1 Hour of Rainy Alone at Night Camping Horror Stories | Vol. 1 (Compilation)

"Important: last year I went out on my own into the forest, about an hour from my house, to go camping for a night. I wasn't planning anything special; I just wanted to spend some time outside for a day and then go home. Although inexperienced, I didn't see the harm in being out for just a day. When I got to the camping trail, there were three cars parked on the road right next to it. I really didn't want to talk to anyone or spend the day around other people, so I kept driving until I found

a different trail down the road. There were no places to park, so I had to go further down and then walk back. This trail was very thin and was all dirt, no gravel or anything, so it definitely wasn't a popular spot. I started down it, going through relatively flat terrain with nothing but trees and bushes around. As I got about two hours in, the trail slowly started thinning out until it was getting difficult to even tell if I was still on it or not. I had a feeling this could happen at the beginning, but I

was two hours in, so I wasn't even worried about it by then and had completely overlooked it. I turned around and started to make my way back, trying my best to find the more defined portion of the path, but just five minutes later, I saw something that made me stop in my place: a cabin sitting right in the middle of the forest. My first thought on seeing it was that I was 100% lost because I hadn't seen it on the way up. But then my thoughts shifted toward the eerie feeling it was giving me. What

was a cabin doing way out here? I approached it slowly, and seeing as it had no door, I looked inside. It was a mess, full of old garbage. The longer I stayed, though, the more creeped out I got. I turned around and started going back to the trail but was interrupted by a loud thump from behind me. I looked back at the cabin, and through the doorway, I saw a man appear from behind the wall. He was middle-aged and wearing torn-up clothes, pretty much looking like he lived there. He looked at me with a creepy,

emotionless face. I nervously said, 'sorry,' then quickly walked away. I looked back once, seeing him staring at me as I got further away. I spent the next hour on edge, looking everywhere for the trail while also making sure I wasn't being followed. As the sun began to set, I got increasingly more worried, but thankfully, just before the light was gone, I found the middle of the trail. I debated just going back to my car but chose to stake out the night just to be sure I didn't lose my way again. I unloaded my bag, got

my tent set up, then went inside and laid down. I had planned to get a fire going and do a bunch of other stuff, but at this point, I wasn't even in the mood anymore and just wanted to rest. I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep. When my eyes opened, it was pitch black, and all I heard was the forest creaking. Tilted in my head and my eyes locked on the entrance to my tent, staring back at me was the shadow-covered face of the man, with his head sticking through the half-opened entryway. I jumped

back, and the man did the same. I heard his footsteps hurrying away as I got out and looked, only seeing the back of him running into the woods. With my heart still racing, I undid everything and shoved it into my bag, then carefully followed the trail all the way back to my car. I can't even begin to think of what that man was about to do while I was sleeping, but his eyes looking back at me through the dark were a horrifying sight that is yet to leave my head. I, of course, never went back

and have mostly refrained from talking about it just because I know I won't ever get any answers. I was taking a summer hiking and camping vacation a year ago to a small river near my parents' house. I was visiting them for a few days, then going out alone to camp along the river for a night or two and head back home afterward. I don't live in the most adventurous state, so I always try to get out in nature whenever I'm in my parents' town. After visiting them, I set out on my hike. The trail I

took to get to the river was around four hours at a steady walking pace, but the best part about it was that nobody else ever used it. The river wasn't huge or anything, and there were plenty of trails that were more scenic and actually labeled; this one was just some thin dirt path that wasn't very defined. When I got to the river, it was basically dark, so I pitched my tent and got a fire going so I could relax before bed. As I sat there for a few minutes, I started hearing footsteps coming toward me.

I looked over, and after a minute, a man appeared from the trees. He waved at me and came over to my campsite with a smile. He looked like a normal man in his early 30s, though a bit dirty and unkempt, like he'd been camping out here for a while. After introducing himself as John, he made small talk with me, telling me that he was camping not far from here. I went along with the talking just to not be rude, but the whole thing felt off. Eventually, the man said good night and..." Walked away, I watched

as he went along the river with his flashlight. But after a minute, the light shut off, and there was nothing else after that. I didn't think that much of the encounter initially, but the man definitely had something off about him. What worried me the most was how he had come up just a few minutes after I got the fire going. He had to have been really close by, like he was following me or something. I chalked it all up to my nerves and told myself it was just dumb luck that he was out here. After

all, he came up and introduced himself, which I assumed he wouldn't have done if he had any bad intentions. I smothered the fire and stayed up in my tent for a while, then fell asleep. I woke up at sunrise and spent the day hiking along the river. Strangely, I never saw any other campsites, though; no signs of fire or tents being set up, not even in the direction I'd seen the man walk in. I figured he must have been further into the forest, but it only made me slightly more nervous. I got back to my

tent just before dark and was surprised to see John sitting next to my unlit campfire. "Can I help you?" I said. He smiled and said he was waiting for me to come back because he had found something down the river. He got up and started walking, urging me to come with him and see for myself. I hesitated. "I'm gonna stay here, John. I'm just a bit tired." He turned around and looked at me with that same smile and asked me again to go with him. We looked each other in the eyes for a long couple

of seconds, and I knew for sure that something wasn't right. His smile began to fade, and he asked me one more time in a less friendly tone. I chose to not say anything, and after a moment, he turned around and started walking toward the river. As I watched him, I saw the outline of a small gun poking out of his shirt, like he had shoved it in the back of his pants. While not uncommon to bring a firearm out in the forests, I'd never known any hiker or camper to have it uncomfortably in the back

