1 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: My neighborhood growing up wasn't the nicest. Everyone who lived 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,759 there was there because they couldn't afford anywhere else, not 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:15,960 because they wanted to live there. A lot of the 4 00:00:16,039 --> 00:00:20,039 houses were extremely small and old, and even the businesses 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:22,760 in the town had trouble staying open for more than 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,399 a year or two. When I was young, it was 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,960 pretty common for us to go to these houses and 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,200 businesses that had been abandoned and just mess around in them. 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,000 The police had to have known this was going on, 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,520 since every kid in town was doing it, but they 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,359 didn't do anything about it anyway. When I was really young, 12 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,840 my elementary school shut down and the building was never repurposed. 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,880 So when I was older and exploring these run down places, 14 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,159 I was intrigued to see what the school looked like. Now. 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,119 On a Saturday night, my buddy Ryan and I went 16 00:01:01,159 --> 00:01:05,159 to the school. We didn't have cars, so we had 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,719 to walk about four miles from his house to get there. 18 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,959 This building, even before it was abandoned, I always found 19 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,079 a little bit creepy. It was on the edge of town, 20 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,040 buried in the woods, with a chain link fence around it. 21 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,200 It just really did not seem like a place for 22 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:27,000 an elementary school. We climbed over and went to the 23 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:28,879 side of the building to see if there was a 24 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,439 window to get in from. Lucky for us, almost every 25 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,920 window had already been smashed open. I jumped in first, 26 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:42,959 followed by Ryan. The first thing we did was just 27 00:01:43,079 --> 00:01:48,560 stand there and listen to hear if anyone else was inside. 28 00:01:48,719 --> 00:01:52,519 There was this very loud, hollow, creaking noise the building 29 00:01:52,599 --> 00:01:57,000 was making, but it sounded like we were alone. We 30 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,000 walked down the hallway, peeking into some of the rooms. 31 00:02:01,079 --> 00:02:03,519 It was a very strange feeling to be back at 32 00:02:03,519 --> 00:02:06,480 the school after so many years and see it in 33 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:12,520 such horrible condition. We passed maybe three rooms, walking slowly 34 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:17,840 and quietly, before a sudden thud echoed throughout the entire building. 35 00:02:20,439 --> 00:02:23,560 We stopped and looked at each other, but no more 36 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:28,039 sounds came. Ryan said it was probably just a building 37 00:02:28,319 --> 00:02:31,479 settling in on its own weight, and we continued down 38 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,479 the hallway. A lot of the rooms were either empty 39 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,159 or just had a bunch of chairs lined up in them, 40 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,360 but nothing really interesting. That was until we got to 41 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:47,439 the next hallway deeper into the school. This hallway had 42 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,159 chairs scattered throughout, blocking the way through. We had to 43 00:02:52,159 --> 00:02:55,759 push them aside just to get to the rooms. The 44 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,560 first room was locked, so we went down to the 45 00:02:58,599 --> 00:03:02,280 second room on the left side and looked in, seeing 46 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:07,000 what looked like clothes hanging from the ceiling. I walked 47 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,719 in and looked at it, unsure why or how those 48 00:03:10,759 --> 00:03:15,800 got there. After a moment, I wondered why Ryan hadn't 49 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,680 said anything and if he was seeing what I saw. 50 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,319 I turned around, and as my head moved across the 51 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,159 room I caught a glimpse of a figure in the 52 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,199 far back. I shot my eyes to the far wall, 53 00:03:30,719 --> 00:03:34,680 seeing a disheveled man staring at us as he stood 54 00:03:34,759 --> 00:03:38,360 with something in his hand. To make it all worse, 55 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:43,719 he had almost no clothing on. I quickly glanced at Ryan, 56 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,120 who had his eyes fixed on the man as well, 57 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,280 before he grabbed my arm and pulled me back into 58 00:03:49,319 --> 