The woods are creepy. They're big and dense enough to always be hiding something, they're the setting for more than a handful of popular horror films, and since they're full of life, there's a constant sense of being watched.
When hunters hit the forest - toting rifles and hoping for some decent game - there's always a chance of seeing something unnerving. Maybe it's a mountain lion or bear sighting, or maybe it's something worse. These hunters took to Reddit to share some of the creepiest things they've come across while walking the woods.
- 11,074 VOTES
A Ring Of Heavy Rocks
From Redditor /u/Krith:
Set up camp in a very nice little ravine. When I woke up, there was a ring of big rocks around my camping area. They weren’t there when I got there and set up camp. I’m a stout dude, and I couldn’t move any of the rocks.
I was raised in the woods, and now I refuse to go out there without a large caliber gun, and I refuse to sleep out in the woods anymore.
- 2694 VOTES
A New Suitcase Full Of Clothes And A Shelter, But No People
From Redditor /u/NC_DE336:
My family owns a couple hundred acres of forest in eastern North Carolina. No one lives on the property anymore, and hasn’t for the last six or seven years.
We went down there to do some target shooting in October of 2017, and I decided to go walk through the outskirts of the woods to locate a good limb for our range marker. As I’m walking - literally and proverbially kicking rocks - I come across a fairly nice but practically brand new-looking suitcase, full of clothes and other personal effects. No ID, nothing with any sort of identifying markers on them. It seemed to be clothes for four people: two kids and two adults, one male and one female. Had some food, coloring books, etc., and there was a makeshift lean-to about 100 yards farther into the woods.
I set up a trail camera and left it there for three weeks. Never saw anyone.
For reference, this is 35 miles from any sizable town or city.
- 3681 VOTES
A Cow Skeleton Tied To A Tree
From Redditor /u/ms461:
I work in the woods for a living, and I’ve seen a fair amount of odd things: carvings in trees, old beat-up cars, random weird trash scattered through the woods, and a fair amount of animal carcasses. I’ve had instances where I’ve gotten spooked - stuff like jumping big critters is always quite jolting - but I can recall one rather butt-puckering experience.
I was working with a few other people at the time, all spaced out of sight but not out of earshot. I crossed over a little ridge at least two miles from the closest road, in the middle of the woods, and I saw what looked like a full skeleton of a cow tied together with twigs and a little bit of twine. Whoever made it had fashioned it to be sitting on a log.
They left a very neat pile of bones in front of the thing and nothing anywhere else. I saw it and about fainted. Definitely really odd considering how far we were off the road and how thick and steep it was. I ended up getting the folks I was with to come check it out, really just for sh*ts and giggles. I took note of it, and we moved on to the next plots.
- 4575 VOTES
An Approaching Man With A Glock
From Redditor /u/greee3nMachin34u:
My father and I were following a trail for a while, so we decided to take a break and catch our breaths. I sat on a log off the trail, and my dad stood on the edge of the trail waiting for me to get up. I heard some movement and scanned around, and saw a man, dressed casually, walking quickly down the trail with a Glock in his hand. He was not really following the trail, just walking toward my dad with haste.
Before he came up to my dad, he asked if he'd seen anything (pretty normal). I kept an eye on him because I didn't believe he was there to hunt; I think he was there to make sure my dad hadn't seen anything he wasn't supposed to. He wasn't dressed like a hunter, he didn't walk like a hunter, and it was deer season and he decided he would take his Glock out to get a deer...
I wasn't buying it, so I put a round in the chamber and watched them talk. He seemed to be confident until my dad mentioned that he was here with me and gestured in my direction. I nodded and made a half-*ssed wave. He seemed to lose interest in us and ended the conversation shortly after, turned around, and walked back the way he came - just about as fast as he walked up to us. It worried us a bit, but we continued on.
We haven't been back to that area in a while. My dad told me there have been drug busts near that area in the past.
- 5391 VOTES
A Bright Light Flying Overhead
From Redditor /u/Brancher:
In September this year, I was hunting antelope out near the Red Desert in Wyoming. I had just shot my antelope and was walking about 150 yards out to where he dropped so I could tag and begin field dressing the animal. I should mention I'm about 40 miles from the main road, and I had not seen another human or vehicle since I got off the main road. This area is so extremely remote it's hard to even describe.
So as I'm walking out to the antelope, I look up, and about one to two miles off in the distance, I see this extremely bright light zooming over the landscape and headed my way. I thought it was probably a game warden on a side-by-side coming to check my paperwork and all. No big deal. I keep walking out and find the animal, then look up. This light dives down into the sage brush, and I can no longer see it.
It was about half a mile from me when it disappeared. I also notice I don't hear any engine, if it is in fact someone on a motorized vehicle. I'm mostly confused at this point, not sure what the hell this light is or where it went, but I continue on and tag the antelope.
It takes me all of 10-15 seconds to put the tag on, then I look up and see the light traveling away from me now - and it's about three to five miles away from me and going at least 100 miles per hour. It was really zooming way faster than any vehicle could travel over that type of terrain. Also, there are no roads or anything where the light is traveling, so I don't know how it was going so fast. I was pretty spooked at this point.
I field dressed the animal as fast as I could and dragged it back to my truck. I just had a very uneasy feeling at this point. I have no idea what that light was, although others have speculated it was a drone. But if it was a drone operated by the game warden, why didn't he come check me out once I got back to my truck?
- 6461 VOTES
A Laser Sight Pointed At Them
From Redditor /u/PTSDinosaur:
My dad's story not mine:
I had been walking for a couple hours, and I decided to sit under a tree for a while, just to see what would happen. As I was relaxing, I noticed this light that kept flashing past my eyes. I looked over to where it was coming from, but I couldn't see what was there. Then I looked down, and there was a red dot on my chest. Someone was using a laser sight and aiming at me. I yelled at him and started walking towards him, but he ran off. I went back to camp for the rest of the day.
He didn't think someone was actually trying to shoot him, but if people aren't going to be safe with their rifles, he didn't want to be out there.