It was late November, near Christmas.
My two brothers, Colin and Tyler and I were out cave exploring.
We would often venture into local public caves and explore
them until we reached a dead end where it became humanly
impossible to fit through some kind of hole.
However, we did get bored of the same old caves, so this time we
decided to venture out into other states.
Living in Georgia, we took a road trip to Colorado and
explored many caves. The locals we talked to had a
bit of knowledge about where to find caves and which ones were
good and which ones were bad. A lot of the locals told us
about one cave in particular, saying it was very dangerous but
very fun to explore if you knew what you were doing.
At 2219 and 17 years old respectively, the word dangerous
was all we needed to hear. We gathered all the information
about the caves whereabouts, then headed out around 6:00 AM
the next morning. It was easy enough to research
because it was situated just inside the National Park but
could be easily accessed by a number of trails depending on
how far we wanted to hike. The locals gave us the rundown
on where to park and walk in. Fast forward to when we arrive
at the gravel parking lot for the trails.
We were honestly expecting a decent amount of cars, but we
only saw one beat up station wagon that looked like it was
from the 50s with Moss and weeds growing into it.
Kind of creepy, but you have to remember this was a routine
situation for us. Wrapping our gear out in some
seedy middle of nowhere parking lot.
It was all normal. We'd all seen cars in much worse
shape. Some of them would literally be
propped up on cinder blocks, windows blown out, engine
stripped. People leave the craziest stuff
behind at trailhead parking lots.
It's weird. Some of them are so unkempt and
rural that they just get left there for years and years at a
time. So honestly, none of us really
thought much of it and headed into the woods.
The trail was plain as day. We double checked the terrain
and direction against the map that we printed out.
Everything matched up now that we had a location and we had a
direction, and with all our gear packed, we could confidently
step into the forest and start our journey.
We got maybe 30 minutes into the woods, during that time
discussing our emergency plan if something were to go wrong.
That's when we heard this blood curdling scream.
It echoed through the forest from what sounded like a couple
of miles away. We all kind of froze in fear,
but a few minutes later we started off again as if nothing
had happened. Are we not going to talk about
that? I said to them, dude, it was
probably just some stupid coyote.
My older brother Colin said, yeah, there are mountain lions
out here too, man. They make sounds like a woman
screaming. It's pretty normal stuff, Tyler
explained. That was enough for them.
I, however, still had this apprehension about venturing
into an unknown area, especially with screams in the air.
We've done a lot of hiking, lots of caving, but never have we
just casually strolled by a noise like that.
Regardless, we were already well into the wilderness.
I couldn't just turn back by myself.
That seemed more dangerous than anything else.
I put faith into my brothers in the research and continued to
follow them into the trees. We got about an hour and a half
into the hike and finally found The Cave entrance that we were
looking for. Outside of it was what looked
like somebody's bloody socks. I immediately pointed them out
to my brothers. Dude, is that blood?
I said, turning them over with a stick.
It's clear as day that someone had been injured and we hadn't
passed anyone while walking along that trail.
Somebody probably cut themselves in here without shoes on, or
maybe even have blisters from walking around in boots.
It happens, my younger brother said.
And then they just left their socks here?
I asked. Tyler hesitated before saying
yeah. I shook my head.
Do you think they're still in The Cave, then?
I asked. No way, Tyler said.
Well, we didn't pass anyone on the trail.
Coming from the trailhead, we didn't hear anything but that
scream. Now there's bloody clothes at
the mouth of a cave. All of that isn't weird to you?
I asked. There are like 10 trails that
lead to this cave, Colin reminded me, always being the
voice of reason. I bet they got injured, used
their socks to stop the bleeding, then went back down a
different trail to a different parking lot.
Man, I don't know about this, I felt off since we entered this
forest. I said, hoping that at least one
of them would agree with me, but they both continued on as if
nothing was there. They almost seemed irritated.
Bro stop being a wimp. We've been in at least 1,000,000
caves at this point and this one is no different than any of the
others. Collins snarked at me like I was
ruining the trip for him. I was very off put by this whole
situation but my brothers didn't really seem to care so we turned
on our headlamps and put on our hand warmers in our thick
jackets. As we started off into this
unknown cave I was the last to go in.
When I was entering I felt the voice in my head telling me to
turn around. I can genuinely say it was one
of the strongest feelings I've ever felt and just like every
horror movie I ignored it and went in anyway.
After about 10 or 15 minutes inside it was very tight.
We had to crawl, which I guess was no problem seeing that we're
all relatively small boys, none of us even over 160 lbs.
I was actually the tallest at six feet, but was a skinny kid.
I wasn't afraid of tight spaces. We laid down flat and began to
shimmy through some of the more narrow passages.
Some of them were tighter than the space beneath the kitchen
chair, maybe 12 inches square. To navigate, we had to inch our
way through, slowly emptying every bit of our lungs to get us
through. The only part about this that
made me really nervous was that if something bad happened, there
was no quick escape. This had always occurred to me
since day one, and once we passed through one of these
mouse holes we were essentially trapped.
After crawling what felt like a mile long rock tunnel, it
finally opened up to a small cave room with two different
holes leading to two different parts of The Cave.
Tyler pointed to the ground on the right side of The Cave
entrance. There are a couple of droplets
of blood. I froze up when I saw it, as it
had to be related to the blood that we saw at the mouth of The
Cave. Again, this was something I'd
never seen in my entire outdoor experience.
Of course I'd seen and found weird stuff deep inside caves.
Evidence of homeless encampments, piles of used
syringes, batteries rigged together with wire, literally
all kinds of weird and strange stuff.
Blood isn't strange. Blood is a true real life
warning. At this point I'm thinking my
brothers are dumbasses and they will realize there's been enough
signs pointing us away from this cave and it's time to turn
around. But they continued on as if
nothing was there. Colin used a piece of chalk to
mark the rock tunnel we just crawled out of to prevent us
from getting lost on the way back.
It was an old school trick that we picked up from more
experienced cavers. The chalk is bright enough to
get your attention, but it's not permanent so it doesn't destroy
the geology for others. Guys, this is not a good idea, I
said, But I could tell right away.