00:03:54,520 the hallway. Immediately we heard something metal being thrown across 59 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,039 the room toward the door we were at, followed by 60 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:03,240 a horrific scream. We sprinted down the hallway and out 61 00:04:03,319 --> 00:04:06,479 the first open window we saw, then ran as far 62 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:11,000 away as we could before losing our breath. On the 63 00:04:11,039 --> 00:04:13,840 rest of the walk home, we put the pieces together 64 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,480 and realized the man was likely holding a knife, which 65 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,839 was probably what he tried throwing at us. Considering his 66 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,240 unstable state, it's likely the man was really dangerous, and 67 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,360 had we stayed any longer or not noticed him, we 68 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:45,560 might have not made it out. When I was a kid, 69 00:04:45,759 --> 00:04:48,680 between the ages of fourteen to sixteen, me and my 70 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,240 friends were really into hanging out anywhere other than our houses. 71 00:04:53,079 --> 00:04:54,959 Most of the time we would go to some fast 72 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,079 food place and chill there, or just find some spot 73 00:04:58,079 --> 00:05:01,240 in the woods near the park. I guess we were 74 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,639 at that age where we wanted to be alone and 75 00:05:03,759 --> 00:05:06,480 not have people looking over our shoulders all the time. 76 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,839 The only problem with this was that on the weekends, 77 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,240 when we'd be out late, most stores and dining areas 78 00:05:14,319 --> 00:05:16,680 closed before we were ready to call it a night. 79 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,319 During winter break one year, we ran into this problem 80 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,279 a lot. We'd go to the parks to hang out, 81 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:26,879 only to find that even in the late hours of 82 00:05:26,879 --> 00:05:29,680 the night, there would be multiple other groups that had 83 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:34,480 the same idea. Then one night, my friend j T 84 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,480 brought up his parents old farmhouse, saying it could be 85 00:05:38,519 --> 00:05:41,639 a cool spot to explore and that nobody else would 86 00:05:41,639 --> 00:05:45,720 be there. He'd mentioned it a few times before this, 87 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,759 but we never thought much of it until that night. 88 00:05:50,639 --> 00:05:54,000 J T drove me and my other friend Paul out 89 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,079 into what looked like the middle of nowhere, arriving at 90 00:05:57,079 --> 00:06:00,720 a wooden fence. The fence was closed off with a 91 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,399 chain since it was a private property and JT didn't 92 00:06:04,439 --> 00:06:07,000 have the key to it, so he parked and hopped 93 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:12,000 over it. From the edge of the wooden fence, though, 94 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,000 the first thing I realized was that I couldn't see 95 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,360 the farmhouse. Yeah, it was dark out and there were 96 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,040 no lights anywhere, but I couldn't even make out the 97 00:06:21,079 --> 00:06:26,199 shape of the house in any direction. JT started walking, 98 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,160 leading the way on a rough gravel path as he 99 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,279 explained why his parents even had the place to begin with. 100 00:06:33,319 --> 00:06:36,720 He said it was his grandparents farmhouse, but when they died, 101 00:06:36,879 --> 00:06:40,199 they passed it down to his parents. Apparently it was 102 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,800 in horrible condition and his parents didn't know what to 103 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:46,160 do with it, so they just kept it. That was 104 00:06:46,199 --> 00:06:50,399 almost ten years ago. Nobody had done any maintenance or 105 00:06:50,439 --> 00:06:55,040 even checked up on it in over a decade. We 106 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,560 walked down this path, following JT for a good ten 107 00:06:58,639 --> 00:07:03,560 minutes before we could finally see the house. Even from 108 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,079 just the outline of it in the dark, you could 109 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,439 tell it was in bad shape. Part of the roof 110 00:07:09,639 --> 00:07:12,959 was dipping inward like it was about to collapse, and 111 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:17,199 some of the siding panels were hanging from the wood. 112 00:07:17,639 --> 00:07:20,399 All of us were quiet now, just looking at it 113 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,199 as we walked closer. When we got up to the 114 00:07:24,199 --> 00:07:26,639 front of the house, the door was covered by a 115 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,560 large sheet of wood, so we went around to the back, 116 00:07:29,759 --> 00:07:33,680 where the door was completely missing. We each turned on 117 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:40,480 our phone flashlights and stepped inside. Surprisingly, the place wasn't 118 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,720 really trashed like we thought it'd be. Most of the 119 00:07:43,759 --> 00:07:46,720 furniture and stuff didn't seem to have been moved very much. 120 00:07:47,839 --> 00:07:50,800 It was extremely dusty, though, and our phone lights were 121 00:07:50,839 --> 00:07:53,759 not the best, so maybe it just looked better than 122 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,120 it was. We split up after a minute, just walking 123 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,720 around the first floor and looked. I entered a hallway 124 00:08:02,879 --> 00:08:05,560 on the left side of the house and began walking 125 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,120 down when suddenly someone walked past the end of the hallway. 