, a local bar that had been our meeting place since our
high school days. As we sat there, each nursing a
beer, the silence between us spoke volumes suddenly Jake,
spoke, his voice breaking the silence.
We encountered a skinwalker, didn't we?
The words hung in the air heavy, with the unspoken fear that had
been clinging to us? I looked at Ryan his face pale,
but his eyes firm. Yes, he replied.
I We did the truth of it was chilling, the confirmation of
our fear, a bitter pill to swallow a skinwalker.
A creature of nightmares had been a part of our reality.
It was a terrifying thought one that kept us awake at nights.
We should never go camping or hiking in those woods.
Again I said the words coming out in a whisper, they nodded in
agreement, the decision unanimous, as we parted that
night, a sense of finality hung in the air, we were survivors
found by An experience that had left a scarred.
We had faced our worst fears live through a nightmare and
come out the other side as I walked to my car, I couldn't
help but glance at the night sky there among the endless Stars.
I spotted a familiar sight alone red-tailed hawk, its piercing
eyes staring right at me. A shudder ran through me, we had
escaped the forest but the memory of the skinwalker was a
shadow that followed us a terrifying, reminder of the
ordeal that we had. I lived we had left the forest,
but a part of us would always remain there.
Lost among the treacherous trails and haunting Echoes time
is a funny thing. It has the power to heal most
wounds to dull the sharpest of pains.
But some memories, they refuse to fade linger in the shadows of
your mind. Ready to haunt you in your
quietest moments. Our encounter with the
skinwalker was one, such memory, every rustle of the leaves every
Creek of the branches. And they all served as harsh
reminders of our nightmare in the woods, the forest had left
an indelible mark on our lives. It felt as though it was
watching us observing from a distance.
Reminding us of its presence in the most subtle ways in the
ensuing months, we tried to get back to our normal lives.
We went back to our jobs, back to our routines, but things were
never the same. The nightmare had changed us
fundamentally. There was a darkness that
lingered in our hearts, a fear that hidden arse.
Miles. We saw less and less of each
other. It wasn't intentional.
But every time we got together the memories of that, fateful
camping, trip resurfaced, darkening.
Our moods, the skinwalker, the screams.
The bizarre symbols, the red-tailed, hawk.
They all became taboo topics conversations.
We steered clear of Ryan became more secluded opting for
Solitude over company. He took too long drives alone,
claiming they helped clear his mind, Jake found solace and he's
losing himself in the world's, they offered away from the
terror of our reality. I threw myself into work using
it as a distraction from The Haunting images that replayed in
my mind, every time it was quiet, despite the distance,
there was a bond between us stronger than before a bond
forged in the heart of Terror. Hardened by the fires of our
shared trauma. We were connected in a way.
Few could understand Bound by a secret too terrifying to share
one day. I found myself standing in front
of the forest, I don't know what led me there.
What prompted me to revisit the place of our nightmare.
But there I was looking into the depths of the woods a sense of
dread washing over me I felt a presence.
Something watching me from the Shadows.
A familiar dread gripping. Me I turned around and left
deciding then and there to never return that night.
As I sat alone in my house I heard it again.
The distorted voice pleading for help.
Help the sound chilling, me to the Bone.
I looked out the window, half expecting to see a horrifying
figure lurking in the shadows. Instead, I saw a red-tailed
hawk, its piercing gaze, locked onto mine, a cold shiver, ran
down my spine, I closed the blinds, trying to shake off the
terror gripping. My heart.
The forest might have been miles away, but it felt closer than
ever The Echoes of the nightmare still reverberating.
In my mind, as I sat there lost in my thoughts, one thing was
clear, the ordeal was far. From over, we might have escaped
the forest, but the memory of the skinwalker, the unspoken
Horrors, they had become a part of our Lives.
