7 True Scary Camping Horror Stories (Vol. 3)

[Music] back during the summer of 2011 a few friends and I decided to organize a little camping trip to a forest just a few miles outside her hometown Delamere forest despite being pretty small presented us with a much needed opportunity to connect with nature city living can be good but it can be stifling so any chance to get out into the countryside was well-received but as time went by and the date of the camping trip approached things began to unravel one by one various friends called and texted to inform us that they wouldn't be attending

be it family illness lack of cash or just laziness in the end there was only two of us that actually decided to go so early on a sunny summer morning we boarded a train for the journey down to the forest the weather was perfect a cloudless sky with a light breeze that made the hike through the woods not nearly as oppressive as we were expecting it didn't take long for us to find a decent spot in the shade that happened to be right next to a stream we could use for washing and drinking water the

only trouble was the spot was very open visible the past survives and not the least bit subtle so it's late afternoon we're tired from our hike and we decided to build a fire to cook some dinner on but here's the thing building a small fire is an essential part of camping sure but it attracts people the smell of burning wood in the cooking food the smoke sometimes you might as well be announcing yourself to the whole forest with a megaphone or something but we know this so we're not exactly surprised when a group of locals

stumbles across our little camp and comes down to say hello they seem friendly enough at first and this might sound paranoid but the whole time I just had this bad feeling about them it fascinates me how human instinct can pick up things like that little clues and body language or speech that leads us to believe that someone isn't being entirely genuine I wasn't sure if it was the way the locals were looking at each other or the strange probing questions they asked but I knew they didn't have the best of intentions when they moved on

and were out of earshot my friend suggested we move the camp now he's normally the skittish one who I'm perennial e telling to calm down or chill out but on this occasion I knew he was right maybe we were being a little bit paranoid but in instances such as that it's always better to be safe than sorry so as tired and half drunk as we were we packed up our stuff doused the fire and then started looking for another place to set up camp luckily we found somewhere pretty quick a heavily wooded hill that basically

overlooked our old campsite on one side not that we had a direct view of it but if you walked a minute or so away from camp we had a pretty good view of the surrounding area at least we did during the daytime as the Sun set we started another fire cooked ourselves up some ramen noodles and our nest tins then proceeded to drink and smoke ourselves stupid we talked nonsense around the fire until we were too tired and drunk to continue then retired to our poncho shelters for the night I'm pretty sure I passed out

as soon as I got into my sleeping bag as I don't remember drifting off or anything I just know that the next thing I can recall is opening my eyes and pitch darkness to the sound of a distant car revving its engine at first I was just annoyed to be woken up the hangover was kicking in hard and I felt like boiled faeces as I tried to fall back asleep but the distant vehicle kept revving its engine and as the sound grew louder and louder I knew it was getting closer something told me to go

and check it out by the time I started to hear voices it might have been just a bunch of kids taking a stolen car for a spin but like I said sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry but when I go to the edge of the hill I can already see torch beams all over our old campsite the revving engine was from a vehicle that had been driven all the way down the forest path to our previous camp someone was down there looking for us I think I acted more out of instinct than anything

else moving as quickly and quietly as I could back to my sleeping friend to wake him up I must have explained what I'd seen like two or three times he was just as exhausted and half drunk as I was but when it sank in he was up on his feet with me and helping to kick dirt on our dying fire we then grabbed a pair of binoculars we were carrying with us and then ran back to the edge of the hill to watch the scene below in utter horror we could see what was in the

men's hands thanks to the torches that they shone on one another baseball bats hammers and a length of rope or just a few of the things that carried they spat and cursed furious that they had come back too late to catch us to do god knows what all we had were our Swiss Army knives to defend ourselves with if the guys down there had decided to actually search the area they had found us pretty easily and I'm not sure I'd be here typing this today but our infinite fortune they didn't maybe they'd been drinking themselves

or were just too lazy to actually look for us but thank God they didn't with one person keeping watch and the other went back to camp to pack their gear as fast as they could the guys down below were hanging around our old camp kicking at the fire weed so carefully constructed taking all their spite out on the things we'd left behind as I've mentioned before they didn't seem keen on actually looking for us but they didn't seem like they were in a hurry to leave either this meant we were essentially stuck on this wooded

hill as an escape attempt with our heavy packs meant that if we were discovered there would be no outrunning any of them especially since they had a vehicle we ended up staying there until morning neither of us could get any sleep despite the gang leaving with their vehicle I remember being terrified they returned with more more torches with more of a will to find us but they didn't they were probably sleeping off their own hangovers by the time we were on the train ride home we were due to stay another two nights and I was

