The Dark Somnium - I Encountered Something Terrifying While Camping in The Woods

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

This Creepypasta scary story is from the nosleep subreddit, written by StrangeAccounts, make sure to check out the original story and support the author: "I Encountered Something Terrifying While Camping in The Woods" https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/6hcpye/when_it_rains_in_the_woods/Special thanks to @RomNex and @DusklightRadio for joining me in this! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's raining again. To be honest with you, I'm terrified of rain. I never leave the house when it's storming outside. But to give myself some credit, I never used to be like this. I used to love watching the rain fall from outside the windows, but now I always have my curtains pulled tight across the edges of the window sill. I wish I could show you what made me the way I am, partly to warn you, partly to verify myself. But I can't. I can only write out my story like it's some sort of fantasy, as if it's just another bizarre

story on the internet that deserves to be forgotten in a week. If you see it like that, then that's fine. I won't forget. I'll never forget. In 2012, I was a 21-year-old college student. I was basically madly in love with nature and all things wild. I had spent my childhood roaming up and down tree lines, fantasizing about mythical creatures and fantastic monsters.

Now, there I was in 2012 as an adult, studying forestry with dreams of defending those tree lines and fantasies I held so dear. I was absolutely ecstatic when my professor announced an opportunity for some extra credit. He suggested that we spend a few days of our upcoming break, walking along some trails and paths, to remind ourselves why we are doing what we're doing. As an avid hiker, I knew a hiking trail a few hours from our town that offered plenty of room, to walk with very little crowding. The only ones who really walked more than a few minutes down the trail were the park rangers,

and the chances of seeing one of them on the ever-winding and expanding trails of the forest seemed small. Hey, Lily, want to take a trip down to the preserve with me? I asked as the school day came to an end. The girl next to me, Lily, was a quiet and sweet girl. She had long brunette hair that stretched just past her shoulders and gentle green eyes. She was the type of person who people admired from afar, beautiful but silent. A passing joke or a compliment would make her smile, but she'd very rarely comment back.

To most, that'd make them move on to the next person. To me, that made me want to be closer to her. We'd been friends for a while at this point. Whether or not any sort of romantic interest was had between us, I couldn't say. We just knew we connected on some sort of level. Yeah, of course. Just tell me when. She looked into my eyes with a soft smile on her face.

I smiled back at her. I hoped this trip would turn out well. A few days passed. Lily and I spent more free time in stores gathering food, supplies, and tents together. Soon enough, we were all packed up and ready to head out. We took my small car with our bags tied down on the roof and took the highway a few hours east. By the time we got there, it was mid-afternoon. still plenty of time to walk, but also a bad time to find parking.

There were plenty of people walking their dogs, setting up lunches and walking the paths. I thought you said it'd be quiet. Lily asked with a slight snicker. I rolled my eyes in response. I'm sure these kids are just planning on hiking a few days in. It'll get quiet, I promise. I spun around and began taking our large packs off the roof of the vehicle. For as big as they were, they were surprisingly easy to carry.

Lily slipped the straps over her shoulders and waited for me to start heading toward the park. As we approached the trail's entrance, we saw a ranger loosely standing guard. You guys heading in? He asked. There was no hostility or caution in his tone. He was just merely asking a simple question. Yeah, that's all right, right? I questioned with the fit middle-aged man.

Of course. Just let me know your names and take my card. If you need anything, call down to the station. There's a couple of rangers shacks deeper in. Feel free to use them if you need to. Just make sure to clean up. The ranger gave me a welcoming smile and handed me a small business card for the local ranger station. Thank you.