Neither of them cared. They were committed to what they
could find down there, and I think the blood only helped to
create more of a mystery inside their heads.
Whatever weirdness that was going on was well above my pay
grade, so all I could do was just try to explain that we
needed to go back. Dude, here, take the car keys.
If you want to go, please do, but we're not going with you,
Collins said. To avoid being left out, I
continued on with them. It was also because I genuinely
was afraid of whatever they might encounter down there, and
I also felt we might have a better shot of making it out
alive if we all stuck together. They tested both the holes,
shown their flashlights as far down as they could go before
descending into the corridor to the left.
It seemed more open and seemed to have more moving air, almost
as if there was a light source deeper inside that tunnel.
As we went deeper inside this cave, my brother started to get
way ahead of me. While I was trying to catch up,
I looked back to see the very dim light of the sun shining
through the tunnel we crawled through, creating an inch wide
stream of light that hit the wall.
Then in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
I didn't stick around long enough to find out why.
The tunnel we crawled through was super narrow with lots of
turns. There was no way for the
sunlight to be seeping in. It had to come from something
else. I thought for a second maybe
some more cavers had come in behind us, and for some reason
that was a comforting thought to me, so I just decided to stick
with it. I caught back up with my
brothers and the further we got into this cave, the stinkier and
stinkier it got. It smelled like dead animals had
been rotting in that cave for months and months.
I didn't even bother mentioning that weird beam of light that I
saw. Literally nothing was going to
turn their knuckleheads around, not even the smell of certain
death. At this point, I almost
encouraged us to just hurry along.
The quicker we reach the end of the tunnel, the sooner we turn
around and spring for the surface.
Still, we pressed on through that rotting smell as if we were
actually inside the corpse itself.
Around 30 minutes later, we got to the biggest opening I've ever
seen in a cave. We were all just admiring how
beautiful it was. It had this huge crystal coming
from the roof and a little murky blue pool of water underneath
it. The smell of death let up
greatly here, enough to make us think that we'd passed whatever
chamber it was coming from. This area seemed fresh, crisp,
like it had a vent to the surface directly.
Whatever the case, we chilled out in there and enjoyed The
Cave for what it was. While we were all sitting there
just admiring the beauty of The Cave, all three of us again
heard that same blood curdling scream echoed throughout the
stone work. It felt like my eardrums had
burst. Me and my brothers were all
collectively holding our heads like we just got shot in one
temple and the bullet had gone out the other.
There was no confusing it. It was that same exact scream
that we heard up in the woods when we first got to the
trailhead. Whatever was making that sound
was down here in The Cave system with us.
I know what you're all thinking because, well, I was thinking it
too. This all sounds like the
Descent. The scream we heard, at least in
The Cave, wasn't as screechy as the one that was up top, but the
one underground definitely sounded human.
At this point me and my brothers knew it was time to get out, and
it took zero convincing this time.
Our ears were still ringing from that sound.
From the light of my headlamp I could see both Colin and Tyler
getting pale, misty eyed, as if they were probably realizing I
was right the whole time and they were wrong.
You could see the pieces falling into place just by watching
them, hearing the first scream, finding that bloody sock, the
droplets of blood, now hearing that scream again, this time
only a few 100 yards away. I had to say it, and I didn't
say it aloud, but inside my head all I could think was I told you
so. As we headed towards the top of
The Cave opening, we all heard a voice behind us say why leave,
followed by an indescribable sinister laugh.
We were all bear crawling through the tunnel now.
We could hear something crawling behind us.
Now I'll admit it wasn't close, but it was close enough that we
could hear it. It's really hard to explain
unless you've experienced total darkness, as there is just no
way to gauge the size of a room or how far away something is
when you can't see it. The darkness itself is that
oppressive. We could hear something
scampering around the pool, trying to get back to the
tunnel, but when we all looked back down the corridor, there
was nothing there. But you've come so far.
The voice carried up to us, sounding super hoarse and raspy,
almost like a smoker. We scrambled all asses and
elbows to create as much distance as possible.
We ripped our shirts and shorts, even damaged our backpacks from
how hard we were scraping around the rocks.
By the time we got out of the tunnel, we were all bleeding
from our heads and arms. The corridor spit us out.
In the room where it forked, where we had made that chalk
mark on the wall, something or someone had very clearly smudged
that chalk line with what looked like spit or a sweaty hand.
Literally just rubbed it until it was barely visible.
We all froze again when we saw this, and kind of shared a look,
as if to ask which one of us did that.
Nobody made a sound, nobody fessed up.
I remembered the light from earlier, the one that I saw
behind us. I thought for a second, somebody
definitely followed us down. I quickly explained what I saw
before, and they got pissed that I didn't say anything, and I had
to remind them both that they weren't listening to my caution
this entire time. Why would they have listened to
me? Then we all quickly put it aside
and got over it and decided to barrel ahead as we knew the
narrow rocky tunnel that went the way up and out.
It was a long slog of a crawl where we literally had to fully
exhale to get around some of those hairpin corners.
It was dark and suffocating. We kept thinking we could hear
something behind us that entire time.
Finally, after a grueling blackout shuffle through the
mouse holes, we spilled out into the sunlight.
None of us had service so we couldn't call anybody for help.
We just decided to start hoofing it back towards the parking lot.
We felt these gigantic steps as if an earthquake was happening.
We could literally feel the ground beneath us where that
cave was rumbling. It's the craziest crap I've ever
heard, let alone experienced. Tyler kept saying it had to be a
collapse, it had to be a cave in, but there would be way more
vibration if that were the case. Either way, we booked it through
the trees and left that cave and bloody socks behind us.
I think we got around half a mile down the trail when we
encountered some locals who were headed towards The Cave.
Once they saw us hustling, they started running back towards the
parking lot as well, that same direction we were headed.
We never exchanged a word. My brothers and I were pretty
much out of breath. The panic on our faces just
turned into this unspoken agreement.
Everyone needed to run the other way.
After 25 minutes of running we made it to the car and got in
and just took off. We got back to the main road and
we were going at least 55. Things felt good for the first
time in a while. Peeling down a super narrow dirt
Rd. AC blasting, water in hand, safe
intact. As we were ripping along though,
we heard something in the woods. It was that same damn scream.