Silent specters that haunted us at every turn time past months
turned into years, but our memories of the skinwalker and
The Haunting Utah. Woods remained as Vivid as ever,
The Echoes of that distorted voice, the chilling, shrieks the
site of the bone. Shrine all lived on in the
depths of our minds, Our Lives had moved on in their own
peculiar ways. As Ryan left, the state moving
towards the bustling cities on the East Coast.
Trying to drown his fears. In the sea of humanity, Jake
buried himself deeper into his books, finding solace in the
fantasy worlds. Far removed from our terrifying
reality. I stayed anchored by my job and
family trying to reconcile the mundane reality of my existence
with the ghost of the nightmare that hung over me.
The silence between us was Heavy with unspoken words, shared
nightmares, and an unbreakable Bond.
We never talked about the forest or the skinwalker a pact.
We kept Faithfully one day. While cleaning out an old box, I
stumbled upon an old map. It was the map we had used for.
Are fated camping, trip, the sight of it.
Brought a lump to my throat. I traced, the trail we had taken
my finger stopping at the location where we had set up our
camp. The memories came rushing Back
sending a chill down my spine, in a way that camping trip was a
turning point in our lives, marking the end of our Carefree
Youth and thrusting us into a reality far scarier than we
could have ever imagined the forest had left.
Its mark on US changing us forever.
We were not just Campers or hikers anymore.
We were survivors as I continued my life, working my job tending
to my family. A part of me was always back in
those woods eternally alert, listen.
For the rustle of leaves watching for the flash of the
red-tailed hawk. I was not alone in this feeling
one day, a letter arrived. It was from Ryan.
He didn't say much, but he didn't have to between the
lines. I could feel the fear, The
Haunting memories and the shared nightmare.
I still see the hawk. He wrote Jake's call came a few
days later his voice, a whisper on the line, I heard it again.
Will the voice? I never told them about the map
or how I sometimes. Still woke up in the middle of
the night. My heart pounding, sweat,
dotting, my forehead. The chilling memory of the
skinwalkers shriek still ringing in my ears.
Some things are better left. Unsaid Our Lives had diverged,
but the shared trauma of that camping trip, had forever.
Intertwined, our Fates we had stared into the face of the
unknown, confronted our darkest fears and though we had escaped
the physical confines of the Woods.
The Echoes of that trip. Still haunted us as I looked out
the window. The window I saw a red-tailed
hawk soaring in the sky. A shiver course through me a
part of us would always be back in those woods forever marked by
the terror we had faced, but we were here, we were alive and we
were survivors. And for now that had to be
enough First, let me start by providing some backstory to the
area. My name is Devin and I have
lived in Arizona, for a total of only about two years.
And in that time, I have found myself in a murdered by the
myths and legends surrounding the area.
Arizona is no stranger to the mysterious, and I often found
myself, passing the nights away, reading stories of the Navajo
skinwalkers, the Mogollon monster, El Chupacabra, and even
some accounts of La Llorona me and my group of buddies, loved
Arizona, and And found ourselves taking week-long camping, trips
up to snowflake Payson, or Heber throughout all of those trips.
We had never seen or experienced anything too out of the
ordinary. The only notable occurrence we
had ever encountered, were some strange noises.
That could be heard at night around the camp sites, but that
was usually chalked up to nerves from being so far away from the
city or a prank pulled by one of the other guys, we would
regularly gather around the fire and tell stories of the various
Cryptids and legends around the area.
Looking to creep each other out, as we had a drink in order to
add a sense of excitement to our usual trips.
We had never expected to witness any strange events ourselves,
this trip, the outing where it all happened started, just like
the rest. Just four months ago, one
September morning, our little ragtag group of six, Luke Bobby
Jon Derek, Jack and myself work to gather the necessary supplies
for our next adventure, Luke and Bobbie were in charge of General
supplies Gathering 10. Flashlights.