126 00:08:11,879 --> 00:08:15,120 I froze, and out of panic, I called out j 127 00:08:15,319 --> 00:08:18,920 T as if it was maybe him, but I already 128 00:08:18,959 --> 00:08:24,399 knew it wasn't the man. I saw, although it was dark, 129 00:08:24,839 --> 00:08:28,879 was much taller and thinner than either of my friends. 130 00:08:29,639 --> 00:08:32,399 I stepped back and started to go where I'd last 131 00:08:32,399 --> 00:08:35,759 seen the two of them. When I turned around the 132 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:39,519 corner and held up my light, both JT and Paul 133 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,559 were standing in the middle of the room, looking away 134 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,480 from me. I stepped into the room and looked where 135 00:08:46,519 --> 00:08:49,879 their lights were, pointing at the edge of the light, 136 00:08:50,399 --> 00:08:54,600 the man was standing and staring right back at them. 137 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,039 It was like they were all frozen in fear, unsure 138 00:08:58,039 --> 00:09:03,120 of what to make of the situation. Guys, let's just leave, 139 00:09:03,879 --> 00:09:06,960 I said, shakily, but trying to act calm. So the 140 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,399 guy didn't do anything, But that must have triggered everyone's reactions, 141 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,080 because suddenly we were all sprinting to the back door 142 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,840 and running out into the open field. I can't even 143 00:09:18,879 --> 00:09:21,840 say for sure if the man chased us out, but 144 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,799 JT says he was confident he heard footsteps right behind him. 145 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,000 We pretty much ran straight back to the car and 146 00:09:30,159 --> 00:09:34,919 drove off, not taking any more risks. I think we 147 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,559 can all assume that the man was just a squatter 148 00:09:37,919 --> 00:09:41,679 or homeless person defending the place he calls home. But 149 00:09:41,799 --> 00:09:44,000 without a good look at him. It's hard to say 150 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,879 for sure. JT said he'd tell his parents about it 151 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,120 so they could lock down the farmhouse, but he never 152 00:09:51,159 --> 00:09:53,519 went through with it because he was worried about getting 153 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:58,360 in trouble for going there. Whatever happened that night remains 154 00:09:58,399 --> 00:10:02,679 the most horrifying experience I've had, and if JT was 155 00:10:02,799 --> 00:10:06,120 right and the man was trying to chase us, then 156 00:10:06,159 --> 00:10:09,840 we got really lucky to have all gotten out unharmed. 157 00:10:27,919 --> 00:10:31,440 This was only a year ago. At the time, it 158 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,960 had been a while since my last camping trip, and 159 00:10:34,159 --> 00:10:36,440 four a few months leading up to this, I was 160 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,440 just really wanting to get out in camp like I 161 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,720 always used to do. I finally had gotten some time 162 00:10:41,759 --> 00:10:44,919 off work and planned out a trip right away. There 163 00:10:44,919 --> 00:10:47,799 were some mountains not far about a two hour's drive 164 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,279 from me, and there were plenty of trails on it. 165 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,679 I scrolled through the pictures, but eventually just decided to choose. 166 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,840 Once I got there, I wasn't too worried about the 167 00:10:57,879 --> 00:11:00,320 trail and really just wanted to sit by my tent 168 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:05,159 and relax for most of the time. I drove up 169 00:11:05,159 --> 00:11:08,360 to the mountain with four days worth of camping supplies 170 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,720 and food, This wasn't really a popular mountain that people 171 00:11:12,759 --> 00:11:15,960 came to a lot, so there weren't many parking areas. 172 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,720 I ended up finding a dirt plot on the side 173 00:11:18,759 --> 00:11:21,279 of the road and parked there. Then got out and 174 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,159 started walking along the road until I got to one 175 00:11:24,159 --> 00:11:28,159 of the camping trails. On the very great out map, 176 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:30,919 it showed that the trail went a few miles into 177 00:11:30,919 --> 00:11:34,039 the forest and up the mountain, then split into three 178 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:38,399 different paths that led to camping spots. I figured this 179 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,679 would work, so I started the hike. It took just 180 00:11:42,759 --> 00:11:46,120 under two hours to get to the three paths. I 181 00:11:46,159 --> 00:11:50,039 saw no difference, so I just went with the left one. 182 00:11:50,159 --> 00:11:53,759 About thirty minutes later I came up to the camping grounds. 