I was 18 when this happened high school was finally coming to an end everyone was hugging their friends and promising to be in touch even my friends and I were emotional the fact that two of us were leaving next week hit me like a brick to the face we wanted to make the upcoming weekend memorable so my friend Kevin suggested going on a road trip to the forest on the outskirts it was a 45 minute drive from our town we jammed the car full of food camping stuff and of course tons of drinks it was
four of us me Kevin Max and Patrick we were still looking for a spot when we got to the campsite and was packed with campers and Tents man this place is flooding with babes and birthday suits shut up Max well what do we do now I'd say we drive until we leave this crowd we agreed with Patrick and didn't get down from the car I started the end honestly it was an all boys trip and we wanted to have our own space after driving for 15 minutes straight we stumbled onto this narrow trail that went
deep into the woods a sign board was put up in the corner reading Deep Woods camp at your own risk uh guys I don't know if it's a good idea to Camp here we could get lost don't be a chicken it was our last trip before college so I smiled and took the trail The Uncanny feeling of entering as part of the forest kept ringing in my mind like a red flag halfway down the trail we found the perfect spot we were looking for Patrick and Max started putting up the tent while Kevin and I
hoarded wood for the bonfire the weather was rainy and humid so we spent the first few hours inside the tent just making fun of each other and drinking we were enjoying the moment when Kevin said is someone walking on our site right now I poked my head out of the tent thinking there'd be some wild animal but there was nothing no there's no one out there you're drunk dude Kevin felt embarrassed and we made fun of him at around 3 pm the sky got clear we came out of the tent and realized it was going
to be dark soon hey let's explore the surroundings before the light Fades out all right let's go Kevin and Max stayed back at the campsite they wanted to get started on dinner so Patrick and I went without them our crunching footsteps and the wet leaves echoed Into the Woods I don't think there's any other campers here except us with the mixture of the tall trees the hooting Owl and the breezing wind the atmosphere was honestly quite thrown being drunk we didn't realize how far we had come from the campground suddenly we heard music in the
distance it sounded like someone was listening to the radio am I going crazy or do you also hear music you're not crazy I hear it too it seems like it's coming from the end of that small Trail so far I overlooked a second Trail heading to our left we followed that trail yes that was our mistake number two after five minutes we reached this small Campground that looked like a mess an old rusty RV was parked under the tree tattered trousers shirts and socks were strung up in a row a bunch of coolers and damaged
car batteries were scattered around the van whoever owned these things was undoubtedly living off this van for quite some time Patrick pointed a pile of blankets lying on the ground dude I think there's something under this don't touch it dude we don't even know but Patrick reached out to grab the blanket when suddenly jumped on me oh you damn dog what we guessed was a blanket was a giant borehound dog with wrinkled skin like my grandpa have a feeling we shouldn't be here dude yeah let's go back Patrick and I turned around when I heard
a coarse voice behind us need anything boys a man was staring at us from the window of the RV he waved at us and I had to smile to drive away the awkwardness um no sir we were only fooling around sorry to disturb you we were about to head back why no no it's all right I hardly get visitors he came out of the RV to talk to us he was tall and partially bald the amount of brown hair poking from his head reminded me of the uneven lawn of my house why don't you boys
come into my van for a drink Patrick and I exchanged a worried look even though the man appeared friendly he gave off weird vibes but just to be polite we did go in the inside of the van was way worse than it's outside not just that the van was covered in uncomfortable cutouts from adult magazines Bean boys we could still ignore them but what made me shiver was the Big Shiny Chopper kept on his bed it was the only thing that seemed clean and well taken care of imagine just for protection they're bad people in
this world you know yeah so how long have you been living here long before you hit puberty this joke wasn't funny at all he handed us his drinks and told us where to check out in this National Park after a few more minutes we got him to leave when the man suddenly grabbed my hand and asked in an almost Whispering voice hey how many of you are there um there's four of us but why we're at a risk uh it's just not really worth it I think I just don't I can't be able to hide
all the bodies wouldn't be able to hide all the evidence this would be too much one of them could run I can't be chasing them right now he went on muttering to himself and we could hardly make out what he was saying we finally came back to the campsite that night I almost slept with one eye open the smiling face of that man kept flashing in front of my eyes even though he looked normally something didn't seem right about it we came back from the trip and our lives moved on after two months I was
at my girlfriend's house when Patrick called me dude check the news now why what happened it's a guy from the campsite he's been arrested for murder what the story you just saw is based on the true incident uploaded by a redditor with the username Dr Jim danger the redditor was 18 when he and some friends took a road trip to the Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee Florida their goal was to get away from people so they found themselves driving far into the woods after they set up camp and had a few drinks he and a
