- 4 days ago
Three Stories From Places Where I Shouldn't Have Stayed
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00:19One of my close relatives owns a large piece of property deep in the forest.
00:24I'm talking about almost 200 acres of woods surrounding a house that honestly had no
00:30business being where it was.
00:32The house itself was beautiful.
00:34It was large, modern, and expensive looking enough that if you saw it somewhere outside
00:39a major city, you'd probably assume the people living there were extremely wealthy.
00:44But it wasn't outside a city.
00:47It wasn't even close to a town.
00:49The nearest paved road was miles away, and once you left that road, you had to travel
00:54down a series of narrow dirt roads before eventually reaching the property.
00:59Because of how isolated it was, the house wasn't worth nearly what something similar would have
01:03been worth in a populated area.
01:05To me, though, that isolation was the best part.
01:09My relatives were hunters and outdoors people, so they had bought the land partly because
01:13they wanted privacy and partly because they loved the forest.
01:17And because I was allowed to visit whenever I wanted, I started using the property for
01:22camping trips.
01:23Maybe three or four times a year, I'd drive out there, spend some time at the house, and
01:28then head into the woods with a backpack and a tent.
01:31It was easy.
01:32I didn't need to research trails or worry about finding a legal place to camp.
01:36I didn't need to make reservations or deal with other campers.
01:40I could just show up, walk into the forest, and disappear for a night or two.
01:45At least, that's how I used to think about it.
01:48I had heard about it from my relatives before.
01:51They described it as an old shelter where workers had apparently slept during the logging
01:56operation.
01:57For whatever reason, I had never gone looking for it.
02:00Until that trip.
02:02I arrived at the house at around 10 in the morning.
02:05I spent a couple of hours talking with my relatives, eating something, and getting my gear
02:09together.
02:09At around 1 in the afternoon, I left.
02:13According to one of my relatives, the old logging site was about 40 minutes away on foot.
02:18The problem was that there wasn't actually a trail.
02:21I had to cut through the forest.
02:23The first 20 minutes were normal.
02:25The woods were dense, but I was familiar enough with the property that I wasn't worried
02:29about getting lost.
02:30I kept checking my direction and occasionally looking behind me to remember landmarks.
02:35Eventually, the trees began thinning.
02:38And that's when I saw the first sign that something had once been there, a rusted piece
02:43of metal sticking out of the ground.
02:45Then another.
02:47Then a pile of old boards, almost completely covered in moss.
02:52The remains of the logging site were scattered everywhere.
02:55Most of the buildings were gone.
02:57Not demolished.
02:59Not demolished.
03:00Collapsed.
03:00Large piles of rotting wood lay between the trees.
03:04And in some places, it was impossible to tell whether I was looking at the remains of
03:08a building or just a collection of fallen trees.
03:12Then I saw the shelter.
03:13It stood about 50 yards ahead of me, and I remember stopping.
03:17Because it looked wrong.
03:20Not scary.
03:21Just wrong.
03:23The building was old, obviously.
03:25The wood was darkened and weathered, and part of the roof looked like it had been repaired
03:29at some point decades ago.
03:31But it didn't look abandoned.
03:33It looked like a cabin.
03:35If you had placed it somewhere along a hiking trail, I probably wouldn't have thought anything
03:40of it.
03:40But that was what surprised me.
03:42Everything else around it had collapsed.
03:45But this one building was still standing.
03:48I approached it slowly.
03:50The door was closed.
03:52There were no footprints that I could see, although the ground around it was covered with
03:56leaves and debris, so that didn't mean much.
04:00I grabbed the edge of the door and pushed.
04:02At first, nothing happened.
04:05Then with a long, groaning sound, the door slowly opened.
04:10The smell inside hit me immediately.
04:13Damp wood.
04:14Rust.
04:15And something else.
04:17Something stale.
04:18Like a room that had been closed for a very, very long time.
04:23Light came through several holes in the walls and roof.
04:26Inside were rows of bunk beds, eight on one side, eight on the other.
04:31Most of the metal frames were rusted.
04:34The mattresses were torn apart, and pieces of old fabric and stuffing were scattered across
04:39the floor.
04:40Something had clearly been living inside at some point.
04:43Probably rodents.