And the like they grabbed 32-person tense a few lanterns
to set around the area, as well as some handheld flashlights,
some extra supplies that we would need to start a fire and
cook food and loaded the truck bed with some extra wood pallets
to break down for the fire. John was on food Duty and
arranged a plethora of canned and freeze-dried food water
bottles and the most important camping staple supplies for
s'mores. We had put Derek and jack on a
beer run and packed up a few cases of There's a pack of
Corona, some Seltzer's and even a small dose Equus keg, that one
of them had grabbed because it looked cool while everyone else
was gathering supplies. I made arrangements and got any
permits, we would need this time.
We were heading to the San Tan Mountain Regional Park, which
stood only about eight miles away from where we lived, which
was a small trip compared to our usual outings.
The area was just south of the town of Queen Creek where most
of us lived, and a ways East from the Indian.
Ation the park was a very popular camping spot and was
usually booked out for most of the year and was quite hard to
get an official reservation. Instead of going the traditional
route, we decided it would be best to delve further into the
territory than the set up camping grounds as we wouldn't
have to deal with other campers and could party through the
night without disturbing others. That afternoon, we loaded up the
truck to carry all of our supplies and piled into be on
our way. We each brought with us a rifle
as it would be our method of Defense.
We did not bring them expecting to have to use them, but it had
just become a common practice to be prepared for the worst.
So they usually just sat in the truck nearby or in the tents
bagged up. After our trucks were loaded up,
we drove the relatively short distance, to the grounds and
delve deep into the territory, until we found a suitable spot.
Not the entire park was covered in Brush cacti.
And Rocky Cliffs, which was a change from the usual.
Forests, we camped out in. We decided on a spot that was
bordered by some small rock, formations, and had already been
somewhat. Cleared of large brush.
When we stepped out of the trucks, it was obvious that the
spot had been used before as their status circle of rocks.
That was obviously for a fire and the site was littered with
abandoned camping supplies. There was trash and empty beer
bottles strewn about and even a tent that lay flat on the ground
upon closer inspection. I noticed that the tent was torn
to shreds and covered with what looked like large marks made by
Klaus. We thought that this was strange
but just chalked it up to a wild animal nesting in it at one
point or some crazy, campers riding a high and freaking out.
Who would just leave all of this out here?
I said bewildered at the lack of consideration from the previous
campers. Some people Derek said back
generally shaking his head side to side, we grab some bags from
the truck and proceeded to clean up the site a bit before we
began to set up our tents, a process that only took about an
hour. Around this time the sun had
begun to set. So we began breaking down a
pallet and setting up. A fire that night was uneventful
and was just a small dinner of canned, stews.
In a few beers afterward before we settled down to bed.
Are three, tents were split between John and Derek Luke, and
Jack. And finally, Bobbi and myself.
We were already pretty tired from our earlier preparations
and found ourselves dozing off pretty quickly sometime.
In the early morning, it couldn't have been earlier than
three, am I? Suddenly I woke up in a cold
sweat. I sat up in my sleeping bag and
looked around to see Bobby passed out to my right.
Eye was still groggy, but I could just barely hear the sound
of footsteps from nearby my tent over Bobby's snores.
I would usually just pass it off as someone getting up to take a
piss. But something about the sound of
the steps unsettled me. There was no rhythm or Reason to
them, like a normal humans footsteps.
Would it was like, something large was limping or just
learning how to walk. That is when I noticed the
smell, it smelled like a mixture of rotting meat and mildew.
Like what wet clothes smell like when they have sat in a pile for
a few days? It was overpowering.
I could barely even think my eyes began to water, and I think
I even gagged a few times. I unzipped my tent and stepped
outside quickly, to throw up. I emptied the contents of my
stomach on the Rocks, a couple of feet away from the tent and
proceeded to dry heave for the next minute or two.
The smell had gotten worse when I exited the tent and as I sat
there, trying to pass this feeling of dread that had begun
to build up in the pit of my stomach.
