Do Not Go Camping in The Catskills Wilderness
The Catskill Mountains in New York are stunning. Through their beauty, I am here to tell you that looks can be… deceiving. I always enjoyed the drive through the Catskills when I was a kid. My calling to explore the mysterious nature gave me a sense of awe, it was a place I felt true inner peace. Once I could drive myself, I found myself taking consistent weekend camping and ski trips. My excitement for the unknown only grew. I became less fearful and more curious. This was my biggest mistake. I found myself driving into the heart of the mountains in uninhabited areas, camping all alone. This new arrangement worked for a while and I was happy with the new experience, so I stuck with it. My weekend trips became frequent, and I was camping every week. Now, I don’t want to bother you with details, but this story was when I was camping with my friend Frank.
Frank and I had been friends in high school and remained friends throughout college. During winter break, we decided we would go on a three-day camping trip in a new area, the Big Indian Wilderness. There are many urban legends of the Catskills, all of them fake, or so I thought. The biggest urban legend of the area was the Ghoulhound. This sounds weird. A slim figure that walks on four stick-like legs, sharp spines on its back, and a growl that could turn even the bravest of people pale. The worst part about this creature, its face. It was made of two ovals that crossed together. Going horizontal were its eyes, going vertical, its mouth of razor-sharp teeth.
I had never experienced anything that really scared me in any of my camping trips, even the solo ones. The usual bears and raccoons came and went, usually scavenging for some of my leftover food. I always carried bear maze with me and a variety of knives just in case a bear got a little too curious, but nothing could have prepared me for this trip. I had to stop for gas when we got into a little town outside of the Big Indian Wilderness area. I noticed the cashier of the store staring at me with concern in his eyes and this set an uneasy feeling inside my whole body. Now, what happened next is, to say the least, cliche. I went to check out and I decided to ask the cashier if everything was alright. He gave me a weak smile and asked what I would hope he wouldn’t. “Are you going into the Big Indian Wilderness?” He asked. My response of a simple “yes” made him pale. He went on to explain in vague detail how campers kept disappearing over the last two years and that we should just stay at a camping resort to protect ourselves from the Ghoulhound. This had Frank and I questioning if we should keep going or not.
After a long discussion, we decided yes, we would keep going and enjoy the great outdoors. We weren’t going to let a fake urban legend and a creepy cliche gas station cashier ruin our good time. We continued the twenty-minute drive to our spot. We picked an empty valley about a fifteen-minute drive from the Belleayre ski resort. The views were stunning. It was a perfect balance of quiet and close to civilization. The snowy trees coated the land, as if to keep it warm. The wind gently caressed our faces as we set up the tent, racing the light of day. My anxieties of the urban legend gently left my mind as we set up a fire and relaxed. The first night went extremely well. The tent was safe and warm, no animal sounds, and the sky was full of stars. What was strange, was the paw prints of what seemed to be an animal with four thin legs. This put us on edge again as we both knew how stealthy the Ghoulhound was. We knew we couldn’t do anything about the prints, so we brushed it aside and left for our ski day.
When we came back for the night, our tent was taken apart in a manner so precise that it looked as if a human had done it. Now, remember, we are off in the middle of a forest fifteen minutes away from anybody by car. We had no cell service, so this was a big deal. Not a flake of snow fell from the sky that day. The unnerving part was, there were no human footprints, only more of the thin paw prints that had appeared overnight. Unfortunately, we had arrived with only thirty minutes of daylight left. This bad timing on our part made us make the decision on setting the tent back up and staying the night. We decided against lighting a fire and staying in our tent the entire night.
It was around midnight when we were startled awake by the noise. A horrible tormenting noise. We looked at each other with horror. What we were hearing was what we were warned about by the cashier and what most likely took down our tent earlier in the day. This was no doubt its growl. I shot up grabbing my bear maze within what was probably less than a second. Frank shot up slowly. I could tell I was having a fight and he was having a freeze reaction. We sat silently, not breathing for what felt like hours. I checked the time, quarter past twelve. We waited another minute, starting to believe we were just dreaming. That was until the zipper to our tent started to unzip as the sound of breathing hovered over the tent.