It was far, far away, probably where The Cave was, but we could
hear it either way, even over the rumble of the engine.
It made us all sit forward immediately on edge.
We didn't stop the car for another six hours.
We called the local authorities, and though you would think they
wouldn't believe us, they said they'd gotten several reports
about weird sightings in the forest, especially around the
mouth of that cave. They also told us that the
station wagon parked in the gravel belonged to a 45 year old
hiker who went missing 2 years prior in those woods.
Getting a rescuer back there was impossible, so it became a
Forest Service problem and they were pretty notorious for their
clean up time. So the car just sat out there,
adding to the strangeness of The Cave experience that we had.
We got home and hugged our parents.
We have not gone caving since that day.
It was and still is the scariest moment of my life.
Me and my brother say to this day, what if we would have
stayed in that cave any longer than we did?
And that's a question we'll never really have an answer to.
What we talked about most is what happened.
Whose sock, Who smudged away our chalk, who was yelling down
there? They knew English.
So it couldn't be some kind of subterranean creature, you know,
It couldn't be a monster, maybe a ghost.
I don't know, like the hiker that died in there or something.
I don't know. Ultimately, I think we all just
chalked it up to a prank by another group of cavers who saw
that we were kids. Like that old commercial says,
the world may never know. This is a story that I've told
to many friends and passers by I've met on the trail.
I'll admit it's not the scariest thing you'll ever hear, but it's
one that creeped me out and I was never fully able to explain
it. Full disclosure, I'm a pretty
accomplished hiker and backpacker.
I know how to keep myself upright and out of trouble.
This past year I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail.
There was about 600 miles of the trail that I navigated
completely alone, sometimes going days almost a week without
seeing another human being. This is extremely isolated, so
if anything wild happens, it's going to be a while until
emergency services reach you, if they even do.
On one of these sections, I was alone in Northern California,
slightly north of Mount Shasta. As I'm sure many of you know,
Mount Shasta is a hotspot for all kinds of weird legends and
rumors going all the way back to the late 1800s.
The original myth that I heard was that Shasta had this cave
system that accessed some ancient underground city.
Next, I think it was the story of Saint Germain who allegedly
hiked down the mountain sometime in the 1930s.
This led to some modern day cult practices and followings.
These are just a few of the crazy stories about the National
Park area. I got to this beautiful spot and
knew it was the best spot to set up my camp.
It was gorgeous. Views of woods in the valley
below, mountains everywhere. I could see it raining on Mount
Shasta, probably my favorite campsite in Norcal.
I still remember the exact mile and I have some footage of the
site during the daylight. It's the exact kind of spot that
goes viral on social media pretty much every day.
I set up my tent and after admiring the sunset, I went to
bed. I could see outside below the
vestibule when I was laying down inside my tent.
As I was trying to go to sleep, I saw this white light in the
valley maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile away.
Not right near my tent or anything.
I was not close to any towns in the Sierra Mountains, which were
South of this area. I would see an occasional remote
cabin in the woods, so I figured it was something to do with
that, but there were zero access points or dirt roads.
No forest clearings, just thick woods surrounded by mountains.
I looked at the light for a bit and tried to think of what it
could be, but this is a pretty remote area so I couldn't really
think of anything. I was tired from hiking all day,
so I didn't put much more thought into it.
I'll admit it was perplexing though.
Because there wasn't anywhere for a car or a four Wheeler to
bump around at. It couldn't be a handheld light,
it was too bright, and it wasn't moving, so it couldn't be a
helicopter making a crazy rescue landing.
I'd be able to hear that from half a mile away, especially
from this open terrain. After a while, I just gave up.
It had no discernible features and was starting to drive me
kind of crazy. I gave up the thought and just
did my best to go to sleep. Fast forward a little later, I'm
still thinking about the damn thing.
I look out again and notice there's another light now.
It was an orange light slowly circling that white light.
It was slowly morphing in shape as it circled.
I watched it for a long time, trying to understand what I was
looking at. It had a very calm motion.
It was almost mesmerizing. It wasn't like what a lot of
people would claim to be an orb or any kind of UFO experience
where it darts around and then vanishes.
It was weird, but it was down on the ground.
It wasn't zipping all over or disappearing, so I could watch
it as long as I wanted to. This really disrupted that
mystery and allure. I figured it had to be something
human, something simple, something easily explained.
I remembered all the silly stuff that I heard about Shasta over
the years, realized it could literally be a group of
conspiracy hippies with glow sticks out in the trees at the
foot of the mountain crying out on mushrooms trying to welcome
the aliens. I actually laughed at that
thought. Eventually I fell asleep and it
started raining around midnight. I looked out of my tent and
still saw both lights. 1 white stationary and one orange
morphing light. It wasn't circling around
anymore but I could see its shape was fluid.
They actually seemed to be a little closer at that point, but
being half asleep I assumed my perception was definitely off.
I moved my bedding to the other side of the tent not to be
tempted to look again. I woke up again around 4:00 AM
to pee. I walked outside my tent and
still there they were motionless.
I tried to get a video but due to the darkness and distance, it
looked like another crappy video that didn't show anything.
Very annoying and very disheartening.
It's like whatever I was seeing was only for me again.
I went back inside my tent trying to forget about it.
The next time I woke up was around sunrise.
When I looked for them, both lights were gone.
I didn't see the lights around sunset or sunrise, only in
darkness and only in the dead of night.
I know these might have been visible during sunrise or sunset
too, or at least should have been if they'd been normal
lights. I'm sure there's some kind of
explanation, but I genuinely have no clue what I was looking
at. The really strange part of my
story happened while I was packing, walking up camp and
preparing to move on. I heard an engine, which I guess
isn't super uncommon. There are still planes and other
stuff out there way out in the middle of nowhere.
This one was low and rapidly getting closer to me.
Soon I spotted an unmarked helicopter roaming over the
treetops. I say it was unmarked because
that was the first thing that I was looking for, a symbol of
some kind to tell me what their purpose was.
Law enforcement, search and rescue, medical, something else.
But like I said, no giveaways on that thing at all.
