As my eyesight started to adjust to the serene yet eerie woodland surrounding me, my imagination started to create varying shadowy figures from all angles. My eyes repeatedly and intensely fixated on the uncanny nothingness I had conjured from a lifetime of watching horror movies and late night Reddit scrolling. I quickly turned my torch back on.
I kept forcing my inner monologue to at least attempt to comfort me, “This is what you came for.” I’d weakly chant in my head.
The truth is I was ill prepared and stupid for putting myself in this situation in the first place. I come from a rural town in the U.K but that was nothing compared to what I was now faced with. Millions of acres of a US national forest overwhelmed me as they would most, if only that anxiety was the pinnacle of what I experienced that night.
My wife had passed recently and her life insurance policy left me a little money spare. We’d always talked about going to the states together, to go into one of these ancient forests to see whether we might be the lucky ones who caught a glimpse of something seemingly otherworldly. Four weeks ago I’d decided that now I could afford it, I’d go and search for the both of us. I booked a cabin on AirB&B and got on the first flight I could. When I landed and got through passport control, I hired a car and made my way to my destination only stopping to devour what can only be described as the most overindulgent plate of what locals would call breakfast I’ve ever eaten.
I arrived at the cabin after about 5 hours on the road. I’d been in communication with the owners since I landed and they said there was no need for me to meet them. They explained they had stocked the fridge and left the keys on the kitchen counter as the door was unlocked, along with some other menial information.
The lane up to the cabin was rough, and the journey had been exhausting. I dropped my bags in the doorway and walked back outside to take in the environment around me, I was in the middle of these great woods, completely alone and miles away from any civilisation. I’d made it. I went back into the cabin and lay down on the camp bed. I set an alarm for a few hours time so I would wake up at 9:00pm. It wasn’t like I needed to do anything until it got dark anyway, that was when they were most active.
When I woke up I got dressed into frankly inappropriate attire for traversing the woods in the dark. It was summer, so I wasn’t overly worried about the elements but I still looked at my cheap utility boots thinking they probably weren’t up to the task. I packed a rucksack with some food and water, a first aid kit and bear spray all of which I found in the cabin. I grabbed my torch, which was the only item in my pack I felt any sort of confidence in, and set out. Before I left I did look back over my shoulder at what I assume was an old hunting rifle above the log burner, but I’ve never even held a gun let alone shot one and I wasn’t expecting to need to shoot anything anyway.
I walked along a trail in the forest for a few miles and much to my dismay. I saw very few signs of anything at all, I couldn’t even really hear much over my own footsteps and the odd rise in the wind which wasn’t very loud even at its peak. Wildlife seemed non existent and I did my best to ignore the nagging voice in my head telling me I came all this way for nothing.
I eventually came to a small clearing which is when I decided I would sit and wait to see if anything would come to me, rather than continuing to trudge further through this unfamiliar land and further from the cabin.
I turned my torch off. I figured nothing would come towards me with this giant beam of light penetrating the circling tree line. That’s when I first started to feel fear as my mind began to race.
I turned the torch back on. I felt guilty for doing so, like I was already letting fear get the better of me, like I was letting myself or my wife down. I thought to myself, “I’ll turn it back off in a minute, I’ll just check the perimeter first.” The trees surrounding the clearing were around 20ft away, and I was right there in the middle of them. As I turned to my left, slowly moving my torch along and squinting, I saw two hands grasping a tree and the top of what looked like a head pointed out. At first I was taken aback and froze in fear. My torch light remained fixed on the figure that I had decided was definitely real and I came to the conclusion that it looked human.
I called out…
“Hey is uhhh… is someone there?”
“You don’t wanna be here.”
The response to my call was louder than I’d anticipated it to be. My brain once again raced, my inner monologue no longer offering any sort of comfort. “Here we bloody go” I thought defeatedly, the wrong turn movies and stories I’d read on feral men in the woods all came rushing to mind.
“I’m staying at a cabin north of here, I just wanted to take a walk.” I exclaimed back trying my best to sound calm and unfazed.
The figure revealed itself into the light. It was a man dressed in what looked like muddied rags, he was barefoot and his arms and legs were mostly exposed. He had scraggly grey hair and a thick beard. He was old and thinner than your average person. He was quite pale and looked malnourished as if he’d been out here for some time.