of their pants belt—with their shirt on top of it. The only reason would be to have it concealed from other people's view, which, as far as I know, shouldn't be the main concern when going deep into a forest. After seeing that, I started getting everything together and was walking back within the hour. Thankfully, I was able to stay on the path in the dark and made it back to my car after four and a half hours of walking. The more I think about it now, the more terrifying that encounter was. I'm almost sure he had

followed me to my campsite, but I don't know for how long or if he was stalking me the entire time I was there. Him trying to lure me out to the river was almost surely an attempt at something awful, and I think that if I hadn't left when I did, he probably would have come back later in the night, and I never would have been seen again. Me and one of my good friends—I'll call him Jesse—would go on camping trips once or twice a year. We used to more when we were roommates in college, but

we both work full time now. Jesse was the one who actually got me into camping, having done it his whole life. I hadn't even been camping once before I met him. This happened two years ago on one of our yearly camping trips that we went on in the summer. To specify, we didn't go far out or anything; we basically went down a trail maybe two hours out, then set up our tents and everything. The whole point of it was to camp, not to hike, and usually for around four to five days. When we got to

a good spot, Jesse and I put everything together and relaxed. The next three days were just as you'd expect: we sat at the campfire and had some drinks and just talked. We went for some walks and played some board games as well, but to sum it all up, we really just relaxed. I mean, that was the whole point of it anyway. On the fourth day, we agreed to wrap it up and head back the next morning. The sun was starting to set, and we prepared to get the campfire going again. Jesse said he'd go for

a short walk and collect some dry sticks, and he asked me to get the food out and prep it for cooking. I did as he said, but as the sun faded out, Jesse still wasn't back. It had been maybe 30 minutes, which wasn't a long time for a walk, but it was a long time to be collecting sticks. I figured he must have meant he was going for a walk just to walk and not necessarily for the sticks. I waited another 30 minutes. The sun was now fully set, and it was getting really dark. I

had turned on our heavy lamp for a light source, but I knew it would run out of batteries if I left it on too long. I was getting really worried about Jesse. He was the one who was experienced in everything, so it just didn't make sense for him to get lost like this. I figured it best to at least start the fire so that if he was lost, maybe he'd see the flame and find his way back. I took the lamp, collected a bundle of sticks, and started the fire with some... matches. By the two-hour

mark, I was really losing it. I didn't know what to do; I was trying to decide between looking for him, going back and calling for help, or just staying put. Every scenario was running through my head. What if he had gotten hurt and wasn't far away? Then looking for him would make sense, but if he was far away, then me getting lost would only burden everything more. Two hours and 30 minutes after I'd last seen Jessie, and two hours after nightfall, I heard a gunshot. It was far off, somewhat in the direction Jesse went, but

what really scared me about it was that neither of us had brought a gun. I stood up and paced around the campsite for a minute before grabbing the lamp and going out to try and find him. It didn't take long before I heard steady footsteps running toward me. My hand was trembling, holding up the lamp, but the light only reached a few feet ahead. I saw a figure getting closer, and I barely recognized them to be Jesse. His eyes were wide open, and he looked horrified. I'd never seen anyone's expression be that visibly scared before.

He told me, in a sharp hushed voice, that we needed to leave right now. We ran back to the camp, got our backpacks, but left the rest behind. I questioned him, but he refused to answer until we made it out of the woods. He said someone else was there and approached him on his walk. He held him at gunpoint, making him be quiet and follow him somewhere. Before they reached wherever it was they were taking him, Jesse tried for his escape, and that's when I found him running. That's all he told me and ever has

told me every time I ask. I can tell he's purposefully leaving out some important details, but he still refuses to share them. One he specifically leaves out is the gunshot; he never mentioned it. Personally, I know Jessie is a capable guy, and it wouldn't be far off to assume he tried to overpower the man holding him up. Maybe he got the gun away from him and did what he had to do to escape. It would explain Jesse's traumatized state and why the man didn't chase him. I don't know what happened back there, but ever since,

Jesse hasn't wanted to go camping again. Honestly, neither do I, but I just wish I could know the truth about what went down that night. I owned an RV that I would use all the time as a camper in the woods behind my house. It was a piece of junk, but I would only drive it out a couple of miles, then park it and hang out for a few days, so it didn't need to be anything special. Around four years ago, I took this RV out into the woods for a normal weekend of camping. I

drove out on the dirt road about a mile, then pulled off into a small plot in between all the trees and set up camp. I made a small fire and brought out chairs, then sat back and had some drinks. I'd take friends out with me a lot, but they weren't always able to spend several days away, so this was just some time I was spending with myself. As night started coming in, I put some more fuel in the fire pit. Just after the sun had fully gone down, I heard something moving around outside my camp.

It didn't sound like any wildlife; it sounded more like a person walking somewhere out in the trees. I looked out in that direction but didn't see anything. This went on for around 20 minutes, hearing what sounded like someone walking around my camp. I put out the fire and went inside the RV, locking it up for the night and checking out the windows over the next hour but still never seeing anything. From all the times I'd come out into the woods, I'd never once had someone come across my camp, so this was not a normal occurrence.