It looked brand new, top of the line, dark windows and moving
very fast. It went right over to the spot
where those lights were hovered for about 15 minutes, just long
enough to take a few photos. I'm pretty sure that's what they
were doing. They did a few laps of the area,
looked around, and then flew back the way they came.
I mean it when I say it made me nervous to the point of being
sick to see whoever was flying out there.
To this day, I still have no idea what the correlation is.
Either way, I packed up quickly and moved on.
That's all I could do. Near that area that I was camped
out at and to the right of the trail was some thick brush,
maybe five to six feet tall. This was near the Shasta Trinity
Forest area. Maybe one to two days after I
saw the lights in the woods I was hiking alone.
I noticed about 100 feet away from me, the brush was being
flattened by something and it was moving very quickly.
It was approaching the trail I was going to and would end up
right next to me if I continued on that pace.
I couldn't see what was flattening the brush, but it had
to be strong. It honestly reminded me of
something you'd see in a Jurassic Park movie.
I know how crazy that sounds, but it's the only way I can
describe it to you. Anything in the creature's way
was simply knocked to the ground.
Small trees, bushes, grass, everything.
I froze up. I assumed it had to be a bear,
and I still think it was, but I didn't want to surprise it and
have a really close encounter. Like I mentioned before, I know
my way around the wilderness. Avoiding contact of any kind was
the only way to be sure. As far as I could tell, this
thing could only smell me, not actually see me.
I had to try to even out the playing field somehow.
I yelled stop as loud as I could and it stopped completely.
I remained still waiting to see what was going on, but
everything was just totally still around me.
Really quiet everywhere, total silence.
I got pretty unsettled. I started talking to whatever it
was as I walked by. Just kept saying things like I'm
going to be walking by you and then I'll be on my way friend.
Hope you're having a good day. I kept walking, kept looking
back, but nothing moved on from that point forward.
Like I said, it probably was a bear.
Black bears are generally like big raccoons and don't want to
interact with humans. I've encountered a few bears.
They always ran away when I told them to get lost.
But the part that really gets me is this.
As I explained, this was two days after I saw those lights,
but I was only a few miles away from that same campsite.
I stopped to thoroughly explore the area and map them out for
myself on the same day that I had that bizarre bear experience
or whatever it was. When I got back to my camp that
evening, I was getting ready to tend to all my chores when I
heard walking again. This time it was lighter.
I looked up and saw a man. He was pretty far off, I'd say
at least 50 yards, just pushing through the Bush.
He was well off trail but didn't look lost or anything.
He stopped when I looked at him. We both just kind of sized each
other up in the moment. I said hey and waved, but he
didn't respond. He just turned and kept walking
that same way, right on by me. He would cast a glance in my
direction every few steps so I knew I wasn't crazy.
There was a person there. What stood out most to me was
his attire. He didn't have a backpack, a bag
on his shoulders, nothing. Not even a Fanny pack.
We were like over 100 miles away from any kind of facility so
being out here empty handed was almost a certain death sentence.
The guy looked healthy, confident, strong, didn't have a
care in the world. The other thing that really
caught my eye was his clothing. It was all one solid color,
Gray, almost looked like he had a jumpsuit on.
He had a clean haircut and black boots.
He passed my camp and I didn't see anybody else but I
definitely had this weird feeling.
I packed up and actually relocated just to have a better
vantage on the area and so he didn't know exactly where I was.
I'd make him work to find me again if that ended up being a
desire of his. I put my camp up on this little
hilltop that had really good tree cover on all sides.
I didn't pop my tent up but created a little makeshift
shelter and hid my belongings as well.
It was secure enough to my liking.
I didn't see the guy, I didn't see anybody else, but that night
I definitely saw flashlights way off in the trees.
It had me on edge the whole time, especially whenever they
angled in my direction, but thankfully for me they never
came too close. Whatever they were looking for.
It was back where I camped before.
I barely got any sleep that night, only passed out after the
lights went out and everything got real quiet.
I broke down camp at sunrise the next morning, what little of it
there was, and set myself a sturdy, rigid schedule for the
day. I wanted to put the miles behind
me and get out of this weird area, which had originally been
my serene little Vista. Now it was plagued with all
kinds of weird stuff, and I decided it definitely wasn't
worth all this. As I beat feet all morning into
the afternoon, I saw that same helicopter pass through the area
several times, zigzagging into steeper areas.
Fortunately, they never came past me.
I probably didn't even know I was out there.
Eventually, I intersected with the main trail, caught up with
some other hikers. After speaking with a few of
them, I noticed that some had said how Norcal was a little
unsettling. The Socal desert is very windy,
and the Sierra mountains have tons of flowering streams.
Norcal doesn't have as many streams or as much wind, so
there's just this silence that pervades, which can honestly
feel ominous, especially out there in the dark.
That's my explanation for the feeling, at least.
After going through the Socal desert, the Sierra Mountains,
Norcal, Oregon, and Washington, Norcal was the only section that
was a little unnerving to me, and I did portions of each of
these sections alone. There's just something about
that area, something about the time that I was there, something
was going on that warranted whatever activity was going on.
The other hikers commented on the weird helicopter sightings,
though none of them saw any silent weirdos stalking the
woods, nor any giant creatures pressing the foliage flat.
It's doing the same thing that I'd seen it doing, just flying
around real low, investigating from the air, then zipping out
of sight. We spent some time comparing
notes on all the weird stuff that we'd seen, but ultimately
didn't come to any kind of logical conclusion.
We went our separate ways and I finished my hike a little ahead
of schedule. My creepy encounters were enough
to speed me up out there for a while.
After I returned home. I'd say maybe a full month
later, I saw something online that caught my eye.
A headline. It said a hiker had gone missing
along the Pacific Crest Trail. I always find these stories
pretty engaging as this is a lifestyle I live and I feel like
it could potentially happen to me, so I always follow these
cases closely. You just never know what you
might learn from somebody else's mistakes.
The person had vanished from the exact area I was in.
When I saw those lights and the guy walking by my camp, they
were pretty certain that that was her last known location.
This person was never found, and after my experience I really
wonder what the hell happened to her out there and how close it
came to happening to me. I live next to two national
parks. A few years ago, from June to
July, there was a horrific fire that prompted evacuations in our
area, including both parks. My family had about 3 hours to
pack everything of value. Luckily, we didn't end up having
to evacuate. Still, the entire ordeal was a
total mess and caused a lot of stress, damage, and danger.