friend decided to explore the surrounding Forest they found another Trail and started following it but the further they went the more apparent it became that someone was living there eventually they came to the campsite of an older man living out of his van his clothes were stronger coolers were scattered around and a dog was sprawled beside the truck the user and his friend tried to back out without being seen But the man caught sight of them and called them over he asked them friendly questions and offered places they should check out in the Park after
about 10 minutes of talking they returned to their own campsite the man was a little strange but seemed perfectly harmless but fast forward two months and the Reddit user's friend calls and tells him to turn on the television there on screen was the man they met in the woods that night on trial for four murders the man was none other than Gary Hilton a former Army veteran infamously known as the national forest serial killer he admitted to killing and decapitating at least four hikers over the years Hilton would camp in forests and pray on defenseless
Walkers until January 2008 when he was arrested following The Disappearance of Meredith Emerson Meredith Emerson a 24 year old sales manager and University of Georgia graduate was murdered in January 2008 by Gary Hilton while hiking on blood mountain in Georgia her cause of death was eventually determined to be blunt force trauma to the Head I love backpacking it's my favorite hobby to calm down my nerves after a hectic week at work almost every weekend I go on hiking or road trips alone I'm a bit of an introvert which kind of backfired on me this one
time after a stressful project I took a five day long holiday to travel and live in nature I always keep a bag ready to go camping I took enough ready to eat food and water to get by the plan was simple I drive by the high road surrounded by woods and Camp inside it for a night's rest it was my first time doing things like that so I never saw it coming the first three days went smoothly I woke up to amazing sunrises had hot coffee and prepared breakfast and then I headed for the next
stop on the fourth day I left the last town on the highway and got onto this dirt road leading to the deep forest I prepped my car before that and refilled everything this time I was going to Camp by a lake and stayed there for two days totally away from people I was buying drinks from the gas station when the owner asked going hiking huh yeah man are you gonna spend the night in the forest yeah why the man's face changed he chined down his face and said in a low voice has no one ever
told you about Maryam I frowned it hearing this the owner went on Mariam was a beautiful maid in a bid to escape her owner one night she ran away and ended up in those woods she wandered into an unknown place and was raped by Thugs who later murdered her come on dude you're just trying to scare me well it won't work for me I paid for him and left him in my car as I drove away the man kept muttering how I shouldn't be staying in those woods at night I was halfway put down when
the sky rumbled dark clouds immediately covered the daylight and the rain started pouring but I couldn't stop so I kept driving at a minimal speed I feared that going at high speed if I turned the car over if it started to storm hence where I was supposed to reach by afternoon I arrived after Sundown it was a shallow Creek the banks were filled with uneven grass and wildflowers creating a Mystic smell ah at last the Moonlight was shining on the stream I collected some wood and lit a fire to warm myself after feeling all charged
I chugged drinks and made dinner I heard a waterfall at the end of this Creek and I wanted to wake up early to visit it the following day I made fried eggs bacon and some ramen noodles I was starving after the annoying drive by 8 30 I was inside my tent reading a book I could hear the splash of water on the riverbank chirping of crickets and the crackling sound of wood burning in the fire after five seconds another sound added to that Ambiance a sound of someone swimming in that Creek I could hear the
Clapping of waves echoing into the woods I unzipped the tent and peeked out from the corner the banks were filled with fog a cloud of smoke was covering the creek like a great wall blanket just then I saw a head floating on the water I flashed my light and it quickly went under water a weird feeling increased my heartbeat was that a person I came out on the banks and flashed my light to look around I couldn't see anything I turned around and returned to my tent when I heard a sound in the water I
flashed my light back at the water it flickered twice and then stopped working damn it I hit the torch with my fist but it was done for yeah that's when the whistling started high-pitched yet slow whistles coming from the creek I stood on the foggy Riverbank illuminated by the pale Moonlight my skin crawled suddenly I began feeling threatened by this unknown entity who's there hello if you're trying to scare me or something I could see a movement in the water something was swimming toward the bank right in my direction it was coming at full speed
moving the water rapidly when it reached the bank I fell screaming who is that what do you want suddenly clouds of fog covered everything in front of me all the sounds stopped an uncomfortable silence remained and then I saw a girl standing amidst the thick fog I have never seen a face like that her eyes were like little fireflies glow and get those Hollow black sockets her skinny pale hands hung beside her body she stared into my soul for a few seconds and then suddenly closed her eyes my body was numb in fear but somehow
I gathered the courage I hit the flashlight one more time and it finally turned on but this time she wasn't there only the dick fog crowded in front of my eyes with trembling hands I kept looking into the Mist golly I wasn't ready for this shot so I fell on the Muddy Banks the girl was now standing before me floating four feet above the ground her mouth opened wide and so did her eyes then I heard a buzzing sound as the sound grew louder thousands of flies came out of her eyes of her mouth it
was as if she was vomiting them alive the fly swarmed all over me and I started running like a mad dog all I remember after that was grabbing my stuff and hopping into my car I looked at the Moonlight Greek one last time he was dancing on the water laughing like a ghost her long hair dangled in the cold wind as she moved in circles stretching her arms wide through the sky her Chuckles echoed Into the Night a sick Joy could be sensed in her lunatic dance moves it terrifying to witness I left the place
