# Scary/Creepy outdoors stories...



## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

I was reading another thread on a different type of forum where people were telling their strange stories. It's pretty interesting and most of them keep your attention. 

Anyone have any strange hunting, camping, hiking or other outdoors stories?

I don't really have anything too exciting.

A few years ago I was walking a path along the river and for the first time ever I just had this sudden feeling that I should not go any further. I didn't hear or see anything. I've wandered fields and woods at night and fished various bodies of water at night and never had that feeling.

I did wander up on a guy in the woods along Big Darby. He had a dog with him. I'm not sure what he was doing back there...he had some sort of table set up and was messing with something. He never said anything and the dog never barked.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

I was bowhunting when I was 12 or 13, back before I'd ever seen a coyote. Just at dark one or two started howling on the hill right above me. If that wasn't enough, something started screaming repeatedly. It sounded like a girl screaming over and over. I suppose it was a screech owl. All I know is it scared the pizz out of this kid. I think I ran most of the way home, once I built up the nerve to climb out of my stand.


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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

I posted my most Creepy unexplained hunting event in that other thread. One that was kind of scary (to me) happened when I was early teens, **** hunting , using an old carbide light. From my old memory it had been raining a lot, and I think it was raining when this happened. I was hunting up this hollow down in Wv. I am on this one hillside and dog trees across this small field and up on side of the other hill across the creek. There is a small family cemetery in this field I have to cross. (no problem, I knew most of the folks buried there)So I go running across the cemetery and accidently step on Old Man G.S. 's grave.... It sank about 6-8 inches all way around ... Needless to say, I almost needed underwear change. ...... 
Funny one was when I was fox calling at the slate dump area ( what is now Hatfield McCoy Bearwallow ATV trailhead) and a local constable arrested me and didn't know why I had to be arrested, but I was out in middle of night with a gun so I had to be up to no good, Local WV State Police couldn't help him make a charge and almost laughed at him, so he calls up the Game Warden and when he comes out at 3-4 o'clock in morning and see what happened he is as pissed at the constable as I am.. Had to let me go..


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## cheezemm2 (Apr 7, 2004)

Salt Fork in a 19' boat...storms are floating around on the radar far away, no thunder, dog starts pacing up and down in the boat. I had my sister in-law, wife, father in-law all aboard. I start making my way off the water (after observing nervous dog) and the sky starts to darken. There is still nothing on the radar. A small U shaped set of clouds blows overhead with a small gust of wind. I'm not doing anything too crazy at this point, many boats idling through the no wake wisely getting to shore. Still nothing on radar. Then boats coming from slightly further away begin flying through the no wake zone. I'm not talking 1 or 2 boats, I'm talking an entire summer load of boats getting off the water all at the same time. Pleasure boats and fishermen alike. It happened that fast. Opened up to full throttle because something was obviously wrong/coming. Got to the courtesy dock and dog almost pulls my wife in trying to get out of the boat. Wife and sister in-law headed to truck, my father inlaw and I were tying down the boat when the lightning started. It was close enough that people were going to the ground when striking. It was like mortars. Told my father inlaw to get the heck out of dodge and finished securing the boat myself. I'm literally closing the door on the truck when I get a jolt through the hand from a nearby bolt.

1) It rained so hard that many inboard boats had submerged starters
2) I had water up and out of the ski locker
3) Trucks had to move out of the launch ramp parking lot because of the amount of flooding and retrieve their boat elsewhere
4) Back at the campground tents were blown over, some hit by downdrafts were smashed
5) Campers boat dock had boats that had filled with water blown under them
6) When I drove my truck out of harm's way the water made it to the passengers side floorboard

A lot of people ignore warnings because severe weather is really only scary when you experience it. My wife and I watched the radar "bloom" from nothing to straight purple over our heads in about 5 minutes. We are very weather wary, but this was nearly unavoidable as evidenced by the entire lake being caught unaware!


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

When wading a river at night numerous times I have had carp take off from my feet, I know this is not a scary type story...but boy does it ever make your blood run cold


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## Fishingisfun (Jul 19, 2012)

I think most of us have some unusual story we can remember for the outdoors. My best Is not my first hand experience story so Im telling what was told to me by an older friend of mine of what happened to him who I believe to be a honest as they come. He is in his 80's now and still active. Many years back now he and his wife were out camping in his motor home when you just pulled in somewhere, stopped set up camp not always in a camp ground. I think he was squirrel hunting and maybe fishing some or both. She mostly stays inside and enjoys the views outside the motor home. Well he said he gets this creepy feeling that someone is watching him but he does not see anyone. Sometime later a guy slips up on him startles him about that time the Mrs. makes a little noise inside the motor home moving around. The guy acts a little surprised at the movement inside the motor home and asks are you alone? To which my friend replies no. The stranger excuses himself and leaves and goes off a different direction than he came in from. He notes the guy was carrying a rifle but it is hunting season but it seems a little large looking for hunting small game. Several weeks or months later I don't remember how long later they catch the shooter that was targeting outdoorsmen. My friend sees the photo in the paper and swears it was the guy that visited his campsite that day. Thank goodness his wife moved around at that moment inside the camper which may had prevented something from happening because he could not know who else was around. We guessed later looking back at the events. I know we were all glad the shooter was caught back then but it changed all of the outdoorsmen I knew and made us cautious of being alone in the woods and fields.


