When the woods are scary

I remember at least one occasion during my college days, hiking with a friend in a national forest in East Texas when the area became unnaturally silent. When we noticed it, we were a little over a mile down the trail and we took that as our signal to turn around and head back. At the time we figured there was a predator near by. Sometimes you've just gotta trust your instincts.

a reply to: ColeYounger

If I go in the woods you can bet I'm pack'n my .44.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Not quite a true creepy woods story, but near my house there is a patch of forest the city left as park(its heavily wooded not just a few big trees). One night me and my brother were there, I got this super creeped out feeling like I should leave, a few minutes later we both here this rustling in the trees near by, we both booked it out of there, and this area had no other side trails so it would have been difficult for another person to be making the noise, and there's no dear or coyotes or anything large like that so I don't know what caused it. And yeah theres forests I've been in where I always get the feeling I'm intruding on something else's domain, or something similar.

Might be the Earth itself, warning mankind away from whats left of it.

Being a city kid, my plan has always been to move about 400 miles up to the Northwoods. Reading these stories makes me re-evaluate a forty year dream of the isolation I always craved.

This same bear comes to my house at least once a week looking for food. The last thing I'm doing is roaming around the forest at night with the coyotes screeching and bear lurking, that can make anyone's hair stand.

I recall being overexcited and spooked a few times as a kid, but that's usually because someone else gets scared and gets everyone else worked up. When I was a child I was more scared of the Stephen King "It" clown Pennywise coming out of the toilet drain to grab me. Had to flush several times just to make sure he had a hard time getting up the pipe.

I saw something one in the forest so freigtening I had to convince myself wasn't real and continued walking scared as hell and never looked back.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: ColeYounger

Perhaps you might find this of interest...

www.canammissing.com...

first few paragraphs too scary for me, thanks but no thanks

to be honest I don't find much of these pics too creepy.
I never felt too threatened in the wild. Mostly because in France we don't have much Apex predators.
I have felt the strenght of some places. Something that goes through you.
I slept alone very far from anything human many times.
I went through these moments when it is impossible to discern reality from mind creations.
When everything falls into absolute nothingness and your own body looses all substanciality.
I always see this as a kind of ritual. Overcoming primal fears make you keep your cool in more mundain situations.
Also I might sometimes be a selfish bastard amongst humans, but I try to be as truthfull as I can to this planet.
I know it knows me and the respect I have for everything living or existing wether in this realm or others.
I like to believe my "purity" can protect me from really bad vibes.
That is if I keep away from the shrooms obviously ))
But I must admit that sometimes, when you're hours from any assistance and you could swear you just heard the weirdest little dwarf laugh and you can see all these dim new moon night shadows dancing on the textile of your tent... thoughts like "wtf am I doing here" do cross your mind.

a reply to: ColeYounger

A gallery of eerie forest photos.

You can count me among the missing. I find all of the pictures in the gallery amazingly beautiful. I would spend hours out among those trees.

It only seems haunting from the perspective of the pictures. You can make any woods seem haunting, including the 126 acre woodland/wetlands behind me; but I just find the really naturally majestic places and enjoy.

I love nature and the gallery displays nature in its finest.

Woods are wonderful, especially at night with a lovely peaceful soundtrack of critters,
Some people are afraid of their own shadow,
its not something wrong the woods at night.

Many times the uncertainty, or superstitions and stress, can lead people to panic from a placebo effect of their own fears and insecurities.

a reply to: Dr1Akula
When I was a young girl, my favorite places at night, was the woods, and the graveyard, which was on family land, and not far from my house.

I know for some it sounds creepy, odd and and a bit mental, but they were so beautiful and quiet. Living in a house with 14+ people, made their quiet beauty alluring. I still find the woods a serene indulgence.

a reply to: ColeYounger

This thread immediately reminded me of an old topic that I used to be (and still am) fascinated by. The Suicide Forest of Japan

There are some interesting documentaries about it out there if you are interested.

originally posted by: ColeYounger



A gallery of eerie forest photos.

I see your "Gallery of eerie forest photos" and raise you

"A gallery of the creepiest unexplained trail-cam photos"
www.wideopenspaces.com...

My favorite here:

a reply to: Dr1Akula

Some people are afraid of their own shadow, its not something wrong the woods at night.