183 00:11:55,039 --> 00:11:58,159 All it was was an open area with less trees. 184 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,799 Nobody else was there, and it didn't exactly look like 185 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,440 anyone had been there in a long time. Everything had 186 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,159 grown over to the point where if there wasn't a 187 00:12:09,159 --> 00:12:12,039 direct path leading to this place, it would just look 188 00:12:12,159 --> 00:12:16,039 like any other spot in the forest. I tossed my 189 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,559 bags down by one of the trees and built up 190 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,440 my tent, then sat on a log and ate my lunch. 191 00:12:22,639 --> 00:12:25,240 After that, I kind of just sat there, riding in 192 00:12:25,279 --> 00:12:28,639 my journal and listening to the birds. Once the sun 193 00:12:28,759 --> 00:12:30,639 was starting to get lower, I had to get a 194 00:12:30,639 --> 00:12:33,360 fire going to keep me warm, so I got up 195 00:12:33,399 --> 00:12:35,960 and walked around the perimeter of the camping grounds to 196 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,320 find sticks to use. But not too far from my tent, 197 00:12:39,759 --> 00:12:44,799 I found something strange, a path leading off into the woods. 198 00:12:45,919 --> 00:12:49,000 Not a regular trail, though this was very clearly a 199 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,159 footpath formed by someone walking that same route over and over. 200 00:12:54,519 --> 00:12:58,120 Usually these types of paths grow over quickly when not used, 201 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,000 so the fact that it was so clear and noticeable 202 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:06,120 was odd. I finished collecting sticks and prepped the campfire, 203 00:13:06,639 --> 00:13:10,159 but something about that path made me feel uneasy, and 204 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,120 I just wanted to check what it was before camping 205 00:13:13,159 --> 00:13:17,240 the night. Right next to it, I grabbed my bag 206 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:22,320 and started following the thin path. The more I walked 207 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,960 on it, the more sure I was that someone was 208 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:29,840 here recently. After a fifteen minute walk, I reached the 209 00:13:30,039 --> 00:13:34,080 end out in the woods. Just beyond the path, there 210 00:13:34,159 --> 00:13:37,759 was a small cabin. It looked like it was decaying 211 00:13:37,879 --> 00:13:42,600 and abandoned. The wood was splintering, with entire boards missing, 212 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,759 and the door was left wide open. I walked up 213 00:13:47,799 --> 00:13:51,200 to it and looked around, wondering why a footpath would 214 00:13:51,279 --> 00:13:54,360 lead to an abandoned hut in the woods. It was 215 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:59,039 too far for someone to just stumble upon it. Curious, 216 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:03,559 I peered in through the doorway. It was dark inside 217 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,240 and I couldn't really see much, but I could tell 218 00:14:06,279 --> 00:14:11,240 that it wasn't empty. There were things in there. I 219 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,240 was about to take a step inside, but a sudden 220 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:19,840 voice from behind me startled me away. Leave, go away, 221 00:14:20,679 --> 00:14:26,519 a man said, sternly, almost angrily. I faced him, standing 222 00:14:26,559 --> 00:14:30,960 about ten feet away. The man told me again to leave, 223 00:14:31,279 --> 00:14:33,879 and without saying a word, I did as he said. 224 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,960 As I walked away, I looked back once, seeing the 225 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,679 man standing at the end of the path and watching 226 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,879 me to make sure I was leaving. Once I got 227 00:14:45,879 --> 00:14:48,679 back to my tent, it was already dark out, but 228 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:53,200 I was not going to stay there. I quickly packed 229 00:14:53,279 --> 00:14:56,799 up and left, dangerously hiking in the pitch black with 230 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,840 just a flashlight until I got back to my car. 231 00:15:01,519 --> 00:15:03,759 I don't know what was going on there, but what 232 00:15:03,919 --> 00:15:07,320 frightened me so much was that I was immediately sure 233 00:15:07,679 --> 00:15:11,679 that the man I saw did not live there. He 234 00:15:11,759 --> 00:15:15,679 was wearing regular, clean clothes, and had no signs of 235 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,039 even being out there for more than a couple days, 236 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,759 which makes me question why he was out there and 237 00:15:21,799 --> 00:15:24,759 why he needed me to leave, and how did the 238 00:15:24,799 --> 00:15:29,320 footpath form if he didn't live there, or was there 239 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:33,799 someone else that did. The whole thing has me asking 240 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,120 a hundred questions and I don't think there's ever going 241 00:15:37,159 --> 00:15:53,240 to be answers.