20 People Reveal Their Creepy Experiences In The Woods That Made Them Never Want To Go Back
Answers from Ask Reddit
1.
“I work in the woods for a living and I’ve seen a fair amount of odd things… Carvings in trees, old beat up cars, random weird trash scattered through the woods, and a fair amount of animal carcasses. I’ve had instances where I’ve gotten spooked, stuff like jumping big critters is always quite jolting, but I can recall one rather butt puckering experience. I was working with a few other people at the time, spaced out of sight but not out of ear shot. I crossed over a little ridge atleast 2 miles from the closest road, in the middle of the woods, and I saw what looked like a full skeleton of a cow tied together with twigs and a little bit of twine. Who ever made it had fashioned it to be sitting on a log. They left a very neat pile of bones in front of the thing, and nothing anywhere else. I saw it and about fainted. Definitely really fucking odd considering how far we were off the road, and how thick and steep it was. I ended up getting the folks I was with to come check it out, really just for shits and giggles. I took note of it and we moved on to the next plots. I have a picture, but I’m new to this whole reddit thing so I’ll try to figure out how to upload it.”
— ms461
2.
“When I was a kid, a poacher must have thought I was a deer or something and shot a round at me. It impacted on a tree above my head. I immediately fired three shots as fast as I could, not at the shooter but in the air. In my hunting group, immediate three shots means “HELP” basically. My dad and our hunting club immediately came out to find out what the fuck happened by honking the horns of their trucks letting me know they were coming. I basically laid on the ground until I could tell they were near the dirt road. Told them what happened and guessed it was probably a road poacher trying to get a deer as it came from the same road. They didn’t see him. It was private property and we were always very aware of who was at what location and who was hunting where. Nobody was suppose to be in the part I was at.
Scared the shit out of me. This was mid-90s. Reason why I don’t like hunting on public property is cause of that and I don’t know the people out there.”
3.
“when i went hunting with my dad one time we saw a homeless looking guy carrying what looked like a torn cloth and a screwdriver on one of the trail cams. this cam was pretty deep into the woods, and it was no one we knew so we were pretty creeped out to go back out there.”
4.
“I walked up on a meth lab (not sure if that is the right term) while scouting for a hunting spot. I noped the hell out of there immediately. I had never encountered such a thing before, and in hindsight the smell should have been a dead giveaway. It wasn’t until I was standing there looking at what looked like a bunch of garbage under camo tarps and such that I realized what I was looking at.”
5.
“I’m not a hunter, but I do a lot of hiking and mountain biking in the woods. Nothing has ever made me not want to go back, but there has been some weird shit.
First, there’s just a lot of weird stuff in the woods. Teepees, alters, lean-tos, shrines, etc. Some of it’s pretty creepy, but I think most of it is just built by bored people who are trying to make something creepy, so that makes it a bit less scary. Among the strangest of these things that I’ve seen are: a large clearing of trees with all but one entrance blocked off by webs of red strings and a giant stone pentagram stretched across the clearing (~30ft diameter); a wooden tunnel leading to a small room containing defaced religious icons (Buddha statues, crucifixes, stars of David, etc.) and dozens/hundreds of creepy Polaroid pictures hanging from the ceiling (ones I remember include a close-up face shot of a girl sleeping, a dude brushing his teeth taken from outside of the window, and a photo booth strip of two girls where one of their faces are crossed out and “I’M GLAD YOU’RE DEAD” written with one word on each picture); and a number of weird little shrines with creepy scriptures printed or scrawled into them.
But what’s a lot scarier to me is stuff that isn’t meant to be creepy like the aforementioned things hopefully are. I once heard a distant panicked scream followed by a crashing/thudding sound. I couldn’t tell from which direction it came from and I didn’t hear anything else, so I have no idea what it was.
I think the creepiest thing I’ve experienced was one time while walking home from school through the woods. I heard people talking in the distance, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying but they seemed to be arguing. They were quiet for a minute, and then I heard them again, really close now. The forest was really dense here so although they sounded maybe 15-20 feet away I couldn’t see them or pinpoint exactly where they were. This time I could hear what they said:
Guy 1: “it’s fucked up you guys always make me-“
Guy 2 (in a hushed voice): “shh! Someone’s coming!”
