Just Creepy: Scary Stories - Terrifying SKINWALKER & WENDIGO Horror Stories

Episode Date: August 19, 2024

These are Terrifying SKINWALKER & WENDIGO Horror Stories Linktree: https://linktr.ee/its_just_creepy Story Credits: ►https://www.reddit.com/user/Butinginger/ ►Blair Daniels Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:00:18 Story 1 00:38:40 Story 2 Music by: 'Decoherence' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM_AjpJL5I4&t=0s Business inquiries: ►[e-mail] #scarystories #horrorstories #skinwalker #wendigo #cryptids 💀As always, thanks for watching! 💀

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Okay, so I've tried to figure out what exactly has been going on with my situation since its most recent occurrence, but it ended up going nowhere. I found stories and folklore that were somewhat similar, but not exact enough for me to understand what I encountered. Given my failed search for answers, I'm hoping I can gain something from talking about what happened, whether that be a new lead for me to follow, a piece of folklore I missed, or even a definitive answer from whoever may read this. My first experience is rather fuzzy for me, as it happened when I was five years old. I'm part of a hunting family, and even at that age I was taken along on hunts whether I wanted to or not. During one hunt in either the fall or winter, there was a lot of snow, so it was one of those seasons. We ended up in the woods somewhere in Jasper, Alberta. I don't remember what we were hunting, not that it matters.

It was me, my dad, and a hunting friend of his. The three of us were deep in the woods, and I remember our camp was set up in a wall tent. It was spacious inside, the walls made out of some kind of thick canvas or another white textile, and there was no light. Even the small furnace in the tent provided only a dim orange glow. On the night of the second day, as we were getting ready for bed on some uncomfortable cots, my dad and his friend fell asleep while I was awake, bored and uncomfortable. Since I was a kid taken on a hunt I didn't want to be on, I couldn't sleep, so I ended up taking a flashlight to explore the forest around the tent.

It was just meant to be for a little while, and in my mind, I had nothing to fear. I had spent plenty of time in the woods at that point, so I believed there was little to no danger, and there were guns in the tent so I'd be safe. The only thing of note I remember from my exploration, besides the darkness of the forest and the freezing cold, was a large animal I caught a glimpse of. I don't remember much about it, just that I shone my light into the trees for a few seconds, before there was movement of something moving away. Shortly after, I went back to the tent and got into my cot to sleep. I remember waking up to my dad's friend stoking the furnace or adding a log to it or something. He then left the tent momentarily with a flashlight, presumably to take a leak.

I tried to go back to sleep, but that was interrupted by my dad's friend yelling. My dad immediately woke up and grabbed his rifle that was next to him before leaving the tent. I was scared and stayed frozen in my cot, unsure about what to do. I don't know how much time passed before there were gunshots and I think yelling. My dad ran back, his friend absent from whatever was going on. After zipping the entrance, he ordered me to stay with him in the middle of the tent. Given the distance between us and the walls of the tent, if whatever was out there were to rip open the walls, my dad would have time to react. I'm not sure how much time passed with us just

sitting in the middle of the tent, but eventually, the sound of quick footsteps began circling the tent. I think I might have closed my eyes and covered my ears in anticipation of my dad's shooting or something else happening. After circling the tent a few times, I remember hearing the sound of something dragging across the tent's fabric, which made my dad shoot in that general direction. Whatever it was ran off, and the two of us remained in the same spot the rest of the night,

only moving whenever my dad had to add more logs to the furnace. When day broke, we hurriedly packed up our bags before my dad gave me his friend's rifle, and we left. I was worried about what had happened to his friend's. friend since he never came back to the tent, and we just left without him on our long hike back to my dad's truck. After that point, I just remember my dad driving us home as he talked to, I think the police on his flip phone. I talked with my dad about that night only a couple of times after that, and from what he told me, he never saw his friend when he went looking for him after he yelled.

He looked around and came across a tall humanoid figure standing behind some pine trees, possibly hiding from him. He couldn't see any details just the silhouette of something inhumanly tall. He shot at it before coming back to the tent. When I asked him about the dragging along the tent, he said he just saw what seemed to be the indent of a finger touching it from the other side,

as if it was trying to identify the material of the walls. After we left, he told me the police showed up a few hours later, and he had to lead them out into the woods and back to the tent. The tent had been searched through, although nothing was taken. The zippers weren't used to enter the tent either. The walls were cut open by an animal. They found some blood nearby, along with some tracks that looked like a cross between a canine and a human. It was snowing by the time the police were out there,

but they did manage to find the dead body of my dad's friend before the trail was covered up. He was partially devoured, and after a short investigation by the RCM, they deemed it to be an animal attack despite the humanoid figure seen in the finger examining the tent. Nothing else came from that case after that, besides my family moving away from Jasper and never returning for any reason. We essentially forbade ourselves from going anywhere near Jasper unless we were passing through to BC for whatever reason. The second time I encountered this creature was when I was ten years old. My class had this field trip where we all would go to this one patch of woods, that had small cabins, a small wreck center, and other amenities. It was supposed to be a trip where

you show up, spend the day doing whatever, spend the night in a cabin with whatever group you made, and leave at around noon the next day. I don't remember the exact area we were in, but it was somewhere northwest of Edmonton, which would be pretty far away from Jasper. We went up there, and things were normal the first day. We would have been there for the second day if that creature hadn't shown up. When it was really dark out, we had a game of manhunt. Basically, two or three seekers were picked to look for the hiders who could hide anywhere around the forest, as long as they didn't stray too far. If a seeker found a hider, the hider would become a seeker and help them. At the end of the game, there was a prize to be won if you were deemed the best seeker or the

best hider. I was supposed to hide, so my friend at the time, and I ended up heading down this trail, which led to a more lush part of the forest nearby. We figured it would be the best area to hide, given all the bushes and trees. It wasn't out of bounds, but still deep enough in the trees, so if any of the seekers came looking for us, they would have to come pretty deep into the brush to get us. Some seekers eventually did come by,

but they only found my friend who was hiding close to me, but not with me. And he didn't snitch on me, so they all left, leaving me alone. Some time passed as I remained hunched in a small circle, of trees that almost perfectly covered me. The only way I could be seen would be if someone looked thoroughly through the trees in front of me,

or if someone came from behind me where I was more exposed. There wasn't much covering me there, so if anyone came by, I would have to hope they wouldn't walk behind my cover. At my hiding spot, I had the advantage of being able to see anyone coming up the trail here if I just pulled the branches in front of me aside. I also could see the moon through the branches if I looked to my right, the white dot in the sky preventing that area from being a solid black void like everything else around me.