Also, knowing that they were wandering in the dark without a flashlight was even less normal. I double-checked the locks before going to bed, and thankfully, I got a good night's sleep. In the morning, I got up, made coffee, ate breakfast, and spent a couple of hours in the RV before going outside. I wanted to take a hike around, but I wasn't too comfortable with leaving my RV there, knowing that someone else was out here. So instead, I went for a short walk. I went out where I had heard the person from last night, looking for

any shoe prints to confirm that it was actually a person, but from my quick search, I didn't find anything helpful. I don't know if it made me more or less uneasy, but when I got back to the RV, I brought out my handgun and strapped it to my waist just to be safe. When it was night again, I started up the fire pit and tried to take my mind off of things. I sat outside for a while—I want to say probably an hour—and was relieved to have not hurt anyone. I had a beer and listened

to the calming sounds of the woods at night until I got sleepy. I stood up and went to put out the fire when I saw a figure in the corner of my eye. My head quickly shifted to look at them. They were standing between the trees, maybe 25 feet away, glowing in the faint light of the fire pit and just watching me. Only a moment passed before they turned and walked away, leaving the light. I was really creeped out, and not hearing any more footsteps or movement only added to my anxiety. Me more paranoid about

where they could be. I picked up everything I had outside and put it in the RV, then put out the fire and locked myself inside again. I was even thinking about fully packing up and heading home in the morning because this just wasn't going to be a nice time anymore. Whoever was out there had now come by my RV twice, and neither time did they say anything or introduce themselves. I stayed on watch for a couple of hours, checking the windows multiple times and listening intently. It was during the third hour, while I was nodding

off in my chair, that I heard footsteps approaching the RV. They were walking quickly, going right up to the door. I stayed quiet, clutching my pistol and hoping for them not to do anything. There were a few odd seconds of them not making a sound but just standing on the other side of the door, and then they slowly walked around the RV and quickly ran away. I stayed awake until the sun came up, and as soon as it was clear enough to drive, I got the RV ready and drove home. Whoever was out there had

to have some sick plans for them to be coming up to my RV like that in the middle of the night, and I knew that if I stayed, it would likely have ended up really bad for one of us, and I wasn't going to take my chances for it to be me. I was on a camping trail in the northern Appalachians, I believe five years ago now. It wasn't anything special—just some new trail I was going along. I'd done many trails in this mountain range before and was confident in camping and hiking them. Based on

my research, I planned to be on the trail for three days, camping the two nights. The first portion was a decently beaten path, but the further out I got, the less apparent the path became. I continued still until a few things caught my attention, and I started to wonder if I was even on the right path anymore. I checked my mapping compass as well as some directional notes I made on my phone when I was researching. After looking into it, I was 90% sure I was on a different path. However, the map showed no alternative

paths on the route, so I was really unsure where I was. I turned around and followed the path back to try and get on the right trail again, but it was starting to get dark, and I was worried that I’d venture off and get further lost, so I set up camp where I was. I didn't go through the effort of doing a full setup; I just put down my tent, and that was about it. I bundled up in my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. A few hours into the night, I woke up to the

best of my knowledge for no other reason than having to use the bathroom. But when I unzipped the tent and went out to the trees, I noticed a glow in the distance—the unmistakable flickering glow of a campfire. My first thought was maybe someone had coincidentally followed the wrong path as well, but as I thought it over, I realized the chances of that were extremely low. It was also around 2 AM, so having a fire going in the middle of the night like this was very unusual. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing someone

was nearby, and I wouldn't feel safe unless I knew they were just fellow campers. My big idea was to start a fire of my own, hopefully showing them that I was nearby if they didn't already know, and if they were planning something, then it would show them that I was awake and aware. I burned up a flame big enough for them to see, but only a minute or two later, they put their fire out. My face went numb; there was no way this was a coincidence too. I waited the night out, checking frequently for any

sign of whoever was out there, but there was nothing else. In the morning, I rolled up my tent and got my gear ready, but my curiosity got the best of me. If they were just campers, maybe they'd know the way back too. I had my handgun holstered to my chest just in case, and I approached the site. It was empty, but there were clear signs of a fire. There were also multiple shoe prints all around, and not far off, a small hut or maybe a cabin—not something temporary. I approached with caution and looked inside the

open door. The place was old and musty smelling, but inside there was tons of camping gear: tents, hiking sticks, bags—everything a camper or hiker would need. Expensive gear too, not just some cheap junk. The way was piled up, though; it didn't seem like it was from one person or even from one time frame. Some of this stuff was new, and some of it was older. I turned away and started quickly going back. By some miracle, I happened to stumble by a boulder that I remembered passing on my way up and, from there, I found my

way to the right path. I took it back to the way I came and got out ASAP. I notified the police just in case, but nothing came of it. I don't think they ever searched the area, but I think whoever was out there was stealing people's camping equipment by getting them to go off the main path. I don't know how they did it or if anyone who fell victim was able to make it out, but I think I was extremely close to finding out firsthand. Oh, every year as a... Kid, my family would go on

these big camping trips. I was always really excited because we lived in Arizona, where there's pretty much nothing, and we'd camp in Washington. Seeing trees and grass was my favorite part, but I also got to see all my cousins. Even though we only saw each other a couple of times a year, we were really close. My favorite cousin, who was more like a brother to me, was Luis. He was a year older than me, and we were inseparable when together. Because of what happened, we became even closer after that camping trip. I think it took

us both a while to understand what really went on and what more could have happened to us. [Music] It started when we had been there for two days already. Most of our family was either in the lake or by the campfire talking. Luis didn't like to swim, so we decided to play in the woods instead. We played a version of tag called "Bandit." We'd switch off being the cop and chase the other one, who was the Bandit, until we caught them. We would play for hours, but in the woods, it's easy to just keep running

and not know where you're going. We tried our best to stay within viewing distance, but when Luis started chasing me with a huge stick, I guess my adrenaline kicked in to hyperspeed. I don't know how long I ran for, but eventually, I ended up at an old-looking trailer. Luis wasn't far behind, but I remember him throwing the stick down, his focus now on what we both assumed was an abandoned trailer. We discussed investigating it further, and I'm not really sure why, but we decided not to. We started walking back, but we didn't really know where

we were going. Probably about 10 minutes into our walk, we saw a couple coming towards us, pushing a shopping cart full of stuff. The woman approached us and was really nice while the man stayed back. She asked if we were lost, who we were with, our names, and ages. I remember when we told her how old we were, she looked back at the guy and then to us again. She told us we didn't have to be scared and that she would help us find our way home after they dropped off their stuff at their campsite.