Guy 1 (now also hushed): “shit”
Guy 3 (from a bit further to my left than the other guys, who sounded to be mostly right in front of me): “hurry”
Rustling noise
Guy 1: Fuck!
Guy 2: SHH!
I came around a corner and expected to see them, but I couldn’t see anyone. I kept walking, cautious and trying to be aware of my surroundings. About ten feet past the corner I saw something to the left of the trail (close to where the voices we’re coming from) that caught my eye. It was a bunch of stuff wrapped up in a big tarp. It wasn’t completely wrapped up and you could kind of see into it. All I could see was something glass and I wanted to see what it was. I scanned the forest behind the tarp to make sure nobody was watching, and then stepped towards it. Suddenly, one of them says “keep walking” very calmly.
I looked back into the forest but still couldn’t see anyone. They said “go,” still calm. I looked for another second, still unable to see a soul, and then turned and kept walking like nothing happened. I don’t know what was going on but the whole thing gave me the creepiest vibe I’ve ever gotten.”
— DeadFIL
6.
“Camping alone in the middle of Missouri the night before turkey hunting. The place I found was a fairly well used campsite but no one was there. About to go to sleep when I hear a truck come up. I find a reason to come out (use the restroom) so I can get a look and maybe even ask for some good places to spot turkey. It’s a dude and his girlfriend drinking beers and going for a ride. They are super nice but they mentioned after our chat and before leaving “watch yourself out here.. lots of meth heads and they won’t stop for bird shot. Want a slug? I probably have a few in my tool kit.” I did not sleep at all that night.”
7.
“I was being watched on the woods, it was the strangest feeling. I got paranoid enough that I began walking all the way to where I knew a park warden was parked. After about 100 meters, I turn around to make sure I wasn’t being followed, and I see three bears smacking my stuff around. One bear was standing up in the middle of the access road staring right at me.”
8.
Went on a camping trip maybe 10 years ago and in the middle of the night we heard this incredibly loud “SMACK” way out on the water. Water carries sound really well, so it woke us all right the fuck up. My first though was some drunk/deranged motherfucker with a gun was shooting out over the lake and the sound was a bullet skimming off the surface.
Turns out it was a beaver that smacked the shit out of the water before diving under. It happened again in the early morning and we laughed it off, but the notion of being out in the middle of nowhere with some homicidal prick taking potshots at you creeped me out pretty good.
9.
“I didn’t see it but hearing my dad say, once we were safely in the car, “a wild dog was stalking us that whole time” made me more than a little uncomfortable.”
10.
“I spend a lot of time in the backcountry in the winter time. Usually it’s just me and a friend, most trails we do are popular in the summer, and totally dead once it starts to snow.
Winter in *2014, we’ve hiked about two miles in and see this small black backpack in the middle of the trail. We hadn’t seen any other cars at the trailhead or any people around, but this backpack hadn’t been there long because there wasn’t any snow on it (it had snowed the night before). It was a very odd sight, we figured if it was still on the trail when we looped around we’d pick it up.
About 4 miles in and my friend and I are chatting away when I notice a large figure flailing in some trees up ahead. We go quiet and can hear this man rambling while he’s pacing. At this point we’re pretty freaked out and decide to turn around when we hear “Oh, HI THERE” and this guy starts walking towards us… and then out pops another guy with a very pricey looking video camera.
It turned out this flailing guy was actually a rapper and they were filming a music video for one of his new songs out in the forest. They had parked before the trailhead so we didn’t notice their car. They ended up being super friendly and gave us a card, and we figured out it was their backpack we had seen on the trail the few miles before. We said our goodbyes and walked out. But hot damn I was sure we were about to be killed in the woods.”
11.
“Didn’t happen while hunting but when I was 12 I was looking for bottles in a creek on a dense forested hillside. Hear heavy footsteps behind me. They’re slow and sound heavier than a human or even a buck. I almost get paralyzed when I turn around and see 2 holes on a rough leathery bump. A few seconds and a heart attack later, I realised it was just the neighbors cow that got out and its nose was a few inches from my face.
