Transcription
This was in 2016, but I remember every detail of the night as if it had just happened. I go out in the woods just south of the town I live in pretty frequently, at least four or five times a year. This weekend, I kind of just had that urge to get out and have some time alone. So, I quickly filled my backpack and drove down to my favorite trail. I honestly don't know if it was even an actual trail that was marked on maps and all that. Nobody was ever hiking it or camping on it, so I'm really not sure if it was well known. I parked on the side of the road near the trees, got my bag out, and hiked for 2 hours to the end.
This part of the woods wasn't mountainous or anything. It was very flat and just densely covered in trees. Great for a chill one or two day camping trip, but definitely nothing more than that as it can get kind of boring. The campsite had nothing really to it. There was a few hours until sunset, so I took my time getting everything perfect and starting the campfire. I relaxed and ate some trail mix, just enjoying the warm fire and birds chirping. When the sun got lower, I tossed more sticks in. I always found it interesting how quickly the forest goes from being so alive to almost instantly getting quiet once the sun sets.
I sat there and listened to the quietness for only about 25 minutes after dark before a strange sound interrupted the silence. It was music. It was coming from the distance, pretty far away and it sounded like some old classical song. It almost sounded like an old record player. I stood up and looked in the direction it was coming from. Was there another campsite nearby? Maybe it was a group just casually playing some music, albeit really loudly. I stayed at my campsite and just listened for a while. Had to be 30 minutes at least. But what was so odd and honestly kind of eerie was that the song never changed. It was the same classical song on repeat, filling the void of the silent woods. I'm not one to usually care much if other campers are nearby or having a loud bonfire party or whatever they're doing, but this felt different. Something was off and I didn't like it.
After those 30 minutes, I decided to walk a bit closer just to see what was going on. I didn't want to creep on anyone, but just wanted to make sure it was nothing weird so I'd be able to sleep tonight. I grabbed my flashlight and started walking toward the sound. I felt like I was walking pretty far, which made it even weirder that I could hear it from so far away. The closer I got, though, and the louder the music got, something started to feel really creepy. I could tell I had goosebumps and my heart was beating a little faster. It was then that I realized I'd only brought my flashlight. I should have brought my pocket knife or pepper spray, but I didn't even think about it.
Eventually, I could tell I was getting really close. The music had to be coming from just 30 or 40 ft away, but I couldn't see anything. No bonfire or campfire or light of any kind. And then I saw it. A giant speaker sitting kind of propped up behind a tree. Nothing else was around it. I shined my flashlight everywhere and there were no signs of anyone. I walked up to the speaker. It looked like an old one from the early 2000s. Basically just a giant box with an old LCD display and worn out buttons to control it. I found the power button and turned it off. Suddenly, the forest was silent. The stark difference was eerie. Who did this? It almost felt like a trap or something. But even then, I made every excuse for it to not be like another camper leaving it behind on accident or I don't know. Nothing really made sense about it. But I really didn't want to think it was the worst.
I didn't stay longer than I had to. I hurried back to my campsite, feeling relieved to see my campfire and get back to what felt like the safety of my camp. However, as the minutes passed, I couldn't shake a strange feeling that loomed over me, like something was still off. But I didn't know what it was. The feeling got worse and worse until I remembered about my knife and pepper spray, thinking that if I kept them nearby, I'd feel safer. But that's when I realized what was off. Things were missing: my matches for starting fires, my cooking utensils, and both my knife and pepper spray all just gone. My body tensed up. Someone was here. I didn't even have to think for a second longer before packing what was left. And as I did, I heard it again. The music playing from out in the darkness of the woods, closer though, definitely not far out where I'd found it before.