I remember sitting there for so long I actually started to shiver from the nightly chill, and the boredom slowly started to get to me. I think I had an iPod 5 at the time, and since I figured no one would come back here, I took it out along with my earbuds and started to play some games on it, occasionally doing a quick 360-degree scan of my area in case any seekers were about. I remember 30 or so minutes had passed at that point, which meant any minute now some teacher would come ringing a bell to mark the end of the game, the winning hiders being

given a reward. I kept my eyes on my iPod, continuing to do my occasional scans of my area for any seekers. During one of my scans, I resumed playing games as usual, but I had this off feeling now. I didn't see anything, but I felt like something was wrong. I remember hearing somewhere that the feeling of being watched comes from you seeing something out of place, but not exactly registering what it is. I'm pretty sure that was what I was feeling, so I turned around and looked around more thoroughly, examining what little I could see given how it was all pitch black.

There was nothing behind me, but the feeling persisted. Some panic began to slowly surge through me despite the fact I hadn't seen anything yet. I considered getting up to leave, but someone would come ringing a bell soon, and I didn't want to miss out on the reward. Why would I leave if there really was nothing here? After this feeling kept picking at me, I eventually felt courageous enough to shine a light around me. My iPod had a flashlight on it, albeit one that wasn't very powerful. I raised it and turned it on, scanning the area behind me since I assumed someone would be watching me from where I was exposed. I could see a few meters behind me and only saw pine trees, small plants, and other typical things you'd expect.

I felt safer knowing there wasn't anything behind me, so I turned the light off. I resumed my game, the feeling still persisting but a sense of security now instilled. Nothing was behind me. As I played games and waited, I thought about that. Nothing was behind me. I only searched the area behind me, not the areas off to my sides or in front of me. This new realization worried me, so I pushed the branches out of the way to see in front of me, and there was nothing but a barely visible trail back to the cabin, which was to be expected.

I glanced over to my sides, the area to my left harboring nothing but blackness past the trees. I checked my right, also nothing but a black void past the trees. I was about to go back to my game, but I realized there was something wrong. There was nothing to my right. Where was the previously visible moon behind the branches there? I remember looking over, realizing the moon was indeed gone, which could only happen if something were to be blocking it. I froze, realizing someone had been standing behind the branches to my right,

for who knows how long. My breathing picked up as I stared in that direction, it becoming obvious I noticed whatever was there. Still, whoever it was didn't move. They didn't say anything. They didn't even attack me. The sound of a distant bell ringing snapped me back to reality, and I sprung up from my sitting position and ran through the pine branches in front of me, getting whipped and pricked by

the needles. I reached the clearing in front of me and ran down the trail as fast as I could. When I saw a teacher ahead of me coming up the trail, I ran to her out of breath. I tried to explain what happened, her not understanding me, because of how frantic I was. When I calmed down I said someone was in the trees watching me, and they were not a seeker or hider or anyone else. She went from chill to serious and asked me if I was sure. After confirming that I was indeed stalked by someone who wasn't a fellow classmate, she led me back to my cabin where my group was, including my friend. She told us to

lock the doors before she left and talked to someone on her radio. Me, my friend, and three other kids were left in that cabin, which had a small window on both doors, and a large window on one of the walls, all of which didn't have curtains. We were missing one of our members, who had left to refill their water bottle at the rec center before I showed up. My group asked me what happened, and I told them someone who wasn't a seeker was watching me. They seemed skeptical, but my friend believed me since he knew me better than the rest of them, and he knew no one else came up that trail to where I was. Around half an hour passed where nothing happened. No teachers came back. Our other group member did not come back. It was just us five.

One of us wanted to leave to use the washroom at one point, and I pleaded with him to not leave. I think he realized I was serious about no one leaving since he stayed. The cabin felt safe. We had the doors locked. There were other people here, and the teachers knew about the thing in the woods. More time passed where nothing happened, no teachers or nothing. The kids still needed to leave, but I figured things had been settled, so didn't try to stop him. He dug around his stuff for his water bottle so he could refill it while he was out. Before he could leave, there was a loud knock on the wall of our cabin, thankfully the wall without a window. We all looked at each other before there was the sound of dragging along the side of it.

I turned off the light and we all hid under our beds. It led from the middle of the wall to the corner, then over to the door. There was a loud tap on the glass, followed by another, and then another. The doorknob was tried momentarily, the lock stopping it, before the tapping on the glass continued. When it finally stopped, there was a minute of silence before the tapping resumed on the larger window on the wall of the cabin. I was facing it, but couldn't see anything. The tapping stopped, and I assumed they would see. start tapping on the window to the other door. I waited in anticipation for it, before a loud

crash came from the window that was just touched. A sporadic ringing came from an object thrown through the window before it ricocheted off the wall and onto the ground near me, the object letting out one last ring. I felt like I was going to die. It would get inside through the window, then it would kill us. I closed my eyes, thinking about my eventual death. It never came, my eyes remained closed as even more time passed, as if whatever threw the bell through the window was just taking their time. I'm not sure how long it was, but eventually we heard footsteps near the cabin before there was a knock on the door.

A light shined through the window as a man shouted that they were the police. We were relieved and got up to open the door. It was indeed an officer, and he started to ask us if we were okay. As my group explained what happened, I looked back at the object thrown through the window since there was light. It turned out to be a bell the teacher used to end the game, this bell being bloody. After he talked to us, he led us back to the rec center where more police, teachers, and students were. The rest of the night was spent there in the lobby as the police searched the area. Parents were notified and they began to arrive to get us.