Oh, my name's Max and this is Lily. Lily gave a small nod at the ranger and he nodded back respectfully. Well, Max and Lily, you enjoy yourselves out there. We'll be patrolling around so if you see us. Don't be scared to say hi. With those words, the ranger backed away from the entrance and we'd be began our trek. We spent half the first day slowly walking in quiet appreciation. There's something so liberating about walking with no time limit. It's like all the world's stress

slides right off your back, and the only thing you have to worry about is yourself. In that exact moment, you're all that matters. No bills, no studies, no cares, just avoid snakes and strange plants, and you're all set. It wasn't too long into our journey before the sun began to nestle itself behind the trees and the warm, but steadily dropping temperature of the late afternoon winds began sweeping under our sweaty clothes. Let's find a clearing to settle in, too. Lily said, her head tilting from one direction to the other, looking for a place to set up. I nodded in approval and saw a small opening further down the path, and clearly made by others

who took a similar trip. It only took a few minutes to set up our tents in the clearing and start a small fire. After all that walking and hard work, we were finally ready to get off our feet for a while. Lily plopped herself down on the opposite side of the fire I was sitting at and pulled out a granola bar to eat. I felt a rumble in my stomach and pulled out one of my own. This place is really beautiful. She said, taking a large bite out of the bar. Yeah, haven't seen any animals yet, though.

I unwrapped my food and placed it on my lips, ready to take a bite. I quickly glanced over at Lily and froze. In the increasingly darkening forest just off the trail, just behind Lily, was something about the size of a football. It was cloaked in the darkness, but I assumed it had to have been some sort of small critter. I began to squint my eyes, trying to focus on it, but whatever it was seemed to fade out of existence, going straight into the ground. Everything all right? Lily asked. I realized I must have seemed like I was staring at her with food half in my mouth.

I laughed and shrugged, shaking my head soft. Yeah, sorry. I thought I saw an animal or something off in the woods. It was small. It could have just been a rabbit or something. It must have burrowed into the ground, though. My friend peered over her shoulder into the silent woods and looked around. I knew she wouldn't see anything. Whatever it was left as quickly as I caught sight of it. We ended up finishing our meal, extinguishing the fire, and climbing into our separate tents. I slept like a log. All of that walking put me out like a light. It wasn't in time. the morning that I woke up. I stumbled out of the tent, nearly tripping on the small fabric ledge at the exit of my portable shelter. The hot and humid summer morning hit me like a pile of bricks. Just so you know, I think we need to watch out for snakes. Lily said softly while I was wiping my brow. I looked over at her to see her undoing the tent supports from the forest floor. Did you see one? I asked, bending down and following suit with the camp cleanup. I think so. I heard something rubbing.

on the bottom of my tent last night. I opened my eyes and the indents on my walls look like a pretty thick snake trying to wiggle its way in. She didn't seem bothered by the potential late-night visitor, so I kept her warning in my mind, but continued on. As our journey went on, we realized that every step we took there was another blotch in the sky. Somehow a storm was brewing overhead that none of the forecasts we had watched had warned us about. How much longer until it rains? Lily was interrupted by a large thunder clap nearby in the clouds. I felt the earth tremble below us before a few raindrops began falling from the dimly lit sky. Thanks, Lily, I said, arching my head towards her direction.

She scoffed and I laughed. The rain was little more than a small drizzle at the moment, but it was clear it was going to get worse. Let's hurry and find a place to set up. I watched as she began to increase her pace, slowly moving from a walk into a job. heading deeper down the trail. I followed suit right next to her. For a while, it seemed like we weren't going to find a clearing any time soon. We were already on the verge of being considered undoubtedly drenched. And to our luck, at that exact moment of thought, another strong explosion of thunder erupted from above. This time the floodgates were opened. Rain

began to fall with a purpose and with enough force to erupt on impact, splashing everything nearby with the drops watery contents. Hey, right over there. I heard Lily yell out, just barely audible through the thunderous rain. She was running off the main path down a small side trail nearby. I looked at where she was heading and saw a small cabin. I ran off the path with her. With each step, more and more mud thrust itself against my legs.

I increased my speed, hoping to catch up to my light-footed friend, but something caught me off guard. The tip of my foot slid underneath something. and my momentum carried me downwards, face first, into the mud. For a few seconds I was dazed, just laying down in the runny muck pit. I eventually looked down to my feet and saw what looked like a thin tree root, also caked in dirt erupting out of the ground. But as my eyes kept on the root, those initial assumptions fell to the wayside.