She said we could also make s'mores if we wanted. Luis and I were hesitant, but she seemed really nice, and it was still daytime, so for some reason that made everything way less suspicious in my seven-year-old brain. Bad people only do things at night, so we were fine. We walked with them for a while, following them back to their camp. While she and Luis were talking, I glanced over at the shopping cart. It was filled with a bunch of rusty metal things and what looked like to be nothing new. Nothing was in bags; everything just

looked like trash they'd found somewhere. I started to get really uncomfortable, and I could tell Luis was too. Every time I'd look over at the guy, he was never smiling, and sometimes he'd be staring at me with a blank stare. This was 18 years ago, and I still remember how creepy he looked. We walked a bit further until the trailer came back into view, and the woman grabbed Luis's and my hands and asked if we were excited for s'mores. Suddenly, I heard Luis's name being called and then mine. We all stopped for a second, and

the lady squeezed my hand a bit tighter. She asked something to the guy along the lines of what they should do. He responded, but I don't remember what he said. The lady started to turn us toward the trailer while holding us tighter and tighter. She started to speed up as well into sort of a fast walk. I looked back and saw my sister through the trees. Without hesitation, I yelled her name, and the lady immediately let go of my hand. Luis and I ran to her as she made her way towards us. My sister yelled

to the others that she'd found us. My mom and dad thanked the couple, who had told them this elaborate story about how they'd been trying to find our parents for a while now and that we were such sweet boys and everything. I remember my parents inviting the couple over for burgers, but thankfully they declined. I think because the lady was so nice and that we were found safe, my parents didn't think twice. I do recall my dad and uncle talking about how creepy the guy was, though. My cousin and I ended up telling my sister,

who found us, that the couple was weird, but I don't think she understood what we meant. It wasn't until my cousin and I were old enough to understand that some people have really bad intentions that we talked about it again in depth. We both came to the conclusion that, by the looks of it, they were tight on money and were probably going to sell us or something. For years growing up, I had kept this from my parents because I was supposed to be the strong man of the family, and thinking about that time made me

feel gross and preyed upon. Luis also felt embarrassed as he was older than me and felt he had failed to protect me. We eventually told our parents a few years ago, but I wish we had told them immediately, and maybe something could have been done. Nowadays, I never let my kids out of my sight and always let them know that they can tell me anything without fear of being judged, especially my son. I went on a camping trip with my buddy from college; I'll call him Andrew to keep both of our identities safe. Identities private.

We’d been friends for a little less than a year and both enjoyed the forest and going for hikes, but really hadn’t ever stayed overnight in nature before. This was during spring break at our school, and we’d been planning this for a while. We chose a trail we were familiar with and even got a basic idea of the area where we would set up. Come the day of, we headed out without thinking twice. We were happy seeing that nobody else was on the trail; in fact, we had chosen this trail for that very reason, knowing it

was never a busy attraction. The trail took us about six miles into the forest before we got to the general area where we wanted to set up and pitched our tents. Then we had a small meal just before the sun was about to come down. Andrew and I collected some large stones and sticks to make a fire with and got it going just as it got dark. Irresponsibly, we brought a pack of beers and started drinking while talking and hanging out by the fire. We had some good conversations and had fun, but a couple of

hours in, we were ready to call it a night. We put out the fire and then got into our tents to go to bed. I actually fell asleep really easily because of the calm sounds of nature, but throughout the night I kept waking up. It wasn't due to any noises, but I would just jerk awake for some reason. I assumed it was just me being unfamiliar with being out in the forest at night, but it still gave me an uneasy feeling. Then, on maybe my fourth or fifth time waking up, I heard Andrew's tent unzipping.

I thought he was probably going out to use the bathroom or something, but he only took a few steps until I heard him open up his backpack and start searching around. Another 30 or so seconds went by with no other noises; it was like he was just standing right outside of his tent. I sat up and eventually unzipped my tent and looked out. As soon as the sound of my zipper began, I heard Andrew's footsteps rush away from the front of my tent, and by the time I stuck my head out, Andrew was ducked down

and quickly shoved something back into his backpack, then turned and looked at me with a concerned face. "Is everything okay?" I asked. He looked at me for a moment, then nodded his head. Something about this immediately felt off. I climbed out of my tent and stood up, asking what he was doing out here. He responded by saying he was having trouble sleeping and just came out for some fresh air. But while he was talking, I looked down at his backpack. Sticking out of the top was the back end of a handgun. I felt my face

turn white as I looked back at Andrew and tried my best to hide my reaction, but he already knew what I saw. We stared at each other for a strange few seconds before he turned and went back inside his tent without saying another word. I’d never seen him act like that before, and his face gave away that he was guilty of something. It was already strange that he never told me he was bringing a gun, but the way he was acting just made it even more unsettling. I stayed up for the rest of the night,

sitting on the ground outside the tents and waiting for the sun to come up. When it did, I packed everything up and left. After that day, Andrew never contacted me, which I guess proves that something was going on that night. I don't know for sure what would have happened or why it would have happened, but I know that I was lucky to get out of there before finding out. I’m 29, and I live along the Appalachian range in lower West Virginia. I’ve been going backpacking and camping for years, exploring different trails all around the nearby