Before they did, the police asked students if they saw anything, and when they got to me I explained everything I experienced from being watched while hiding to our cabin window being broken. When talking to my group members, they said that after the window was broken, the large silhouette of a head or something stuck through the open window and briefly looked around. My mom arrived the next morning, taking me away from that hellish forest. One of the last things I remember when leaving the place was two officers talking, one of them mentioning a body being found. I learned later from my parents that one of the male teachers was found dead and partially devoured.

They found the bell he had to get the hiders to have been the same one tossed through my window that night. When my dad heard the details about the body being devoured, and my telling of something examining the walls and window of the cabin, he immediately recalled our hunting trip when I was five. That was when he explained to me what he saw that night for the first time. My latest experience happened before I went to college. We moved to a rural town near Athabasca that probably had a population of 30 people. There was plenty of forest around us, and being an 18-year-old who had basically forgotten my previous encounters at that point,

I felt like I could take on anything that was in the woods besides grizzly bears or moose for obvious reasons. It was summer vacation, and since I had nothing else to do, I would take my bow and head out to hunt small game like rats. By August, I had gone from leaving to hunt for a few hours, to leaving with a tent and a bag of supplies to camp out deep in the forest for a night or two. It was nice, but my last hunt of the summer before college started pretty much ended interaction with the forest for me for the next while. My final hunting camping trip was pretty normal for the first bit of it, which was to be expected. I walked into the forest for about thirty or forty minutes, which was to be expected. minutes, which led me to a very flat clearing that was perfect to sleep in a small tent. I've made this trip to this same spot multiple times at that point, and with the aid of a compass along with

some pink ribbons I left tied to trees, it kept me from getting lost on the way there and back. It was very scenic and peaceful, devoid of any sight or sound of people, just pure nature. I set up my camp, did some hunting where I found nothing besides some large bear prints and some dried mud, had this box of cheap dried hash browns for supper, and then chilled out at my camp for the rest of the day while drinking some coolers I brought and blasting loud music to keep any bears away. By the time night enveloped the forest,

I was ready to go to sleep. Sometime later, I woke up. I wasn't sure why, I just happened to. Feeling tired, I tried to go back to sleep until I heard the sound of plastic and cans rustling near my camp. I froze for a moment, not believing what I heard. When the sound rustled again, I sat up and grabbed my hunting knife. My groggy mind took a moment to think, and I realized that something was digging into my trash

bag. I stored any food-related trash in a plastic bag before tying it and hanging it from a tree away from camp, in case bears came by, and something was definitely digging in it at that moment. I hung it pretty high, so it was either some scavenger animal that could climb, or a bear. For my sake, I hoped it was the first option. I just had a bow and a knife, and neither would be much help against a bear, especially if it was a grizzly. After a few minutes of rustling, there was silence. I still waited, keeping as quiet as I could to not draw the animal's attention to me. As I waited, I thought about what I would do.

Some of my ideas were going back to sleep, some were grabbing my stuff and leaving, and I even had the dumb thought of scaring the animal off if it was still there. I eventually figured that if it was some small animal I'd stay. If I got any confirmation about it being a bear, I'd pack my stuff and leave the first chance I had. I would check my phone occasionally to see how much time had passed. When around 15 minutes passed, I assumed the animal had left, so I checked the time, seeing that was around 2 a.m.

Tired, I tried to settle back into my bag, A roar sounded off in the distance, ruining any chance of me going back to sleep. I sat up, not believing what I heard. I wasn't sure where it came from, but it sounded like a bear's roar. I'm pretty sure bears only roar when trying to find a mate, or when they are defending territory. And since it wasn't bear mating season, that meant it was likely a territorial dispute. With the confirmation that a bear probably rolled up to my camp, I packed my bag and left my tent, zipping it behind me before I turned on my headlamp.

I took out my compass and figured out the general direction of the first ribbon to follow back home. Regardless of the 40-minute hike ahead of me, I hurried toward the first ribbon. My hand rested on the knife attached to my belt, just for the feeling of security, since it's not like I'd be able to fend off a bear with a simple knife. Thankfully, it didn't take long for me to find my first pink ribbon. It was pretty close to camp, after all. I think I set up a couple dozen of them, so I should come across them every couple of minutes. During the walk, I didn't try to be stealthy.

My headlamp lit up a fair amount of area around me, and I loudly charged through the shrubs and plant matter. When I came across the second pink ribbon, I felt more confident about my trip back. Things were on the right track so far. My confidence faded somewhat when I had gone about five minutes without seeing any new ribbons. They were spaced out a few minutes apart, so I should have found the third one by now. It was dark, though, and I could barely recognize the area, and I was kind of panicked, so my state of mind wasn't completely there. I tried to remember what the tree I tied it to looked like or any kind of landmark near the ribbon I could recognize, but nothing came to mind.

It couldn't be too far, I kept telling myself. So I kept looking around, relying solely on my compass for guidance. five more minutes passed, which turned into ten minutes of me searching for the third ribbon. Hopelessness started to set in as I searched around for the third ribbon, or any recognizable landmark, with nothing more than a headlamp on and a compass in one hand. I started to blame myself for everything that was going on as I searched for the ribbon. I could have looked for a closer clearing near my house to camp at. I could have stayed back at camp for the night instead of heading home.

I could have left for home after finding the large bear print before night fell. I could have just walked in one direction using the compass and taken even longer but surefire trip back home. I could have done any number of things to have avoided this. I just walked around hopelessly looking for the ribbon, insulting myself in my mind as I did. It all became very distracting for me, and I slowly stopped paying attention to my surroundings.

All my focus was just on either my compass, The ground, since I believe the ribbon fell off somehow, or other ways I could judge myself. This led to me walking into a large mass that was slightly obscured by a fallen tree, 15 or so meters away, if I remember correctly, its dead leaves covering most of it. I stopped walking and looked up, realizing it was a grizzly bear, the front half of it being obscured by the fallen tree. I'm dead. That was the first thing I thought.