The shimmering of the mud was what made me realize that whatever this object was, it was moving just beneath the mud. Then it clicked in my head. The snakes Lily had brought up. I had just tripped over one of them. I felt a shiver cross over my back as I bolted up to my feet and continued on my path, abandoning that snake behind. Without another incident, I made it to the cabin door and busted inside,

finally free from the hurricane-like storm. Wow. A familiar voice rang out in the shack. I looked over to see a drenched but otherwise clean Lily staring at me with an amused smile on her face. Decide to have a wrestling match out there? Funny, I said, looking down at myself. Mud was dripping off just about every part of my body. I think I met one of the snakes you mentioned out there.

It decided to give me a little trip. Oh, really? Lily said, as she grabbed me and turned me around, searching the pack on my back for something to help me clean up. You were right, they're pretty thick. I wonder what kind they are. I can't imagine them being venomous with them being that wide. I felt the hands of my companion.

yanking out the fabric from my pack. I took some time to look around the cabin as Lily pulled the towels free. It was wooden, old, and completely empty. There was a cooking stove off to one side, but other than that, it looked very sparse. Clearly, it was only meant for a quick one-night stay. Here, get yourself cleaned up. I turned back around, and Lily handed me a bundle of towels. I immediately wiped off my face and brow.

The dirt was already starting to dry and stick to my skin. Thanks. I replied to her as she began setting up her things. I put my pack down against the door and walked over to a window still wiping myself down. I watched as the rain continued its assault on the earth, the dirt running like rivers down the valleys and trails, both natural and man-made. It looks terrible outside, I remarked. I heard a small groan of acknowledgement come from behind me.

I let my eyes trail over the forested wetland over to the path we took to get up here. My body locked up when I saw something right where I tripped. Something was protruding from the ground like a small pillar. I rubbed the inside of the window fruitlessly to clear off the fog and obstructing rain. I could barely make out what looked like a thick, partially submerged branch, broken off on one end with small twigs splintering off skyward. Hey, come look at this. I called out to Lily, who was still fondling around with her bags.

Is it the snake? She asked, rising to her feet. I don't think so. It looks weird, though. I watched the mud-coated object get hammered by rain as Lily approached and peered outside. Is that a broken tree root? She suggested. I could only shrug.

Whatever it was wasn't moving. Wait. Lily chimed in again. Look at the color. As more and more of the rain ran its way down the object, the less obstructed by mud the object became. I narrowed my eyes. pushing past the raindrops on the window and noticed exactly what Lily was talking about. Whatever was under that mud was a pale shade of gray.

Oh my God. Lily gasped and grabbed her mouth. What is it? I turned and looked at her. My eyebrow upturned in confusion. Look at the end of it. She said, holding her breath. I turned my gaze back outward and focused in.

I felt my heart drop. Fingertips. It was an arm reaching out of the ground. still is the grave. Oh my God. My voice wavered slightly. We should call the Rangers and get them out here. Where's their card?

She asked. Hand extended towards me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a wet but legible business card. Without hesitation, Lily snatched out of my hand and began dialing the number in. Hello, I'd like to report something on one of the trails. She paced back and forth on the squeaky cabin floors. I turned and kept my gaze on the hand. It looked petrified in place, fingers eagerly reaching toward the sky, letting the water rush over it.

We're at... She began to stutter. We're at... I heard the voice on the other side of the phone chirp up, and Lily nodded. Hey, Max, can you take a step outside and tell me what numbers are next to the door? I peeled my eyes away from the hand. I felt an increasingly oppressive air pressing its way inside the cabin. I shook my intuition away and walked to the door.

