Lighthouse Horror Podcast - If Your Car Breaks Down By The Forest, DON'T Get Out | Scary Stories

Episode Date: September 13, 2023

It's out there.  Story from zachariusfrost Make sure to check out more of their work at u/zachariusfrost                           Original Post: The phone call from my daughter led to the most terrifying experience of my life : r/nosleep                                     Original YouTube link: If Your Car Breaks Down By The Forest, DON'T Get Out            For more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel: Lighthouse Horror | YouTube  Patreon: Lighthouse Horror | Patreon Merch: lighthousehorror.com  Sound Effects: Freesound Zapsplat  Music: Lucas King - YouTube Myuu - YouTube  Incompetech Darren Curtis Music - YouTube Thank you for listening to this scary story! If you enjoyed this new creepypasta story, please check out some of my other horror stories. We'll be uploading new episodes every day, featuring ghost stories, haunted encounters, mysteries, true stories, creepypasta, and anything supernatural and paranormal. Don't miss out on the thrill and suspense that await you in each episode!

My daughter is a freshman in high school this year, and up until now has remained relatively clean in terms of the usual high schooler antics. My wife and I, of course, don't condone underage drinking or partying, but we know it's likely going to happen regardless of what we say. We both agreed long ago that we would always do our best to educate our kids on the dangers and try our best to influence them away from that lifestyle. I've had numerous talks with both my son and daughter about this, and made sure to reiterate, that I don't want them partying, but I'm not able to control their entire lives either. My request that I have repeated ad nauseum to them is that if they're ever in danger or in an unsure situation, to please call me. I don't care what time it is or where they are, I'll go pick them up, no questions asked, and no grudges held. Better than them getting into the car

with some underage drunk driver or something. Because we've all heard the horror stories of people's lives being changed forever by one stupid decision. My son has never once taken me up on that offer, and I hope that means he's been responsible. Until last week, my daughter hadn't either, but I'm glad she did, even though it ended up being one of the most terrifying nights of our lives. My phone began to blare loudly on the side table, stirring me from a deep sleep. With a stark sudden nervousness, I leaned over and silenced the annoying tone, glimpsing with a pirate eye stare at my bright phone. The name Amelia illuminated brightly on my screen, and immediately my heart sank. It was just past 2 a.m., and everyone knows nothing good ever happens

that late at night. Hello? Dad? Hey, I'm sorry to call so late. No, no, no, no, it's fine, honey. What's up? You okay? Yeah, I'm fine. We were driving home and my friend's car broke down. Is there any way you could come pick us up?" My heart breathed a small sigh of relief then and I tried to gather my mind. I told her I would of course come and get her and over the next few minutes she described her location as I got myself dressed.

She was a good half an hour drive away and basically just on the side of a rural stretch of road. She didn't mention exactly what they were doing out there and in that moment it didn't cross my mind to ask. I pulled my truck out of the complex, maybe ten minutes later, and texted Amelia that I was on my way. Thankfully, the roads were clear at 2 a.m., and I was well on my way to her in no time, making much better time than the drive would have normally taken me. Only then did I start to realize they probably could have just called roadside assistance and requested service. Would have saved me a long drive on a work night, but after all, I'd always told Amelia to

call me if she needed help, and I'm glad she did. After entering the highway, I felt my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and once again saw an incoming call from Amelia. Dad, are you almost here? She spoke suddenly, as I answered. A distinct nervousness obvious in her voice. Yeah, yeah, about ten minutes out, you okay? She paused on the other end. I heard one of her friends say something in the background, but I couldn't decipher what it was. Dad, there's somebody out here. There is, down by that post." Another girl spoke from the other end.

What do you mean? Is somebody threatening you? Dad, something's wrong. And then the line cut out. I glanced at my phone to see that the call had failed. After trying and failing several times to call her back, I eventually gave up due to lack of service. My heart was throbbing in my chest.

And an increased desperation caused me to stomp down harder on the gas pedal. A few minutes later and my phone began to buzz in the center console once again. And once again it was Amelia. Amelia, are you there? Dad, something's wrong. I'm almost there, Amelia. Hold on. Are you safe?