I hurried, getting out of the campsite and running down to the trail. As I got further and heard the music fading out, I started to feel a little bit better. Still freaked out, but I thought whoever was out there had to be by the speakers where the music was coming from, which meant I was getting further away from them. I got about 15 minutes down the path. Now, just walking through the quiet forest, far away from any of the music. And that's when I spotted something ahead, laying on the dirt trail. It was my stuff. The knife, pepper spray, utensils, everything that was missing. Someone laid it out perfectly lined up in the middle of the trail. What was the catch? Before I could grab any of it, I heard a flurry of footsteps rushing behind me. I looked back, seeing nothing but darkness. So, I just sprinted away, leaving it all behind. I ran for what felt like 10 whole minutes, then continued jogging/fast walking for the rest of the way. Thankfully, I got out of that forest and back to the road. I really can't say what the hell I experienced that night. It feels like somehow I barely managed to escape some psycho. Almost like they were playing with their food. I haven't been back to that forest and I never planned to.
I was solo camping on a trail just an hour north of Fairbanks, Alaska, near the White Mountains mountain range. I'd been at the spot set up with my tent and everything for 2 days already. It was just past noon and I'd made a campfire early, sitting around it and enjoying a meal when a man showed up. It startled me as I hadn't seen anyone or even really any wildlife for the whole two days that I'd been out there. I also didn't hear him walking up or even see where he came from, whether it was from the trail or just the wilderness. He looked like your typical camper, though, backpack gear and everything. And he seemed kind enough. He simply asked if I knew where the cabin was. Although I'd never been to the cabin he was mentioning, I did know what he was talking about. A lot of trails around here have these public shelters, like really small cabins that you can use temporarily along your hikes. Usually, they aren't really maintained well and are just on a first come, first serve basis. During the two days I was at this campsite, I saw a separate thin path going into the forest that I assumed led to one of those shelters. I let the man know that if there was a cabin out here, it was probably down there. He thanked me and walked away. I didn't think much more about it. I was just surprised someone else happened to be out here as well. I tended to the fire and relaxed for the rest of the day.
This was the last night I planned to stay here before heading back, so I just wanted to enjoy the scenery and calmness. It was probably 9 or 10 p.m. But around this time of year up in Alaska, the sun doesn't fully set really. It gets dark, but not pitch black like it would in most other places. The sun was at the horizon, casting a shadow over the woods when out of the trees, I saw someone walking toward me. As they got closer, I saw it was the camper from earlier. I was rightfully confused why he was here, but he explained right away that he couldn't find the shelter. I said maybe there wasn't one. I really didn't know, but the man corrected himself saying he never found the trail that I was talking about and was hoping I'd show him to it. I thought it was strange he was gone for so long. If he never found the trail, like, why was he coming back hours later? What was he doing for that whole time, if not staying in the shelter? I initially just tried to explain again where the trail was, but he was kind of set on having me lead the way. He sort of guilt tripped me, saying he didn't have a tent and was relying on that shelter for the night. I felt bad, and even though I didn't want to and found this whole thing a little bit odd, I decided I'd just take him to the path. It wasn't far.
Anyway, I tossed my bag over my shoulders and started leading him there. Where I was sure I'd seen it was maybe a 10-minute walk through the forest. The whole walk there, the guy was pretty quiet. We both just walked without talking much. It felt like something had changed. 10 minutes later, though, I found the trail. It was exactly where I said it was. Like there was no way he could have missed it. And even weirder, I could actually see the shelter far down toward the end of it. Sure, it was far and trees were blocking a good portion of it, but there's just no way he didn't find it from the directions I gave him. We walked a little closer, but the man didn't seem satisfied. I was expecting a thank you or something, but instead he said this wasn't the right cabin. I didn't know what he meant. We kept walking, pretty much going right up to the cabin. It definitely didn't look in good shape, but that's always the risk you take with these sort of public shelters. You really should never rely on them. This one looked worse than most with broken windows, moldy wood, and just overall like it'd been deserted for years. I realized as I was looking at it, the man had gone quiet. I turned around. He had stopped walking, standing maybe 10 ft from me and holding out a knife. His face was stiff and his eyes had a dead stare. He told me in a monotone and emotionless voice to go in. I tried to ask what the hell he was doing, but he told me again without answering to go inside the cabin. My adrenaline was flowing. I was angry that he'd taken advantage of me being helpful, but also scared shitless knowing that I was alone with him out here. I decided going into the cabin was probably the worst option in this case. There was still some distance between us, so I dropped my bag and started running. Weirdly, I didn't hear him chase me. I looked back once I got further into the woods, and he was still just standing there holding the knife and staring at me.