I opened it up and stepped up. and stepped outside. I peered toward the arm and could see it more clearly without the blurry window between us. It was hairless, smooth, and the fingernails seemed clean and trimmed. The water that gushed over it almost seemed to vanish on impact as if it was some sort of sponge. I had to force my eyes away to view the number on the wall. 17. I took a deep breath, repeating the number in my head before the sound of a loud clap echoed off behind me. I jumped slightly on edge. I took a little bit of a turned back toward the direction of the arm and saw nothing in its place, just the mud quickly running down the trail. I swallowed hard and rushed back inside. The number is 17, but I think

the arm fell back into the mud. It's not there anymore. Lily's eyes went wide as she relayed the information over to the dispatcher. It wasn't too long until she pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up. They told us to stay put in that this storm's not going to pass anytime soon. They said they've got a ranger on the way, and the police have been informed, but it might take them a while to reach us out here. I bit my lip and looked outside towards the empty path. I hope it didn't get dragged away by the current. I mumbled. Lily came up right beside me, joining me at the window. I'm sure they'll be able to follow that mud slick down to wherever it goes. On the bright side, the rain cleaned you up a bit. She gave a reassuring smile, and I looked down at myself. My clothes

were still riddled with mud, but the rain on my skin seemed to have washed away most of the dirt. I guess that's always a plus. I said stoically. Come on, Max. Let's make ourselves at home, at least. I'll just lock the door in case. Well, you know. Her voice trailed off. In case there's a killer out there? I mumbled at her as she walked over to the door and flipped the lock. She turned around and averted her eyes from my gaze, choosing instead to continue her mission of getting set up. After a few minutes of silence, we had our food laid out in front of us. We had agreed that once the ranger got here, our little expedition was over.

We had seen more than enough in just the past two days than we could have in a lifetime. Let's eat and try to get some rest. I said, chowing down on some extra rations. Lily nodded and joined in on the feast. With full stomachs, we set up for bed. I noticed my friend kept looking out toward the darkened windows. I could feel tension in the air. Everything all right?

I asked. Lily shook her head dismissively. I just feel weird. Like I'm being watched. I'm sure it's nothing but just to be safe. She ripped off her pillowcase and then mine before walking over to the windows and draping them over the glass as makeshift curtains. I just don't want anything looking in at us while we sleep. I don't blame you.

I made my way to my bedroll and caseless pillow before lying down and trying to get comfortable. Lily did the same. It was a few hours into the night before I heard Lily's hushed voice. Max, do you hear that? I opened my eyes, less groggy than I expected and met Lily's gaze. She was staring at the wooden door of the cabin. I spent a few seconds watching the door before I saw the hand on the door jiggle. Someone was trying to get in.

What do we do? Lily asked. I was speechless. Maybe it's the... Our whispered conversation was in. interrupted by a loud knocking coming from the other side of the wooden door. I jumped to my feet. It's got to be the cops.

I began my slow, meticulous walk to the door. Who's out there? Silence. Hello? I yelled again. Abruptly, the banging started again, loud enough to drown out my voice. I took a step back from the door and kneeled close to the ground. Each impact on the door rocked the wooden frames of the small cabin.

I watched as one of the pillowcase curtains began to start. slowly slip off the window. Lily whispered, tears in her eyes. I rushed over to the window just as the fabric fell and was met face to face with the darkness outside. The banging on the door stopped suddenly. I very carefully kneeled down and grabbed the fabric in my hands to toss it back over the window. Appearing out of the darkness was the palm of a hand. It slapped the window with heavy force. I could only see the pale palm in the shroud of blackness outside. I quickly through the pillowcase back on the window and backed up to Lily. She was shivering, her eyes wide with fear. That was the hand, Max. That was the hand that was outside earlier. I felt my heart

drop into my stomach. I wrapped my arms around Lily for as much as my comfort as hers. The wet palm of the hand kept slapping against the glass. I could hear ripples of cracks spreading along the window pain. I squeezed onto Lily as she bawled up and kept my eyes focused on the pillowcase covering the glass, hoping it wouldn't fall and expose that lifeless arm again. With one last thud, it stopped. A light shone through the fabric of the window mere seconds after the attack halted. I could hear the struggling sounds of wheels rolling up toward the cabin. I let out a sigh and a prayer that the rangers had finally made it. With the sound of the wheel stopping just a few yards away, I finally heard a voice call out from the void outside.