I felt as if I was being watched from somewhere behind me, I
whipped around frantically and looked past the other two tenths
fumbling for my little battery, powered flashlight in my pocket
quickly, clicking it on. And pointing in the direction, I
felt I was being watched from and saw nothing, absolutely
nothing. I shined the light left and
right. Right scanning the open clearing
and the nearby Cliffs. And just, as quickly as it had
come, the horrendous stench, which had plagued the campsite
quickly subsided, I clicked my flashlight back off and sat down
on a big rock next to my tent and tried for the next few
minutes to slow, my breathing and calm, my nerves.
After, what must have been, 30 minutes, I had calmed down, just
a little, and crawled back into my tent and finally, dozed off
again. That morning.
I proceeded to tell the group what I had experienced that
night and was quickly met with laughter by the others.
It's unusual to see you. So freaked out by noting Devin
Jack said to me jokingly, if you get scared at night, Devon, you
can crawl into my tent and cuddle.
With me Derek said, with a grin, very funny.
I said, back, are you sure you didn't have too much to drink
last night? Bobby, my tent-mate asked, as he
finally crawled out from the tent, putting his hands in the
air in a Stretch and letting out a yawn.
I thought about it, could that smell and feeling really have
been a fallacy created by my drunk mind.
It, it felt so real. And there is no way.
I could mistake that smell even now hours later.
I still felt my stomach Rumble when I thought of it not to
mention the footsteps, I don't know.
I finally said trying to move on the day went by without any
occurrence and I forgot about the events of last night and
just tried to have fun that night.
We all sat On the camp fire again.
Drinking a beer and telling scary stories, just a normal
night. Sometime later.
John was telling a story and Derek stood up to walk away.
Where are you going? I called out to him, I just got
to take a leak, he called back as he faded into the darkness of
the night. John continued telling his story
and about five minutes into it. We heard the yelling and running
footsteps of Derek as he basically tumbled into one of
the tents. We leapt to our feet and quickly
asked him what was Is wrong, running over to where he had
fallen. He pointed a finger back to
where he had just come from and began to babble nonsense.
And that's when I noticed he was shaking uncontrollably, Luke.
Knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Calm down, buddy, tell me what you saw.
He said, soothingly trying to get him to calm down.
There's something out there. Derek cried.
It looked like some kind of person or something, but it was
messed up and it smelt so really bad.
We proceeded to look around at each other Derek was.
Usually the most level-headed out of all of us widely
considered as the mother of the group and he rarely ever drank
or got drunk. So we took it seriously, when he
told us what he saw, but we had not entirely pieced it together
yet. What could it be?
Luke said to the group. I'm not sure, maybe some kind of
wild animal John said back. I think we should pull out the
guns just to be safe. I said, good idea.
Luke agreed. We honestly should have realized
then that it was time to leave, but we were stubborn.
We thought that we were Invincible that nothing could
happen to us and that anything strange could be explained
rationally. Sure.
We like to tell stories of mysterious creatures and
occurrences but those were just that stories right?
We each pulled out our hunting rifles and sat back around the
fire. Once again trying to stay calm
and light of what just happened. That's when we started to hear
the sounds. It sounds Sounded like screaming
all around us. It sounded like, it was coming
from One Source but it was coming from multiple places and
directions like whatever was making the noise was traveling
around us impossibly fast, John pointed out that it sounded like
Derek scream. I realized that he was right.
It sounded exactly like how Derek had yelled earlier when he
ran back to Camp. Like, his scream had been
recorded and was played over a speaker over and over again.
It sounded artificial like an animal was trying to mimic a
human scream. That's when I noticed the smell,
that ungodly stench had returned and this time.
Everyone else could smell it. We were all standing up at this
point. Backs pointed towards the fire.
Aiming our rifles out into the darkness, trying our best to
cover our noses to block out that mind-numbing stench.
Then suddenly the sounds just stopped and the smell subsided.
We had a hard time falling asleep that night yet, despite
what we had just experienced. We weren't quite ready to leave
yet to this day. He'll never know.
Know why we didn't just leave later in the night.
I was once again awoken suddenly only to realize that smell had
returned at this point, I was done.