I had just gotten off work, as had my father.
I told them we should really consider evacuating.
At first they weren't taking my advice, but when they saw the
mountains burning the whole face up in flames, it looked like
walking into Mordor, watching trees erupt into flames and fall
into the inferno right there, just a few miles away from us.
Fortunately for my family and our home, the fires moved
incredibly slow downhill, but with the amount already burnt,
it was only a matter of time before it crept into the valley.
There were displaced animals gunning through the streets,
some of the craziest sights I've ever seen.
The first thing I did was gather all our legal documents, which
took about half an hour. On top of that, I secured the
photos and all the pictures of the family, all the paper
valuables, sentimental or otherwise.
You don't really think about what's valuable until you're
forced to leave and that's when you start picking and choosing.
Suddenly everything you have holds some kind of value.
Next, I helped my sister pack and get through her panic
attacks. She was around 8 at the time and
it was absolutely heart wrenching having to tell her
that we couldn't take all her stuffed animals, she could only
take a few. I then had to talk her out of
only bringing her stuffed animals, maybe packing some
clothes or hygienic stuff too. I ended up packing a lot for her
because she was just so sad. She finally settled on a few,
one being an elephant that she got from an ambulance when she
was 4. Next I checked on my other
sister, who was oddly calm. She'd packed everything she
wanted into a small bag. Looking back, I think she was
just in total shock, like a fog of war type thing.
Her eyes were glossed over and she didn't really care about
anything, didn't even react when she looked at the fire.
I think she was just overwhelmed, shelled up until it
was finally over. I went to help my parents but
they told me that I needed to go pack.
I ended up packing some of my expensive stuff like my purse
collection, important items, and my artwork and almost had a
mental breakdown. That summer I was on the top
floor. I ended up overheating, having a
full blown panic attack, hyperventilating, sweating,
heart beating hard enough to scare me.
I realized just how many of us were under one roof, animals
included, and we could all die. Then I thought about everybody
else. It was like my first existential
crisis. Was a pretty good time for one
too. It helped kind of put everything
into perspective. Next was packing up all of our
animal stuff. At the time we had 12 hens, 2
Guinea pigs, and two dogs. I packed food for everybody and
started getting everything together.
Harnesses, water bottles, food, bedding, hay, everything we
might need for a couple of days. We'd have to restock on
everything on the road if we were evacuated for any longer
than that. By now the fire was halfway down
the mountain, still miles off but encroaching 1 stubborn inch
at a time. I grabbed the Guinea pigs, put
them into the transport cage and set them by the door.
My dad took a trailer from his boss.
I was not allowed to help load anything outside as I have life
threatening asthma and it would have been bad with all the smoke
in the air. I could only sit inside and
watch the window. As the mountain burned more and
more. My parents struggled to load up
the rest of our animals. We eventually got everything
moved and taken out and by then it was night time.
The fire had gotten to the base of the mountain on one side just
a sliver, getting ready to ignite the National Park just
West of us. We were all exhausted and didn't
have the energy to actually get inside the truck.
I asked my parents if we could leave, but they said not yet.
They wanted to see what was going to happen, if it would get
contained or maybe even switch directions.
It was a hopeless thought, but they were adamant.
They had weathered fires before and they knew all the protocols.
Everyone else was long gone, though.
We didn't have many neighbors, just all rural farmers, ranchers
and homesteaders. But my sisters and I, we knew
they were all gone. We could see their trucks and
trailers slowly caravan away on the main road, 1 by 1.
Even in the evening we saw some headlights rolling through the
dark towards town. The other direction.
The mountain glowed like a giant ember.
I have no idea how, but my sisters and I all slept next to
the front door that night. We just passed out one by one.
What I do remember is hearing the doorknob jiggle.
I was half asleep but the sound was unmistakable.
Being a kid, I just passed it off as a dream and kept on
trying to sleep. I don't remember it jiggling
again that night and I don't remember what time it happened.
The fire was just mesmerizing. I have no idea why but I was
just in a trance. It was midnight, but the flames
from the burning mountain lit up the sky.
It was very eerie and haunting, almost beautiful.
The orange flames, purple smoke and the moonlight.
Awful to say, I know, but it was like a painting.
Around 2, AMI fell asleep again. I read myself to sleep and
watched the fire creep up towards us.
I woke up several times and thought I was dreaming, but
gradually the flames were being put out.
The doorknob thing had happened well before all of this.
I woke up very early, I'd say 6:00 AM.
The mountain was still burning, but the 1000 foot flames were
completely gone. I woke everyone up and we were
all so grateful. A few of us were crying from
joy. There was a constant downpour
from choppers and planes. Fire teams had cut a tremendous
fire line to keep everything from the housing.
It ate up the flames and they were starting to get a handle on
it. Several local fire departments
worked together to set up the fire line that night.
That's what saved us and in the end, thankfully, nobody died.
One local firefighter was severely burned, but he since
recovered and is attending physical therapy.
He was released from the hospital about a month or two
ago. The night before we were
prepping for evacuation, a bucket helicopter had crashed
again. Thankfully, nobody passed away.
One house and several government buildings were burnt.
In total, 35 acres were burned. That's the most terrific thing I
think I've ever seen, though. The scariest part happened the
next day, and it had nothing to do with the fire.
We were taking our time unpacking the trucks and the
animals, making sure everything was accounted for, when my
parents started fussing. I went to see what was going on
and they were saying that someone had gotten into their
truck overnight. Things were missing from the
glove box in the center console. I figured it was just stuff that
had been misplaced during the night due to all the exhaustion
and the work that we put in. They saw my logic and just kept
unpacking, but kept an eye out for all the missing items.
Just a little later, my sister came inside and said that she
saw the neighbors were back. I went outside to see, but the
driveway looked empty. How do you know they're back?
I asked her. Guys, I saw somebody walking
around over there, she explained.
I thought that was weird because I never saw any vehicles return.
Now it was my turn to keep an eye out.
I wouldn't have to for very long.