The zipper slowly continued down the track as if it knew what it was doing and was trying to taunt us. I grabbed my largest knife and got ready for what could be the end. The zipper ripped off its tracks and the rift stretched open. The only thing I could see was the darkness of the night. What was unusual was that the stars and moon were gone. I anticipated whatever it was to stick its horrifying face inside of the tent. But it didn’t. This game went on for another four hours. We sat frozen. Wondering if we last to see the sun rise through the horrors of the night.
As the sunrise brought a red sky. We remained unable to see the creature. Finally, we heard the growl it’s infamous for. The creature came from behind the tent, leaped over it, and landed facing us. Its face was warped by a sinister look in its eyes. We knew when we saw it that this creature had a lust for blood. I was not trying to become a statistic, so my next decision still shocks me to this day. I am not a large guy. I have always had a skinny build. I ran cross country throughout high school, and I always hated football. Anyways, I found myself sprinting at this long, skinny, but tall creature. I attempted to tackle the creature knowing it would be the only way I saw the light of the new day’s sun. I ran into the creature and managed to knock it down. It got up menacingly with a wide smirk across its cross-shaped face. Frank arose from the tent with an ax, and we knew this was about to be the fight of our lives.
The Ghoulhound stood up on its two hind legs. This thing was a lot larger than expected. It rose to about nine feet tall. It ran towards us, and I got a maze spray right into its eyes. It wiped away the thick coating of what would put a human into a state of excruciating pain and smacked me across the face. As I drifted into a state of unconsciousness, a similar fate struck Frank.
I was knocked out. I woke up bound, being dragged deeper into the woods. There was a whole group of Ghoulhounds assisting the one that we had just fought in carrying us back. We were going to be breakfast if we didn’t think fast. I felt a stabbing pain in my pocket and realized that I had my Swiss Army Knife in my pocket. I managed to bend in a way that looked natural and I was able to grab my knife. I slowly and inconspicuously whittled away at my ropes. I freed my legs and one arm and I went to assist Frank. He was dazed and half awake but I managed to free both of us completely. I shot up ready to fight again when I noticed something sickening. At least twenty five precisely disassembled bodies of victims were put together in a mixed and matched puzzle-like way. The Ghoulhounds froze. They stared me down and in a terrifying set of raspy, deep voices, they said in unison “These two have managed to wake and free themselves. They have earned their freedom”. They waved their hands around and we both passed out again.
We woke up later in the day. My phone was dead, but the sun’s position showed it was around one in the afternoon. We were right near our car and our camping gear was packed perfectly back to the way we packed it before we left for our trip. My keys were already inserted, and the car was started. Our fuel tank had been filled. I drove my crappy car out of there at speeds faster than I thought any car could do. When we got back to civilization in the foothills, we immediately went to a police station and told them what happened. The surprised look on the officer’s face as we told him what we saw proved that he had heard this story before. He went on to explain that this was a normal report that they get around once every two or three months.
As we left the police station, we saw the Ghouldhounds waiting. They hid their slim bodies behind the trees, but it seemed as if they wanted us to recognize their presence.
This is why you should never go camping in the Catskills unless you’re at a resort. We drove the two-hour drive home in complete silence except for the gasps of terror when we saw them appear on the side of the road. I went straight back to my parents’ house after I dropped Frank off. I was greeted warmly and questioned about the early arrival, but I knew they wouldn’t believe my story. I told them that some food we brought was spoiled and we were feeling sick so they would stop asking. All night, I heard taps on my bedroom window. I woke up in the late morning to my parents screaming at the sight of the Ghouldhound.
I write this knowing they are nearby. I have hired ghost hunters and exorcists, but nothing seems to work. I can’t tell if they’re sinister or innocent, but they seem to respect me for escaping. Whatever they are, I saw what they did to the people that didn’t wake up and escape. This is my warning to trust the cliche gas station employee and your gut. Don’t go camping anywhere in the Catskills unless you stay at a resort. This has been my warning. Come prepared if you choose to disregard it.
EDIT: WTF I did not expect 52 thousand views in less than 24 hours! I thought this was crappily put together. Should I make a part 2 or write more stories? This is my first ever reddit post.