What's going on? There was no response from the other end. Sometimes when I have bad reception, people can call me and speak, but they can't hear me respond. I figured that's what was happening until she spoke again. Dad, something's wrong. I felt a wave of chills run through me. Something about the situation had unnerved me then. The way Amelia spoke, it was the same every single time, almost like it was a recording. The area she'd told me they were located at was about 15 minutes away from the nearest town

on the way to a patch of wilderness. A lot of people go there. there for camping and whatnot, but the roads were near empty that night. Endless rows of trees lined either side of the road, and a cold sweat dampened my brow as I stomped on the gas pedal. A few minutes later, I finally spotted something up ahead. A lone Superoo outback on the opposite side of the road. As I got near, I squinted to see better, but saw that no one was inside. I was fairly certain it was one of Amelia's friends' cars, and since I hadn't seen any others,

I figured it had to be them. I pulled my truck up behind it and my headlights beamed through the back window, but I didn't see anyone. Amelia! I called out from my window, but got no response. I killed my engine, then, grabbing my Glock from under the seat and stashing it in the back of my pants. The chilly air gnawed against my skin as I stepped out into the road.

There was an eerie silence. The back-left tire on the outback was completely flat. And I figured that's why Amelia had called. I hope that's all it was, but the fact that she wasn't there was distressing. Amelia! I called out again. I checked my phone again, but found it was displaying the searching message in place of the bars. The inside of the car was empty when I looked through it, and I shuddered to imagine what could

have possibly possessed them to leave their car. None of the possible answers I concluded were good. I called out to her a few more times as I searched around the area, but never got a response. On the side of the road, I noticed something laying in the wild grass. As I got closer, I realized it was a purse with a bunch of items spilled out of it. I didn't think it was one of Amelia's, but it was obviously a bad sign. Something was very wrong about the situation. It felt like I was being watched. The discarded purse clearly indicated that whoever it belonged to, probably went out into the woods. I knew what I had to do. But the fear that

overcame me when I considered going into those woods was among the strongest I've ever felt. Every self-preservation in me was screaming for me to not go into those woods. But my little girl was out there and fleeing was not an option. I made my way to the tree line and entered the woods. The only light I had on me was my phone's flashlight, and it wasn't much. It was at least better than making calls, though, and surely better than nothing. Each step I took seemed to crash like thunder, when contrasted with the eerily silent night, each dried leaf like a glass vase shattering on impact, and I did my best to move as quietly and efficiently as possible. The Glock remained in my right hand at all times.

In the distance, I started to hear the sounds of trickling water. There was nothing really indicative of anyone having been in there, so I decided to just go towards it. I thought for a second that maybe one of them was bleeding and went to the water to wash off a cut or something, even though that'd be a terrible idea. By that point, I was just internally scrambling for answers or any sort of clue. A minute later, and I stumbled into a small clearing and found the brook I'd heard earlier, The small stream extended a wavering path both directions, with thick foliage covering much

of the bank. On the other side was a small incline which led deeper into the woods, but once again there was no immediate signs that anyone had been there. I really started to panic then, but calling out seemed like a worse idea every time I did it. At the same time, though, I had to do something. My mind just wouldn't stop racing about some lunatic serial killer or a little bit of a human trafficker, every father's worst nightmare. After a few moments, I finally decided to turn around and head back towards the road.

As I veered back, I stepped by the bank and was able to see around the small bend in the creek. On the other side of an angled tree, I saw something that made me nearly jump out of my skin. Someone was crouching there on the edge of the stream. It was a young woman with dark hair, dressed in a hoodie in blue jeans. As I lifted the light towards her, I realized I recognized her. Natasha, can you hear me? Are you all right? She didn't react at all as I made my way over to her.

She was just crouched there in a sitting position, staring up the incline on the opposing side of the stream. Natasha, hey, it's Amelia's dad. You okay? Where's Amelia? Natasha again didn't react in any way. As I finally shine the light on her face, I just saw she was staring emotionless. She didn't even look at me. Her eyes were like saucers, dilated so heavily that no color was visible.

Considering it was night, that wasn't entirely strange on its own. But what was strange is that I noticed her pupils didn't shrink at all when I shined the light on her. Natasha. I put my hand on her shoulder, but again got no reaction. I could tell she was breathing, but clearly she wasn't all there. She seemed entirely catatonic, like she was trapped in some sort of hypnotic state. I shook her by the shoulder, calling her name and even flicked water on her from the stream, but she didn't react in any way whatsoever.

