Just Creepy: Scary Stories - The SCARIEST National Park Horror Stories For A Summer Night

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

These are The SCARIEST National Park Horror Stories For A Summer Night Linktree: https://linktr.ee/its_just_creepy Story Credits: ►Sent in to https://www.justcreepy.net/ Timestamps: 00:00 Into 00:00:18 Story 1 00:17:31 Story 2 00:31:32 Story 3 00:41:52 Story 4 00:51:27 Story 5 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 #nationalpark #nationalforest #parkrangerstories #deepwoods 💀As always, thanks for watching! 💀

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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 22, 19, and 17 years old, respectively, the word dangerous was all we needed to hear. We gathered all the information about the cave's whereabouts, then headed out around 6 a.m. 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-now-now-where 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. 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 and 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 one. 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 ten 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 a million caves at this point,

and this one is no different than any of the others. Colin 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-womers 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 pounds. 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 a 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. 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 head. 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, Colin 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 brothers 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 reached the end of the tunnel, the sooner we'd turn around and spring for the surface. Still, we pressed on the, 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 led 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 stonework. 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 hundred 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 bare 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 like. 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 unspile. an 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 road, 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 two 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 cleanup 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 brothers 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 Bose moment. You've been there before.

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Take noise-canceling headphones. Do they block hearing to heightened taste? Mmm. That sound seems to show. Everything happens for a Reese's. 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 and 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 of the same. 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 a quarter to a half 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 a very much more. 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

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, one 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 a.m. 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 a little bit. 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 passed through the area several times,

zigzagging into steeper areas. Fortunately, they never came past me, 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. Exema is unpredictable.

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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 eight 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 four. 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, two 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 one 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 nighttime. 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, one by one. 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 a.m., I 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 a.m. the mountain was still burning, but the thousand-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's 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 okay 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 off-season. 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 braw. The brush was thick, and the branches tore at my skin as I pushed my way through. 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 sped 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 a number. 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 the that place, and I would never go hiking alone again. The memory of that day, the fear and the

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and choose from three tiers of parts, including GMOE or gold and silver aftermarket parts. Visit gmparts.com for more information. 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 okay back there? I asked, glancing at her in the rearview 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 turnoff. 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 want to, 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.

Okay, 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 toward 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 okay 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, okay? 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. 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 its 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 moved 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 desert. 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 rearview 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.

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