I couldn't outrun one, and if I were to play dead it would just beat the crap out of me, and probably seriously wound me, and if that were to happen, I would definitely never get home after that. Unsure about what to do, I took out my knife and stared at the grizzly which still hadn't reared its head from behind the leaves. I stood there frozen as I waited, unsure about what to do. The bear had not turned around, so its front half was still covered. Despite my fear restraining me from properly functioning, I thought it was odd,

how it didn't at least move to get a look at me. More confusion built up in me as I realized how loud I was and how I had my headlamp on this whole time. The bear would have known I was approaching long before I even came across it and it would have reacted as such. As I slowly regained my senses, I noticed a couple more things I was too fearful to notice before. First, the bear wasn't standing, it was lying down on its stomach. Second, there was blood. Some of it was along the ground, some was rubbed against trees, some was on the bear. I don't know how I felt seeing that. It seemed like it was dead, which meant I was safe from it. However, I didn't know for sure, and if it was alive, I didn't know what that would mean for me. Maybe I should walk away,

or be quiet and stand still or turn off my light, or check to see if the bear was actually dead. I settled for checking on the bear and forced my legs to move me closer as quietly as I could. I kept my distance from the bear because all I wanted to do was confirm it was dead. Once I could see around the fallen tree, I could confirm it was indeed dead. Its bottom jaw was ripped off and it looked like something tore its neck open. Its front leg was mangled and lifted up, exposing its chest which had been torn open. Its bloody contents looking as if they were slightly chewed up. Not a single animal here in Alberta would have done this.

A cougar wouldn't enter a grizzly bear's tail. territory and end up killing it for the sole purpose of eating it. And when grizzlies fight with other grizzlies, they typically don't end up in death and devouring, if I remembered correctly. I remember staring at it in morbid awe at this sight, relieved that the grizzly wouldn't hurt me, but worried about what killed the grizzly. The thoughts of my previous experiences in the past came to mind, and I tried to ignore them and tell myself that makes no sense. I was in Athabasca, which I think is somewhere around 400 kilometers from Jasper, and maybe half that from where I was during my field trip.

It could not have found me here, it could never have. That would be impossible. Why would it even follow me, me of all people, all this way across the province? Still, it all felt very similar. Everything from it being night, to it being in the forest, to even the partly devoured corpse. There was one thing missing, though, as I stood there examining the dead grisly. I realized too late, though, after thinking about all the similarities between this situation

and the previous ones. The main difference I came to realize is that I haven't confirmed I was being watched yet. That thought immediately made me want to do a 360 scan of my surroundings. Without even trying, I simply turned my head around and felt numb. I saw the creature standing around 10 meters from me. It wasn't even hiding, just standing right behind me this whole time watching me. I wanted to drop to my knees and just die there. I didn't want to feel the fear I felt in that moment.

I'd rather have just died right there and then as to not feel it anymore. This was the first time I'd ever seen the creature in full. It was around 10 or 12 feet tall, it easily towering over me. It had a humanoid shape, its body. legs and arms being very similar to that of one. Its hands were large, clawed, and bloody. Dark, tattered fur similar to an unkempt moose covered its body. It had a tail, a pretty long and bony one at that. Its head was recognizable to me, it being very similar to that of a moose skull due to how elongated it was. It had no antlers, not even stumps on its head so maybe it was a female

creature. Blood was around its mouth, where instead of the typical herbivort teeth a moose would have, it instead had sharpened, predatory ones. There looked to be a symbol of some sort drawn onto the forehead of its skull in, I think, charcoal, just something dark. The last thing I noticed, the most out of place for it, was the missing pink ribbon tied around the base of a moose-like ear protruding from the back of its skull, like a taunting decoration. Its other ear just had this string tied to it with animal bones or something hanging off of it. My first thought was that I was seeing a Wendigo, not that knowing what it was would help me at that moment. We stared at each other, not that I wanted to. I wanted to run, but I couldn't.

I just kept staring into its eyes, or lack thereof, given it just had two empty black voids in place of them. I tightened the grip on my knife, causing its head to tilt slightly and gaze towards it. I'm not sure how much time passed, as we had our standoff, as if it couldn't kill me with ease. The more time passed, the more control I gained over my body. The moment I could move my legs, I took a step back causing the creature to tilt its head more, as if curious about what I had planned. I took another step back, then another. After backing up a few meters, the creature took a single step forward, instantly making our distance between each other the same as before. When it did that, I raised my knife as if that would do anything to ward it off. It tipped.

tilting its head again. We kept backing up like this, me moving a few meters back with multiple steps before it closed that distance with a single step. I was so lost in this that I bumped into the dead bear, causing me to turn around and look at it. The moment my eyes were off the creature, I heard two quick, loud footsteps and turned back to see it only a few meters away from me, its jaw slightly unhinged. I gave up on being careful at that point. I had nothing to do besides the primal control of hopelessly fleeing. I turned and ran while trying to drop my backpack and bow that I had over my shoulders. I successfully dropped my bow on the ground, shedding a little weight during my run. I unsuccessfully tried to take my backpack off one-handed as I had my knife

in my other hand. Running through and cutting myself on multiple branches didn't help. Still, the creature had not managed or chosen to catch up with me yet. After running through a pine tree's bunch of needles, I ended up reaching a steep ravine. It was around eight feet high, and I didn't see it after running through the tree. I fell and covered my head as I rolled down it, my backpack providing little protection during my tumble. When I finally came to a stop at the end of it, I just felt pain all over me, one very noticeable burning pain on my cheek. During the fall, I think my face bashed into the knife. I was out of breath, my body hurt. I dropped my knife and didn't know where it was, and my headlamp turned off during the fall and fell off my head. With the inability to see or

defend myself or even run, being that I was in pain and out of breath, I just laid there and hoped for the best, whatever that could have possibly been. Maybe if I just stayed still, it wouldn't find me. Maybe it would be quick when killing me. I just laid there with my eyes closed, resting my head on my arms. I'm not sure how much time passed like that. There was no sound of the creature being anywhere near me, although that didn't mean anything. It has been close and quiet to me before. Eventually I got to my knees. I didn't know where my headlamp was, and I wasn't too keen on feeling around for it. I took out my phone and turned on its flashlight. I scanned around, finding the headlamp not too far away from me. I grabbed it, put it on, and prepared myself to

turn that one on and look around. There was no way the creature wasn't standing somewhere near me, watching like it usually did. Turning the headlamp on, I did a quick look around, spotting the creature crouched at the top of the hill I fell down. It was looking down at me, likely watching me during the entire time I laid there. Its head was tilted as per usual,

it curiously examining me. I wanted to say something to it, ask it what it wanted, or even just tell it to get it over with, but I just couldn't choke out any words. I rubbed my cheek where the burning sensation was and sure enough, I had a cut there. The creature lowered itself down the hill with ease

and reached out its hand shortly after I checked my cut. I closed my eyes and waited for the obvious. It didn't come through. Instead, I felt its hand rub against my face where the cut was. It then grabbed my sides and lifted me up. Unsure about what it was going to do, I just kept my eyes closed as it elevated me. My heart was pounding.