12.
“Not a hunter, but a herper. I was looking for amphibians and reptiles with a few classmates at a local park during a herpetology class last summer, when we came across 2 little wooden ‘teepees’ and a card table covered in animal bones. It looked like we walked right into the blare witch project. Each of the structures had little alters that contained more bones in jars, plants, and other weird little trinkets. We got out of there fast and told the volunteer coordinator we were working with. We found out a while later that apparently, some homeschooled kids nearby liked to ‘play’ in the woods and they had most likely collected the things we saw. I understand making forts in the woods but the structures these kids made were freaky af.”
13.
“My dad’s story not mine: “I had been walking for a couple hours, and I decided to sit under a tree for a while, just see what would happen. As I was relaxing, I noticed this light that kept flashing past my eyes. I looked over to where it was coming from, but I couldn’t see what was there. Then I looked down and there was a red dot on my chest. Some asshole was using a laser sight and aiming at me. I yelled at him and started walking towards him, but he ran off. I went back to camp for the rest of the day.”
He didn’t think someone was actually trying to shoot him, but if people aren’t going to be safe with their rifles, he didn’t want to be out there.”
14.
“I used to be a field appraiser (you might call it assessor where you live) for a county in rural KS. I was at a parcel looking at and data collection some 20 foot shipping containers that had appeared in the last several months. It was obvious they were being used as hunting cabins during hunting season. As I was finishing up I turned around to walk back to my vehicle and standing right there were two hunters. They were dressed head to toe like snipers with ghillie suits on with large caliber rifles pointed at me. That scared the heck out of me. Of course they were mouthy and pissed off towards me, then when they found out what I was doing that escalated things even more.
I don’t blame them, really. They saw me walking around looking and measuring everything and taking photos of the place.”
15.
“I missed this trip with my dad and his hunting buddy.
They were in a remote section of southeastern Wyoming hunting for elk. Like any good elk hunter, they were up at 3:30 to stake out their spot and watch the herd patterns before daylight. As they were driving up to the spot, a figure appeared in their headlights, and by their silhouette, it wasn’t a hunter. What was a person doing walking down the road in complete darkness with no hunting gear?
My dad was driving, so he slowed to a crawl in his truck, and his buddy prepared his sidearm, as this had foul play written all over it. When they could distinguish the figure in the headlights, they saw it was a girl in a tank top and underwear, wearing no shoes on. They stopped and verbally checked her status out the window, as there could have easily been somebody staked out in the sagebrush, ready to ambush. When it was clear she was severely hypothermic and bleeding from her feet, they got out and let her in the truck cab.
From there, it had to have been a terrifying experience for that girl. I sure wouldn’t want two middle-aged rednecks picking me up 40 miles from any town. They cranked up the heat full blast and drove her to a nearby country gas station, where they were regular customers and friends with the owner and his wife, who was a retired nurse.
When the girl could finally articulate her words, she told them that she and her boyfriend drove out there to drink and have sex. When she started having a seizure during sex, he lost his temper, grabbed her shoes, and threw them into the sage. When she got out of the car to find them, he peeled off, leaving her in near-freezing temperatures in her skivvies. She estimated she walked about 4 miles on a dirt road before my dad found her. It’s a good thing hunters start early because she easily could have died.”
16.
“Couple of years ago I was in northern British Columbia on a fishing trip with my dad, uncle and cousins. The lake and river was a two hour drive from the nearest city. We were drifting down the river when I needed to go to the bathroom, so I got out of the boat.
As I’m doing my business, I look over and see what seems to be the top of a building. I turned to the people in the boat and told them what I saw. Walked towards the building, and realized it wasn’t alone. Multiple homes, buildings in the middle of the forest. It was a very small and isolated Native American tribe, and we backed away. Not super creepy but didn’t want to cause any trouble. We continued on without any contact.”
17.
“There is a place near where I come from that has all the hall marks of an excellent hunting area. Nobody goes there because there is a stand of giant Douglas fir trees that are at least 300 years old, and there are boots hanging by their laces, dozens of pairs, all hung in the very top branches of the trees. It’s practically impossible for a human being to have done this and nobody has a reasonable explanation for it. Even the most seasoned hunters will tell you to stay the hell away from there…”
18.