04:44I walked through the building carefully.
04:47There was nothing.
04:48No tools.
04:49No photographs.
04:51No old equipment.
04:52No graffiti.
04:53Nothing to suggest anyone had been there since the logging operation shut down.
04:58That was strange enough.
05:00A building sitting abandoned in the woods for decades usually collects evidence that someone
05:05has visited.
05:06Teenagers.
05:07Hunters.
05:08Explorers.
05:09Someone.
05:10Someone.
05:10But this place felt untouched.
05:13I spent about 15 minutes looking around before deciding there wasn't much else to see.
05:18The sun was still up, but I wanted to set up camp before it started getting dark.
05:23Originally, I considered sleeping inside the shelter, but after seeing the collapsed buildings
05:28around it, I decided against it.
05:30The place was old, and I didn't feel like waking up under a fallen roof.
05:34So, I walked about 100 yards away and found a relatively open area between the trees.
05:40I set up my tent, gathered some wood, and started a small fire.
05:45For the next few hours, everything was completely normal.
05:49I sat there, listened to the woods, occasionally looked toward the shelter.
05:54As the sun went down, the forest changed.
05:57The trees became darker.
05:59However, the spaces between them became black.
06:02Eventually, I could no longer see the shelter.
06:05I knew exactly where it was, but from where I sat beside the fire, it had disappeared completely
06:11into the darkness.
06:13I was cooking dinner when I heard footsteps.
06:16At first, I didn't react.
06:18There were animals everywhere.
06:20But these weren't animal footsteps.
06:23They were too slow.
06:24Too deliberate.
06:27Crunch.
06:28A pause.
06:29Crunch.
06:30Another pause.
06:32I stopped moving.
06:34The footsteps were coming from the direction of the old shelter.
06:38I stood up.
06:39And then, a man stepped into the edge of the firelight.
06:43I remember how sudden it was.
06:46One second, there was nothing.
06:47The next, there was a person standing there.
06:51He looked to be in his 40s, maybe older.
06:54His clothes were filthy.
06:56His jacket was worn and stained.
06:58He had a thick beard and looked like he had been living outside for a long time.
07:03And maybe it was because I was sitting beside an abandoned logging camp, but he looked almost
07:08exactly like what you'd imagine an old-fashioned logger would look like.
07:12The thing that immediately bothered me, though, was his size.
07:16I'm not a small person, but this guy was huge.
07:20Broad shoulders.
07:22Massive hands.
07:23The kind of person who made you instinctively aware of how isolated you were.
07:28He smiled.
07:29Hey, buddy.
07:31I didn't say anything.
07:33I'm looking for my friend, he continued.
07:35He said he'd be around here somewhere, but I can't seem to find him.
07:39As he talked, he kept walking closer.
07:42You haven't seen anyone, have you?
07:44I remember looking behind him.
07:46There was nothing.
07:48Just darkness.
07:49No, I said.
07:51Sorry.
07:51I haven't seen anyone.
07:53I should have told him he was trespassing.
07:56I should have asked him who he was.
07:58But I didn't.
07:59Something about the situation made me uncomfortable enough that I just wanted the conversation to end.
08:05The man nodded.
08:07All right.
08:08Then he smiled again and stood there.
08:11At first, I thought he was waiting for me to say something.
08:14But I didn't.
08:16So he just stared at me.
08:18Maybe ten seconds.
08:19Maybe thirty.
08:21It felt much longer.
08:23The fire cracked.
08:25Somewhere behind him, a branch snapped.
08:28And the man never looked away from me.
08:31Finally, he said,
08:33Good night.
08:34Then he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
08:38Just like that.
08:39I stood beside the fire for several seconds.
08:43Listening.
08:44I expected to hear his footsteps.
08:47But after the first few steps?
08:49Nothing.
08:51The forest was silent again.
08:54I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting.
08:57Maybe he really was looking for his friend.
09:00Maybe he was a hunter.
09:01Maybe he had somehow entered the property from another direction.
09:05There were plenty of explanations.
09:07But none of them made me feel better.
09:10The thing that bothered me most was how comfortable he had been.
09:14He had walked directly into the middle of an isolated campsite,
09:18deep inside private property.