I was breathing heavily. the feeling was indescribable. I have no clue how to use words to explain the feeling I felt at that very moment. I felt something heavy and hard rest atop my head. Confused, I opened my eyes for a moment, realizing that as it held me in the air, it was resting its bony head on top of mine. As it held me in the air like this,

I considered raising my legs and kicking it to get it to let go of me, but it's not like I had anywhere to run if I did that. It continued to hold me as I expected something more brutal to happen, but it never did. It stopped resting its head on mine and gently lowered me to the ground. It stared at me for a few moments, then with surprising ease scaled the steep hill, heading back to where we just came from, presumably to finish eating the bear. As for me, I took a moment to lean against a tree in shock. I couldn't comprehend what happened.

I was still kind of roughed up from my tumble, and I didn't know where I was. After my moment to rest, I found the things I dropped, scaled the hill to get my bow, and took out my compass. I settled on just walking southwest, which was the general direction of my town. The walk wasn't fun. I hurt, and I kept looking over my shoulder expecting to see it following me. Around an hour of walking later, I reached a gravel road which I followed for another ten or fifteen, minutes back to my town, and then eventually to my house. It was around four in the morning at this point, and everyone was asleep, so I just got some water and went to my room to reflect on what happened

before I went to sleep. I woke up at around 2 p.m., which meant my parents were gone at work. Being alone, I searched the house for the gun-safe keys, which I eventually found hidden in some random decorative candle holder in my parents' bedroom. I grabbed one of our shotguns and left to go retrieve my tent, and whatever else I left in the woods. It was horrible heading back into the woods where I came across that creature less than ten hours beforehand, but I couldn't leave a tent and blankets and other stuff out there to rot. I never encountered the creature again, thankfully, but when I reached my camp I didn't like what was there. Some dried blood was dragged alongside the tent, so I could assume who examined my tent for a bit. It was unzipped, which meant it

learned how to use zippers since the first ever time I encountered it. Inside my tent was my blanket and sleeping bag which were ruffled up as if it looked around in there. The last thing I found was the most messed up. Nearby, left in the charcoal and ashes of my fire, was a dead rabbit. Its head was bitten off, and I could only assume it was some kind of gift or offering or something. After that, I haven't encountered anything creature-related since. By September, I moved away for college to the town of Vermillion, which is surrounded by acres upon acres of empty fields, so no way that thing is going to come all the way out here unnoticed. Before I moved, I brought up what I encountered with my dad when he got home from work because I had to. He is the only person I know who has

encountered the same creature before. He was disturbed, and the last time I talked with him, he planned to move somewhere less rural and away from forests. Looking back on all my experiences, and after some research into cryptids and forest monsters and stuff, I have no idea what that is. At first, I thought it was a Wendigo because of the skullhead, humanoid body, and how it would eat people. Then, after comparing the way they act with my experiences with it, I don't think it is.

It had a female moose skullhead instead of a male deer skullhead, which could be excused. Maybe the female moose skullhead means it's a female variant or, something. I don't know I'm not a Wendigo expert. It never mimicked people ever or even spoke any words, which seems to be a thing Wendigos can do. It did eat people, but it also killed and ate a grizzly bear and killed and ate a rabbit's head. It had the symbol on its skullhead, and it had decorative stuff on its ears. Lastly, I don't think it's a Wendigo because it let me live. It did chase me, watch me, and somehow follow me across the province, but it wasn't to kill me or hurt me.

If anything, it possibly likes me given that when finding me at my weakest, it just held me and rested its head on mine, even leaving me the same animal I had been hunting at my campsite for me. It just doesn't seem like a Wendigo. I considered Skinwalker after that, but it wasn't canine related, and I've never seen a moose around those areas, surprisingly. I feel like if it was a skinwalker, it would just be a moose, and watch me during the day and I wouldn't notice. No one would.

Not only that, the behavior and location are too different to be one. I tried looking into other cryptid and folklore stuff, but none of it is similar enough to my experience of being followed across the province, or to the way the creature looked. I also tried to remember and draw that symbol that was on its head, but I can't remember any of the details of it besides there being a large black dot within a circle. Overall, I'm just at a loss. None of this makes any sense to me,

which is why I'm posting what happened here. I hope someone can provide some insight about what that is, or what it may want with me. As for me, I'm considering a new career choice. The college here in Vermilion is for jobs that typically involve nature, and after that thing found me twice across the province, I'm pretty sure I don't want a job that takes place in the woods. I'm pretty confident that whatever it is,

it would find me again if I did. It doesn't seem to want to kill me. I don't know what it wants with me. Even if I were safe from it, which seems to be the case so far, others wouldn't be because it had probably eat them. I hope someone on here can provide me with some answers or anything. Oh, pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming,

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Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. If you're ever driving down Route 106 in Michigan, and you see a sign for the Greenbrier Motel, you'd better just keep driving. Because there is something terribly wrong here, and the last thing I would want is for more people to die. I started working at the Greenbrier Motel a week ago. It wasn't a dream job by any standards, the night shift at the front desk,

checking people in and out, and doing some inventory in the back. I liked the peace and quiet, though. As a little rundown motel on an isolated highway, it gave me a lot of time to read and play computer games. on the clock. It also helped that the owner, Frank, didn't seem to care that I was a high school dropout with a rap sheet. But on the very first day, I felt that something was terribly off. For one, there was the smell. When the wind shifted, the entire parking lot smelled like rotting meat. I ran to close the windows, but even then I could still smell it. It seeped in through the HVAC system. The motel is surrounded by deep woods, so I figured maybe we were near the

kill grounds of some animal. Or maybe it was just the endless roadkill of deer and possums on the highway. Either way, it was unsettling, and definitely not enjoyable. The other thing that struck me as odd was the guests' rooms. Some of them didn't have windows, and it seemed like that was intentional. I could see the lines in the paint, the seams outlining where windows had once been. When I asked Frank, he told me that some of the guests asked for windowless rooms, that they were in high demand. He didn't elaborate, and honestly, I was a little scared to press him on it. Things went from strange to downright creepy, however, as soon as Frank left. As I got set up at my desk, a woman walked into the room.