still annoyed we'd had to call the trip short but with those scummy local thugs around we just didn't want to risk it be careful when you're traveling around whether it is internationally or locally because despite the unfathomable kindness of strangers some of them aren't so friendly the story takes place up in Scotland a few years back to friends and I took an overnight coach from Liverpool to Dumfries for a week-long wild camping trip the major difference between wild camping and regular camping is the presence of tents wild campers don't take tents they just use Poncho's

or tarps to make a basic shelter then basically just sleep on the bare ground yeah it can suck sometimes but it's a challenge it burns the fat from our soles so to speak so it's like 5:00 in the morning we've hardly slept and we're trying to navigate our way through the Scottish countryside naturally we take a wrong turn we have six and a half miles ahead of us roughly nine of hours of walking and we have taken a wrong turn two minutes in I am in disbelief that we could be that dumb even though it's

about half 5:00 in the morning and we are a strange looking trio we stop a passing cyclist to ask directions he is typically friendly and helpful and points us in the right direction we turn a corner and catch a glimpse of a war memorial that would serve as a navigational checkpoint a medley of wheat Cheers is droned we cannot help but stop layer packs on the benches near the memorial and take a breather and the War Memorial is at a crossroads I'm reminded of people taking their own lives being buried at Crossroads and this troubles

me we are bathed than warm golden sunlight as we make our way south west towards Gargan bridge the pavement is narrow and we are often forced onto the road to stay level one arise to our left we see our first rabbit this seems like a good omen we mime aiming through imaginary scopes making popping sounds and rubbing our bellies at it it clocks us and scampers into a hedgerow we continue walking under heavy packs past a tacky fox stone house sign with two plastic looking swords protruding from it it says something in Gaelic only in

Scott one of us pants we reach kargh and bridge and cross the bray with an old blacksmith's dwelling at its foot working our way up a gentle slope past the local secondary school and reached the farm track we have made good time and there are no farmhands in the fields just scores of grazing livestock the farmers house is exceptionally trim but the cattle shed and neighboring building are rundown and I suspect home to bats sheep in months old lambs spot us and skiff away skittishly we navigate past the cattle shed and clamber over two fences

to avoid a giant waste tank this head inadvertently put us right in front of another kind of fence the electrified kind is that electric someone whines I follow the wire with my gaze and see it dig sharply connecting with a battery unit I grimace it is too high to bound over in our packs make it impossible to crawl under it I imagine what it feels like to receive an electric shock to my testicles I spot a large piece of Deadwood and surrounded by fresh cow pats and as if they were landmines avoid them nervously and

drag the Deadwood to the fence it is heavy enough to pin it down as I step over I hear it buzzing faintly we continue across two fields climbing the fence between them this is not easy with a heavy pack I take out my iphone to film the ascent of the first of many hills we start to breathe heavily as our pack suddenly feel twice as heavy and we lean forward to maintain momentum our steps are strained and small I put the phone away at the steepest point the banter ceases and we heave ourselves up the

grassy ascent I start to feel hungry and our first rest point comes into view a plan stop to orient in order ourselves we lay down our packs just a few yards away from where we pitched our tent on the previous trip and rest our aching legs my friend Corky takes his shirt off it is soaked with sweat and I noticed steam rising from his shoulders Jesus Martin the other guy exclaims there's actual steam coming off of you we laugh as we take out tobacco and food Martin and I have the same Scotch oat cakes we

eat them with cheese spread and share Martin's jet boiled coffee the Jetboil is an incredibly handy little gadget and will almost become the center of our lives for the next week Corky puts on mind dry civilian clothes and eyes up but tin of all day breakfast preceding the readouts some of the ingredients it is much cooler here in the shade and we gaze out across the landscape either picking bits of oak cake out of our teeth or smoking rolled cigarettes it is already 7:00 in the morning yet our sleep deprivation makes it seem later in

the day this is mildly disorienting yet we estimate a rival at Lahaul bar by around 10:00 Corky is sceptical of this the wrong turn was not as satisfying enough speed bump and he is still expecting one this feeling is justified after moving slowly but steadily cross-country along the ridge of the hill we reached the small collection of houses that serve as a landmark after some deliberation we decide to cross a field of cows that has the only traversable fence we can see we are motivated partly because it seems quick and easy partly because it avoids

another more vicious looking electric fence about half way across the field I noticed the numerous cows begin to stare at us this is not usually particularly intimidating but their number and obviously hostile glares make me slow my step they're all looking at us you know I say they're they're just curious Martin says the cows begin walking towards us spreading out in the line I am reminded of almost a battle formation they're walking towards us now they just want to have a look at us Martin says the cow started to a trot and then a cumbersome

gallop Corky stops and starts to walk backwards did the running at us I too stopped and began to turn over my shoulder I see a small enclosure with electrical conductors in it bail dude bail Corky yelps and we try to run under our packs this amounts to hobbling I have already waited up and have decided death by electricity has to be quicker than trampling don't run Martin screams instantly the order fires synapses in my brain I stop spin around and throw my arms into the air making myself appear large Corky repeats the same motion simultaneously