After I got further into the forest, I found a good place to hide, then stayed there for a while, probably 30 minutes. I hoped that was enough time for the guy to leave. Then, in the cover of the dark, I quietly moved through the trees and back to where the shelter was. The man was gone, or at least not standing outside of the cabin like he was before. But my bag was gone, too. I thought I was being smart by dropping it so I'd be able to run away faster. But since he didn't chase me now, I felt like maybe it was a bad decision. I had basically everything in that bag. My phone, wallet, keys, literally everything. I quietly left the area and went back toward my campsite. I could feel my heart beating faster as I got closer, just sensing that I wasn't alone still. Then I saw it. The bright glow of a campfire burning right in the middle of my campsite. I thought by now it would have burned out. I walked a little closer, seeing my tent was still up, and from what I could see, the man was nowhere around. It was just the near silent woods with the quiet, crackling fire. But then I saw my bag. It was sitting right in the middle of the campsite. Part of me really wanted to run up and grab it, but I also knew this was extremely suspicious. Why bring it back? He must have known I was going to go back to the cabin for my bag. And after not finding it, I'd then go back to the campsite. Even knowing all that and that this had to be too good to be true, I was still about to run up and snatch it when all of a sudden, the man appeared. He casually walked out of the darkness behind the campfire, tossing in some more sticks and then sitting down. I could hear him humming to himself, too, like he was relaxed and just waiting.
I turned around and found the main trail and hiked through the dark all the way back to the road. Took me hours to flag down a car who was willing to help me. I then notified police and they went out to the forest with rangers in the morning only to find nothing. All my stuff was gone as if it were never there. Even the stones from the campfire were moved and thrown back into the forest like they were trying to cover up that it was ever even a campsite. The rangers also informed me that the cabin out there was discontinued, which just meant that no rangers were taking care of it or servicing it anymore. That encounter had me really uneasy for a long time. I couldn't trust anyone. I've gotten better over time, but I can't help myself from thinking about what might have happened if I'd gone into that deserted shelter or had tried to get my bag. I was likely one bad decision away from never leaving those woods.
This happened just two weeks ago on a backpacking trip I was on, the first one of the summer for me. As far as I was aware, I was going on a very routine backpacking trip through a trail in northeastern Wyoming. The trail was a two-day hike there and a two-day hike back the same way. I'd done a ton of trails similar to this, so I went into it thinking it'd just be a typical few days. I parked at the empty trailhead and started walking. First few hours went well. The route was quiet and I felt like I was making good time. I only had 3 mi left before I'd reached the first campsite, which I'd actually just be passing through and going straight to the next one, 2 mi further, which would be where I'd camp at for that night. Feeling a bit hungry and finding a nice spot for a break, I sat against the tree on the side of the trail and pulled out a snack. I was just taking a breather, only wanting to eat real quick and then get back to walking. But as I sat there, I happened to look up and see something kind of creepy. There was a guy standing in the woods off the other side of the trail, and he was staring at me, not walking or anything, just staring. I had no idea how long he'd been there for. Almost as soon as I made eye contact with him, he lifted his hand and did this really strange wave, like he was trying to show he was friendly. But the wave was almost robotic. It was just really strange looking and creepy, especially with him standing out there and staring at me. I decided to just stand up and continue down the trail. I was sure he was up to nothing, but I figured it was best to leave anyway. I didn't know why he was off the trail or what he was doing, and as long as I wasn't around him, I didn't care.