She was in her 40s, maybe, with black hair and very pale skin. As soon as she stepped inside, she locked the door behind her. Frank left right? She asked me. Yeah, I replied. Uh, who are you? She introduced herself as Matilda. She'd been working here for a decade, cleaning the motel rooms after the guest checked out. After a few minutes of small talk, she suddenly came up to the counter and lowered her voice. I want to make sure you're safe around here, she said, glancing back toward the door nervously. So I need you to listen to me, okay? My heart dropped. Uh, okay?

Whatever you do, don't ask questions. Just check people in, check them out, and mind your own business. And then, you'll be fine. My stomach did a little flip. Okay, so it was that kind of motel. Illegal business of multiple kinds, probably. All being conducted under our leaky roof. What?

What if the police come? Will I be arrested too? She gave me a blank stare. The police? Say they find evidence of illegal activity in one of the rooms. Will that get me in trouble? I already have shoplifting on my record and can't. She shook her head.

Don't worry about the police. Just don't ask questions. And don't make eye contact or look at their faces for too long. I swallowed. They don't want witnesses. They don't want me to be able to pick them out of a lineup, I thought. Okay. I won't ask questions.

and I won't look at them for too long. Got it. She smiled at me. You have nothing to worry about. As it turned out, though, I did. That night, I checked in three people. They were almost like caricatures, a big, strong guy in sunglasses

that looked like he'd stepped right out of the godfather. A woman dressed to the nines wearing more makeup than a clown. A skinny young guy in a hoodie that smelled like something chemical and strange. But I listened to Matilda. I didn't ask questions. I didn't even ask the questions I should have been asking,

like when hoodie guy gave me an ID that was clearly fake. Don't ask questions, and you'll be fine. I kept repeating that to myself, and I kept my eyes glued to the computer screen, never even glancing up at them. When it hit midnight, I assumed the rest of the night would be smooth sailing. On this lonely stretch of highway, it was unlikely anyone else would check in. I pulled up Minesweeper and played some music on my phone.

My peace and quiet, however, was interrupted by the door swinging open at 2 a.m. I glanced up to see the guy in sunglasses, the guy who looked like he'd stepped out of the godfather. Damn, I knew I should have locked the door. I swallowed and kept my eyes glued to the computer screen as he approached. Can I help you? I asked, watching him in my peripheral vision. Do you have any razors for purchase? I froze. Razors? At 2 a.m.? I instantly got a mental image of him slashing someone up in his room, blood all over the sheets, soaking into the carpet. Uh, no, we don't have any razors, I said,

keeping my eyes on the computer screen. Can you just check in the back, please? he asked. I swallowed. I really, really didn't want to go check. As soon as I turned around, he could do anything. Pull out a gun, tackle me, force me into a chokehold. and keep me hostage, but refusing him was just as bad, if not worse. It might make him mad, really mad. I sat there staring at Minesweeper on the screen, weighing my options, paying close attention to him out of the corner of my eye, and that's when I saw it. There was something off about this guy. His sunglasses looked like they were slightly too low on his face, like the eyes they were covering weren't in quite the right place, and not

Not only that, but I couldn't see his eyebrows above the frames, or the contours of his brow ridge. Everything above the glasses was perfectly flat and smooth, like he had no eye sockets at all. Can you check in the back, please? He asked again, his voice taking on an annoyed tone. Yes, sure. I sprang out of the seat and ducked into the back storage area. I quickly glanced over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't following me.

He wasn't. I had half a mind to just stay there, hiding out in the back storage room, until I heard his voice calling out to me again. Did you find them? He sounded angry, almost furious. Thankfully, I did find a few packaged razors next to some other toiletries we kept. I grabbed them and handed them over. I kept my eyes trained on the floor the whole time.

Thank you, he said, sounding pleased. And that was it. He turned around and left. As soon as the door shut, I ran over and locked it. I closed the blinds and sat back down at the front desk. My heart was hammering in my chest. All I could picture were the strange shapes of his face. And as I sat there, I realized something.

All three guests that I'd checked in since the start of my shift, the Godfather guy, the makeup woman, the hoodie guy. They all had something covering their face or head. I mean, I wasn't exaggerating about the woman. woman having enough makeup for a clown. She was wearing foundation so thick that it cracked around the corners of her eyes and lips, and she wore false eyelashes so long they looked like spider legs. And hoodie guy had kept his hood pulled so tightly over his head that I couldn't see his ears and hair. It was like they all had something to hide. Morning couldn't come soon enough.

As soon as the day shift workers arrived, I got the hell out of there. I floored it back to my house and slept for a long time. I had nightmares all night about faceless people and spidery eyelashes. Then it was time to go back to the motel for night number two. Thankfully, it was a quieter night. Although the vacancy sign glowed brightly in the darkness, no one checked in during my shift. They must have all come earlier during the day. So I locked the door, sat down with a cup of coffee, and enjoyed some reading in the quiet. Unfortunately, the quiet didn't last long. Around midnight I heard a loud slam from outside. I threw my book down and ran over to the window.

The door to room 16 was wide open. I looked around. Nobody appeared to be outside. The parking lot and the sidewalk were empty. The room itself was dark. None of the lights were on. I walked over to the computer and looked up the room. To my surprise, no one had booked it for tonight.

Should I go out and close the door? I hesitated. It was late. There was no one around except for the occasional passing car. If someone had broken into that room and then attacked me, there would be no one to hear me scream. So I kept the door locked tight and opened up the security camera feed instead. As I rewound it, I saw what happened. The door had opened, and then a woman had walked out of it.