mountains. My best friend, who lived just a few miles from me, would often join me on these hikes. We usually planned one big trail every year in the fall, being anywhere from a few days to a whole week of backpacking and camping. In 2019, we planned to take a trail across the range to a small lake at the top of the mountains. In the days leading up to the trip, though, my friend had to call it off because of an emergency at his work. I’d already taken the whole week off of work and had everything

ready to go, so I decided to just go alone. Monday morning, I drove to a nearby trailhead and then started my route. This wasn’t a regular recreational trail like you’d typically see on a four-hour hike; these backpacking trails didn’t have defined paths, so you had to use maps, compasses, and landmarks to navigate where you were going. Typically, there’s a large landmark in the distance, like a specific rock formation, that you hike toward, and when you get there, you could see your next landmark, and so on. I spent the first two days hiking toward a ridge

in the mountains. When it got dark on the second day, I set up camp several hours from reaching the ridge. I pitched the tent and got a fire going, then heated up some of the food I brought in my bag. The sun had already set, and it was around eight o’clock when I laid in my tent to rest and read. I left the fire going, planning to put it out before actually sleeping. Twenty minutes into reading and through the fire crackling outside, I heard the strong sound of a stick snapping right behind my tent. I

jolted up; my first thought... was a black bear. Possibly having smelled the food I cooked earlier, I didn't hear anything else, though. I crawled out of the tent and shined a flashlight into the tree line behind my tent. Nothing. I called out aggressively to scare away any predators, but again there were no sounds of anything running away. It was really strange because the stick snapping was very distinct, definitely being from something stepping on it. I stayed outside the tent for a while, looking around constantly before putting out the fire and going inside. I found it

really hard to sleep that night because I was so focused on listening for more sounds. In the morning, I was almost surprised to have even slept through the night. I packed my tent and everything else at the campsite, then continued along until I reached the ridge. From there, it was a straight shot to the lake. I was moving fast, trying to get there before dark so I wouldn't have to move my campsite again the next day. I arrived with about an hour to spare before sunset. The lake was beautiful, very much worth the hike. I

walked around it, enjoying the scenery, then pitched the tent and set up my camp on the tree line beside the lake. As I sat by the fire, I kept turning around, hearing soft noises somewhere between the trees behind me. I figured I was just being paranoid, but it was really creepy. It almost sounded exactly like footsteps, but I knew nobody would be out here; I would have seen their tent when I walked around the lake. It was too dark at this point to see anything further than a few feet, so looking around wasn't an option

anymore. An hour later, I got in my tent and laid down. Every few minutes, I would hear footsteps again. They were barely too quiet for me to tell for sure what they were, though. Eventually, I got so tired that I fell asleep, and what I think was only an hour after I fell asleep, I woke up to the sound of someone running away from my tent. I jolted up and grabbed my flashlight, rushing out of the tent and looking in the direction of the footsteps. I saw the bare back of them running away in the

distance. My heart was beating rapidly. I looked down and saw footprints all around my tent, like they had been walking around me and searching the campsite. I tried to get the campfire going again as fast as I could so I could see better. I was terrified; I had nowhere to go and nobody to help me. I sat at the fire all night, keeping my head on a swivel, but I never saw or heard anything else. In the morning, I snapped a few pictures of the lake, then started the hike back. I had planned to stay

for a whole day, but I wasn't comfortable anymore, feeling like I was being followed. I was able to make it back without any more trouble, thankfully, but along my journey, I began noticing several things missing from my backpack: small things like food, a few tools, etc. But I always had my bag with me. Even today, I wonder if whoever had been outside my tent that one night had actually snuck inside and stolen from my bag while I was asleep. Even the thought of it makes my whole body shiver. My family owned some cabins in Oregon

that all of us liked to stay in sometimes or have family get-togethers there, but for this trip, I was going solo. I had just turned 20, and I'd never been camping alone. I figured camping somewhere near the cabins would be perfect in case something were to happen. I drove an hour there, then walked 30 minutes down a trail that led to the cabin I would be staying by. As I walked up to it, I noticed one of the windows was missing; there was no glass on the ground. It looked like the entire window had just

been taken out, which was a very unexpected thing to see. I didn't plan on entering the cabin, but I had brought the key for emergencies, and this felt like something I should investigate. But I was even more confused when the door opened without me unlocking it. I walked in, and right away it was obvious that the place had been broken into. There were muddy footprints all over the floors, and some more expensive stuff was missing. It was unfortunate to see, but there was no way of knowing how long ago it all happened. From what I

knew, it had been months since anyone was at the cabins, and even then they may not have even come to this cabin. I tried to lock up the place as best I could and set out to find a spot to camp. I had no service, but I didn't feel it was absolutely necessary to let my family know right away or even to call the police yet. I walked 30 minutes down the hill from the cabin and found a flat enough spot to set up. Rain started pouring down, and being new to this, it took me

a couple of hours to get everything set up the right way. Already being soaked, I sat outside on a nearby log under a tree and started eating some pre-packaged food when, out of nowhere, I started hearing someone talking. I immediately spotted a man walking behind me. He was drenched, walking up the hill toward the direction of the cabin, and didn't seem to have noticed me. The way he was speaking was really weird because it made no sense, and he was obviously talking to himself. Soon, he walked out of sight, but something about seeing that gave

me chills. An hour went by, and I... Took a quick hike back up to the cabin to see if he was maybe staying there, but from afar, it still looked empty. So, I went back. Once it was night, I used a fire kit to start a small campfire and used it to heat up some of my food. The rain made it difficult, but once the fire was going, it stayed out pretty well. Not long into it, I heard footsteps coming from up the hill. I stared at the trees, seeing nothing but pitch black beyond the