I was tired of being afraid of whatever was out here in the
wilderness just outside of my home.
I grabbed my rifle that was sitting next to my sleeping bag
quietly unzip, the tent, and poked my head out to see, what
was outside. What I saw Will haunt me for the
rest of my life. Standing upright, just past the
dying Embers of the campfire hunched.
Over one of the tents was an abomination of which I had no
name for. It was tall at least seven feet
tall and was covered head to toe in sickly pale skin.
That seem to almost reflect in the Moonlight in different
spots. Its body seemed to be almost
rotting with different patches of skin hanging Loosely off of
its body and limbs as I took a closer look at it.
I noticed it's gangly arms held down by its sides were Great
Lengths, one arm was longer than the other and not just slightly.
But by a few inches, it's arms were skinny.
And bony seemed impossibly long, and had joints turning in all
the wrong areas at the end of its hands.
It had what looked to be long finger like Klaus?
I was not able to get a good look at its face yet, as it was
turned away from me standing over one of the tents across
from me. I felt this Rising sense of
indescribable dread as I watched it.
I thought of all the possibilities in my My head
thinking back to the torn up tent that we had noticed when we
first arrived. I imagine that at any moment
this creature could rip through the tent and my friends with its
claws before they could even react with a burst of
adrenaline. I opened my tent.
The rest of the way, slowly, walk quietly outside and aim, my
rifle at the head of this creature.
Just before I'm about to shoot this thing.
I hear Bobby's fearful yell behind me.
What the hell is that? He yells the creature in front
of me whips around at an Possible speed.
That's when I saw its face for the first time.
It had deep Hollow sockets where its eyes were and its eyes
glowed, a menacing yellow. Its mouth stood a gape with a
fear-inducing set of jagged sharp teeth and it let out a
mind-numbing screech that sounded like a mix of a
high-pitch Screech and a low growl.
I tried to shoot it but I either missed or the Bullet did no
damage to it as it pounced. On top of me, knocking me down
and dug. Its claws into the sides of my
torso. I screamed in pain feeling.
The creatures claws. Digging into my skin, looking
into the eyes of this thing. On top of me smelling, it's
rancid breath, almost causing me to pass out at this point.
Everyone else had already woken up.
And the other five men jumped out of their tents in a flurry.
Aiming their rifles at this thing and unloading into it.
Trying their best not to hit me in the process.
The barrage of gunfire must have at least injured it because it
recoiled in some kind of pain and got off me.
Releasing me from its Claude, death grip and stumbled a few
yards away. Way at that moment Derek and
Luke grab me as John Jack and Bobby reloaded and continued to
fire in the direction. It stumbled off into, I winced
with pain as Derek, and Luke lift me up.
That Dreadful Screech fills our ears once again, as we booked it
to the trucks, we Pile in quickly leaving behind all of
our tents and supplies and start to speed away.
This thing must have been chasing us because that scream
seem to follow us How is it this fast?
We're Goin like 80 miles an hour.
Said Bobby in the driver's seat as he pressed the pedal to the
floor, trying his best to maneuver the pitch-black
landscape to get back to the trails.
I don't know. Derek was stammering as he began
to put pressure on the Deep wounds on my side.
As I groaned in pain, the road was bumpy and it felt like we
were being pushed and pulled in different directions as we drove
the sound of the creature. Shrieks and creaking metal
filled, our ears eventually. We couldn't hear the Sounds of
the creature anymore, but we never once slowed down speeding
past the checkpoint to enter the park and speeding through the
lit Town streets. I must have passed out along the
way because the next thing I remember is waking up two days
later in a hospital bed. Apparently, after I was stable,
my friends went to the police and the park rangers telling
them what we had experienced, they left out some of the more
unbelievable details but recounted details of the
creature, the sound it made and the smell.
