Transcription
I was working Door Dash this night. It was my full-time gig, so I usually tried to get at least eight or nine hours in every day. In all honesty, I wasn't very good at keeping a schedule for myself. Every day I'd push off starting until later and later into the night. Sometimes not even starting until 9 or 10 p.m.
This was one of those nights. I was 3 hours in and it was about 1:00 a.m. when this order came through. It was a pickup grocery order from a nearby gas station convenience store. I drove up to the empty gas station and went in. It was quiet and nobody was there except for the cashier. When I got back in the car, I checked to make sure it was the right thing. Just one large, cheap bottle of wine. Interesting order, for sure, but also more inconvenient for me as well. I always preferred just driving up and dropping everything off on the porch without interacting with anyone. But with alcohol, I had to check their ID, so I would have to wait for them to answer.
Anyway, I started driving. It was just over 15 minutes away in the woods. Most of the town was forested, so this was nothing out of the ordinary. However, pulling down their driveway, it was very rugged and harsh. It didn't seem well cared for at all. Then I reached the house. It stood alone, just a single, very old home. It didn't seem like any lights were on, so I could only see the front of the house from what my headlights were shining on it. I parked and got out. The woods were quiet. It gave the sense that I was alone with every sound I made being the only audible noise in the area. It was 1:00 a.m., though.
I stood beside my car and pulled up the order on my phone, making sure I had it all ready to go for the ID check and everything. While I was there, I noticed a light out in the woods. I really didn't think about it too much, though, because it looked like it was probably a light from someone else's house, like a porch light or something. I couldn't actually see the house, though. The light was too far away and just barely shining out from between all the trees.
After getting the app all set, I walked up to the porch. I didn't see a doorbell, so I knocked on the door. I could hear the knock echo throughout the inside of the house like it would in an empty home. Kind of weird, but again, I just ignored it and waited for someone to answer. Really, the only thing I felt was off up until this point was that no lights were on in the house or on the porch. Still, the only light allowing me to see were my headlights shining onto the front of the house. It being an older home in the woods was fairly common around here, so I know it sounds strange, but to me it wasn't anything off-putting.
After a good minute of waiting, I finally heard something from behind the door. And just a moment later, it opened. Immediately when the door opened, I noticed just how dark it was inside. I figured there would be some dim lighting in the back of the place or that maybe they would turn on the lights as they came up to answer the door, but no. It was basically pitch black in there. I could barely even see the man that was standing in the doorway. He was on the taller side and kind of thin and the shadows covered most of his face. I said I just needed to check his ID really quick for the alcohol. He nodded and I think slightly smiled, but I couldn't see very well. He told me to give him a minute to grab his wallet. His voice was slow and grally. The man left the door open as he turned around and walked down the hallway to the other end of the house, completely disappearing into the void of darkness just a few feet back from the doorway.
Now I was unsettled. I mean, I already kind of was, but now seeing the guy was just living in a pitch black house, it was really strange. I think as the uneasiness started building in me, I began nervously looking around more. I looked back at my car, ominously sitting in the gravel driveway with its headlights on and nothing but the dark woods behind it. Then my eyes drifted to the forest next to it. I noticed that light again, the one I saw out in the woods, but it was closer. I stared at it and after a few seconds, I could tell it was moving. Not like it was shining all around, but it was just slightly swaying or shaking, like someone was standing still, holding up a flashlight and pointing it toward me. I felt a chill go through my body. The lights had to be only 50 ft out in the trees. It was still completely quiet outside, though. I couldn't hear anyone or anything.
But as I stared at it, I suddenly heard something from inside the house. I shifted my eyes back through the doorway, looking through the darkness of the front hall. I could hear these quiet creeks on the floorboards like someone was carefully moving closer to the doorway. I jumped off the porch and ran for my car. As I did, the light in the woods moved, but I didn't look long enough to find out what they were doing. I got in and drove away, still catching my breath. I tried to recollect myself, getting back to the road and parking back at the same gas station. It's strange how in situations like this, the mind tries so hard to immediately think of how it wasn't what it seemed like. I really couldn't put together what exactly that was, but I was too out of it to continue working. So, I went home after that and called it quits for the night.
After several days of not being able to stop thinking about it, I finally did a bit of research. Not so much to figure out what happened, but more to prove to myself that it was nothing to worry about. However, I very quickly found some disturbing information. That house was abandoned. It had been for over 50 years, and that acreage of wooded land was just vacant, or was supposed to be. There weren't even any houses close to it. I don't know what was going to happen that night, but I really feel like I barely got away with my life.
In 2019, I drove down to my older brother's cabin to watch his dog while he was away. He was just going on a 3-day work trip and didn't want to leave his dog, Cooper, with someone they weren't familiar with. I call my brother's place a cabin, but really it was a normal, fairlysized home. I only called it a cabin because it was nestled away in the middle of the woods. The first day I spent hanging out and catching up with my brother before he left around 3 that afternoon. There wasn't all that much to do at his cabin aside from relaxing and maybe listening to music by the fireplace. After eating dinner, I figured it'd be nice to sit outside and watch the sunset by a campfire. So, I brought Cooper out with me and we chilled in the yard by the campfire as the sun slowly fell behind the trees. It was really nice, at least for the first hour.