and without regarding me the charging cows seem to respond instantly some stop the rest slow their pace I hear an indistinct shouting coming from the other side of the field it is the farmer bidding us to advance along the fence to the gate see we're good just keep moving March says reassured we move slowly and compactly arms outstretched as the cows surround us and jostle for a view of us they are aggressive with each other some mount the cows in front of them for a glimpse this is all ok I say to myself this is

all gonna be ok nice cows this is completely safe this isn't really perro I want to laugh but I cannot I am genuinely terrified limbs shaking I climb over the wooden gate as the farmer addresses us hey there just curious there just come up for a wee look if you along the edge of the field you'll do all right if you've gone across then he then breaks off and looks away then I don't know could you tell us a good route to maybe house yeah just follow this road here it's usually quiet then turn right

at the main road and follow it don't turn off into the farm just keep the going and you'll find the road to the house or key yeah cheers mate we are delighted for his assistance he seems mildly interested in us but is obviously too annoyed by the commotion to show it pretty much every time I told the story since people have laughed I get that I can see why a bunch of city kids getting scared by cows is definitely somewhat comedic but it did scare the life out of us especially when we got home from

the trip and realized just so much danger we were really in you see cows kill more people each year than sharks do and pretty much the exact way I described a hiker or country walker decides to cut across a field not around it or using the edge and they get trampled by cows in fact the UK Health and Safety Executive has since reissued long-standing advice to farmers not to put calves and their mothers and fields accessible to the public as a precaution that is straight-up pulled from an article from the British newspaper The Independent so

next time you fancy taking a shortcut through a field make sure it's not occupied you could get a nasty very unexpected surprise [Music] Washington National Forests is the oldest of its kind in the southern United States nearly 2 million acres of untouched wilderness that make for some of the best hunting trips imaginable in fact it is said that Ouachita is composed of the Choctaw word of OA for hunting and Chouteau for big together meaning big hunt far from home so as you can imagine during hunting season you can't move for high-vis jackets and bright orange

hunter caps my buddies and I have never really been into hunting or about as East Coast as they come I mean until we visited Arkansas I barely even made it past Pennsylvania so our idea of relaxing in nature does not include butchering a freshly killed animal so when we discovered that there was a window during high summer when hunting in the Ouachita is strictly forbidden we were absolutely elated there'd be entire sections of the forest that would be basically deserted we'd have the place to ourselves or so we thought we drove for eight hours a

day for three days to make it all the way to Arkansas from our home in Haverhill Massachusetts since 1,500 miles and one sitting was too nauseating to think about we made a little road trip out of it stopping in Philly DC in the Nashville honestly I think I could move to DC just for the mumbo sauce I saw it on Anthony Bourdain and just had to try it trust me that does not disappoint but anyway by the time we finally made it to wash to national forests we were seriously ready to relinquish the trappings of

society and embrace the tranquility and purity of nature which is a fancy-pants way of saying we were ready to get blind drunk around a roaring fire and sing Dropkick Murphys songs at the top of our lungs which we did maybe with a little too much enthusiasm as after just two out of the four nights we were due to camp in the wash too we ran out of beer and tobacco not exactly at an opportune moment either it was late in the afternoon when we opened our coolers to discover just three untouched just enough to keep

us company on what would surely be hours of walking to the nearest liquor store outlaw liquor was a little more than a wooden shack on the outskirts of a small town called Crystal Springs it took us about three hours of solid walking to get there and I can promise you it's worth every step at first we weren't sure if we were in a liquor store or a hunting lodge there were taxidermy zuv black bears buck turkeys and red foxes dotted all over the place Jeff the owner showed us saw the locally made wines and spirits

and even gave us samples of a few choice fermentations we walked in with the attention of grabbing a six-pack or two and left with our backpacks full of beers some of Jeff's homemade beef jerky in a few little bottles of homebrew wine along with the bottle each of what Jeff the owner called barrel-aged Abraxas a locally brewed stout that was 11% yep you read that right 11% the Sun was beginning to drip below the horizon by the time we were anywhere near our campsite as aching feet from hours of walking were numbered by the booze

we sipped as we walked I had already cracked opened my own little pack of jerky passing out strips of it's as we hoped that it might soak up a little the booze we were at that point in a drinking session when bladders are getting a little too full so every so often our journey back to the camp we'd stopped so one of us could take a walk off in the trail to urinate it was a beautiful evening crickets chirp Taz bats flew around our heads tripping softly as they used their sonar to hone in on

flying insects when it was my turn to call for a pee break my buddies sat down on the edge of the trail with their beers as I wandered off into the woods to find a decent spot I found one did my thing and then started to turn back when I heard something through the trees it sounded like people hushed voices and footfalls among the fallen leaves and my stupid half booze states I thought it might be a good idea to introduce myself maybe we could have a few drinks tell us stories make some friends but