09:21He hadn't acted surprised to see me.
09:24He hadn't asked who owned the land.
09:26He hadn't seemed lost.
09:28He looked like he belonged there.
09:31I started packing.
09:32I wasn't completely sure I was leaving,
09:35but I wanted everything ready, just in case.
09:39By the time I finished, my backpack was packed and my tent was still standing.
09:43I sat down and finished cooking my food.
09:47Then I made a decision.
09:48There was absolutely no reason to stay.
09:52The house was less than an hour away.
09:54I could sleep in a real bed.
09:57And more importantly, I wouldn't have to spend the night wondering who else was walking around in those woods.
10:03I put out the fire, took down my tent, put on my backpack, and started walking.
10:10I had only been moving for maybe two minutes when I heard footsteps ahead of me.
10:15Fast footsteps coming directly toward me.
10:19I froze.
10:21My first thought was that it was an animal.
10:24But then, the footsteps stopped, right in front of me.
10:29I couldn't see much.
10:30The moonlight barely reached through the trees, but eventually, I saw the outline of a man.
10:37He looked almost identical to the first one.
10:40Similar height, similar build, similar clothing.
10:44For a second, I felt relieved.
10:47This had to be the friend.
10:48Maybe they really were together.
10:50Maybe the first guy had found him.
10:53I swallowed.
10:54Your friend was looking for you.
10:57Nothing.
10:58He went back that way, toward the shelter.
11:02The man didn't move.
11:04Where is he?
11:06His voice was quiet, flat, almost emotionless.
11:11I pointed behind me.
11:13That way.
11:15Where is he?
11:17The exact same question.
11:19Same tone.
11:21I suddenly realized that he wasn't looking in the direction I was pointing.
11:24He was looking directly at me.
11:27I didn't know what to say.
11:29Then I heard something behind me.
11:32Footsteps.
11:33Slow footsteps.
11:35One.
11:36Then another.
11:38Someone was approaching.
11:40Maybe 20 feet away.
11:42I didn't turn around.
11:44I couldn't.
11:45The man in front of me hadn't moved.
11:47He was still staring.
11:49And I suddenly understood something that made my stomach drop.
11:54If the man behind me was the first guy, then he had found his friend.
11:59They were both here, and neither of them had said a word.
12:04I took one step forward.
12:06The man in front of me stayed where he was.
12:09Another step?
12:10Nothing.
12:12Then I started walking.
12:14Not running.
12:15Not yet.
12:15I walked directly past him.
12:17As I passed, I could feel him turning his head, following me.
12:22I kept walking.
12:24I could hear the slow footsteps behind me stop.
12:27Then, after a few seconds, I heard another set of footsteps move toward the first man.
12:33They were standing together.
12:34I knew they were.
12:36But neither of them spoke.
12:38No greeting.
12:39No conversation.
12:40Nothing.
12:41I kept walking.
12:42And then, walking faster.
12:45Once I was far enough away that I couldn't hear anything behind me anymore, I ran.
12:49I ran through the woods in complete darkness.
12:52Branches hit my face.
12:54I nearly fell several times.
12:56But I didn't stop until I reached the house.
12:59The next morning, I told my relatives everything.
13:02Their reaction confused me.
13:04At first, they looked like they didn't believe me.
13:07Then they started asking questions.
13:09Where exactly were they standing?
13:12What did they look like?
13:13What were they wearing?
13:15I expected them to be concerned.
13:17Instead, they seemed confused.
13:20Almost concerned about me.
13:22One of my relatives told me something I hadn't known.
13:26There was no public access to that side of the property.
13:29The only reasonable way to reach the logging site was through their land.
13:33I asked if anyone else had permission to hunt there.
13:36No.
13:37Had they seen anyone else recently?
13:40No.
13:41I never found out who those men were.
13:43And I never went back to that part of the forest.
13:46But years later, one thing still bothers me.
13:50The first man said he was looking for his friend.
13:53The second man kept asking me where his friend was.
13:57But when they finally found each other, neither one said a single word.
14:27When I was in my early 20s, I made a decision that completely changed my life.
14:32I moved away.
14:34Far away.
14:35I rented a small cabin surrounded almost entirely by forest.