that night I drove until I reached the same gas station I spent the night there the next morning I told the owner everything I saw the owner said Miriam's body was found on the banks of the creek one morning her face was distorted with fear a swarm of flies moved in circles around her Hollow jaw that was opened in a silent screen her killers were never caught people say she still haunts the woods at night this happened when I was working to keep up with my college bills I lived in a small apartment close to
campus I was an extrovert and enjoyed meeting new people but not anymore it was a warm Saturday night I was drinking lemonade sitting in a cafe when I got a text from a guy for the sake of the story let's call him Andrew he said he too went to the same College as me and got my number from a friend after chatting with him for a bit he said he was near my location and wanted to me it sounded rushed but I was alone and needed some company I texted him my exact location and waited
for his arrival after 10 minutes he walked into the cafe he was a tall handsome guy who looked exactly like the picture having the first green flag I waved at him and he smiled he sat down at my table and we started talking good that you were close by yeah thank God I decided to take my truck to the car wash you're funny within the next 20 minutes we were holding hands like high schoolers there was something about him that was just really attractive to me we had dinner and went for a long drive in
his car he had this black pickup truck which he said was a gift from his dad after fooling around in random streets Andrew pulled over the vehicle under a tree so you want to go hiking what right now but I didn't even bring my stuff he pointed at this big rucksack in the back seat and said he loves night hiking so he always carries his things so far there were no red flags so I agree Andrew said he forgot his flashlight but the camping ground was close also he knows his way around these Woods hence
the Moonlight will be enough for him to find the way I trusted him I didn't think things were going to go bad we were walking into the woods it was dark and scary I could see fireflies wandering around us a hooting owl almost gave me a heart attack it's too dark for me I'm switching on my flashlight as I went to turn on the flashlight Andrew's tight grip jammed my wrist he looked me in the eye and told me to be quiet that's when I felt my heartbeat increase my voice started to shake Andrew what's
happening put his hand on my mouth and pulled me behind a tree I wanted to scream but it was so Frozen that I could only stare at him with wide freaked out eyes just then I heard a snap in the distance Andrew looked to our left and I realized he was scared too he was looking at something which seemed to threaten him is that why you told me to be quiet but what is it Andrew looked back at me and whispered into my ear there's a man behind that bush I saw his bloody knife shine
in the Moonlight oh my God we need to be very still and slowly back our way to the car stay still until I tell you to run okay I nodded my head and soon I heard footsteps approaching us oh no he's coming this way run run we started to run I didn't care about the dried branches cutting my skin on the way I just ran I heard Andrew screaming so I'm tripping fall onto the ground Andrew I rushed back to him and got him up even though he sprained his leg he didn't stop until we
were inside the car he locked the doors right away he saw a man he was standing under a tree hiding in the shadows I bet he was looking at us in anger I could see his demonic eyes burn through breaths even in that Pitch Black Andrew spent the night in my apartment and we never knew who that man was until years later we never got to see his face Andrew said he only saw a silhouette years later I was sitting in the living room when Andrew my now husband turned on the TV Ted Bundy the
infamous serial killer was caught at that time when the journalists asked him about having close calls of getting caught Bundy narrated an incident from a Moonlight Night in the Woods down the highway he said he was dumping a victim's body there when he encountered a boy and girl coming his way they seem like hikers he said Bundy thought they saw him and chased them to stop him from escaping what he said after that made my husband traumatized for Life Bundy mentioned that the guy probably tripped and it was the victim's body he tripped on lucky
for him the guy never bothered to check and Bundy realized that the couple never saw his face it gives me chills to think about how we escaped to deranged serial killer we also live with deep regret if we had just seen his face we would have been able to report him to the cops so many innocent lives could have been saved then the story you just saw is based on an actual incident with a couple who later shared it on YouTube sometime during the 1970s a young couple went on a first date they were having
a good time even though it was awkward like most first dates are it was getting late and the man asked the woman if she wanted to go on a late night hike he was very experienced at the area and had hiked there many times she agreed and they went off towards the woods they arrived at the spot and got out of the car walking into the woods as they were walking into the dark woods the man felt something hit his foot it was very soft the feeling in his stomach was extremely intense now that something
was wrong he paused for a second and continued off without finding what was the soft thing he felt on the ground years later that very same couple was happily married they were both watching TV one day and stumbled upon an interview with the famous serial killer Ted Bundy the interviewer asked when was the closest time he was almost caught during his Killing Spree Ted Bundy said he was almost caught once in the woods when a man stepped on a dead body while hiding in the woods but he just walked off and didn't investigate it he
told the interviewer where and when it happened it turns out it was the same couple