I couldn't see her face, just her long, dark hair. She then disappeared into room 22. I checked room 22 on the computer. It was booked to a woman named Cassandra Johnson. I frowned. It looked like Cassandra might be going into our vacant rooms and possibly stealing stuff. Matilda must have forgotten to lock up the room after she cleaned it. I sighed, opened the door, and began walking toward the open room.

I thought of knocking on room 22, but then decided against it. Keep your nose out of other people's business. I just lock up room 16 and go back to the lobby like a good look. little employee. I walked toward the open room, but as soon as I got close, a horrible smell drifted out of the room, like something rotting, decaying. My stomach turned. What did Cassandra do in there? Throw up, stash all her garbage in there? I reached into the darkness of the room, bracing myself, I flicked on the light. The room looked normal. The bed was made, the carpet was clean, but the smell only got stronger. I pinched my nose as I glanced around starting to feel

nauseous, and then I saw it. There was something on the carpet, just barely poking out from the other side of the bed. What is that? It was tan and folded over itself, like a beige sheet or pillowcase had been bunched up on the other side, but all our sheets were white. I stepped into the room, my heart pounding in my chest. Hello? I called out. Nothing. The smell got even worse as I approached the bed. Nausea washed over me. I forced myself to keep going, pinching my nose, swallowing down the urge to throw up. I peered over the side of the bed and froze. There was a pile of beige, slightly translucent material folded over itself on the other side,

but I instantly recognized certain shapes attached to it. Awfully familiar shapes, like five fingers. It looked like a glove made of skin, poking out from under one of the folds. It looked like someone had shed their skin. I stepped back, my legs shaking underneath me. It can't be. I backed away toward the door, my throat dry, because it didn't make sense.

It didn't even make sense for it to be a murder. There wasn't any blood on it. It hadn't been cut off someone. It was like a snake skin, clean and perfect, holding the shape of its wearer like a ghost. I ran out of the room and saw, walking toward me down the sidewalk, the woman from room 22. Strands of her dark, straight hair, hung over her face,

but I could tell, through her hair, that there was something wrong with her face. Her eyes and lips were in slightly the wrong position. She walked toward me, fast. Her shoes clicked on the pavement. I didn't want to find out what she'd do if she caught me. I whipped around and ran as fast as I could. I could hear her running behind me. She was running much faster than what I thought possible in her heels.

But I forced myself to go faster and faster until I was inside the lobby. I clicked the lock shut and collapsed in the back room where she couldn't see me. That's when the whistling started. Just outside the door I could hear her, whistling. The source of the sound shifted as she circled the lobby area looking for a way in. I heard it at the door, then at the back. then through the side windows, then back at the front door. This went on for an hour.

Finally, the whistling faded, but I didn't move. I stayed there. I huddled in the back storage room until dawn broke. As soon as the day shift arrived, I booked it out of there as fast as I could. I wanted to quit. With everything the way it is, I wanted to just walk away. But I needed the money. I already knew how hard it was.

finding a job with a rap sheet. It was either go back to the job or face eviction, so I went back. When I got on shift, though, I pulled Matilda aside and told her what I'd seen. I asked her again and again if my life was in danger, asked her what the hell was going on here, if other people were in danger too.

I promise you, as long as you mind your own business, you'll be safe. So that's what I did. I kept my head down. And for the next few days, nothing really happened. Sure, there were a few people who checked in that were wearing hats or sunglasses or extra makeup, but I just tried to avoid eye contact with them, tried to keep my head down and my nose out of other people's business, but then came that one night in November. It was raining then, I remember. The rain came down in sheets, and every so often I heard

thunder shake the windows. I wasn't expecting anyone to come in that night. I didn't see that many cars driving by on the highway. The rain seemed to keep everybody in. But then I heard a knock. When I looked up, I saw a man staring in the window. A chill ran down my spine. He was wearing a hoodie that kept his face mostly in shadow, and he was aggressively banging on the window. It was like he was in a hurry. I grabbed the mace I kept under the counter and slipped it into my pocket. Then I approached the window. Do you have any vacancies? He asked in a low voice. I could barely hear him over the pounding rain. The vacancy sign glowed brightly behind him.

There's no way he could have missed it. Yeah, come on in, I said. I unlocked the door with one hand and gripped the mace in my pocket with the other. He stepped inside. Rain dripped off his jacket and onto the floor. I barely glanced at him. I just turned around and walked back around the counter. Then I sat down at the computer, keeping my eyes fixed on the screen.

In my peripheral vision, I could see him, leaning over the counter. His face was only about a foot or two from mine, so close that I could smell the stale mothball odor coming off his clothes, so close I could hear drops of water plopping onto the counter from his sleeve. Can you go faster? he asked, his voice raspy in his throat. Sorry, sir, I'm going fast as I can, I replied, my heart starting to pound. It's an old computer. My fingers slipped on the mouse as I rushed to click the buttons.

I don't have all day. He growled, leaning even closer to me. I wanted to look at him. My eyes were itching to glance up at the man that was six inches from my face. But I forced myself to stare at the screen. Whatever the hell was going on here, I was not going to be a witness. I was not going to look up and find myself face to face with a Smith and Wesson. Your name? I asked.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I froze. I needed a name to book the room. That's all. But maybe he wouldn't see it that way. Maybe I wasn't supposed to ask for names. Maybe that was part of Frank's understanding with certain guests. Thankfully, nothing happened. After a second of hesitation, he replied, Daniel Jones.

The name struck me as fake, common first name, common last name. But who even cared at this point? I typed his name into the system and completed the booking process. He paid for the room in cash, which was another thing that made me uneasy, but I tried not to worry about it. I turned my back and took a key off the hook. Room seven, I said, handing it to him. He thanked me, and then waited by the door. I waited for a minute, then too.

But he didn't leave. Do you need something? I asked, careful not to make eye contact. Can you escort me to my room? Oh, hell no. There was no way I could go out there, in the middle of the night. With this creepy guy, that was like a death sentence. I glanced out the window and spotted his car, a beat-up sedan in one of the nearby parking spaces.