14:39The closest real town was about 50 minutes away.
14:43There was a small collection of houses and a gas station maybe 10 minutes from me.
14:47But that was it.
14:49For the first few months, I loved it.
14:51I worked from home, so living in the middle of the woods sounded perfect.
14:55No traffic.
14:57No neighbors.
14:58No office.
14:59Just me, my laptop, and the forest.
15:02For about three months, everything was fine.
15:06Then, something changed.
15:08It happened gradually.
15:10At first, I barely noticed it.
15:12Whenever I stepped outside, I would feel uncomfortable.
15:16Not afraid.
15:17Just uncomfortable.
15:19Like something wasn't right.
15:21I ignored it.
15:23But over the next week, the feeling became impossible to ignore.
15:27Every time I walked toward the trees, I felt dread.
15:31Deep, irrational dread.
15:33It was the kind of fear where your body reacts before your brain understands why.
15:39My heart would start beating faster.
15:41I'd feel tense.
15:42And I'd suddenly want to go back inside.
15:45Eventually, I stopped going into the woods completely.
15:48Which was ridiculous.
15:50The whole reason I had moved there was to be surrounded by nature.
15:54But now, I couldn't bring myself to walk more than a few feet from the cabin.
15:59I tried explaining it to myself.
16:01Maybe I was adjusting to being alone.
16:04Maybe I was becoming paranoid.
16:06Maybe my imagination was getting the better of me.
16:09But after a week, I got tired of feeling like I was afraid of something that didn't exist.
16:14So I decided to force myself into the woods.
16:17Face my fear.
16:18Prove to myself that nothing was there.
16:21I walked outside.
16:23Crossed the small clearing around the cabin.
16:25And entered the trees.
16:28Immediately, the feeling returned.
16:30Worse than before.
16:32The woods were completely still.
16:35No wind.
16:36No birds.
16:37No insects.
16:39Nothing.
16:40It was so quiet that I could hear myself breathing.
16:44My mind was telling me to turn around.
16:46Go back.
16:47Get inside.
16:48But I kept walking.
16:50Eventually, I reached a point where I could barely see my cabin through the trees.
16:55And that's when the feeling became unbearable.
16:58My heart was pounding.
17:00I felt like I was being watched from every direction.
17:03Then I heard a voice.
17:06Hello?
17:07I spun around.
17:09A woman was walking toward me.
17:11She looked completely normal.
17:13Maybe in her 30s.
17:15She was dressed casually.
17:16She was smiling.
17:18Hi, she said.
17:20I'm Lynn.
17:21I was so caught off guard that it took me a moment to respond.
17:25Uh, hi.
17:28She introduced herself and said she was just out for a walk.
17:31Then she asked if I wanted to join her.
17:34The way she talked was unusually friendly.
17:37Almost overly friendly.
17:39She smiled constantly.
17:41I told her I was actually on my way back home.
17:44Then I asked where she lived.
17:46She pointed somewhere behind her.
17:48Around here.
17:50That was all she said.
17:52She asked again if I wanted to walk with her.
17:55I declined.
17:56Something about her made me uncomfortable.
17:59And it wasn't just because of the strange feeling I'd been having.
18:02It was the way she was acting.
18:05Like she had been expecting me.
18:07I turned to leave.
18:09Then, behind me, she spoke.
18:11Still smiling.
18:13Still using that cheerful voice.
18:15You shouldn't be here.
18:17I froze.
18:19For a second, I honestly thought I had misunderstood her.
18:22I turned around.
18:24But she was already walking away.
18:27What?
18:28She didn't respond.
18:30I watched her disappear between the trees.
18:32And something strange happened.
18:35The dreadful feeling I'd been experiencing for the entire week slowly disappeared.
18:40As she walked farther away, it faded.
18:44Until suddenly, the woods felt normal again.
18:48I stood there for maybe a minute.
18:50Then I ran back to the cabin.
18:52That was the moment I decided to leave.
18:55I didn't care if I sounded paranoid.
18:57I didn't care if there was a logical explanation.
19:00Something was wrong.
19:02I packed everything I owned into my truck.
19:05It took hours.
19:07By the time I finished, the sun had gone down.
19:10I was putting the last bag together when the feeling came back.