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## Fishingisfun (Jul 19, 2012)

Cheezemm2 that is a scary event to have lived through.


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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

Fishingisfun , I remember when that guy was doing all this,,,, Do you know what happened to him... Prison time ?


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

a few years ago i was out at one of the ponds in the mosquito lake wildlife area frog gigging, i could hear yotes howling all around me, but not close. i always heard them, never really cared for that, but it never bothered me. but like i say, they werent too close. i gigged a few frogs, got out of the water and was getting ready to go to another pond and i hit dry land, i saw several shadows running and heard several growls from what i can only assume were the yotes. there had to be 6-8 of em, i actually backed back into the water, pointed me gig at them for a few seconds until i figured out what was going on.. and for some reason, i do remember it was a full moon, or close to it.

ok, ill give you another, i bow killed a doe at mosquito public hunting just before time to stop hunting hrs, it was close to dusk, i made a good shot and stayed in the stand for about 30 minutes after the shot, by the time i climbed down it was pitch black... i found the doe and did a sloppy ass gutting job with the head lamp, but got it done. i then took down my stand. i left the deer lay and took my bow and all my gear back to the truck. when i got back to the doe, it was about midnight. all i had was my headlamp and compass. i found the deer, but there was no BLOOD or guts?? of course, i thought something had already eaten them, BUT WHAT??.. as im dragging the doe out in a hardwoods area i keep hearing a lot of something running around me, even makes me stop dragging several times to look.. still cant see anything, but i can hear them. then i get to the field, its an over grown field and about 500 yards long and the weeds are 6-8' tall. very much over my head, but the easiest drag is straight thru for sure.., my truck is on the other side.. i start to drag and then it happens... you ever hear coyotes yipping or hunting you? i had to have 10 of them within 10 yards yipping and running around me, i could see the grass moving, i could see bodies.. something moving.. im sure they wanted the deer i think, but i did a lot of screaming at them that night.. not sure if thats what kept them away or not. after that night which was probabley in the 90's i now carry a Glock any time im in the field..

both true stories, i really dont get scared outside. ive seen some unexplainable things, none of which has ever hurt me or really made me afraid... but i do and will never forget the time i was camping at west branch state park.. it was early in the morning, everyone i was camping with went to the showers, i had a slight hangover so i stayed behind with my doberman ruby. she was in my tent, i was on the cot. all of a sudden this so loud scream, like a hollar went on outside our tent for like 30 seconds, it actually shook the tent and everything inside, it was the loudest thing ive ever heard and i did JBD on the carrier with tomcats.... it was so loud and vibrating, ruby crawled under my cot.. when everyone got back to the camp site, i asked them if they heard anyhting and nobody did......


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

i cant stop... 

i was wading the walleye run in freemont. i was running a little late and the only spot was down river from everyone.. i waded out farther than anyone else, had to get past the crowd. the river was pretty high, muddy and moving fast, but i felt good. i remember steping on a big flat rock underwater, fishing for a bit and thinking cool, great spot... i then took a step and there was no bottom.. boom, that fast i was a bobber.. i had a belt on my waders so not much water was getting in, but i was being dragged down river until i found solid footing, i even lost my fishing pole grabbing at the water, swimming for my life... i could hear the game wardens up on the wall yelling at me of how to get out. finally, i hit a hit sandy area in the river that wasnt more than a foot deep and was able to wade out. at first i was scared to death, then once i saw what was up, i was embarressed..


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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

About 3 years ago, probably my last time ever hunting.. Just recovering from heart attack, I decided to go Squirrel Hunting evening of hosp. release. Wife ask me not to go. I went anyway. Took 4 wheeler to this one spot on my place with a pine grove overlooking hard wood. Under pines is carpet of pine needles. Setting on that soft carpet I doze off, Probably around 5 -5:30 Pm.. All of a sudden I am awakened by a blinding light and a friend asking if I was OK and it was near midnight.. LOL... Wife had became concerned when I didn't come home and called a former co worker to go look for me. Man was she pissed.. lol
One evening in tree stand sat and just watched a 12 pointer work his harem. I could have shot him several times, but after watching the battle and mother nature at work I declined the shots,,, No Regrets.. Really I think anytime you go into the woods or on the water it is an adventure..


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

Hey- Fishingisfun- A friend/co-worker has a similar story with the same guy, even met with the local law or FBI about it...It was the guy that was out shooting sportsmen...had a description of the vehicle and such...lucky he wasn't alone at the time either!