I found out pretty quick, though, that it was not quite as calming once the sun was down. It was actually extremely creepy. Everything around the cabin got completely dark, and the quietness of the woods was just eerie. Not even 10 minutes after the sun was gone, I put out the campfire and went back inside. Maybe it just wasn't for me, but I honestly hated the creepy feeling of being out there at night. I sat on the couch with Cooper and ironically turned on a horror movie. The long drive to the cabin had me pretty tired, though, and during the whole film, I was in and out of sleep.
However, at one point, I woke up and Cooper wasn't beside me anymore. I sat up and looked around, seeing him sitting by the front door. I called his name, but as I did, I realized how weird it was. Cooper didn't look like he happened to just be chilling there. He was sitting upright, head forward, facing and staring at the front door. "Cooper, you okay, Coupe?" He looked back at me, but only for a second. Then he looked back at the door. I got up and walked over to him, patting him on the side and looking out the peepphole of the front door. I didn't see anything. I cracked it open and stuck my head out. It was still too dark to see clearly, but there didn't seem to be anything out there. No sounds of any animals walking around either. I closed the door and went back to Cooper, figuring a deer or something must have passed by a few minutes ago.
Now is probably a good time to mention that Coupe was a young German Shepherd mix, so definitely a smart dog. I didn't doubt that he had smelled or heard something, but I thought it had to be a harmless animal wandering near the cabin. I finished the movie and went to bed not long after.
In the morning, I took Cooper outside and mostly just had a calm morning, sipping on my coffee and relaxing outside. I tried going for a walk, but I was hesitant to go too far out, worried about getting lost in the forest. So, I just stayed by the cabin. As the sun eventually went down, I headed back inside to avoid the darkness and did pretty much the same thing as the previous night. I laid on the couch and turned on a movie. Cooper was laying with me for a while, but ended up wandering the rest of the house to pass the time.
Completely out of nowhere, though, I heard his loud, deep barking coming from behind me. I jumped up and yelled his name as I hurried into the kitchen. Cooper was standing with his tail between his legs and hair sticking up on his back, aggressively barking at seemingly nothing at all. I tried to calm him down, but even when I got him to stop barking, I couldn't keep him from continuing this low, deep growl. I had no idea what happened or what spooked him. There was nothing in the kitchen. There was only a window above the counters, but it was too high up for Coupe to even see out of. I told Cooper it was all right, using a soft voice to hopefully settle him down. Then I let him back into the living room to sit on the couch with me.
It seemed like I was just able to settle him down for a moment before there was a sudden hollow tapping sound coming right back from the kitchen we were just in. Of course, this made Coupe start barking again, but this time I didn't tell him to stop because honestly, I was pretty freaked out. I got up and went back to the kitchen. Nothing was there. The tapping I heard sounded like the hollow thump of tapping on the outside of a window. So, naturally, I went up to the kitchen window and looked out. There really wasn't anything to see. I didn't know what to think at this point. Was it a raccoon or something trying to find a way in, or was it me just not being used to the sounds of being in a cabin in a forest? What worried me most was that Cooper also seemed on edge. Like, if it were just normal sounds, then why was he freaking out so much?
It was getting pretty late, though, and I thought maybe moving to the bedroom would help us cool off. There was a small TV in there as well, so I continued the movie and watched in bed. Coupe sat next to me, ears up and attentive the entire rest of the night. It was about 11:00 p.m. when I turned off all the lights in the cabin and started getting ready for bed. I let Cooper sleep in the room with me, so I closed the door and filled up his water bowl, then got in the shower to wash off before bed. Even though there were a few strange instances, I was still enjoying my time at the cabin and was looking forward to getting in bed and waking up to enjoy my last day there.
But as I was rinsing off, there were a sudden few thumps against the wall, followed by Cooper barking again. I quickly turned off the water and threw on my clothes, rushing out into the room. Cooper wasn't there, and the bedroom door was now open. Coupe was smart, but opening doors seemed like a stretch. I could hear his barks moving further through the cabin. I ran into the hallway and down to the other end, immediately seeing the front door was open. I didn't even have time to think because I saw Cooper barking and running away from the cabin into the woods. Within seconds, he was gone. I could only hear the faint sounds of his barking, getting further and further away.