reach of my campfire. They continued walking until a man came into sight. I couldn't see much of him, but he looked similar to the man I'd seen earlier. "Hey, what do you want?" I yelled, trying to scare him off. He stopped and stared at me with a blank face, having rain dripping from his head as he just stood there. I yelled again, but he didn't move. We were standing just ten feet from each other, and every second made me more and more scared of what was about to happen. Then, through the rain, I heard the

sound of a single footstep behind me. I instantly sprinted to the side of the hill and didn't stop until my legs gave out under me. I don't think they chased me, but with the rain and wind, it was too hard for me to hear while running. I found my way up the hill and walked the rest of the way to my car in the rain with only my phone light. Once I got in range, I called 9-1-1. In the days following, a team was sent out to investigate the cabin and my campsite. My campsite was

gone, left with only a few useless pieces of equipment. But in the cabin, they identified three unique shoe prints on the floor. It had me shaking for weeks, knowing that there were three unknown men out there hiding not far away. Nothing else was found, and it was all said to most likely just be a robbery because they didn't chase me. But who knows what they would have done to me if I had stayed there? I do a lot of small camping adventures throughout the year. I try to keep these adventures under three days long so

that I could do them on the weekend and only have to take a day or two off from work. This was just another camping trip of mine that I'd set to go on one weekend in the middle of April. My plan, so to speak, was to hike an estimated five hours up to a small lake and set my camp right next to it, then stay a few nights before going back. On the morning of, I drove out there and started the hike at 8 AM. This lake didn't have any trails leading to it, which was

part of the reason I chose to hike there. It was only a five-hour walk, so getting lost wasn't too concerning, and I wouldn't have to share my experience alongside a bunch of random people who also wanted to go camping at the same spot. Four hours into walking, though, I thought I saw someone. I was just spacing out when I saw something far ahead rush past my view. I froze in place, trying to see what or who it was and where they had gone, but there wasn't any more movement. I wasn't looking directly at it when

it happened, so I didn't have a clear enough view to know for sure that it was a person, but I paid more attention for the final hour of the hike. When I reached the lake, I was taken aback by its beauty. It was the perfect place to catch a break. I didn't spend long finding a spot to set up camp, being in the trees just off to the side of the lake. Almost as soon as I did, though, I saw someone—this time for sure. They were on the other side of the lake, walking around by

the trees. They had no backpack or anything; they were just walking. I looked around for their campsite but didn't see anything at all. After a minute, they walked into the forest and didn't come back. This definitely put me in a slightly nervous mood, knowing someone else was out here at a remote lake and making me wonder if I really did see a person before while I was walking. I chose to spend the rest of the evening at my campsite, and come nightfall, I started up a fire. I kept it small to not draw too much

attention. It had been almost four hours since I saw the person, but I was still nervous. I heated up some food and ate, then took a book out to pass the time. I got through a few pages, but I couldn't ignore this feeling that I was being watched. I knew it had to be my brain being paranoid because of earlier, but after a few minutes, I couldn't even get myself to read anymore. I put the book down and packed my stuff in the tent, preparing to go to bed. Right before I put out the fire,

I did one last look around. About 15 yards away, there was someone standing. Although it was really dark, I knew they were watching me—still not moving or anything—and we both just stared at each other through the dark forest. We must have been like that for a whole minute when the person started backing up. They still faced me but walked back into the trees until they were submerged in the darkness. I was physically shaking. What were they doing, and were they going to come back? I built the campfire larger and stayed up through the entire night.

At the break of dawn, I packed everything. up and moved quickly, making my way back. There wasn't a bone in my body that wanted to stay there a second longer. During my hike back, I swear I heard footsteps far behind me on multiple occasions. Even now, thinking back on it, I can feel my body tense from the fear I experienced on that trip. I don't know what that person wanted, who they were, or what they were doing out there, but based on how they were stalking me, it couldn't have been good. If I had stayed

there another night or had gone to bed in the tent, I'm almost positive I wouldn't be here today. Last year was the first time I'd ever had something happen on my camping trip. I'd gone camping alone several times a year, usually going to the same spots, but sometimes I tried to find somewhere different. For this trip, I decided on a Four Mile camping trail that I'd never been on before. I drove out two hours from my house to a remote location where I started the hike from. Right away, I was not enjoying the trail as

much as I thought I would, mainly because some portions of it were wet and muddy. Still, I continued along and tried to avoid those spots. I went down for a while, and around 45 minutes in, I saw something off the side of the trail. It was a tent, but it was very worn down and had a few rips in it. From afar, I could see that nobody was inside, so I walked closer. There were no signs of any intentional damage; it all just seemed to be weathered over a long period of time. The fact that

it was still standing up was mind-blowing to me. I looked around it and inside of it, but oddly enough, there was nothing else. I thought I'd find a bunch of stuff left behind, but there wasn't anything at all other than the tent itself. After a couple of minutes, I went back to the trail. I thought about it for a while but couldn't come up with any good reasons to leave a tent like that. As I walked for the last hour and a half of the trail, I came across dozens of left-behind objects. All of them

were camping or hiking equipment, but seeing all of this stuff scattered around a Four Mile Trail gave me an uneasy feeling. Who would leave everything behind? It was definitely not an accident, and I was pretty sure it was all from one person. When I got to the end, I set up my tent a good distance away from the trail just to be safe. It was getting dark already, so I stayed at my campsite until I was ready to sleep. I felt a bit nervous to go to bed, but I was able to sleep through the