these people did not want to be friends as I push through a patch of dense brush and into a small woodland clearing it became clear that's wanting to introduce myself was a terrible idea the moment I emerged three or four guys in the clearing turning to look at me an angry surprise that were in rough clothing ragged leather boots and a lot of denim H had some kind of weapon in their hands machetes bowie knives one of them had this rusted spiked club that looked like it could have been a hundred years old between them

hogtied and writhing in the dirt was a young woman her body a mosaic of bruises and abrasions I couldn't believe what I was seeing never in my life had I heard anything so upsetting as the noises she made through her cloth gag when I finally unglued my eyes from the sight before me I looked up at one of the hillbilly looking guys looming over the prostrate girl he was smiling and with one smooth motion he raised a single finger to his lips I turned and started walking slowly at first I didn't want those guys to

think I was panicking but it was going to call the cops or something I tried to stay calm but after a few seconds I started running sprinting towards the trail I didn't need to say a word to my friends they started sprinting too as soon as they saw my face we ran and ran and ran until my buddy puked up beer and half digested jerky all over himself but by that point we were out of danger no one was following us when I told them exactly what I'd seen an argument ensued one of my friends

went to call the cops immediately while the other insisted we had to get out of the woods as soon as possible this would mean driving his car well over the limit until we could find a motel we could not call the cops and risk a DUI not in Missouri we concluded that we'd call the cops first then get out of there into a hotel before we got pulled over breathalysed and arrested we never heard back from the cops my buddy reported what I'd seen over the phone and as much detail as he could but I

never got closure for what I'd seen that night I often wonder what happened to that girl if she ended up getting rescued or if she is living a peaceful happy life now but sometimes in the darkest of moments I know that girl didn't make it out of the Washita even if she was alive a piece of her would be forever left than that little clearing in the woods taken from her by cruel wild men [Music] back in early 2014 a few friends and I had an idea to do something for charity we discussed shaving our

heads running marathons organizing some kind of community picnic but nothing seemed to gain any traction they were all tired overused ideas if we wanted to get donations we needed to do something big so when I had the idea of spending 7 nights sleeping rough after hiking 20 miles into the Brecon Beacons mountain range in Wales I knew it was crazy enough to get donations but I didn't think my friends would agree to it but they did for some inexplicable reason they agreed it was a numbers game simple tell people 7 night's 20 miles homeless for

the homeless and watched the purse-string loosen by the date of departure we've collected the grand total love 1250 5 pounds just over 1500 US dollars for shelter a British charity that helps Street sleepers and those facing housing crisis we felt proud beyond words but in the run-up to the after mentioned day of departure we were getting pretty anxious the Brecon Beacons are used by the british special air services basically our version of Delta Force for their training due to how rugged and wild the terrain can be we'd also planned the trip for early April which

meant heavy rain and strong winds this meant that we ended up investing a fair bit of our own money in military surplus equipment we need a lot of gear to keep ourselves safe and warm for seven whole nights in the beacons and it so happened that army surplus gear was the cheapest and most reliable option so as you can imagine we were covered in camouflage for the March out in the beacons huge rucksack stuffed with canned food and water weight us down as more miles meant more pain pain in the shoulders pain in the feet

pain in the knees and the neck and the thighs by mile 17 the two other guys who attended had thrown in the towel I found myself the only dissenting voice as they proposed call a taxi for the final three miles of the journey one of my friends claimed his pack was ridiculously heavy and he simply couldn't carry on marching I wondered just what he'd brought with him that made his gear so difficult to march with but when we reached a large freshwater lake and set up camp I found out why he brought an air rifle

a 22 pellet gun that must have accounted for almost half the weight he was carrying yeah I was a little annoyed maybe if he'd left it behind he'd have had it in him to keep going but boys with toys right we had eight whole days to kill target shooting would definitely account for a few hours of fun not to mention if we found ourselves a tasty look in wood pigeon or rabbit we might be able to treat ourselves to a bit of fresh meat so after an initial first night of exhaustion chilling around a fire

at the lakes edge before getting some sleep we arose at dawn with a big day ahead of us somehow we've gotten into our heads that a dawn hunt would be a good idea few people around the Wildlife would be active but it wasn't to be we didn't get a decent shot on a single animal but we did run into something at one point in the absolute middle of nowhere we break through a tree line and find ourselves face to face with a blurry eyed early-morning dog walker we couldn't believe it the chances of running into

someone around here was minimal but there someone was looking nervously at a group of lads wearing camouflage one of which was carrying an air rifle that looked exactly like an actual firearm we waved he smiled we all moved on we didn't think anything of it to be honest he didn't seem like the type to call the police or make a big deal out of it I mean he didn't ask questions he didn't even mention the rifle so by the time we made it back to our camp in time for lunch it incidentally had been pretty

