When I was about 13, I saw something in the trees that I couldn’t understand until recently.
It was some weekend in late November and my best friend was having a birthday party. For the sake of the story we will call him Noah. We were in middle school at the time so we did the usual thing that kids do for birthday parties. We got some friends together and had a sleepover at Noah’s house. It was four of us. Noah, John, Jordan and me.
His family was more on the wealthy side, having a pool and hot tub, a big house with a game room and everything middle schoolers would want to do. His house sat on a hill with a long driveway. He had a large yard front and back surrounded by trees on every side of his house.
I wouldn’t say he lived anywhere super rural, but he would often find dear or coyotes in his yard or hear them in the field behind his house.
We were all hanging out doing whatever kids do, playing video games and ping pong and eating whatever we could find, when Noah’s mom asked us if we wanted to go see a movie. I think it was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but I could be wrong.
Either way, we all agreed and when the time came, around 7:00pm or 8:00pm, we piled in the car and went to the movie theater.
When the movie ended, Noah’s mom picked us up and drove us back to the house.
For context: I was aware of creepypastas and scary creatures (which I now know to be cryptids), however I believed they were just stories. God was I wrong.
Now that I am older I realize that ignorance is bliss. I envy my younger self for not knowing what I know now.
Their mailbox sits at the end of the long driveway near the road. As we approach the start of their driveway, Noah’s mom asks him to step out and get the mail.
At that point, for whatever reason, we all agree to get out with him, get the mail and walk up the driveway. At this point it’s around 10:00 and it’s dark outside. The only light nearby being a single streetlamp coming from the opposite side of his driveway.
His mom drives up the driveway and we start heading up as well. Noah and John begin to walk together in front and Jordan and I are walking in the back. There is maybe 15-20 feet between Noah and John in the front and Jordan and I in the back.
Then, for God knows why, I look at Jordan and say something along the lines of:
“Let’s run back by the mailbox and hide. They’ll be so confused.”
To which I follow that by turning around and running back towards the end of the driveway. I didn’t even check to see if he was on board, I just made a run for it.
It isn’t until I reach the end of the driveway and turn around to realize that everyone is walking like normal and Jordan didn’t even follow me.
Out of breath and frustrated that my prank of the century was ruined, I start walking back up the driveway, this time with a considerable distance between me and everybody else.
I’m looking around at the night sky, observing the stars or whatever when my gaze shifts to the trees on my right.
Maybe 30 feet from me in the trees stood what looked like a person. At first I thought it was Jordan finally playing along and hiding from the other two.
I point at him in the trees, shout something and start moving a little faster. I look in front of me and realize that all 3 of them are still there walking towards the house.
I froze. Every hair on my neck stood up and my stomach started tensing.
I look to my right again and the already very tall thing in the trees began standing up straight, growing to what I would guess to be 8 or 9 feet tall.
I panicked and made a run for it. I didn’t look back again. I started screaming for my friends to run because “THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE TREES!”
I told my friends exactly what I saw and they all laughed it off saying I just saw a dear or a coyote.
I know what I saw and it wasn’t an animal. Even though it was dark, I could see the clear silhouette of what looked like a man.
I brushed it off and quite honestly forgot all about it. Until years later as I matured and began understanding the world more, I learned about cryptids and Skinwalkers. Reading stories about how they are reported to take shape of something, and then grow to reveal they are something completely different.
After putting the pieces together and thinking back to that night, I believe 100% that is what I saw that night.
I need to know if anyone can give feedback on this experience.