Well, the authorities seem skeptical at first, but were
more inclined to believe that something was out there after
seeing the state that I was in and seeing the Damage Done to
the trucks, what I had not yet seen or noticed, was that the
trucks were covered in large deep, claw marks on the sides
and the back bumper was torn off.
That's when I realized that we had just barely escaped with our
lives. What was this thing?
How could it be fast enough to chase a high-speed truck?
How could it have the strength to rip through a metal frame?
Like paper? Why didn't bullets seem to hurt
it? I was filled with so many
questions that I did not particularly want the answers to
when I was finally released from the hospital and reunited with
my friends, we never spoke about the events that happened on that
trip. I don't even know why I am.
Typing this out, maybe just to get it off my chest so I can
finally move on. But I must warn everyone reading
this. Be careful when camping deep in
the San Tan Mountains, Christmas has never been my favorite
holiday. Yeah, I love free stuff, but it
feels like the amount of money I spend always out values, the
gifts I get. Other than that, I just don't
prefer to hang around a large part of my family, especially
for large Gatherings. A large part of my family sees
our Gatherings as a perfect excuse to get blackout drunk and
talk angrily at each other over politics and all other manner of
controversial, topics, my family's Christmas gathering
five years. Go was no different.
I'd flown down to my grandmother's house in, Southern
Florida as the plan was for everyone to meet there and get
their fill of food and liquor before finding their way home.
I only stayed at my grandma's house for an hour or so, the
previous year. So, my mom asked that I stay
longer this time. According to her everyone.
Loved seeing me, although I debate they were too busy
arguing, what current Trend was ruining the world.
I ended up staying until about 10:00, before asking my mom, if
she could give me a ride back to my hotel, Tell since I do bird
there originally, she told me that she wanted to stay for a
couple more hours and suggested I try taking the bus to save
money. Instead of ordering another
Uber, honestly, anything to get me out of that house would have
come off as a good idea. I remembered seeing the bus.
Stop on my way to my grandma's and the walk to.
It didn't seem like it would be too far.
So off I went at the time. It seemed like a perfectly good
idea. I didn't know the bus schedule
or how long they even ran but I was willing to take my chances
Ounces while walking back to my dorm in the middle of December
would cause me to freeze my ass off.
Luckily winter in Florida, rarely drops below 70 degrees.
It was honestly, a relaxing walk taking in the nighttime air and
quiet. I'd started daydreaming about my
class schedule. Next semester before I realized,
I could make out the bus stop about 30 feet in front of me.
I swore under my breath, as I realized someone was sitting
there as much as I hated being around my drunken family.
I hated awkward stranger small, talk, even more the closer.
I got the easier, it was to make out the person sitting there,
she appeared to be a kindly lady in her mid to late 60s.
Her hair was a large ball of silver and dark brown with a
large pair of thick-rimmed glasses on her face.
I have to admit, it took me a good while to make out anything
other than the bright pink coat. She was wearing for me, 70
degrees was shorts and t-shirt weather, but I suppose it wasn't
unheard of to see an older person wearing Sweater anywhere
that wasn't 90 degrees. I got within a couple steps of
the bus stop bench before the lady turned to acknowledge me.
She gave me a very warm hello and happy holidays that I
returned along with an awkward smile.
I tried not to stare but what I thought was a pink sweater was
actually a thick pink fur and feather coat.
I'd honestly never seen anything like it.
A majority of the coat was made of pink fur but the caller
sprouted enough feathers to cover five or six Birds.
Dangling from her neck was a long pearl necklace with some
sort of elongated bird skull in the middle of it.
In my head, I wondered if she was into exotic fashion or
perhaps a huge bird, lover the sound of her loudly blowing, her
nose made me jump and shook me from my own thoughts.
How is your evening sweetheart? Her voice was dry, but friendly
with an accent, I couldn't quite place.
I told her, it was fine and return.
The question to, which she launched into a wordy
recollection of her entire day. I zoned out somewhere around her
getting to the middle of her day and kept eye contact while
randomly nodding where is your family now?
Surprised by the sudden change of topic.