Those next three miles were a little more difficult than I expected, taking me almost 2 hours before I reached the campsite. Like I said, this was the one I was just passing through. But with my break being cut short earlier, I decided to use this as a chance to make a bigger meal and take a longer break before making the final trek to my actual camp for the night. I set my backpack down and took out my mini propane cooker to heat up some water and make my freeze-dried food. I got it to a boil and poured it in. And as I was just waiting for it to cook, I heard footsteps coming down the trail. I looked over. It was the same man I'd seen in the woods. He had short black hair, a medium beard, and a gray flannel with blue jeans, and he looked like he was maybe in his mid-30s to early 40s. As he walked up, I noticed he had a grin on his face, which I assume was supposed to seem friendly, but it definitely didn't. He must have started walking here right after I did for him to get here so soon. As he walked up, he said hello and started small talk, asking about the hike and whatever. I gave short answers, hoping he'd continue along the trail. But my heart sank when he came right up next to me and sat down. He was acting way too friendly to the point where it felt like he was being aggressively friendly, like there was no way he was genuine. He was really starting to creep me out. I tried to eat my meal quickly, but the guy kept asking me questions about it. At one point, he was jokingly mocking me for eating a quote homeless meal and said I needed better nutrition. He tried handing me an opened protein bar. I kid you not, he pulled it out of his backpack and the wrapper was already opened, but no bites or anything were taken out of it. I turned it down, obviously, but he was being really pushy about it. Eventually, he gave up though, saying that he was going to be staying the night at this campsite, too, so he will give it to me later when I'm hungry. Hearing that was an instant relief. He was staying at this campsite. All I had to do was get out of here. I finished eating, then said my friend was waiting for me at the next campsite, so I had to go. The guy held his smile, but I could tell there was nothing behind it. His whole face was flat. He was just holding this ingenuous smile and it was really creepy. I walked away checking back a few times to make sure he didn't follow. I don't know what was up with that guy. Maybe he was just some harmless guy wanting to have a chat. But my gut told me to get away. So that's what I did.
Another couple hours later, I made it to my camp for the night. The sun was already setting, so it was getting pretty dark. And although I was tired, something told me to wait to set up my tent or really unpack anything until later, just in case I had to make a quick exit. Thank God I did, because not 10 minutes later again, I heard those same footsteps crunching on the leaves down the trail. A moment later, the man showed up holding that creepy grin that he had before. It definitely wasn't smart of me, but immediately when I saw him, I got really mad. I felt like I'd done everything to get away from this guy. And now I was pissed. He said he was staying at the other camp. So, what the hell was he doing here? Stupidly, I straight up asked if he was following me, and I made it clear by the tone of my voice that I was serious. But the guy just jokingly laughed and said, "Yeah, I'm following you," like he was being sarcastic. He still had that stupid creepy smile across his face. He started asking if I was hungry after all that walking, but I quickly grabbed my bag and ignored him. Walking back the way I came again, I didn't see him immediately follow me. But I knew better than to trust that. I passed the previous camp, exhausted, but continued until I couldn't anymore. I was maybe a mile past the first camp. I moved off the trail. Honestly, I'm not sure how far off I even went. Probably 2 to 300 ft. Then discreetly set up my tent. I left almost everything still in my backpack just in case. Then laid down and tried to sleep. Even with this really disturbing situation, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep surprisingly quickly. But in the middle of the night, my eyes shot open. I could hear footsteps crunching on the leaves right from where the trail was. It had to be him again, walking through the woods in the middle of the night, looking for me. The footsteps got closer, but then they started to fade out, moving further down the trail. He didn't see me. I waited until sunrise, then booked it back to my car. Thankfully, I never ran into him again. I don't know where he went after that. Honestly, I think I was disturbingly close to having something really horrifying happen. My encounter with that strange man could have been really bad as I think he had some pretty nasty intentions. Especially the more I think about the protein bar he tried to give me and just the whole situation. It still makes me sick to think about.