1
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,759
Speaker 1: I was sixteen last year and me and my friend

2
00:00:07,839 --> 00:00:11,400
Leon were hanging out a few days before Halloween talking

3
00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,919
about what we wanted to do. We felt too old

4
00:00:15,039 --> 00:00:17,839
to go trick or treating, but we also still wanted

5
00:00:17,839 --> 00:00:20,359
to do something and have some fun during the holiday.

6
00:00:21,559 --> 00:00:25,320
We thought up a few ideas, most being quickly discarded,

7
00:00:25,679 --> 00:00:29,839
but then I thought of something different. I reminded Leon

8
00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:32,640
of the abandoned farm that both of us had already

9
00:00:32,679 --> 00:00:36,240
known about, and suggested we explore it. It would be

10
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:41,479
creepy and thrilling, which was exactly what we wanted for Halloween. Also,

11
00:00:41,759 --> 00:00:44,920
compared to our other ideas, this one was the best

12
00:00:45,039 --> 00:00:49,399
by a long shot. Leon was excited about it too,

13
00:00:49,719 --> 00:00:52,520
but we both agreed that other people would probably have

14
00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,200
the same idea to go on October thirty first, so

15
00:00:56,359 --> 00:00:59,960
instead we chose to go on the night before. Didn't

16
00:01:00,119 --> 00:01:03,039
want a risk running into anyone crazy at an abandoned

17
00:01:03,039 --> 00:01:06,480
place like that. We just wanted to explore and maybe

18
00:01:06,519 --> 00:01:10,760
be a little bit spooked, then leave, which sounded harmless enough.

19
00:01:12,519 --> 00:01:15,439
On the thirtieth, leand drove us out to the neighborhood

20
00:01:15,439 --> 00:01:18,000
it was by and parked on the road. Then we

21
00:01:18,079 --> 00:01:20,719
got out and walked through the neighborhood until we got

22
00:01:20,719 --> 00:01:24,319
to the street that turned into a gravel path. This

23
00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,159
was the driveway leading up to the farm. I'd only

24
00:01:28,159 --> 00:01:30,400
ever seen the place during the day, but it was

25
00:01:30,439 --> 00:01:32,760
pretty much just a large field of grass with a

26
00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:37,000
typical wooden barn and a single story home. From the

27
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,920
edge of the path, neither structure was visible. Our flashlights

28
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,439
only lit up a few feet ahead as we started

29
00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,439
making our way down the gravel driveway. Once we started

30
00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,040
to get closer, we could see the outline of the

31
00:01:51,079 --> 00:01:54,159
barn on the left side and the house further back

32
00:01:54,239 --> 00:01:57,599
at the end of the driveway. We were more interested

33
00:01:57,599 --> 00:02:01,280
in the house, figuring the barn was probably completely empty

34
00:02:01,319 --> 00:02:05,519
and not very exciting. We kept walking and got to

35
00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,639
a clearing of the tall grass. It was like a

36
00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,520
circle of dirt and short grass that went around the

37
00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:16,039
perimeter of the house. As we approached the front, we

38
00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,800
passed by some large farming equipment. I don't know what

39
00:02:19,879 --> 00:02:22,960
they were, just some sort of old tractor looking things

40
00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,479
that had been left out for years. Even with our

41
00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,120
dim flashlights, we could see that they were engulfed in rust.

42
00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,039
When we got up to the porch, it looked like

43
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,680
the door had been replaced by a solid wooden board.

44
00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,599
We walked around the whole outside of the house and

45
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,719
every window and door was sealed and covered. Disappointed, we

46
00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:47,639
went back to the front of the house and tried

47
00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,680
to think of something else. As we stood there, we

48
00:02:51,719 --> 00:02:54,960
saw the path going up to the barn. It wasn't

49
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,439
an actual path, it was more of just a line

50
00:02:57,479 --> 00:03:01,759
of flattened grass. With nothing else to do, we started

51
00:03:01,759 --> 00:03:06,879
heading for the barn. Something felt different as we approached

52
00:03:06,879 --> 00:03:10,520
it compared to when we approached the house. It was

53
00:03:10,599 --> 00:03:13,680
just an uneasy feeling that grew as we got closer.

54
00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,719
When we reached it, the large door was already wide open.

55
00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,319
I walked in first and Leon followed behind, both shining

56
00:03:23,319 --> 00:03:27,479
our flashlights around as we entered. It only took a

57
00:03:27,479 --> 00:03:31,159
couple seconds for a horrid smell to hit us. Though

58
00:03:31,199 --> 00:03:34,439
it was a barn, so it wasn't exactly surprising. But

59
00:03:34,719 --> 00:03:38,800
then we noticed something else. There were footprints all over

60
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,280
the ground, but not what you'd expect from other kids

61
00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:46,479
exploring the place. They all went in a line back

62
00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,199
and forth from a single point on the other side

63
00:03:49,199 --> 00:03:53,199
of the barn. I saw in Leon's eyes that he

64
00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,879
was just as freaked out as I was, but that

65
00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,159
was the goal of going there in the first place.