It was really unnerving, but selfishly I was still more worried about Amelia. I thought about just letting her wait there and returning for her. She obviously wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. And then the idea hit me that maybe it was too late for Amelia. That thought alone nearly crippled me. And I knew that whatever happened, I had to get Natasha out. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the ground. Her skin was cold to the touch, and with her locked position, and almost gave the impression

that she was frozen stiff. Thankfully Natasha is rather small, so I was able to carry her back to her back. towards the road with little issue. A minute or two later I got back to my truck and placed Natasha in the backseat. Her utterly silent demeanor and complete lack of reaction had really started to worry me. Just to be sure, I felt her pulse on her neck, and as I anticipated it was there, feeling pretty much normal actually. After loading her in the truck, I locked it and resumed my search for Amelia. It was then I noticed that the back left tire on the outback was not only, but I was flat, but absolutely shredded. It looked like it had been flat, but they continued driving on

it for several miles. The tread was torn open, revealing the silver rim underneath. As I was inspecting it, I suddenly thought I saw something underneath the car. As I leaned down, I once again got a huge jump scare. Amelia. Amelia, you okay? There she was, lying prone underneath the car. Like Natasha, she was unresponsive, no matter how many questions I asked her. I could see her back moving rhythmically up and down, so I knew she was breathing. Her eyes were open wide. And like Natasha, her pupils were like saucers. I had to basically drag her out from underneath a car.

All the while, she didn't react in any way. She just appeared in this day state. Like she was thankfully still alive, but not fully conscious. I've never seen anything like that with her or anyone else before. As soon as she was out from under the car, she suddenly lurched and wrapped herself into the fetal position. It startled me greatly, and I thought it meant she was back to normal. But after questioning her again, I still got no reaction.

I loaded her into the truck as well. Natasha still sat there as she had before, and the sight of them both curled up and unresponsive like that really affected me. As I rounded the back of my truck, I then came upon an incredibly worrying discovery. The back left tire on my truck was suddenly flat as well. A few dozen curse words slipped from my lips as I debated my options. The jack was underneath a back seat where Amelia and Natasha were. I spun around to look at the tree line on the other side of the road. Someone was messing with me, and I prayed that's all they were doing. Considering the state of both Amelia and Natasha, however, that didn't seem very likely.

I glanced around the vicinity, but nothing appeared immediately wrong, nothing I could see at least. Dad! Amelia's voice suddenly called out, but it wasn't Amelia who'd spoken it. It came from the other side of the road. I spun around, but I saw nothing. I heard nothing aside from that familiar voice and uncanny tone. Dad, something's wrong.

It was Amelia's voice again. And it was spoken the same way I'd last heard it on the phone. It kept repeating, and the voice seemed to distort the more it repeated. My legs finally resumed function beneath me, and I'd seen enough. I just got back into the truck with my hands trembling so bad that I should have struggled to hit the push start. Finally I did, and the truck fired back to life. Outside, I could still hear the voice repeating, but it seemed to change location every time it did. The first few were off to the left of us on the opposite side of the road, but then it came

from behind me, then up ahead, with only a few seconds interval between each repetition. branches snapped to my left, and something came out of the woods. Suddenly I felt woozy, light-headed, and like I was about to pass out. It wasn't like the feeling of being drunk, though. It was far more terrifying than that. It was like something was being drained from my body. The thing emerged fully from the woods, looming like a shadow. I can't even begin to describe it, not only because of my extremely blurred state,

of mind, but because it just feels wrong to do so. I saw other things in the woods, or at least I think I did. So much of this feels like a dream now. It's like I don't know whether I can even trust my own account anymore. Something was out there, though. Something horrible. I could feel the claws of utter madness scraping against the last frayed remnants of my mind. Somehow though, I managed to move the shifter into drive.

With no regard for the flat tire, I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. It felt like driving with a fish bowl on my head while being upside down. My reactions and muscle memory were just disoriented beyond belief. I have no doubt I was swerving all over the road, and thankfully no one else was around. By some miracle of fate, I managed to keep the truck on the road for a long enough time. The delirious sensations seemed to lessen the further away I got. After several minutes of driving, I felt mostly back to my normal state of mind. A few minutes later, and I pulled my shrieking truck into the hospital parking lot.