19:14Instantly.
19:15Stronger than ever.
19:16I stopped and looked toward the window.
19:20There was someone standing at the tree line.
19:23My entire body went cold.
19:26It was Lynn.
19:27I knew it was her.
19:29Even from that distance.
19:30She wasn't moving.
19:32She wasn't waving.
19:33She was just standing there, watching the cabin.
19:37I stared at her.
19:39She stared back.
19:41Then, slowly, she lifted one hand and pointed.
19:46Not at me.
19:48Past me.
19:49Toward the inside of the cabin.
19:51I didn't turn around.
19:53I grabbed the last bag, ran outside, got into my truck, and left.
19:59I never looked back.
20:01I managed to get out of the lease.
20:03I lost money.
20:05I didn't care.
20:06I have no explanation for what happened there.
20:09But sometimes, I think about what Lynn said.
20:13You shouldn't be here.
20:15At the time, I assumed she was warning me.
20:18But after seeing her standing outside my cabin, pointing inside, I'm not sure anymore.
20:26Maybe she wasn't warning me about the forest.
20:29Maybe she was warning me about something else.
20:32Something that was already inside.
20:57A few years ago, I took a trip to northern Utah.
21:00It wasn't a vacation with an itinerary.
21:02I didn't want to visit museums or cities.
21:05I didn't want to go hiking every day.
21:07I just wanted to disappear for a week.
21:09So, I rented a cabin.
21:11The listing described it as peaceful and secluded.
21:14That should have been my first warning.
21:16The cabin was located near the Idaho border, in a small community of rental cabins.
21:21When I say community, though, I mean maybe six or seven cabins spread across miles of forest.
21:27Nothing else.
21:28No stores.
21:29No restaurants.
21:30No gas station.
21:31Just trees.
21:33The road from the highway was gravel.
21:35About six miles of it.
21:36At the end, smaller dirt roads branched off toward the cabins.
21:40I followed a sign marked Cabin 4.
21:43The road became narrower.
21:44The trees got closer.
21:46Eventually, I reached the cabin.
21:48It was smaller than I expected.
21:50And strangely placed.
21:51Most cabins have some kind of clearing around them.
21:54This one didn't.
21:55It looked like someone had simply found an empty space between trees.
22:00And built a cabin there.
22:02Some of the trees were only a few feet from the walls.
22:05It made the place feel enclosed.
22:08Almost trapped.
22:09I parked.
22:10Grabbed my backpack.
22:12And went inside.
22:13I had been unpacking for maybe ten minutes when someone knocked on the door.
22:18The sound startled me so badly that I almost dropped what I was holding.
22:23Three knocks.
22:25Slow.
22:26Heavy.
22:27I walked to the door.
22:29There was no window.
22:31No peephole.
22:32So I opened it.
22:34A tall man stood outside.
22:36Probably in his thirties.
22:38He smiled.
22:39Just checking to make sure you're okay.
22:42For some reason, that sentence gave me chills.
22:45Not because of what he said, but because of the way he said it.
22:49Like he already knew something was wrong.
22:52I laughed nervously.
22:55Yeah, everything's great.
22:56Thanks.
22:57He nodded.
22:59Good.
23:00And that was it.
23:02I closed the door.
23:04But about thirty seconds later, something occurred to me.
23:07I hadn't seen a vehicle.
23:09The man hadn't been standing near a car.
23:12And the other cabins were far enough away that he couldn't have reached mine that quickly.
23:17I opened the door again.
23:18Nobody.
23:19I stepped outside.
23:21Nothing.
23:22No footsteps.
23:24No vehicle.
23:25No sound.
23:26The forest was silent.
23:28I stood there for a few seconds.
23:30Then laughed to myself.
23:32Maybe I hadn't noticed his car.
23:34Maybe he worked there.
23:36It didn't matter.
23:37I went back inside.
23:39Later that afternoon, I took a nap.
23:41When I woke up, it was almost dark.
23:44I grabbed a drink and sat outside on the porch.
23:46The weather was perfect.
23:48No wind.
23:49No insects.
23:51Nothing moving.
23:52At first, it was peaceful.
23:54Then I started feeling watched.
23:56I don't know when it started.