It was sunset when we decided to call it a day and go in and make
dinner. We'd all been out of the house
helping with the animals, and when we got inside we noticed
that the back door was wide open.
My mom told my sister and me to go close it, thinking it was us
who had left it a jar, but we never used it once that entire
day. When we stepped into the back
room, which was like our laundry room, we saw a man half crouched
in the corner rifling through our stuff.
He was dirty, very tall and scared the crap out of us.
He had the beginnings of a beard and dark beady little eyes.
He bit his lip and smiled when he saw us.
He might have even winked at us. We went screaming back into the
main house while this guy darted through the open back door and
then out into the woods. We quickly explained what we saw
and my dad immediately chased after him, loaded gun and
everything. To my knowledge he never caught
him and I was the only one who got a really good look at him.
It turned out that he was a hermit or a homeless person who
ended up in the area, maybe just an opportunist, and had been
robbing the neighboring houses through the evacuation.
What a genius idea because he knew they would be empty.
For whatever stupid reason, this guy also decided to mess with
our house in the middle of the day while we were all there.
Thank God we all came inside when we did.
The police told us he was a violent, violent man and had
killed animals at the other properties nearby.
Cats, fish, pets that people thought would be OK on their own
for a few days while they fought the fire.
Had we stumbled in on him alone he might have killed us too.
The creepiest part to me was that he stole food and supplies
and valuables from the other houses.
When we caught him he was rummaging around in our dirty
clothes hamper looking for our underwear.
I assume super gross as this was a middle-aged man and we were
all children. I tell you this story not to
scare you, but to warn you. Never leave your stuff
unattended or unlocked during an evacuation.
There are professional thieves who target these areas and I
didn't know any better until I actually met one.
My name is Alex and I have always loved going on adventures
by myself. This time my heart was set on
exploring the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.
It's a place full of deep forests, mysterious trails, and
wild rivers, exactly where my adventurous spirit feels at
home. I packed my car with everything
I might need, a tent, some food, my camera, and of course, a good
book to keep me company. The drive was long and peaceful.
I rolled down the windows and let the fresh air mix with my
favorite music, feeling the city's noise fade away behind
me. As I entered the Olympic
National Park, the towering trees and cool air welcomed me
like an old friend. After driving around for a
while, I decided to make a stop in a small area called Kino.
It wasn't a popular tourist spot, especially not in the
offseason. I guess that's what made it
perfect for me. I loved finding places where I
could be alone with nature, where the only sounds were the
rustling of leaves and the distant calls of birds.
While driving through Kino, I spotted an ancient footbridge
that arched over a river. It looked like something out of
an old storybook. I parked my car near the dead
end of the road and got out to take a closer look.
The bridge was made of old weathered wood and was covered
in Moss. It creaked a little as the wind
blew through, and I felt a shiver run down my spine, though
I was curious about what was on the other side.
The bridge looked like it might collapse if I tried to cross.
Better safe than sorry, I thought to myself, and decided
to admire it from a safe distance.
It was unusually hot that day, and the river under the bridge
looked inviting. I wasn't planning on swimming,
but the cool water seemed too tempting to resist, so I made a
quick decision. I backed my car up to the edge
of the road, making sure it was facing the way out, just in case
I needed to leave quickly. Then I started to make my way
through the thick brush. There wasn't any path, and the
area was pretty rugged. I had to be careful with each
step, pushing branches away and watching out for hidden roots.
Finally, I reached the riverbank and looked around.
I was completely alone, surrounded by nature's beauty.
Feeling the heat, I decided it was time for a swim.
I didn't have a swimsuit, so I just took off my clothes and got
into the water in my underwear and bra.
The water was cool and refreshing, a perfect escape
from the heat. As I swam, I tried to relax and
enjoy the moment, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was
being watched. I looked around, half expecting
to see a deer or a raccoon, but there was no one.
I tried to ignore the feeling, telling myself it was just my
imagination. After all, I was in the middle
of nowhere, far from the usual paths that tourists or locals
might take. But still, the feeling lingered,
and soon it became too much. I decided it was time to head
back. Little did I know, my adventure
was about to take a startling turn.
After deciding it was time to leave the water, I took a deep
breath and prepared to head back to my clothes.
The feeling of being watched hadn't left me the entire time I
was swimming. As I turned around to climb out
of the river, my heart almost stopped.
There, standing on the other side of the river, was a man.
He was tall and looked like he hadn't been around people or a
town for a very long time. He wore a rain poncho made out
of animal skins, and his long hair was tangled with sticks and
twigs. It seemed like he belonged to
the wild, just like the deer and bears that lived in these woods.
But the way he stared at me didn't feel right.
We both just stood there looking at each other.
I was frozen in fear, not knowing what his next move would
be. Suddenly the man turned and
started running towards the old footbridge I had decided was too
dangerous to cross. My mind raced as I realized he
was probably trying to get to my car.
Why else would he run towards the bridge unless he wanted to
reach the road? Maybe he planned to disable my
car, smash the windows, or do something else to trap me here.
I knew I had to act fast. Panic took over and I rushed to
get out of the water. My clothes and shoes were on the
riverbank a good distance away. I tried to grab them as I ran,
but my shirt got caught on some BlackBerry vines.
The thorns scratched my arms and I knew I couldn't waste time
with my heart pounding in my chest.
I left my clothes behind and ran towards my car, wearing only my
soaked underwear and bra. The brush was thick, and the
branches tore at my skin as I pushed my way through.
I could hear the man whooping and cheering as he ran across
the bridge. His sounds were wild and eerie,
like he was enjoying the chase. It made me run faster, even
though my feet were sore and bleeding from the blackberries
and rough ground. As I neared my car, the fear of
him catching up to me grew stronger.
I imagined him reaching the car before me, waiting to confront
me. I pushed myself harder, my
breath heavy and my legs aching. Finally, I broke through the
last of the underbrush and saw my car just a few yards away.
Relief washed over me, but it was short lived.
I glanced back and saw him crossing the bridge, moving with
an unnerving speed. It was like watching something
from a horror movie, and I knew I couldn't let him get any
closer. I sprinted the last few feet to
my car, yanking the door open and throwing myself inside.
