So to give a little context to this short story I grew up in a very religious household. We never talked about the supernatural outside of angels and demons. Despite this, I have always had an interest in and affinity for the unexplainable.
At the time of the story, I had just turned eight. My family decided it would be a great idea to take a trip to northern Ontario to site camp amongst the lovely fall trees. After a few hours of diving, we finally made it. We had got all set up, tent, firepit, the like. I was helping my dad cut some firewood when we realized my brother, 6 at the time, was nowhere to be found. Now realistically my dad was doing most of the work so during the time it took to set up camp it had already become mid to late evening so it was starting to get dark.
As expected panic set in as we looked around for him. We were checking everywhere. That is when my parents told me to stay at camp in case he came back and headed off to look farther out. I was alone for maybe fifteen minutes when I thought I heard someone moving through the underbrush behind the edge of our camp.
I promised myself I’d stay put since I was the only one at camp in case my brother came back. That’s when I heard my brother’s voice calling out for help from the same direction where I had heard the rustling. So against my better judgement, I started walking. I took the walking stick I had picked up earlier that day and held it tight since I was worried that there are a lot of wild animals in the forest.
Making my way through the underbrush was tough work since it was thick and I had short legs at the time. MY sense of unease grew the whole time but I chalked it up to the fact that I was worried for my brother. After five minutes of walking and I made it to the base of a small cliff that had a steep, but climbable section and I decided to climb up and see if I could see my brother. I spent a few minutes clamouring up the slope and scraped myself up pretty good on a root, but I made it to the top.
The view from the top, on a better day, would have been rather pretty. tall trees with yellow and orange leaves covering the ground and mixing with the underbrush. I made several sweeps of the area but didn’t find any sign of my brother. It was then that I felt a massive wave of that unease I had been experiencing since I left the campsite. This time magnitudes are stronger. I made another half-hearted scan of the area before heading back.
My mistake was that I was only looking down off of the cliff and the surrounding lower area, and not behind me. As I turned to make my way down the slope I was something. At first, I thought it was just a copse of birch trees at the edge of this bit of a clearing. I then saw movement, minor but noticeable. it was like a branch hanging from the canopy but it bent, then bent a bit more. I followed the “branch” with my eyes until I saw it. It was a man or something like it. It had to have been seven or more feet tall since it was nearly as tall as some of the trees. It was pale as a sheet of paper, which helped it blend in with the birch trees. it was very spindly and it was staring at me. I will never forget its face. It reminded me of Gollum from the lord of the rings when he lashes out but constantly and more gaunt and stretched.
My body froze but I knew I had to get home, back to my parents, or just anywhere but here. So I slid and tumbled my way back down the slope I had come from, busing and scraping myself on the way. Thankfully I had been very careful to know my way back to camp as I didn’t want to get lost myself. I remember thinking that no matter how fast I ran that thing could easily catch me. I made it back to camp safely but my parents were not back yet. I hid in the van and must have fallen asleep from the adrenaline crash because the next thing I knew my dad had opened the sliding door and was shaking me awake.
I tried to explain what I saw to my parents but obviously, they didn’t believe me. They had found my brother down by a nearby river. He and other kid he had made friends with had followed the river upstream and had gotten lost. Thankfully the park rangers had had this happen before so they found him, scared but unhurt. We stayed the night without much incident besides racoons getting into our improperly stored food. The next morning dad and mom decided to pack up and we headed home shortly after.
I have told very few people this story, and fewer have believed me. But I know what I saw because it is seared into my brain. I have some small scars to this day from the descent down the slope so I know it wasn’t a dream. It was only years later did I hear about the Wendigo and similar creatures. No matter what happens I will never be able to forget that creature or the fact that my brother’s voice calling for help, and that the cliff I climbed up was in the polar opposite direction of the river.