whole night without issue. When I got up, it was early in the morning, around four or five, so the sun wasn't fully up yet. I unzipped my tent and stepped out, but right away, I could tell something was wrong. I turned around, and on the other side of my tent, a man stood just a few feet away. He was tall and thin, wearing disgusting clothes, and his face was covered in dirt and grime. He looked at me with this empty stare. I stood there motionless. In that moment, I was so shocked and scared that it

almost didn't even seem real. "Leave," he spoke in a soft yet creepy tone. I nodded and quickly started gathering my backpack, but he immediately rushed toward me. I fell back, and all I could get myself to say was, "Okay," repeating it over and over. The man stood over me, still with that empty look in his eyes. "Leave," he said again. I understood what he meant this time and quickly got up and rushed away, leaving everything behind. I took one look back as I got out of there, and the man was rummaging through my backpack like

a curious animal. I jogged as far as I could, then fast-walked the rest of the way to my car. Thank God I kept my phone and keys in my pocket, or this situation could have been a hundred times worse. I drove out until I got service, then called 911. I found out that there was an almost identical case to what I experienced, but whoever filed it chose for it to not be publicly announced by the media. This was likely the person whose tent and belongings I found on the trail. After a week of talking to

the police and going over everything, they were able to organize a small search party of officers. They went down the trail and came back with no sightings or evidence of the man, but they found most of my stuff nearby my campsite tossed around like trash. After that, the case went stale, just like the previous person's. The thing I always come back to is how the man didn't keep anything; he just scattered it all around the forest with no intent of using any of it. Back in high school, my house had a huge backyard that was

connected to a large forest. When we were kids, my friends and I would go and play games far out in the woods. There was always this small sense of danger being out there, which made things more fun. As we grew up, though, we stopped going out there because there was no point. But then one day, my buddy Tyler and I were hanging out on the couch when he brought up the idea of going out into the woods late at night. Over the next few minutes, our idea evolved from just a simple walk in the woods

to full-on camping overnight. Tyler said his... Parents had a tent we could borrow, so we walked down the street and picked it up from his garage. Now's a good time to mention that neither of us had ever been camping before, so we had no idea what we were doing. Honestly, I don't think either of us thought anything of it, though, because we would only be out there for a single night. After packing a bag with a bunch of snacks, water bottles, and a portable phone charger, we set foot in the woods. We found out within

the first couple of minutes that the flashlight Tyler brought was really shitty, barely lighting up more than a few feet ahead. It was enough to keep us from walking into trees and bushes, but we couldn't see much else. During the first 15 minutes of walking, we talked about how excited we were and how creepy it was going to be, but then we walked for another 15 minutes without really talking. I think we were both mesmerized and a little bit spooked by the eerie silence. A couple of times, I thought I heard something walking nearby, but

the flashlight would never reach far enough to see anything. After our 30 minutes of walking, we found a place to set up. It was an open section of grass with trees around it. Tyler wedged the flashlight on top of a bush so that it lit up the area, and then we started setting up the tent. He said it was an easy-assembled tent, but there was nothing easy about it. We probably spent an hour trying to get the tent to stand up without falling in on itself. It also didn't help that every time we heard something,

we'd have to grab the flashlight out of the bush, shine it around, then set it back up and start over on the tent. I don't know about Tyler, but at this point, I was regretting coming out there. When we did eventually get the tent up, though, it was a lot less stressful. We sat inside and listened to the sounds of the woods. It would be completely silent sometimes, and then, a minute later, there would be birds chirping or some other animal making noises. It was a really cool experience until we both heard a more familiar

sound. We stayed in the tent, listening as these footsteps made their way around the trees. They didn't sound like they were getting closer, but more like they were passing by. One thing we were both sure of was that they were human footsteps, not any other animal. After a minute, they were gone, but Ty l er and I stayed quiet, staring at the inside of the tent as we listened carefully. Around ten minutes later, once we were sure whoever that was was long gone, we left the tent and sat outside instead. We both felt a little

too vulnerable sitting inside there without being able to see what was going on around us. As we sat and talked for a while, that same sound started coming up in the distance. This time, it was getting closer. It eventually got so close that we were worried they were coming directly at us. Tyler shined the flashlight in the direction of the footsteps, but the sound continued. They walked toward us slowly, and just when we thought the person would come into view of the flashlight, they stopped. They sounded so close that we could hear them breathing, but

just barely outside of the light. Both Tyler and I were frozen, staring at the darkness beyond the flashlight. Then we heard them take one step back, and then they began walking away. A minute later, the footsteps had disappeared, and the entire woods was silent again. We undid the tent as fast as possible and immediately left. We were so shaken up that we didn't even follow the right way home and somehow ended up on a neighboring street. We walked down to my house and stayed up the entire night in my room, talking about what happened or

what could have happened. We never stepped foot inside those woods again, and even today, I stay far away from anywhere isolated. Whoever that person was out there alone in the woods at night had to be up to something awful, and I think we were really close to finding out. It was early March, and I'd taken my camper out for a midweek camping trip. The woods right outside my house had plenty of dirt paths big enough to fit my truck with the camper attached, so I would often find myself staying out there for a couple of

nights a few times a month. My favorite spot was down a small trail that went out by a lake. The lake itself was huge, but the spot I always went to was secluded and far too random for most people to go to. When I got out there in the morning, I detached the camper from my truck and got my bag together for a hike. There weren't any trails out here from what I knew, but hiking along the lake was still a nice walk and assured me that I wouldn't get lost. Only a few minutes' walk

from my camper, though, I came across something really strange. It was a trailer wedged between a couple of trees, looking rugged and old, almost like it had been out here for years. But I had been this way before, and it definitely wasn't here last time, so someone had to have moved it recently. I stayed for a little bit, keeping my distance but trying to see if there was any sign of someone living there. In all honesty, taking just one look at it gave me the feeling that this was purposefully hidden, maybe to cover something up.