My hands were shaking so badly that it took me a few tries to
get the key in the ignition. Just as I started the car, I saw
him step off the bridge, heading straight for me.
I slammed the door shut, locked it, and hit the gas pedal just
as he reached the hood of my car.
He pounded on it with his fists, making me scream in fright.
I drove away as fast as I could, not daring to look back until I
was sure I was far away. The sound of his pounding and
the wild look in his eyes stayed with me as I drove, trying to
escape not just him but the terror that had gripped me by
the river. As I speed away, my heart was
still racing like a drum in my chest.
Every part of me was shaking. I couldn't believe what had just
happened. I had escaped, but it felt like
the man was still chasing me. Every time I looked in the
rearview mirror, I half expected to see his wild eyes and tangled
hair. The drive felt endless.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that my
knuckles turned white. The road was bumpy and winding,
and I was careful not to drive too fast and lose control.
But I also didn't want to slow down too much.
I kept thinking about how that man had pounded on my car, how
he had whooped and cheered as he chased me.
It was like something out of a scary movie, except it was real
and it had happened to me. As I drove, the adrenaline
started to wear off and I began to feel the pain from running
through the brush and blackberries.
My legs and arms were scratched up and some spots were bleeding.
I was still in my wet underwear and the cool air made me shiver.
I tried to focus on the road and keep my mind off the pain and
fear. I couldn't stop thinking about
how close I had come to something really bad happening.
What if I hadn't made it to my car in time?
What if he had caught up to me before I could drive away?
These thoughts made me drive even faster.
After what seemed like forever, I finally saw signs of
civilization. A gas station appeared up ahead.
I pulled over, still trembling. I needed to calm down and check
my wounds. When I got out of the car, I
took a deep breath of the cool air.
It helped a little, but I was still scared.
I walked into the gas station and asked if I could use the
restroom inside. I looked at myself in the
mirror. My face was pale and my clothes
or what I had left of them were torn and dirty.
I washed my face and tried to clean my scratches as best as I
could. The water stung, but it was also
refreshing. When I came out of the restroom,
I bought some bandages and a bottle of water.
The person at the counter gave me a strange look, probably
because of how I looked wet, injured and scared.
I didn't care, I just wanted to get home.
The rest of the drive was quiet. I didn't turn on the music or
roll down the windows. I just drove and kept an eye on
the road. Every now and then I would
glance in the rearview mirror, but there was no sign of the
man. He was gone, but the fear he had
instilled in me wasn't. When I finally got home, I was
relieved but still shaken. I called my best friend and told
them everything. They listened and told me I was
safe now, which helped a little. But as I hung up, I knew that
what had happened would stay with me for a long time.
I decided then that I would never go back to that place and
I would never go hiking alone again.
The memory of that day, the fear and the chase would haunt me,
but I also knew I had learned something important about being
careful and never underestimating the wilderness.
We were heading to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
that morning, and I was excited. It was supposed to be a fun
Family Day out. My wife, Heather, was singing
along to the radio and I was driving, watching the road wind
through the thick forest. But our daughter, Kylie, who is
usually the loudest one of us, was silent.
Everything OK back there? I asked, glancing at her in the
rear view mirror. Kylie didn't say a word, just
stared out the window. I tried to make her laugh.
You excited about visiting the park, honey?
We might even see a bear. But she didn't smile or laugh.
Something was off, Kylie, honey. Heather turned in her seat to
look at her. She shook Kylie's knee gently,
trying to get her attention. There's a man in the woods.
Kylie said, her voice flat and serious.
Of course there is, honey, it's a National Park.
I laughed, but Kylie didn't. She just frowned and looked back
out the window. I sighed, feeling a bit worried
now. The trees cast long shadows over
the car, and the sun was just peeking through the leaves,
making everything look golden and a bit mysterious.
After a few more minutes of driving, I spotted a gravel turn
off. Maybe Kylie was just grumpy from
sitting in the car for too long. Heather and I felt stiff
ourselves, and the thought of stretching our legs by a cool
mountain stream sounded perfect. I turned the car into the small
parking area next to a dusty pickup truck and grinned at
Heather. Break time?
I said. We both got out quickly, ready
to enjoy a bit of nature, but Kylie didn't move.
She sat there, her arms crossed, a stubborn look on her face.
This is a bad place. I don't wanna.
She declared, trying to be patient.
I nodded to Heather and we both reached into the car to help
Kylie out. She kicked and screamed, not
wanting to leave her seat. I was thankful I had trimmed her
nails the night before because she was really putting up a
fight. I glanced around, hoping nobody
was watching us, worried they might think we were doing
something wrong. There's a Creek down there with
big rocks and fish and waterfalls.
I coaxed, trying to sound exciting.
You're going to love it, Kai. Finally, Kylie stopped crying,
but it wasn't because she was happy.
She looked scared, her face pale and her body suddenly limp.
OK, Daddy, let's go. It was the same tone she'd used
when our plane hit turbulence last summer, so frightened she
couldn't even cry. We walked down to the Creek,
Heather running ahead and whooping joyfully.
But I felt uneasy. The forest was too quiet, and
Kylie's fear seemed to hang in the air.
We found Heather by the water, laughing as she splashed her
feet. It's so peaceful here, she said.
Kylie sat quietly next to her, pulling at some Moss.
You're pretty quiet, champ, Heather said, messing up her
hair. I'm listening to the man in the
woods, Kylie answered in that flat voice Again.
My heart skipped a beat. Kids say weird things, sure, but
this was different. What man in the woods?
Honey, nobody's talking. Yes, he is.
I can hear him. He's talking inside my head.
Kylie insisted. Heather and I exchanged worried
glances. The air felt cooler all of a
sudden. A bird fluttered overhead and we
both jumped at the sound, but not Kylie.
She was staring at something across the Creek, her eyes wide
and scared. Before we could stop her, she
was off, scrambling across the rocks.
It's amazing how fast a small child can move when they're
scared. Heather and I rushed after her,
but I slipped and fell into the cold water.
By the time I got back on my feet, Kylie was already on the
other side, heading towards something we couldn't see.
Kylie. Heather called out, and just in
time she grabbed Kylie's pink jacket, pulling her back just as
she reached the ferns. Normally Kylie would have
screamed, but this time she just giggled.