I grabbed a flashlight from the front closet, then sprinted after him. It felt like as soon as I was in the middle of the forest, surrounded by nothing but trees, I suddenly couldn't hear Coupe barking anymore. Once I realized that, I stood still and kind of froze up. The forest was almost completely silent, just a quiet breeze rustling the branches above me. "Cooper, Coupe, Cooper." I called out for Cooper several times, yelling his name and hoping he'd leave whoever the hell he was chasing and just come back to me. I must have been out there for an entire five horrifying minutes before I heard leaves rustling ahead of me. A moment later, Coupe came running toward me, his tail tucked in this look of fear all over his face, and I could hear quiet whimpers as he stared back at the darkness he just came from. I made sure he followed as I ran back toward the cabin and got us back inside. I called 911, then my brother, as I waited for help to get there. Afterward, we stayed in a hotel for the night until my brother got back the following day.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much followup. Someone was definitely stalking the cabin, likely for the multiple days I was there at least, and had somehow broken in, only to be chased out by Coupe once they entered the bedroom. What's happened out there in the dark forest while Cooper was alone? I honestly don't know, but poor Coupe was apparently terrified for weeks after that. Thankfully, he seemed to recover, though. That was definitely the most horrifying and intense experience of my life. And if not for Cooper chasing them away, I don't know if I'd be here right now.
Being over 6 years since then, Coupe has gotten older, pushing 10 years old now. I still love getting to see him every time I visit my brother. And even though he's not my dog, I still love him and appreciate what he did for me that night at the cabin and for keeping my brother safe from whoever is still out there.
I was heading home from a long afternoon at work. It was nearly midnight. I usually take the train into the city since it's an hour and a half drive there, but I knew I'd be staying late this night, past the train's running hours. I was really tired, both because of the long working shift, but also because it was already 2 hours past when I'd usually be in bed by.
Once I was out of the city and driving on the long, straight, and empty rural roads, it was even more tiring and hard to stay awake. I didn't feel at risk of falling asleep, but almost like it was just torture to be forced to stay awake as I drove. 40 minutes passed while I continued down what felt like an endless road, not seeing any more than four or five cars passing by before I caught sight of something on the side of the road. It was a pickup truck pulled off on the grassy shoulder, but no lights on or signs of anyone in or around it. Kind of weird for being out in the middle of nowhere, but probably just had some car troubles or ran out of gas and had to get an Uber home.
I didn't think all that much on it until not 2 minutes later, I passed another. It was a car, but almost identical, parked on the grass near the trees off the side of the road, and no signs of anyone. Had to be just a coincidence, but I'd taken this route plenty of times before and never seen anything like it. It kept me a little more awake, looking off the road for any more interesting things going on. I'd say another couple minutes passed. I was looking out at the road when suddenly something appeared in my headlights right on the pavement ahead of me. There wasn't even time to see what it was or swerve out of the way. I immediately hit it with my right tire. I was kind of stunned for a moment from how out of nowhere it came from. I kept driving, listening for any issues with my car, but hoping I just ran over it smoothly.
However, just a minute later, I could tell something was wrong. I didn't even have to wait for the tire pressure symbol to light up to know it was going flat. I pulled off to the side of the road and pretty much right away realized how even more coincidental this was, comparing it to the previous two cars I'd seen. The only difference was that I was still here in my car and they weren't. I put it in park and took a deep breath before getting out to look at the damage. I was so tired. I didn't even have enough energy to be mad, but just felt so disappointed and frustrated at this for happening on a night like tonight.
I walked around to the side of my car and looked at the tire. There were clear scrapes on the paint around the wheel and the tire was about halfway to being fully flattened. Definitely needed a tow truck and a ride home. Before getting back in my car, I couldn't help but look around at where I was. Out on the side of a long, empty road in between towns with just trees in all directions. It felt kind of creepy being out there alone and stranded. It was just as those feelings started to creep up on me that I saw something else. Far down the road, someone was walking toward me. I couldn't see much of them, obviously, because it was dark, but more so because they were on the side of the road, like walking on the edge of the treeine. It kind of seemed like they were trying to stay off the road to not be seen. My first thought was that it might have been one of the people from the other cars I'd passed, but as they got closer, this uneasy feeling grew in me.
I got back in the car and started calling for a tow truck. After a minute or so, the man walking was getting close, just about to pass by before they left the treeine and started making their way through the grass and up to the road. They came right up to the side of my car. I watched them as they came up to the window. They didn't say anything, but they were noticeably jittery and I don't know, unstable, I guess. It was very hard to read them or what they were doing. After a few seconds, though, his eyes locked on me. His gaze was incredibly disturbing and instantly had me feeling the need to get out of there. I put my car in drive and drove away. I knew I risked damaging my wheel, but my gut told me that something was really off about that guy. I made it just 20 seconds down the road before passing another car. This one was different, though. Its door was partially open and the inside lights were on. It looked like it must have been where the guy came walking from. I kept going.
At the nearest town, I pulled over and got help with my car. I thought it was honestly just a really strange experience and would never really know what that guy wanted or what even happened. After everything was fixed, I'd mostly forgotten about it. That was until 4 days later, I heard about a disturbing story of two people going missing along the road that I often took to and from work. I immediately thought about the two abandoned cars I'd seen that one night and quickly looked more into it. My body went numb when I saw it was on the same exact night. And those two cars were from the two missing people. Both cars had damage to their tires from hitting something in the road, likely put there by someone to purposely get them stranded. I called police to give them information, but as of today, neither of the missing people have been found yet. As far as I know, there hasn't even been a single clue or lead as to who was behind it or what they did to them. It still haunts me to think about how close I was to being the third missing person.