66
00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,319
We slowly walked in line with the footprints leading to

67
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,400
a wooden cellar hatch that was blended in with the floor.

68
00:04:07,479 --> 00:04:10,800
The only noticeable thing other than the clear footsteps going

69
00:04:10,879 --> 00:04:14,439
up to it was a shiny new padlock that held

70
00:04:14,479 --> 00:04:18,600
the hatch shut. Before we could really think about it,

71
00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,959
a sudden thud shook the whole barn. We turned around,

72
00:04:24,319 --> 00:04:29,079
seeing the door had been shut behind us. Leon sprinted

73
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,920
over and shoved the door back open, and both of

74
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:37,800
us looked around but didn't see anyone. Now terrified, we

75
00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,600
sprinted straight through the tall grass back to the gravel driveway,

76
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,240
then booked it to the neighborhood where the car was.

77
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,199
We definitely got the scare we were looking for, but

78
00:04:49,399 --> 00:04:53,160
maybe even too much so. Neither of us ever tried

79
00:04:53,199 --> 00:04:56,120
to figure out what really happened that night, but a

80
00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,079
couple months later we saw that the whole house and

81
00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,360
barn had been blocked off. We tried to look up why,

82
00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,079
but there was no word publicly about it. What was

83
00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,560
going on there remains a mystery, but I think if

84
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:23,920
we had stayed to find out we may have never left.

85
00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,879
It was the fall of twenty eighteen when this happened

86
00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,920
to me. I was twenty two and at the time

87
00:05:33,959 --> 00:05:37,199
I was living temporarily on the East Coast, right outside

88
00:05:37,199 --> 00:05:41,240
of the Appalachian Mountain Range. I'll go ahead and admit

89
00:05:41,519 --> 00:05:44,160
that I've never been too much of an outdoorsy person

90
00:05:44,399 --> 00:05:47,879
and hadn't had any experience in camping or anything, nor

91
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:52,079
was I really that interested in those sorts of activities. However,

92
00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,240
this was my last year living in probably the best

93
00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,920
place to do all those outdoor things. Plus, with it

94
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,959
being midfall and the trees looking pretty and the weather

95
00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,759
being nice, I figured this was my chance to try

96
00:06:04,759 --> 00:06:08,040
it out. I didn't want to go for a huge

97
00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,519
camping adventure or anything, so I found a simple hiking

98
00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,399
trail instead that had some good views of the mountains.

99
00:06:15,319 --> 00:06:18,360
I prepped a small backpack with water, snacks, and a

100
00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,639
first aid kit. No cars were there, though. It was

101
00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,560
just a small dirt parking area, so I guess it

102
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,319
wasn't as popular as I thought. I parked and started walking.

103
00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,079
It was calm, and it definitely didn't feel like a

104
00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,360
path a lot of people would take. It didn't have

105
00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,639
any noticeable recent shoeprints in the dirt. It was just

106
00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:45,639
a fairly small path with trees on either side. As

107
00:06:45,639 --> 00:06:49,319
I got further in, the entire path became more densely

108
00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,120
covered in trees, enough to block out a lot of

109
00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,800
the sun and make the whole trail shaded. It was

110
00:06:55,879 --> 00:06:59,360
actually really nice and cooling, but not hearing or seeing

111
00:06:59,399 --> 00:07:02,879
anyone else became more of an unsettling thought. The further

112
00:07:02,959 --> 00:07:06,680
out I got, not in a creepy way, but just

113
00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,199
that I was entirely alone. It wasn't something I was

114
00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:15,160
used to. About an hour, or maybe even two hours

115
00:07:15,199 --> 00:07:18,199
down the trail, I was caught off guard by seeing

116
00:07:18,199 --> 00:07:21,480
a man ahead of me. He was sitting on the side,

117
00:07:21,759 --> 00:07:23,839
looking like he was just taking a break under one

118
00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,759
of the trees. As I passed him, I gave a

119
00:07:27,759 --> 00:07:30,759
friendly nod and said hi, to which he looked up

120
00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,279
at me and said nothing. He didn't smile or nod,

121
00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,319
He just looked at me for a few seconds, and

122
00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,759
then I looked away. I wasn't sure what to make

123
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,959
of it. Maybe he didn't hear me, or maybe I

124
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,079
caught him off guard as well. But the strange look

125
00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,920
without even a slight smile was not giving me a

126
00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:55,120
good feeling. I walked a bit faster for the next

127
00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,560
part of the trail, hoping to put some distance between us.