From what I could see, it had no signs of being lived in. Recently, which only made my suspicions grow. Why would someone go through the effort to move a beat-up trailer through the woods into such a secluded area? My gut was telling me to leave, but something about it pulled me in enough to get me to knock on the door of the trailer. Nobody answered, and there was no movement from inside. I knocked one more time; with no more sounds, I left it and walked back to my camper. The trailer was on my mind for

the next several hours while I sat outside and got my campfire going. Once the sun set and the stars came out, though, I was back to enjoying my night. I was sitting on a small chair and looking up, just taking in the peacefulness, when the unmistakable sound of footsteps crunched the leaves from somewhere out in the woods behind me. I turned and saw a light steadily moving between the trees as whoever was out there walked through the woods. Seeing someone out here was really strange, so I kept my eye on them as they continued toward

the lake. But then, the light suddenly shut off. I stared off into the darkness for a while, looking for any movement, but couldn't see anything. Then, the faint sound of footsteps started again, coming in my direction. They were subtle, clearly trying to be as quiet as possible. I stood up. "Hey! What do you want?" The footsteps stopped, sounding like they were just a few yards from me. I waited for a response or some kind of movement, but there was nothing for what felt like an entire minute until they finally started backing up. I heard the

steps fade out into the woods, and I put two and two together, realizing he was going in the direction of the abandoned trailer. After his really strange behavior and thinking about the trailer some more, I was not going to risk staying the night. I packed up and reattached my camper to the truck, then turned my brights on and carefully drove down the path. It took a while, but I made it out and decided to call the police to report the strange behavior of the man as well as the trailer. In the morning, I took two

officers out to where I saw the trailer, but it was gone. To make it all even more crazy, there were clear trails on the ground showing the trailer had been dragged all the way up to the lake, where the marks faded into the water line. Whatever that trailer was hiding now sits at the bottom of the lake, completely inaccessible, and no evidence ever came up to warrant the retrieval of the trailer, so everything is just left as a mystery. It's terrifying to think of what that man could have done to me had he caught me

by the trailer he was hiding, and unfortunately, I will always be haunted by the mystery of what was behind that door. I'm 28 and live in Illinois. If you've ever been here, you know this state is completely flat and doesn't have much to do in terms of hiking or camping, at least not with scenic views. This year, I tried to go camping for the first time in a secluded forest. I thought it would be the perfect starter camping trip since the land was flat and the trail was mostly a straight shot. At the end was

supposed to be a small pond, so at least there would be somewhat of a nice view. The hiking part was short, being just under an hour, but the pond at the end was very underwhelming, to say the least. It was very small and surrounded by swampy mush, so I had to put my tent further down into the forest where the ground was dry. I'll admit, though, after an hour or two, I was really bored. I decided to get up and walk around the pond just to see what was around. I wandered to the other side,

and really, there wasn't much to see. It was a peaceful and beautiful forest, but there were no defining landmarks of any kind, so it was kind of just the same forest all around. I started making my way back to my camp, and by then the sun was mostly gone. I brought a small fire starter, so I used that to get a campfire going and heat up some food. But not long after sunset, I noticed a light across the pond. It was in the trees just outside of the pond, but it was right where I had

walked earlier, and I knew there was nothing there just an hour ago. While it was uncomforting being out in the forest with some stranger, or possibly strangers, I knew that this was one of the few camping trails around here, so the odds of it weren't too crazy. I went about my night, looking across the pond every so often. As it got darker, though, this light that I thought was a campfire became more apparent, and I realized it was a flashlight or some sort of mechanical light. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but an

hour more into the night, I saw from the corner of my eye the light starting to dim, and then, after a few flickers, it went out. I stared at the dark and empty forest across the pond for a good ten minutes, waiting for the light to come back up, but it never did. It gave me chills, but again, I had no idea what to make of it. The rest of the night was surprisingly quiet; I slept, and as far as I'm aware, nothing happened overnight. As the sun rose, I prepared for another walk. I was

still thinking about that light I saw and really wanted some answers. I walked... Around to the other side of the pond, where I saw the light coming from, I searched around. It didn't take long for me to find the culprits: a hefty flashlight laying in the grass. The batteries were drained, but it looked pretty new—no scratches or noticeable wear and tear. I looked around some more and saw nothing else to indicate someone had been here. After some thought, I decided to leave the flashlight where I found it and started heading back to my camp. What

stopped me in my tracks was when I saw someone across the pond. They were standing by my fire pit in the middle of my camp. Then I saw another person come out of the trees and join them. It looked like two adult men, but that's all I could tell from where I was. I was too scared to yell or say anything, so I just watched as they walked around my camp and looked through my things. Then one of them stopped and turned to face the pond. He stood there, scanning the tree line where I was

standing, until he was looking right at me. He only looked at me for a moment, but it sent shivers through me. I watched the man leave the camp and start walking between the trees. I lost sight of him for a moment until I caught a glimpse of him sprinting through the forest. I ran further into the forest, away from the pond. I knew the chances of them finding me were near zero, but I was too scared to think straight. I ran for probably 15 minutes before I stopped and turned in the general direction of my

car. Luckily, I made it safely, but I lost everything I had. To put it shortly, nothing happened afterwards. I filed a report with the police, but it all turned to nothing. I think about that flashlight a lot, though: was it those men's, or was it someone else's? I hope the flashlight was just a ploy they used to get me away from the camp, but if it was, then why would they come after me? I keep trying to convince myself that it was just a robbery and they had no other intentions, but in my gut, I

know that I likely came close to never making it out of that forest.