much forgotten after an afternoon of gathering firewood and other camp crafts we settled in for an evening of fireside storytelling I cracked out a few choice ghost stories some of which got more laughs than spooks while we downed a few beers before heading to sleep a few hours later I'm jolted awake by something the large shelter we'd made for the three of us from a huge tarp should have been pitch-black but I could see rays of light penetrating from torch beams outside then I heard it armed police come up with your hands raised right now

one by one we exited the shelter just as they ordered us to my hands were shaking horribly as I pushed them out of the entrance and into the blinding light of five or six torches I remember the pure gut-wrenching fears I realized the beams of lights weren't in the police's hands they were attached to the end of whatever weapons they were carrying I only noticed in a flash but the realization hit me right between the eyes I'm honestly amazed I didn't wet myself right then and there on the ground now get on the bloody ground

I hit the dirt hands on the back of my head as my two friends followed soon all three of us were lying face down on the cold wet forest floor as the armed police searched our shelter it didn't take them long to find the air rifle got it boss one of them called out I couldn't see any of this but it was obvious based on what they were saying is that it that's your lot yeah just a pellet gun by the looks of it wait so you three aren't pathfinders or something I took a minute

before we found the balls to speak up no but military at all no no three of us said at once oh well all right then the police officer in charge took a few guys back down the trail little Rowan had a little huddle from what I could figure out the dog walker who had seen us had mistakenly thought that we were british army austan maneuvers and had decided to inform the authorities I don't know if this is standard procedure for civilians in the area I mean they must be used to the presence of armed men

in the beacons but sometimes I think he may have thought we were going AWOL or something and made the decision to call it in there are a lot of ex officers living in the beacons maybe he was one of them but I digress the armed police had us get up off the ground before they questioned us as to why we were there we were honest to a fault told them there was a charity thing homeless for the homeless or whatever Maxim we'd adopted for the fundraising aside from the air rifle they actually seemed pretty impressed

I figured they'd be annoyed at the false alarm but in reality an armed policeman getting the call means overtime pay and hunting idiots in the woods with real guns not crappy pellet guns this wasn't some inconvenience for them and they live for this stuff it was surreal but they left having only confiscated the air rifle they left us our knives in fishing gear even though we admitted to not having a fishing permit for any of the local lakes they talked about smelling something funny in the air but still didn't search our tent for anything even

though I know that they found a lot we didn't want them to they also verbally assured us that we'd not be charged with anything and I just don't do it again boys yeah well as all they had to say on the subject and we actually went back to collect the air rifle to in the back of my mind I was sure they'd go back on their word and arrest us at the police station there are some serious armed trespass laws in the UK and to this day I have literally zero clue as to why they

didn't charge us with anything I'd like to think that they were impressed with the whole charity thing that they decided to come down lightly on us but in reality I think we just got lucky after all I still think we're extremely lucky that our pellet gun wasn't the only thing they'd taken from us that night one wrong move I might not even be here to take this a few years back a few friends and I went on a camping trip in the Scottish Highlands it was tough going the weather was unforgiving in the terrain even

more so but the trip was an overall success no one got hurt no one got lost nothing remotely unnerving or scary happened at all at least until the last nights when we arrived back in the small Scottish village we were due to catch a bus in we were physically and emotionally exhausted by the time we arrived back in the small highland village that served as our line of departure five nights in the mountains would do that to you we had barely slept and barely eaten so the sight of a small greasy spoon cafe almost brought

tears to our eyes we drew stairs from the locals and to be honest I don't blame them we were a mess of bloodshot eyes and greasy hair all of our clothes wreaked of smoke from huddling around a fire at night they were curious but still friendly the owner questioned us on our trip and took a great deal of pleasure in our fascination with the highlands it always earned you brownie points with the locals when you tell them they must be tough hard-working people to live in such a barren place we left with full stomachs and

headed to the nearest and only pub in the village they were equally welcome and even stayed open an hour so later than usual just so we'd have somewhere to keep warm into our late night bus was set to arrive we left the pub with about 20 minutes before our bus was due having heartily thanked the bar staff for accommodating us then made our way along almost barely lit streets towards the villages one and only bus stop now it's important to note that the bus stop is located just next to a small bridge which provides a

crossing point over the river that runs through the village so in the lowlights of semi-functioning streetlights we knew that there was a bridge we just couldn't see what was on it at any one time the minutes are ticking by and we're all clock-watching we can't wait to go home two hot showers warm beds and properly cooked food there must have been less than ten minutes to wait when we heard something from the other side of the river a grunting sound but I think we were too buzzed and exhausted to make anything of it but the