128
00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,720
After an hour, I slowed down and made it to

129
00:08:01,759 --> 00:08:05,680
the end, which was an overlook of the mountains. The

130
00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:08,600
fall colors on the trees made the view way better

131
00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:10,879
than it probably would have been any other time of

132
00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,639
the year, and overall I was glad to have made

133
00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,160
the hike. I stared off into the distance for a

134
00:08:17,199 --> 00:08:20,199
few minutes, enjoying a view that I almost never got

135
00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:23,720
to see. But when I turned around to leave, my

136
00:08:23,879 --> 00:08:27,040
heart almost left my body when I saw the man

137
00:08:27,079 --> 00:08:30,000
from earlier standing right at the end of the trail.

138
00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,600
He was maybe ten feet from me, and I never

139
00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:39,039
heard him walking up. After the initial scare, I realized

140
00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,840
how creepy it was that he was just standing there

141
00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,480
and not coming up to look out the overlook like

142
00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,799
a normal person would be doing. But then he did

143
00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:52,320
something even more odd. His face shifted as he smiled

144
00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,720
and said hi, asking me how the view was. Yeah,

145
00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,759
it's really nice. You should take a look too, I responded,

146
00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,679
trying to be polite but still really confused. The man

147
00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,679
stepped closer, then pointed to my right and said there

148
00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,120
was an even better view down that trail. I looked

149
00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,519
over my shoulder to where he was pointing. There was

150
00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:20,559
a path barely visible going through the dense trees. It

151
00:09:20,639 --> 00:09:24,159
was rugged and undefined, not something that looked to be

152
00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:28,279
used very often. The man walked up to where the

153
00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:31,960
path started and stood at the entrance, telling me again

154
00:09:32,039 --> 00:09:34,799
about how great the view was, and saying it was

155
00:09:34,919 --> 00:09:39,679
just a minute or two to walk there. I politely declined,

156
00:09:39,879 --> 00:09:42,480
but he continued to tell me about how great it was,

157
00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,440
to the point where it was obvious that he had

158
00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,960
to have other intentions than just wanting me to go

159
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,960
there and see a nice view. I said I was

160
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,759
okay and had to get home, then started to walk

161
00:09:54,799 --> 00:09:57,639
toward the main trail, but the man was quick to

162
00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,000
move his body in front of it. I stopped in place,

163
00:10:02,639 --> 00:10:06,399
now even more terrified in thinking of the possible intentions

164
00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,919
of this man who was just a few feet from

165
00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:13,879
me in the middle of an empty forest. The man

166
00:10:13,919 --> 00:10:17,720
looked at me with a blank expression. I took a

167
00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:21,600
few steps, walking around him and just hoping that nothing escalated,

168
00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:27,440
and for some miraculous reason, it didn't. The man watched

169
00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,639
me as I made my way around him and down

170
00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:33,720
the trail. Every time I looked back, he was still

171
00:10:33,759 --> 00:10:38,919
watching me, not even trying to be discreet. Thankfully, he

172
00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,559
didn't follow, and I made it back to my car.

173
00:10:43,279 --> 00:10:45,360
I don't know what that man was trying to do,

174
00:10:45,759 --> 00:10:49,519
but it was almost surely not anything good. What was

175
00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:53,240
down that path likely was just a dead end, somewhere

176
00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,279
for him to lead me before doing whatever horrible thing

177
00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:00,519
he had in mind. I don't know why he didn't

178
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,240
stop me from leaving either, Maybe he was worried about

179
00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,960
doing something on the main trail. All I can say

180
00:11:08,039 --> 00:11:10,919
is that I'm lucky to have gotten out before something

181
00:11:10,919 --> 00:11:28,039
else happened. During October and our town, there's always this

182
00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,639
place that opens up with a bunch of fallen Halloween

183
00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,039
related things to do. It's a huge fair that's set

184
00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,000
up on a farm. I'd been there a couple times

185
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,480
with my family when I was younger, but this was

186
00:11:39,519 --> 00:11:43,200
my first time i'd gone alone with just friends. We

187
00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,039
were in high school and thought it'd be fun to

188
00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,399
walk around and just have a few laughs while we

189
00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,080
enjoyed the Halloween vibes it offered. The place was open

190
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,200
late the whole week leading to Halloween, so we went

191
00:11:54,279 --> 00:11:58,320
on one of those weekday nights around eight pm. I

192
00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,120
guess we chose an odd day in time, though, because

193
00:12:01,159 --> 00:12:03,559
most of the families had already left and there were

194
00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:08,440
only a few groups of kids our age running around. Still, regardless,

195
00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,519
we still had fun. We played some of the random

196
00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:13,759
games they had set up and messed around a bit,

197
00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,200
but then one of my friends said we should check

198
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,759
out the corn Maze. None of us hesitated to run

199
00:12:19,759 --> 00:12:23,039
in and try to get as lost as possible. That

200
00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,879
was until somehow we split into two groups. Three of

201
00:12:26,879 --> 00:12:29,080
them ran off one way and I was left with

202
00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:33,000
my buddy Micah. Seeing as it was a maze, there

203
00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,440
was no use in trying to chase after the others.