He stood in front of the tree he had appeared from behind.
“Where ya from?” he said matching the volume and tone I had projected to him.
“England” I quickly replied. Still pointing my torch firmly in his direction. I remember thinking he didn’t seem to mind the high powered beam of light shooting straight into his eyes.
“And what’re you really doing out here?”
I paused, maybe he just lived out here off grid and he could help me find what I was looking for. Then again he could react differently, I had no idea how he’d react, I had no idea what this man was even doing here and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. But I did decide to tell him what I really wanted.
Just as I was about to explain, the man sharply turned his head to look behind him from the tree he’d appeared from as if he’d heard or sensed something I hadn’t. He took one look back at me and I saw his face had changed from a curious gaze, to a look of pity. He turned back the way he came and began to walk, briskly, making almost no noise as he did.
He knew something, he’d seen something. Up until this point the interaction had happened so fast I hadn’t had time to reflect. But my gut told me. To see what I wanted to, I’d need to follow.
He never looked back as we moved through the forest further and further away from the cabin. He never stopped or went out of sight. I stayed a good ten feet behind him and kept the torch on him at all times. I was aware I could be walking into danger, but something inside was dragging me after him.
I followed for only about 20 minutes, it was mostly uphill and we came to a small cliff top with about a 30ft drop overlooking more seemingly endless trees below, only visible due to the almost full moon and clear sky.
The man sat and stared into the darkness in front of him. I noticed a small sort of primitive camp set up around him, there was no tent but it looked like he’d been sleeping on an old bedroll directly laying on the rock and I could see the remnants of a small fire.
“They took her.” He whispered quietly, I was unsure if he was talking to himself or me. I got the feeling that making the choice to follow him was then wrong one and I’m sure that’s hardly a surprise to you. I thought it is very likely that I’ve just followed a forest dwelling maniac to his lair, yet I was compelled to try and find out more.
“Who?” I replied now stood only a few feet behind the strange man. I hoped he’d elaborate with context explaining who “her” was and also “who” had taken said woman.
“Angie” he muttered, “9 weeks.”
“Is…is that your wife?” I asked calmly perching myself next to him but far enough away that if he’d lunge, I’d have some time to react.
He pointed out to the wilderness in front of him. His eyes fixed on a seemingly uninteresting patch of woods.
I moved closer to try and see exactly where he was pointing but it all looked the same to me, I started to feel sorry for the man, I’d heard of people going missing in American forests and then thought of my own wife. I felt this encounter was fated as I may be somebody who can understand his pain. I realised the man must of been out out here searching.
Then I heard a very faint scream in the distance.
That’s the last thing I remember before I awoke to find what I’d only ever dreamt of finding although in retrospect it really was always going to be more of a nightmare.
The first thing I felt was my hair being oddly damp. I was lying on my side and raised my right arm to feel my head, as soon as I touched it I felt a wave of pain. I couldn’t be sure how severe it was, this all happened in seconds but even in my dazed and confused state, I could tell something had hit me in the head - hard, and the dampness was likely blood although it was too dark to tell for sure at that point.
Then I felt another sensation on my left ankle. This wasn’t a pain as such although I would say it was more than uncomfortable. It felt like something had gripped my foot and most of my shin. Then I started to move but not by my own volition. I struggled in the darkness as I was dragged across the forest floor, the moonlight now subdued by the leafy canopy above my head. The blood on my face and the lack of light made it hard to see what was pulling me along with ease but I could make out a huge silhouette in front of me. I’m not sure how long I was dragged for, I was in and out of consciousness, exasperated by my head injury and the bursts of movement I would try to conjure to escape the grasp of the mysterious forest beast, the grip never seemed to loosen and my fight or flight senses had dwindled leaving me only able to freeze and allow myself to be pulled along further. The sticks and rocks underneath me scathing my back and the bumping uneven terrain below were the least of my worries I remember thinking.
I must have fallen unconscious again, because this time I awoke to the same screaming I’d heard just before except now it was much louder. I was now lying on my back, and the grip on my ankle had gone completely. I slowly lifted my head up and looked forward, propping myself up on my elbows.