sound continues getting louder and more vocal until we realized there's someone on the other side of the bridge someone who sounded drunk someone had sounded angry I can't remember who but someone was curious enough to gather the energy to go check it out I wasn't watching but I could hear their heavy footsteps and boots against the metal bridge moving slowly to the top then there was a humdrum of noise as they came down the bridge stairs faster than they'd gone up grab your bags now he hissed trying to keep his voice down move we had

no idea what was going on in fact I thought it might be some sort of prank some lame attempt to inject a little excitement into the final hour of our trip but one look in his eyes told me he was serious I had never seen my friend that scared before ever as if to confirm what he was saying I began to hear the same kind of footstep noise on the metal bridge someone was moving fast across the bridge from the other side making the same angry grunting noises we've been hearing none of us wanted to

take a chance so we all grabbed our heavy packs and dragged them across the road and into a small dark village street we were fairly concealed in the darkness but we still had a good look at our side of the bridge each of us wanting to see just what had scared our mate so much then we saw it a man staggering down the bridges metal stairs was something in his grip the glinting of stainless steel in a low light Jesus Christ is that a machete no sooner had one of us exclaimed that the man honed

in on the sound of our voices he raised the huge blade in his fist pointing it towards the dark alleyway that we thought was concealing us you he roared in his rough Scottish accent then began to bound down the britches stairs towards us waving the machete as he ran we bolted hurtling down the small dark Street we had no idea where we were going but anywhere that wasn't in the immediate vicinity of this drunken blade wielding maniac had to be better whoever was in the lead must have had the presence of mind to loop around

the block if we got too far away from the bus stop we'd miss our ride and the only other inner city bus to roll through the village wasn't due for another two days he explained this to us the first chance he got and we all rude the situation we were faced with go back to the bus stop and risk getting stabbed or stay away from the bus stop miss her bus and end up stuck in the middle of nowhere in Scotland it was like a military operation or something we moved in pairs covering each other's

movement and watching for any sign of our potential murderer somehow we made it back towards the bus stop without running into him we figured we'd lost him and started to relax as best we could it was about five minutes after the bus was due to arrive and we were starting to panic again some of us had gotten it into their heads that we'd missed the bus entirely and we better start looking for a decent place to bed down before we ran into the machete wielder again but they didn't have to wait long as a few

minutes later a familiar looking figure emerged from one of the poorly lit side streets our collective hearts sank when we saw what he had in his grip the machete it was the same guy yo he roared again before slowly walking towards us this time we took a different tact I don't know if it was the adrenaline or the pure desperation to catch the bus and get our butts out of there but we stood our ground we roared back at him pulled out our pathetically small Swiss Army knives and dared him to try us looking back

on it it was kind of glorious we went from terrified vermin scattered to the streets the Fallen warriors willing to defend their ground what happened next was like something out of a film as we were facing the dude we began like pacing back and forth in the street zigzagging toward us in the street still waving his machete he was obviously deterred slightly by a newfound aggression but it obviously didn't deter him entirely a horrible feeling came over me as I realized that one of us could well be about to suffer life-changing injuries but in the

distance near where the road pulled away from the rivers course a police van came trundling around the corner revving towards the scene to a rescue it was like the cavalry showing up in an old western and we were saved our bravado doubled and we actually began to advance up to him pushing him towards the approaching police that he was somehow completely oblivious of he only realized what was happening when the van skidded to a stop behind him and a trio of burly looking Scottish policemen jumped out and pounced on him he got tackled hard so

hard you heard the sickening thud of his head slamming into the concrete but we had zero sympathy we cheered as the bedrooms lights of nearby dwellings flickered on and faces began to appear in windows to watch the melee then as all this is happening the bloody bus turns up coming around the same corner the police van did we continue to cheer grabbing our bags and padding victoriously towards our ride home the police wanted to talk to us about what had happened but backed off once we explained that this was our one ride out of town

I told them we'd be in touch to make telephone statements but we never ended up getting at we were all just so glad to be out of there in one piece I loved camping I used to spend every waking moment either camping or planning a camping trip I loved being outdoors away from the suffocating mundanity of everyday events the first world problems I used to do a pretty hardcore to making shelters instead of taking a tent drinking from mountain streams hunting and setting traps for our food so in April of last year two friends and