I responded by jokingly telling her that they were at my
grandmother's house drunkenly singing Christmas carols, she
laughed and muttered. Something about how Charming
that was. I checked my phone and saw only
a couple of minutes had passed and didn't hear or see any signs
that a bus was coming anytime soon.
I remember my eyes starting to feel really.
A heavy I shook my head. Trying to wake myself up but the
feeling stayed, excuse me. Have you seen my bird?
I looked at the lady again and she had a look of panic and
confusion on her face. Honestly, I probably did too.
My bird was in his cage but now he's gone.
I looked on the ground and a large old-fashioned Birdcage sat
between the woman's legs. How long had it been there?
I was pretty sure I hadn't noticed a big iron bird cage
before it was hard to remember or even think because Tiredness,
I'd started feeling morphed into a slight feeling of vertigo.
It felt like the ground around me had begun to slowly spin.
I see him. There's my darling, the lady was
on her feet. Now pointing across the street,
her voice sounded raspier, as if, at some point, in the last
two minutes, she had turned into a chain smoker.
I followed her finger and saw she was pointing at something
standing in the Tall Grass across the street.
I couldn't make out what the figure was, but I was positive,
it wasn't human, it Add wide blocky, shoulders.
And a long wiry neck attached to a large circular head, the area
of Tall Grass. The figure stood in was covered
in Shadow, so I couldn't make out any other details through
the shadow. I could swear the figure was
staring directly at us. Could you?
Please go grab him, sweetheart. The lady's voice seemed to be
coming from inside my own head and without even realizing it, I
felt myself moving toward the figure covered in Shadow as I
got closer to the thing it shifted.
So that its entire body was facing me it twitched and shook,
as if electricity was coursing through it, the closer I got the
faster, my heart would be, the more some kind of instinct
inside me. Screamed that I was making a bad
decision but I couldn't stop myself.
It was almost as if I had developed an obsession with
reaching whatever. This thing was I was halfway
across the street. And a sudden shift in the
Moonlight illuminated, the creature enough that I got to
look at something that could only have been born from a
nightmare. It's spread It's arms, like it
was stretching a pair of wings, its skin was a pale blue and
stretched tight over its thin frame, long, stringy pink
feathers, sprouted from all over its body.
It's long snake-like, neck waved and slithered through the air
and a head, that resembled a pink human skull.
Never broke eye contact with me, it's tiny eyes.
That glowed a bright purple. I couldn't stop myself from
walking forward. I couldn't break my focus away
from the glowing purple eyes of whatever thing stood in the
grass. In front of me, it's neck
stretched outward towards me shortening, the distance until
we were face to face the loud and long, Blair of a buses horn,
cause me to trip and fall backwards.
The horn, split me, from whatever trance I was in.
And I looked around to see the bus stopped and waiting behind
me at the bus. Stop, I hadn't heard it, pull
up. I didn't even know how long it
had been there. I twisted myself around and
didn't see the old lady in the pink feather coat.
Remembering the creature I turned and was met.
By a tall man standing just outside the Tall Grass.
He wore tattered clothing, covered by a hood adorned in
writings and pink feathers, several large bird skulls hung
from a thick rope necklace, in several straps across his chest.
I'd slowly started backing away before the man.
Lunged at me, a curved knife in one hand, I scrambled to my feet
and sprinted to the bus struggling, not to trip the
driver looked at me with confusion and worry on her face,
asking several questions. Did I take something and Did I
know that man were among the first?
I stuttered and rambled spitting out a bunch of random words
eventually, she simply waved me to the back.
I was the only one on the entire bus still no sign of the old
lady, the bus dropped me, a block or so from my hotel and
thankfully I made it to my room without any more incidents.
I don't think I'll ever forget the look of that thing standing
in the grass. Something that haunts me as much
as that creature is. The fact that three people in
that area disappeared That night, I always wonder if maybe
those three people weren't so lucky as to break that creatures
gays.