That’s when I saw what I’d came all this way to see. The first thing I noticed was the legs, skinny yet long and fully covered in thick, grotesque hair except for the knees, which seemed to reveal grey skin in the parts that were more exposed. My eyes slowly moved up to a stocky well built body again covered in thick matted hair. That’s when my eyes met its. They glowed a strange amber colour and although at first I thought it was looking straight at me, I now think it was looking straight through me.
My other senses came flooding back to me, as if when I looked at the the creature I was initially reduced to sight only. The screaming was coming from behind the beast and it sounded like a woman being tormented horribly. I’d never heard a human scream like that but I was pretty sure it was in fact human. Then the stench overwhelmed me, it smelt like rotting meat, like if you’ve ever been in close proximity to a slaughter house and a huge wet dog at the same time. Then I myself began to scream as I attempted to stand.
I was quickly knocked back down, the 8ft figure just in front of me squatted down and extended its arm. A huge grey leathery hand pushed me back to the ground before I could even fully get up. As it did, I was able to make out more features of its face. The glowing eyes were small and deep set, the creature had a heavy brow, and what I first thought to be more of its head looked like matted dreadlocks of hair cascading down to its shoulders. Its mouth was as wide as it’s face, and as it pushed me it bared a set of large yellow incisors and growled deeply.
During this interaction the screaming coming from behind what you’ve probably realised was a Sasquatch, had ceased. The creature was towering over me as I then found myself in foetal position shaking uncontrollably.
I heard a strange chattering sound coming from behind the ape like being and then it opened its mouth to create a similar noise back in response. The screaming then started again, from both me and the other unfortunate party in this hellish environment.
“NO MORE NO MORE!” I could make out before the woman desperately returned to her shrill screaming as words failed her.
Then suddenly, I heard a gun shot. The creature in front of me dropped heavily to its knees, gurgling blood before it fell back in a huge slump.
The strange man from before came back into view right in front of me but just to the right, he must of shot the creature from just behind where I was and then moved around me. He then headed off running without even a glance in my direction, straight towards the screaming woman.
At that point, I once again attempted to get to my feet, this time successfully and I turned in opposite direction and ran.
Even after running for what felt like half an hour, I could still hear that woman scream, along with a devilish high pitched whooping sound coming from that awful place. I somehow found my way back to the trail that led me to the cabin. The keys to the hire car were inside on the mantle piece, I burst through the door. My eyes stinging from sweat and blood and my breathing intense and erratic.
I grabbed the keys and headed for the car when I froze once more in the doorway. I turned my head again to where the rifle was once suspended yet it was no longer there. I barrelled into the car and took the lane back towards the town I’d past a few miles before.
I woke up in the hospital the next day. The doctors told me I’d passed out at the wheel due to shock, luckily I’d taken my foot off the accelerator and the car was stationary on a road where passers by had called the authorities. The injury on my head had been patched up and they told me it wasn’t too serious although it did bleed a lot, other than that I was just bruised and exhausted.
They told me there were some police officers that were on their way to take a statement and then left me to gather my strength to recount the tale.
My phone had been in the inside pocket of my jacket the whole time and was laid out with the rest of my possessions on a table at the other side of the room. I got up and grabbed it. I thought it’d help the police if I got the cabins details from the AirB&B app so they could send help to the man and woman still in the forest, if they were still alive that is.
My own profile on AirB&B is what opened the floodgates of emotion I’ve still yet to process.
My profile picture was of me and my late wife and I felt a strange sense of relief that she wasn’t around to live with the horror we’d both longed to experience together. I checked the booking confirmation which apart from the date/time and accommodation was all pre-filled from the countless trips my wife and I had taken before her passing, I’d even accidentally booked for 2 guests out of habit.
I then went onto the cabin’s page and looked at the hosts profile picture. An elderly couple, Bob and Angie.
I then checked the past reviews, something I’d failed to do in my excitement previously. The last review was from a man who’d booked the cabin a couple of weeks prior to me, it read
“Extremely disappointed with the service from the host. I booked the stay for me and my girlfriend but a family matter stopped her from attending. When I arrived the host asked me where the other guest was. When I explained my situation to him, he became very irate and aggressively forced me to leave.”
I now feel I understand what desperate measures Bob was taking to try and save his wife, I mean I know I would go to extreme lengths to get mine back from the abyss.Maybe even if it meant offering some kind of messed up trade that resulted in someone else losing theirs.