I departed on a four night hiking camping trip on the Appalachian Trail with loads in excess of 50 pounds we marched 20 miles into the lush green hills before reaching our first major water source a long strip of tranquil clear water set in the picturesque Valley the journey took two days with around 18 hours of straight marching our packs begin digging agonizingly into our shoulders with every step yet the sense of achievement was intoxicating days and nights rolled by as we worked our way along the trail foraging food as we went it was tiring a

constant struggle but the sense of peace that the outdoors can provide is profound at nights we skewered hot dogs on sticks Wolfen them down as we warmed sweet apple cider in our mess tins over the fire we listened to Al's call out like ghosts and watched embers dancing up in the air like fireflies as our eyelids grew heavy we had found a fair amount of fruit and fresh water was plentiful but our attempts at finding protein came short at each turn we were unable to find any duck eggs to slower to inexperienced to snare rabbits

and our improvised fishing rods weren't working as well as we were used to we were getting desperate and although we were trying man cannot live on cereal bars and peanut butter alone we would have to make a journey to the nearest town nearly seven miles away needless to say we got lost after a few hours of walking we began to climb a fairly steep hill by means of a shortcut the whole way up I remember watching a thick fog cling to the top of the hill at least 500 metres above us only it wasn't exactly

clinging it was just waiting waiting for the temperature to drop low enough for it to roll down on to us over us and it did I remember the image my friend Chris being severely obscured as I walked behind him we tried to remain cheerful when we started to see the remains of newborn lambs April is birthing month for sheep so this isn't necessarily an unusual sight but these remain completely unscathed no scavengers had touched these corpses and there were a lot of them needless to say we were relieved when the outline of a cottage came

into view we had absolutely no idea where we were and there was no mention of any cottage on our map my feet ached and our water supplies dwindled having not expected to be out or lost for such a long time we decided to stop and ask for directions we had to climb over a low dry stone wall to reach the building itself as the cottage was oddly set in the hillside I noted with grim interest that there was no path leading to or from any kind of road or highway the dwelling being completely cut off

from all human contact we stopped as we reached the front gate or what passed as a front gate it was made of a few roughly cut tree limbs crudely bound with rusty nails and rotting twine Chris tried to open it but there was no hinge it just fell back into his hands they set it aside politely albeit confusedly a small courtyard before the front door was overgrown with weeds grass growing long between broken slabs of concrete beneath our feet dotted around the smaller front garden was an assortment of curios placed in decorative positions things were

tied to the branches of the sapling in the center of the Haggard lawn small toy cars a tennis ball a hairbrush a wheelbarrow sat at the foot of it filthy from exposure containing a few soggy looking books some VHS cassettes and a children's action figure they were oddly arranged in a rough circle around the action figure arriving nervously at the door I reached my arm out feeling a grow heavy as I made a fist I wrapped three times filling its Shake under the force and then waited listening for signs of life peering through a small

filthy window to the right of the decrepit door I could make out yet more assorted seemingly non-related items scattered on shelves and tables that's when I turned to crisps I remember simply remarking that we should move on that there was no one home but he didn't respond there was something about him he looked pale and confused I can hardly explain it now that I try to recall it he'd been looking through the grubby windows said I'd been knocking on the door and had gotten a much better look inside the house it was almost like he

had seen something but just couldn't explain what he began shaking his head violently hyperventilating as he rushed out of the little courtyard I was confused a little frightened and began shouting after him lesson just why he was acting so strange yeah the little cottage was weird but he was acting like he'd seen a ghost he only replied to me once through gritted teeth you need to leave now later that night while we were nursing beers around our campfire I finally plucked up the courage to ask him what he'd seen through the window he started shaking

his head in that same weird way stuttering as he tried to find the words to articulate himself he went on to explain that someone had been in that cottage the whole time hiding from us that as I had been banging away trying to get their attention that they'd taken one solitary look outside at us right into my buddy's eyes my buddy said that he had never seen anyone so messed up that he couldn't tell if they were disabled or they had just been beaten so badly that their face had been rearranged he said that when

they locked eyes the figure on the other side of the glass had looked terrified but there's no way that they could have been surviving alone up there something else was living there too something that might have been heading back to us to arrive at any moment I thank God we didn't find out what it was [Music] at least once a year my stepdads family has a little camping trip get-together down in South Carolina my mom has been married to him for about six years now so I've had the opportunity to attend a handful of them

when my job permits me to do so the first trip I attended was right after mom and my stepdad got married alone with my little brother we loaded up my stepdads truck with camping gear and made the nine-hour drive from our home in Pittsburgh down to his native South Carolina we had just passed the state line into West Virginia when we first stopped for gas all of us piled out of the truck to stretch our legs and use the bathroom while my stepdad handed down and elderly attendant a few bucks to get us filled up