23:58Maybe I saw something without consciously realizing it.
24:01Maybe I heard something.
24:03But eventually, I became completely convinced that someone was standing somewhere in the trees,
24:09watching me.
24:10I stayed outside anyway, trying to prove to myself that I was imagining it.
24:15Eventually, it became too dark.
24:17I went inside.
24:19The cabin was small.
24:21One living area, a couch, a table, one bedroom, one bathroom.
24:27That was it.
24:29I tried turning on the fireplace.
24:31Nothing.
24:32Apparently, there was no gas.
24:34So I sat on the couch.
24:37Then I heard a crash.
24:39It sounded like something had fallen over, maybe even broken.
24:43The sound came from the back right side of the cabin.
24:46But there was no room over there.
24:49I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight, and went outside.
24:54When I rounded the corner, I saw stairs leading beneath the cabin.
24:59And at the bottom, a door was open.
25:03I stopped.
25:05I was sure I hadn't seen that before.
25:07The door led into some kind of crawl space or basement.
25:11My foam light couldn't reach the back.
25:14It was completely black.
25:16The longer I stood there, the worse I felt.
25:20But I also knew that the sound had come from somewhere beneath the cabin.
25:24So I started down the stairs.
25:27Slowly.
25:29The space underneath was small.
25:31Concrete walls.
25:33Shelves.
25:34A pile of objects scattered across the floor.
25:37Something had clearly fallen.
25:39But as soon as I stepped inside, I heard footsteps behind me.
25:45I turned around and shined my phone up the stairs.
25:49There was a man standing at the top.
25:52It was him.
25:53The man from earlier.
25:55The one who had knocked on my door.
25:58For a moment, neither of us moved.
26:01Hello?
26:03My voice sounded weak.
26:05The man stared down at me.
26:08Then turned.
26:10And walked away.
26:12I ran up the stairs.
26:13By the time I reached the top, he was gone.
26:17Again.
26:19No car.
26:20No footsteps.
26:22Nothing.
26:24I didn't stay to investigate.
26:26I ran inside.
26:27Locked the door.
26:29Packed everything.
26:30Threw my backpack and cooler into the car.
26:32And left.
26:35The drive out felt endless.
26:38Every few minutes, I checked my mirrors.
26:40I kept expecting headlights behind me.
26:43Or to see someone standing in the road.
26:46But I saw nothing.
26:49Eventually, I reached a motel.
26:52The next morning, I called the owner of the rental.
26:55I wanted an explanation.
26:57And a refund.
26:58The man who answered sounded elderly.
27:01Definitely not the man who had visited me.
27:03I explained what happened.
27:05There was a long silence.
27:07Then he said something that made my stomach drop.
27:11I don't have any employees.
27:13I asked him if someone else worked there.
27:15No.
27:16I asked about the other cabins.
27:18He told me none of them were rented that night.
27:21I should have been the only person there.
27:24I stayed at the motel another day.
27:26Eventually, the owner met me.
27:28And we spoke to the police.
27:30After that, I never heard anything.
27:32No updates.
27:34No explanation.
27:35Nothing.
27:36Years later, while writing this, I searched for cabin 4.
27:40The listing was gone.
27:42The entire rental business was gone.
27:45No announcement.
27:46No explanation.
27:47No reviews explaining what happened.
27:49It was as if the place had never existed.
27:53But one detail still bothers me more than anything else.
27:57The first time I opened the door, the man said,
28:00just checking to make sure you're okay.
28:02At the time, I assumed he was the owner.
28:05Or an employee.
28:06But after everything that happened, I started wondering why he had really come to my door.
28:13And after hearing the crash beneath the cabin, finding the open door, and seeing him standing at the top of
28:20those stairs,
28:21I started wondering something else.
28:24What if he wasn't checking to make sure that I was okay?
28:28What if he was checking to see whether I was still there?
28:32And whatever had been underneath the cabin that night, maybe it wasn't the thing making the noise.
28:39Maybe the noise was the thing trying to warn me.
28:42Because after I found that open door, I never heard another sound.
28:47Until the man appeared at the top of the stairs, staring down at me, waiting, as if he had been
28:55expecting me to come down there.
28:57Good day.
28:59Good day.
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