Daddy got wet. Kylie, it is not OK to run off
like that. What's gotten into you?
Heather demanded. He said it would be funny.
Kylie replied, looking at us with an eerie calmness I'd never
seen before. That's when I realized something
very strange was happening, and it wasn't just Kylie's
imagination. The forest seemed to be watching
us listening, and I didn't like it one bit.
We tried to shake off the weird feeling from earlier as we
explored the Creek. The water was cool and clear and
usually I'd be the first one to dip my toes in.
But today everything felt different, tense, like the woods
were holding their breath. Kylie was still acting strange,
hardly like herself at all. She kept whispering to herself
and looking around as if she was listening to someone we couldn't
see. I'm listening to the man in the
woods, she had said. It made my skin crawl just
thinking about it. Let's try to have some fun, OK?
I suggested, but my voice sounded forced, even to me.
We walked along the Creek, Heather trying to spot fish in
the water, but Kylie's mood had cast a shadow over everything.
Then, without warning, Kylie took off running again.
She moved so fast it was as if something was pulling her along.
Kylie, stop. I yelled, but she was already
halfway across the Creek. I chased after her, slipping on
the rocks. The cold water splashed up
around me, but I barely felt it. My only thought was to catch
Kylie before she disappeared into the trees on the other
side. Heather was faster and managed
to grab Kylie just in time. She was giggling again, looking
at something we couldn't see. He said it would be funny.
She told us, pointing across the Creek to an empty patch of
ferns. This wasn't like any game I
knew, and it wasn't funny at all.
We sat Kylie down on a rock, trying to talk to her, to get
through to her somehow, but she just kept saying she could hear
the man talking to her. In her head, what was supposed
to be a peaceful family outing was turning into something out
of a nightmare. Just then, a woman appeared from
the trees. She wore a ranger's uniform, but
looked like she had stepped out of a different time.
Her badge said Maddie Corvin, and she talked like she thought
it was still decades ago, in 1975.
You folks all right? Ranger Corvin asked, looking
from Heather to me with a concerned frown.
We're fine, just a bit rattled. Heather explained.
Our daughter thinks she's hearing things.
Someone talking to her. Ranger Corvin nodded, not
seeming as surprised as I expected.
This part of the park, it's old, full of stories.
Some folks say it's haunted, she said, glancing around like she
could see things we couldn't. We decided to follow Ranger
Corvin back to the parking area to find my car keys, which I had
lost during the chase. As we walked, the woods seemed
to close in around us. The sounds of the Creek faded,
replaced by a too heavy silence. Even the birds had stopped
singing. It felt like the forest itself
was watching us, waiting. Every rustle of the leaves made
us jump, but Ranger Corvin LED us on, calm and steady.
Keep close, she warned. It's easy to get turned around
here. Just as we reached a clearing, a
large stag stepped out from between the trees.
It looked at us with wild, unnatural eyes, and for a moment
I felt like it was the one Kylie had been talking to.
It stood there staring, then turned and walked back into the
forest as silently as it had appeared.
Kylie whispered something I couldn't catch, and when I asked
her what she said, she just shook her head.
We need to find those keys. I muttered, more to myself than
anyone else, desperate to leave this place and it's hidden
whispers behind. After the stag disappeared back
into the woods, everything felt even more unreal.
We've got to get those keys and get out of here.
I said, trying to keep my voice steady for Kylie and Heather.
Ranger Corvin led the way, her eyes scanning the ground for my
lost keys. The forest seemed to grow
darker, the trees taller and closer together, as if they were
leaning in to listen. I held Kylie's hand tightly, not
wanting to let her out of my sight for even a second.
Suddenly, Kylie tugged at my hand and pointed There.
The keys. She exclaimed, lying among some
leaves near a large rock. There they were.
I breathed a sigh of relief and reached down to pick them up.
But as I did, Kylie's gaze shifted past me, her eyes wide
with fear. He's here, she whispered.
Who, honey? Heather asked, her voice
trembling a bit. The man in the woods, Kylie
replied, staring into the dense trees.
Ranger Corvin looked where Kylie was pointing, and then back at
us. We should move quickly, she
said. Follow me and don't stray.
We hurried after her, but I couldn't shake the feeling that
we were being watched. The forest felt alive, aware,
and not friendly. As we walked, the trees seemed
to whisper secrets I couldn't quite hear, and shadows move
just at the edge of my vision. Just as we thought we were
nearing the parking area, Kylie stopped and screamed.
In front of us, blocking our path, was the largest stag I had
ever seen. Its eyes were wild and it pawed
the ground aggressively. No, no, no.
Heather murmured, pulling Kylie back.
Ranger Corvin stepped in front of us, her body tense.
The car isn't far. Run when I say.
She instructed, her eyes never leaving the stag.
But before she could say anything else, the stag charged.
Ranger Corvin shoved us to the side and we stumbled into the
bushes. I heard her yell, then a loud
crash. When I looked back, the stag was
gone, and so was Ranger Corvin. Heather, take Kylie to the car.
I said, my heart pounding. I'll find the Ranger.
No, we stick together. Heather insisted, her voice firm
despite her pale face. So we all moved together,
calling out for Ranger Corvin. We found her a few minutes
later, leaning against a tree. It's gone.
She panted. But we need to be careful.
This forest, it's not right. We finally made it back to the
car. I threw the keys to Heather.
Get her safe, I'll help Ranger Corvin, be quick.
Heather said, her eyes filled with tears.
Ranger Corvin and I made it to a narrow path that led out of the
thicker woods. What is this place?
I asked her, looking back at the dark trees.
Some say it's cursed that the forest keeps things and people.
She replied, her voice low. But you got your family out,
keep them safe. We reached the road and I saw
Heather and Kylie safe in the car, waiting.
I thanked Ranger Corvin and ran to them, never looking back.
As we drove away, Kylie fell asleep, her head resting against
the window. Heather held my hand tightly.
Let's never come back here, She whispered.
I nodded, glancing in the rear view mirror at the receding
forest. The trees seemed to watch us go,
and I felt a chill. Whatever lived in that forest,
it was old and it was waiting, but we were leaving and we
weren't coming back, ever.