I finished up in the bathroom then headed back to the truck when I got into a little conversation with the elderly attendant he seemed nice enough at first asking where we were headed how long for that sort of thing but when I mentioned that we were camping his mood seemed to shift you know you should always be respectful in nature it can be unforgiving he explained don't mess with the animals don't leave nothing but your boot prints any mess and well the woods have a way of letting you know you're not welcome I assured him

we had the utmost respect for nature and he wouldn't be leaving any Trash around when we left but this didn't seem to change his demeanor at all he finished pumping our gas and went back to his chair without a word several hours later we were well into South Carolina when we made a final rest stop before the campgrounds he was basically a wildlife preserve that was also a truck stop complete with a little information board that told us about the local flora and fauna but something caught my eye in the bottom corner of the board

carved into the white plastic were just two words respect nature those were the words the gas station attendant had said to me it was weird sure but it had to be coincidence the same words yeah but hundreds of miles apart there was no way it could be the same guy I mean that stuff only happens in dumb horror movies naturally I didn't bother mentioning this to my mom or stepdad I mean why would I I had it seemed crazy I mean that would have been crazy to think that there was some connection between the gas

attendant and the scrawled message so we just got back in the truck and pushed on towards the campground upon arrival we say hello to the extended family a little round-robin of hugs and handshakes then get to work putting up a large luxury glamping tent that we'd been sleeping in once we're done there we head back and hang out with the family and fill up on barbecue my stepdads entire family was just as delightful as he was and I feel like at this point I should add that my stepdad was a far better parent than our

biological dad so aside from the initial period of them dating I was glad my mom had found someone so good for her after an evening around the fire singing old songs with my step uncle on the guitar we headed back to our tents to get some sleep but on arrival we see something lying in the grass just near the entrance and was a dead bird my little brother starts freaking out the thing was starting to decompose and a huge collective view echoed through the trees when the smell hit us my stepdad calmed us down saying

something about my little brother's car farts smelling way worse then proceeds to get rid of the thing as we get ready for bed but I watched him in the light of his own torch as he used a stick to get the feathery little could divert away from our campground he knelt down into the dirt and pulled something from under the bird's rotten wing something that looked like a note when I asked him about it he brushed the question off like he hadn't found anything I would have followed up with more questions but when I saw

the look in his eyes I decided against it he was spooked like seriously spooked the next morning some of the other family members mentioned hearing footsteps outside their tent during the day they were asking around trying to find out who went on a walkabout if we had any sleep walkers in the group who might be the ones responsible but to no avail no one would admit to being the one out of their tent so late that's when the atmosphere started to get a little uneasy the second nights was a little less eventful there were no

footsteps outside anyone's tents but I did hear something that meant I hardly got any sleep at all in the dead of night I could hear my little brother's voice across the tent at first I figured he was reading aloud as was common when he was that age but there was no flashlight so he didn't have a book I strained my eyes and ears trying to make out what he was whispering I thought I was going crazy when I finally made out the words there was no way he was saying what I thought he was saying

but he was he was reciting the information that was present on the wildlife board back at the rest stop we hit when we got into South Carolina it sound like he was reeling it off word-for-word like he was using all these big words that I knew my little brother didn't know off the top of his head he eventually stopped but I was so freaked out that I just couldn't manage to get any decent sleep I woke up exhausted to the sound of my stepdads voice he sounded unusually Stern when I stepped outside into the campground

and I saw why everyone was packing their stuff up and piling it's into their various vehicles we were due to stay another couple of nights at least but the mood was tense people weren't speaking to each other as they quickly packed up their gear my stepdad asked me to help out getting packed up and to do so as quickly as possible the look in his eyes told me not to ask questions we were back on the road to Pennsylvania by noon I was so glad to be out of there that I managed to keep my

mouth shut all the way back home I needed to know just what had happened to freak everyone out so much I also needed to ask him what he'd pulled off of that dead bird on the first night but the timing needed to be right we got home in the late evening so late that my stepdad had to carry my sleeping brother from the car and right up to the bed after some late supper I managed to catch him alone in front of the TV he knew what I wanted to ask before I even spoke there'd

been a notes on the dead bird just as I'd expected he told me it it said go home but had figured it was either a prank by local teenager's are one of his cousin's who'd resented that he left the Carolinas for the Yankee north so he'd ignored it I asked him if he'd heard my little brother sleep talking but when he shot me a confused look I knew he hadn't heard it himself but he did go on to explain what had gotten the family so freaked out that they'd chosen to flee the campground the cousin

who he suspected of the first note had woken up at dawn with a bladder full of beer sleepy-eyed he shuffled out of his tent peed and then headed back a little more awake that's when he noticed the dead deer laying near the fire pit someone had left it as a message he woke up my stepdad and got him to move the deer before anyone else woke up and freaked out as soon as that was done they woke their families up and got everyone moving but that's not the worst part my stepdad explained that whoever had

left the dead deer had carved something into its flesh they must have cut into the deer while it was still alive as he said the letters were formed more out of clotted blood than open gashes he said it was just two words two little words I asked them what they said he sighed unable to bring himself to look at me in the eyes final warning he replied hey friends thanks for listening be sure to subscribe and click that notification bell to be alerted of all future narrations if you got a story be sure to submit

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thanks so much friends and I'll see an area 51