204
00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:38,960
We went our own way for a few minutes, then

205
00:12:39,039 --> 00:12:43,000
started trying to find our way out. During our ten

206
00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,200
or so minutes that we spent walking around, we never

207
00:12:46,279 --> 00:12:48,919
heard or ran into any of the others from the group,

208
00:12:49,279 --> 00:12:51,840
which made us wonder how big the maze actually was.

209
00:12:53,639 --> 00:12:56,200
At some point, we were getting tired of it and

210
00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,720
really started trying to find the way out. Whenever there

211
00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,480
were more multiple paths, we would split up and check

212
00:13:02,519 --> 00:13:05,039
if either were a dead end, then come back and

213
00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,840
go down together, whichever we thought was best. But on

214
00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:13,799
one of these random crossroads, Micah didn't come back. I

215
00:13:13,879 --> 00:13:16,480
waited for a long time, at least two or three

216
00:13:16,519 --> 00:13:20,080
minutes without hearing or seeing him, until I heard footsteps

217
00:13:20,159 --> 00:13:24,639
coming from down the path. As I waited for Mica

218
00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:30,200
to reappear, something about the footsteps didn't seem right. A

219
00:13:30,279 --> 00:13:33,840
moment later, a large man came around the path and

220
00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,840
walked up to me. He was wearing farmer type clothes

221
00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:42,559
like overalls, a flannel shirt, and boots, looking like all

222
00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:45,840
the other employees at the fair. He said it was

223
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,240
closing for the night and that he would take me

224
00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:51,200
out of the maze. I told him my friends were

225
00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,279
in here as well, and he said that he'd already

226
00:13:53,279 --> 00:13:56,480
shown them out, which made everything else make sense now.

227
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,720
I followed him, going around multiple turns in corners, but strangely,

228
00:14:03,039 --> 00:14:05,840
the sound of the fair started to get quieter and

229
00:14:05,919 --> 00:14:10,159
quieter until I couldn't hear it at all. It was

230
00:14:10,279 --> 00:14:13,039
just me and this man walking through a dead, silent

231
00:14:13,159 --> 00:14:18,759
corn maze. Then we reached a dead end. I stopped

232
00:14:18,879 --> 00:14:21,480
and watched the man pull aside the corner and start

233
00:14:21,519 --> 00:14:24,440
pushing his way through it, urging me to come through.

234
00:14:25,639 --> 00:14:28,519
I did as he said, walking through it and following

235
00:14:28,559 --> 00:14:32,519
closely behind him until the corn abruptly stopped and turned

236
00:14:32,559 --> 00:14:37,759
into an empty field. As I looked around, I realized

237
00:14:37,799 --> 00:14:40,960
that this was the other side of the cornfield, opposite

238
00:14:41,039 --> 00:14:44,080
of the town and fair, and right in front of

239
00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,879
me was a car parked in the grass with its

240
00:14:46,919 --> 00:14:52,840
engine running and headlights off. My breathing became shallow and

241
00:14:52,879 --> 00:14:57,480
my heart rates started increasing. All of a sudden, the

242
00:14:57,559 --> 00:15:01,799
man quickly turned around and tried to grab me. I

243
00:15:01,919 --> 00:15:05,360
was able to react fast enough, moving away and running

244
00:15:05,399 --> 00:15:09,320
back into the maze. As I sprinted back onto the path,

245
00:15:09,759 --> 00:15:12,039
I heard the man forcing his way through the corn

246
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,879
again and following right behind me. I started going straight

247
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,200
through all of it, just trying to get back to

248
00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:23,200
the fair, where hopefully someone could help me. This seemed

249
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,279
to work, as the man never caught up to me.

250
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,679
When I made it out, my whole friend group was

251
00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,639
standing at the entrance waiting for me. It's not really

252
00:15:33,679 --> 00:15:36,440
clear what happened, but Micah said he came back for

253
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,799
me and I was gone. None of them saw the man, though,

254
00:15:41,159 --> 00:15:44,919
and almost didn't believe me until I called the cops.

255
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,960
All they found were tire tracks in the grass. No

256
00:15:50,159 --> 00:15:59,360
car or man anywhere