By that point, the tire was almost completely gone, and I probably ruined my differential, but none of that mattered to me. I ran inside the hospital and got some of the staff at the front counter, telling them I had two girls that needed help. The staff followed me out, and I picked up the still unresponsive Amelia from the backseat. The security guard picked up Natasha, and we carried them back inside. The nurses asked me what had happened, and I didn't even know what to tell him. I ended up just saying most of what actually happened, and that I'd found them in the woods. The staff eyed me, and I could tell they didn't trust me. And I don't blame them either,

as I did show up with two underage girls in the middle of the night and under very strange circumstances. I doubt they'd ever seen anyone in conditions like that. The girls very much appeared like they'd been drugged, and although I told them I was Amelia's father, I don't blame them for being suspicious of me. Even as the police showed up and began questioning me, I forced myself to remain calm for the sake of Amelia. They asked me what had happened, and I told them pretty much everything I've written here. today, but in the most rational means I could explain. I told them I thought someone had abducted

and drug them, but I didn't see who it was. No way they'd ever believe the more worrying details of the experience. The cops kept me there in the lobby, not arresting me, but not allowing me to go be with Amelia either. Eventually I called my wife. She arrived at the hospital a little while later. I then had to explain everything a third time to her, and she was able to substantiate my claims. The cops eventually radioed into their dispatch and requested officers to go and investigate the scene. My wife knew something was up with me. She knew I was rattled. One of the nurses came out a little while later and informed us that both girls had been sedated and were now sleeping peacefully. I asked if they'd found anything wrong with them, but they said

everything was normal as far as they could tell. I was exhausted by then, and I ended up falling asleep on the lobby's couch not long after. I had some pretty severe nightmares then, but I can't remember the details of them now. My wife shook me awake sometime later, and as I opened my eyes, I saw the sun had risen, and the lobby had many other people coming and going. I was finally permitted to go and see Amelia, and thankfully she seemed fully conscious and back to her normal self. The same was true for Natasha, whose parents had also shown up. Thankfully, both girls were cleared to return home a few hours later with a full bill of health. In the following days, more details would be added about the case, but they've just made

all of this more difficult to understand. Amelia and Natasha both tested negative for common drugs used to incapacitate victims. They drug tested me as well, but as expected it also came back negative. On the following morning, the cops went and checked out the area where I found the girls. Natasha's car was still there in virtually the same state I'd found it in. They searched the surrounding woods, but weren't able to find much of relevance. As of now, I've been cleared of any wrongdoing in the case, but that doesn't mean things have been resolved.

The cops questioned me extensively about the night, and I tried to help them in every way I could. I even told them, I thought I'd seen someone approach. approaching my truck as I fled, but stopped short of implying anything beyond that. If you've read all of this, then you may be of the same assumption that I am, and came to a similar but far more unbelievable conclusion. There was something unnatural about that night, and although I hesitate to use the word paranormal, I'm really struggling to find a better word for it. Amelia has no memory of what happened to her.

She said the last thing she remembers was Natasha pulling the car over after they got a flat tire. She doesn't remember crawling under the car or me carrying her to the truck. Next thing she said she actively remembers was waking up in the hospital. And Natasha's account was pretty much the same. I've had some horrific nightmares these last couple days. Nothing in particular I can recall. Just distorted visions of horrific creatures. Amelia has had them too.

And I suspect, though I'm not certain, that Natasha has had the same. I'll be honest, some of the things Amelia has told me lately really has me worried. She said she's seen things that she knows aren't there, and heard voices she knows don't exist. Based on the things she's mentioned, I'm starting to get worried she might be schizophrenic. She's never had these issues before that night, and I really hope it isn't the case. I don't have a good explanation for what happened that night. And all the research I've done hasn't helped much. As of now, I'm hoping I can just write this event off and move on with my life.

But I have this horrible feeling it won't be that easy. If anyone has any theories about what the hell happened that night, please share them with me. I'm open to any and all potential explanations. One thing I do know is that whatever I saw that night, night, it's still out there, and that thought terrifies me more than anything else.