Lily, Max, you in there? The voice sounded familiar. It was a little. It was a little bit of the the ranger from the day prior. I slid to my feet, dragging Lily with me. Yeah, we're inside, but someone's out there. I yelled. I rushed over to the door and opened it to see the rangers standing stiff off in the middle of the small opening in front of the cabin. He was facing us, but the light from his rover, coupled with his hat, covered his body in intense shadows. His body seemed rigid. Come out of that box and we'll get you home. The ranger said. His voice seemed different this time. disjointed from his body.

I stayed quiet. Something was very wrong here. Step out of there. Now. The voice grumbled, unrecognizable from earlier. Are you all right? I called out a little more than a whisper. Of course I am.

Can't you see my smile? The ranger tilted his neck backwards. His hat slipped off his skull, which allowed the light from behind him to illuminate his face. His eyes were wide and full of both pain and fear. His lips were quivering in shock. I backed up more into the doorway and watched as two impossibly long fingers trailed their way from behind the ranger's head and made their way across his cheeks to his mouth. They slid inside with little resistance and began pulling his lips outward in a mockingly gruesome smile.

Then they kept prying. I watched as his lips strained with the force of the fingers inside of his mouth. His lips became white, with the stress placed against them before a shower of red erupted from his mouth, parting the centers of his lips like sliced meat. A voice called out from just behind the ranger, its voice thick and unnatural. I looked for the source and froze. There, right next to the ranger's feet, was a half-submerged human face dug deeply into the mud. Its black, cold eyes shone from some unknown source. Whatever this was was a monster of the strictest definition.

Its gaze was so vastly separated from humanity that there was no common ground between us. As I locked eyes with this thing, human in shape and deviled in eyes, I saw the ranger fall into the mud. Just behind his head was a long spider-like arm stretching out of the ground, seemingly changing its size and shape as if it only faintly followed the laws of this reality. The ranger's body twitched and spasmed on the ground as more and more lifeless hands began to slither out from the mud, wrapping their hands around his body. I was so thirsty. The submerged head called out unblinkingly towards me. Without another warning, the ranger's body was ripped under the earth and devoured by the mud. The ground where he was shifted and bubbled over like a small eruption.

The creature's eyes stared at me with a deadening gaze. It was observing me. I let out a small chirp from my mouth. Without changing expression, the head effortlessly started gliding through the earth towards a cabin, fingers and arms popping out from the earth around it like fins from a shark. I'd stored enough courage to slam the door shut and lock it before running back over to Lily, who saw the whole thing. What is that?

She asked, her voice trembling. I shook my head and slumped down next to her. I don't know. We sat in silence until the sounds of scratching came from below the floorboards, hundreds of fingers tearing away flesh to the bone, trying to burrow their way upward. All we could do was sit in the corner furthest away from the window and pray they didn't get to us. That night we watched as the floor pulsated upwards and downwards, as the foundation began to crumble. Those arms were going to drag us and our wooden coffin downwards into the earth. I didn't know what to do.

I sat there as the floor creaked open and mud crept up through the seams of the boards like blood flowing from a vein. I sat, waiting to die, but Lily had other plans. She grabbed my hand and yanked me up to my feet. She stared at the door for a split second before sprinting off with me and tow. She burst open the door and ran towards the ranger's vehicle. Luckily for us, the ranger was never shut off before the earth took him down. We both hopped in and zipped off down the path toward backward. we'd come from. I hazarded a glance back toward the cabin to see it crumbling into the ground,

but there was something else there. Still half submerged on the path, mere yards away from us, was that unblinking head. Its black eyes shone dead set and emotionless on our escape. We kept driving for God knows how long, until we hit some other rangers who were on a scouting mission up to us and our missing comrade. We told them everything we could, but the looks of disbelief said enough to us. We were labeled as emotionally distressed and unreliable witnesses. The powers that be listed the disappearance of the ranger in the cabin as accidental by a case of mudslide. Now, every time it rains, I wonder if somewhere out in the woods a single head peers out on the trails, waiting for someone to pass by, a million hands waiting just below

the surface, to drag them down into the earth.