That is where the mystrey lies. I was reading about a forest ranger at Mt Shasta who said he'd lived and worked there for 20 years, and the strangest thing he ever saw was some bizarre hippies. But he said a couple of the most reliable people he knew saw things that were stranger than any sci-fi story you could imagine. (He didn't elaborate)

Woods are wonderful, especially at night with a lovely peaceful soundtrack of critters,

Here ya go:

originally posted by: Dr1Akula
Woods are wonderful, especially at night with a lovely peaceful soundtrack of critters,
Some people are afraid of their own shadow,
its not something wrong the woods at night.

Many times the uncertainty, or superstitions and stress, can lead people to panic from a placebo effect of their own fears and insecurities.

Agreed. When I was little I used to sneak out and stand in the middle of the woods by my house. I wanted to test myself and dull the natural fear. I learned to be comfortable in dark woods at night. Also learned that deer at night walking in the leaves sound a lot like people

a reply to: Indigo5

Thanks! I love scary trail-cam pics, even though 99% are probably hoaxes.

Other than one terrifying incident in my youth, the woods have felt like home. I don't mind being alone, 40 miles from no where or being in the woods at night. I enjoy the quiet and solitude.
I can't seem to find the thread I originally posted this in, but here is a short version that I posted in a similar thread.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I have posted this before, but can't remember which forum, so I'll repeat it.
I was born and raised in the hills of Eastern Ky, about 10 miles from Hazard. When I was about 14 -15, my cousin and I went hiking, going to the top of one of the mountains. We followed a trail, sometimes almost straight up, and what we saw terrified us both. We had been walking for about 1 1/2 hours, when we saw a man and women's clothes on a tree limb. That may not sound strange, but we were far from people and the weirdest thing was that branch was roughly 20 feet off the ground. The clothes were neatly draped over the branch, not like they had been thrown up there. I don't have to tell you what we thought we were going to catch someone doing. Anyway, we went on farther and got to a sort of flat place at the top. No trees, just grasses and flowers. Off to my left, I remember seeing a black ......hole in the air. Not shiny black, not like the mouth of a cave, just BLACK. Roughly 6 -8 ft tall, 3 wide and a bit misty around the edges. Seems like every year the memory fades a little, so the next thing I remember is tearing ass down the side of that mountain. Not following the trail, just getting away from whatever that was. To this day, I think there was some connection between those clothes and what we saw. I have a few theories. What I find unusual is, that was one of the most terrifying moments in my like and I never remember it unless there is a direct reference to "strange things in the woods". I may have left out a few details, but as I said, the memory fades with age.

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
I saw something one in the forest so freigtening I had to convince myself wasn't real and continued walking scared as hell and never looked back.

Ummm, care to elaborate? This is what you wanted, correct?

I moved from Cali to North Carolina 9 years ago to live on my family farm and care-take it. Those familiar with the US's topography will be aware that the east coast is mostly all forest. Forest from the beach all the way to the Mississippi, nearly. The farm here has about 20 acres of cleared fields, all surrounded by said forest. For the first year I managed to not step foot into the forest, not from fear of some hobgoblin or something, but rather they were just dark, tangled and somewhat creepy looking from the cleared area I was used to. And I had no 'need to know'. I have since traveled all over the forest around here, sometimes for hours, finding all sorts of beauty and amazing things there.

The forest is dangerous however, and dangerous in a way a lot don't consider. Things like leaf covered sinkholes from dead and rotted tree stumps, and from rotten falling branches. Then there's your occasional poison ivy or fire ant hills that are covered with leaves too.

Spooks............. now wouldn't that be cool to come across. Now that takes a fertile imagination or a good buzz. I guess at my age, you'v seen it all and done it all. I gave up looking for magic and all the 'creatures' back in my 30's. Oh you might still find something spooky in the forest............ like a guerilla growing operation or something, but hoobu-goo's....... not likely...... in fact that's just wishful thinking. Do you know how much I could make off of a haunted something-or-other.....!

Only creeped out one time and it was way out in Canada. Over 100 miles to the nearest town and something threw rocks at us. The size of bowling balls. We left and didn't look back got to our canoes and headed back across the lake only to have 2 moose come out after us and basically swam to the other side too.

One time when I was about 14 we saw a UFO come out of the clouds and cross the sky and go into the next and you could see the glow till it was gone. My friends dad was full blooded Chippewa and all he said is "You boys don't say anything to anybody, you never say that" He never talked about it and nether did my friend.