The murder scenario played out in my head. Shove me into the hotel room, kill me, stick my body in the trunk, then throw it in the middle of the woods, or maybe worse. Maybe my skin would end up crumpled on the floor of one of the rooms. Maybe he'd take my form or turn me into something that sheds its skin like a snake, that has eyes too low on its face, or no eye sockets at all. And the longer I looked at him in the corner of my eye, the more I noticed things about him. There were smears of dirt on his sleeves and on the hem of his pants. Like he's been digging a grave, the voice in my head added.

His face, half hidden in shadow, was sunken and gaunt. His jaw was covered in gray stubble. His teeth were a horrible shade of grayish yellow. Can't you just go yourself? I have something that I, uh, need to do here. My boss is going to get pissed. You can take two minutes to walk me to my room, damn it. I sat there in stunned silence.

He sounded furious. My heart pounded in my ears. Okay, I said finally. my fingers curled around the mace in my pocket, and then I joined him by the door. I'll walk you to your room. He didn't thank me. He just grabbed the door and swung it open. It nearly swung back in my face.

I stepped out into the pouring rain with him. The parking lot was like a lake, and our feet slashed loudly through the water. The cold water seeped through my sneakers, and I shivered. I followed the man to his car, staying a good 15 feet away. He popped the trunk and I held my breath, but thankfully there was only a duffel bag inside. He hoisted it on his shoulder and started for Room 7. I followed him at a distance, staying several feet away, watching him fidget with the key. You got a lot of other people staying here right now?

He asked, as he slid the key into the lock. Some, I replied. Not great weather for it, he said. Not really. The storm's supposed to clear tomorrow. It'll be good weather then. Wow, this is taking a while, I thought to myself. That's when I looked down at his hands and noticed that he wasn't really trying to get into his room.

He was just inserting the key, pausing, and then pulling it out, over and over again. He was stalling for time. He was keeping me here, on purpose. I looked up from his hands just in time to see him staring at me. His blue eyes were intense, studying me. I wanted to run away. Every inch of me was screaming to get out of there. But the guy had six inches on me and was really thin.

He'd probably catch me in seconds. I was never much of a runner. I slipped my hand in my pocket, curling my fingers around the mace. Do you need help getting into your room? I asked. He shook his head. I'm going to go back to the front desk, I said, taking a step back. As soon as I said that, he froze.

His eyes widened as he stared at me. Slowly he shook his head, his lips stretching into a grimace that showed his yellowed teeth. Don't go, he growled. His voice barely audible above the rain. Stay exactly where you are. I leapt into action. I whipped the mace out of my pocket and held it in front of me, pointing it right at him. Don't get any closer. My finger hovered over the trigger, and then I heard it. Someone was whistling, behind me, somewhere in the rain. The song cut through the raindrops like a knife. It was the same eerie tune that woman had whistled a few days ago. I'm sorry, the man said quietly.

His blue eyes locked on mine. But I needed bait. I stared at him. My brain couldn't even process what he was saying. Bate. I took a stumbling step back. The whistling grew louder. I whipped around.

Through the rain I could see someone walking through the parking lot. barely lit by the flickering street lamp. The mace fell from my hands and clattered to the ground. Then I turned and ran as fast as I could toward the lobby. The whistling stopped, and then I could hear loud, splashing footsteps, growing louder with every second behind me. I swung the door open, slammed it shut, and turned the lock. I pulled the blinds down over the window. Panting, I opened them with my fingers and peered out into the night.

There was a woman standing in the park. parking lot, the same woman I had seen a week ago. Her hair and clothes were drenched with rain, but she was smiling, this big crooked grin that sent chills down my spine, and her eyes were strange, wide and wild, incredibly light blue. In the darkness it almost looked like she didn't have irises at all, just two pinholes for pupils, staring right at my door. She took a step forward. I ran over to my desk, grabbed my cell phone, started dialing nine. One-1-1. Come on, come on. Operator? I'm at the Greenbrier Motel and there's this guy and this weird woman. I was cut off by a loud thump nearby. I ran to the window and looked out. The man who'd booked

room seven was running toward the woman. He was holding something up in the air. A short dagger, shining silver in the rain. He's attacking her, I screamed into the phone. The woman's face changed. Her features twisted. Her grin crept up to her eyes. Her arms cracked and stretched. She blinked, and her eyes turned pure white. Her body twisted unnaturally at the waist, so that she was facing the man. With fast jolted movements, she leapt at him. Within seconds, he was dead.

She stood on all fours above him. Her knees bent the wrong way, her fingers far too long. With another horrible crackling sound, her neck stretched out two feet long, twisting like a snake. and then she looked at me. I leapt away from the window with a scream. I opened my mouth, tried to speak, but only a squeaking sound came out. By the time I made it back over to the window, the woman was standing there, looking down at her kill. She looked normal.

Then she stepped over his body and walked toward the rooms. To my horror, she pulled out a key and opened room 22. Then she disappeared inside. The police arrived a few minutes later. I begged them to check room 22. that something horrible was lurking inside. But then they knocked on the door, and a completely normal-looking woman opened it. I watched from the lobby. I couldn't hear that much of their conversation over the pouring rain, but they weren't arresting her, weren't accusing her.

They seemed to just be having a friendly chat, asking her what she'd seen. Then they thanked her, and came back to me. We'll need to see the security tapes from tonight, please, the officer said. but when I showed them the tapes they got quiet. One of the officers made a call to someone saying something about an infestation. The other two officers ushered me out into the lobby, their face is serious. They told me not to leave as they talked among themselves in hushed voices in the corner of the room. Then they approached. You didn't see anything tonight, one of the officers said, leaning in close.

You got that? But what about... Listen to me very carefully, he interrupted lowering his voice. You didn't see anything, just like you never shoplifted in your life. What? You understand me? he asked. The silence stretched out between us. Yeah, I got it, I said, my voice wavering. I didn't see anything.

I left the motel that night and never went back. I planned to never speak of what I saw, to keep my mouth shut just like they told me to. But after many sleepless nights, I realize that I need to warn people. I need to warn you. I can't have another person dying because of these things, whatever they are. So I'm begging you. If you're driving through Michigan and see that there's a vacancy at the Greenbrier Motel, keep driving.