“Frequent Colorado hunter here. If you go hunting/camping anywhere within a mile or three of any road, it’s always spooky and most of the scare can be attributed to other people doing stupid shit. But if you pack up and head in deep, past 10 or 12 miles from any road, then you find the spooky shit ends and the pleasant outdoors begin. People just won’t go in that deep unless they’re headed for a popular lake or peak. Even then they won’t stray much from the trail. If you’re in that far back and you do happen to bump into someone, they’re usually just another outdoor enthusiast like yourself who’s paid the price to get away from the crowd and you’ll make a quick friend.
But once, while hunting way, way back in, we found a “camp” that seemed to be abandoned more than 5 years or so. But it was the location that was spooky. It made no sense, it wasn’t by any game trails, water, or passes. It would be hard as hell to pack anything in there and just difficult to hike to for any reason. There was no reason for where it was other than to get completely lost and “off the grid”. And it was well stocked with carefully constructed shelters, tables, fireplace, and other amenities. The canned food we found was dated to 5 years prior or more and just the way growth and trees had moved in you could tell no one had visited for years.
Logs had been cut down and arranged all funny like in circles around the camp and fanning out for 30 or 40 yards.
A lot of effort was put in that. There was also little, wooden carved statues and carved symbols and shit everywhere – some still hanging from branches. I’ve spent a lot of time in the outdoors and very little (other than people) will spook me. This spooked me and how. We got out of there and promised to not hike that way again. I can find it on google earth but you really can’t pick anything out and it makes me think is was planned that way. Trees for miles so there was no way to land an aircraft of any sorts. We thought maybe a growing farm but no sign of the plant anywhere – wouldn’t be a good climate anyways that high up.”
19.
“So I have two stories.
First, the not so creepy one: I was about 20 miles out in the back country on a week long hunting trip. By myself. Woke up in the middle of the night to a bear sticking it’s snout into the fabric of my tent. I immediately started meditating to slow my breath and just weather the situation. Because I knew if I moved or made a run for my car I’d be dead. The next morning I found some paw prints and they were the biggest bear prints I’ve ever seen.
Second. Very creepy story. Was deep in the woods this time too. Set up camp in a very nice little ravine. When I woke up there was a ring of big rocks around my camping area. They weren’t there when I got there/set up camp. I’m also a stout dude and I couldn’t move any of the rocks.
I was raised in the woods and now I refuse to go out there without a large caliber gun and I refuse to sleep out in the woods anymore.”
— Krith
20.
In September this year I was hunting Antelope out near the Red Desert in Wyoming. I had just shot my Antelope and was walking about 150 yards out to where he dropped so I could tag and begin field dressing the animal.
I should mention I’m about 40 miles from the main road and I had not seen another human or vehicle since I got off the main road. This area is so extremely remote its hard to even describe.
So as I’m walking out to the Antelope I look up and about 1 to 2 miles off in the distance I see this extremely bright light zooming over the landscape and headed my way. I thought it was probably a game warden on a side by side coming to check my paperwork and all. No big deal, I keep walking out and find the animal and look up and this light dives down into the sage brush and I can no longer see it, it was about half a mile from me when it disappeared, I also notice I don’t hear any engine if it is in fact someone on a motorized vehicle.
I’m mostly confused at this point, not sure what the hell this light is or where it went but I continue on and tag the Antelope, it takes me all of 10-15 seconds to put the tag on, then I look up and I see the light traveling away from me now and its about 3 to 5 miles away from me and going at least 100 mph, it was really zooming way faster than any vehicle could travel over that type of terrain. Also there are no roads or anything where the light is traveling so I don’t know how it was going so fast. I’m pretty spooked at this point.
I field dressed the animal as fast as I could and dragged it back to my truck, I just had a very uneasy feeling at this point. I have no idea what that light was although some others have speculated it was a drone but if it was a drone operated by the game warden why didn’t he come check me out once I got back to my truck?