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## M R DUCKS (Feb 20, 2010)

I "googled" it.....
Thomas Lee Dillon...serial sniper...5-11 victims, 1989-92 got life in prison w/no chance of parole (for 165 years)......


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## Fisherman 3234 (Sep 8, 2008)

ezbite said:


> i cant stop...
> 
> i was wading the walleye run in freemont. i was running a little late and the only spot was down river from everyone.. i waded out farther than anyone else, had to get past the crowd. the river was pretty high, muddy and moving fast, but i felt good. i remember steping on a big flat rock underwater, fishing for a bit and thinking cool, great spot... i then took a step and there was no bottom.. boom, that fast i was a bobber.. i had a belt on my waders so not much water was getting in, but i was being dragged down river until i found solid footing, i even lost my fishing pole grabbing at the water, swimming for my life... i could hear the game wardens up on the wall yelling at me of how to get out. finally, i hit a hit sandy area in the river that wasnt more than a foot deep and was able to wade out. at first i was scared to death, then once i saw what was up, i was embarressed..


Had the same thing happen fishing the run at Maumee at Jerome road access, getting a baptism in that water will definitely wake you up quick!!!


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## Fishingisfun (Jul 19, 2012)

Good to know he is in prison for good. It seems the serial shooter looked for lone outdoorsmen. May be possible we know the same person. 

All Interesting stories anxious to here some more


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Am not prone to being paranoid, but once during the late 1980s was fishing about 2AMish at CJ Brown and had a sudden feeling that was in serious danger. Hair on the back of my neck stand up; was already being absolutely silent in the dark, but this feeling actually got VERY strong. Not being afraid of the dark, I very quietly gathered up the pole and pocket tackle box and slid down into the water and moved behind a bush growing at the edge of the water and waited. After about 3 or 4 minutes was feeling stupid and was just starting to move back onto the bank when heard a twig or stick snap and after about 30 seconds or so saw the outline of someone walk up to the spot that I was just in, a rifle in their hand. Considering it wasn`t hunting season, and was unarmed simply stayed absolutely silent while they looked around for several minutes silently then moved off. Hadn`t told anyone I knew that was going fishing or where. Waited for about 2 hours then went back to my vehicle in pure tactical mode ensuring stayed under cover as much as possible. Don`t know if it was the same guy you spoke of, someone lost, drunk, didn`t care to find out...only ever had THAT feeling 2 times; both times heeded it and am still here.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

tell us about the second time please! Tom


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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

Thanks for the post on Thomas Dillon... Wow, this guy was really out of it.. With all hero braggarts that you meet in a lifetime it makes you wonder how many more Thomas Lee Dillon's are out there..
An interesting read.. http://www.murderpedia.org/male.D/d/dillonthomas.htm


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## koonzie99 (Apr 25, 2012)

You guys are starting to scare me a lil lol. That's a really creepy story Lowell H Turner.


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

I was around 22-23 years old and bow hunting a wildlife area , and walking out one morning with my climber on my back and bow in hand I cut across a large field full of thickets and bush , weeds waist high, no trees. Out in the middle I hear a dog bark so I stop, it was close and a dog stands up in the weeds and starts to show its teeth and growl at me. Well I'm a little scared thinking it sure looked like it wanted to bite so I raise my bow with an arrow knocked thinking I may have to take a shot at it ,when all at once these dogs started standing up all over the place near the first one, I counted up to ten and lowered my bow and took my buck knife out and just stood there slowly waving it in front of me. The other dogs never made a sound but slowly backed off out of site in the brush. When they were all out of site the first one left also, figure he was the leader. No trees in site for a hundred yards I stood still for maybe a couple minutes , it felt like an hour, then I ran , bow stand and all my gear to the nearest stand of trees towards where my truck was parked. I was still so scared by this ,,by the time I got to my truck I got in it and locked the doors, LOL like I needed to. I found out later after talking to park officer that in this area had been a pack of dogs turned wild and they were trying to put them down. Some of the dogs I seen in the pack had collars on, some were small and some big. That's been over 35 years ago and I can still remember it like it was yesterday.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

In the past I would walk through the woods along the Scioto and fish at night. The first few times it was quiet. One night all I could hear were dogs barking and howling. I thought, or at least hoped, that it was someone out **** hunting. The barking sounded the same but was not coming from the same direction all the time. Later I realized that ***** were not in season.

After that, if I was alone, I carried my mini-14 on my back. I heard the dogs on a few separate trips after that, but they never seemed to come that close. A few times I heard some noises behind me, nothing too loud but enough to get my attention.

One evening I was down there alone and my wife (girl friend at the time) was going to meet me there when she got off work. I told her to blow the horn a few times (before cell phones) and I would walk back and get her.

That evening I'm sitting there fishing and I hear something... I turn around and there she is. I said "why didn't you blow the horn????" She just said "It's fine." 

She likes to stress me out like that. Walk a mile back through the woods without a flash light by the light of the moon. Like she's friggin' Mick Dundee or something.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I don't have any personal stories of scary encounters with critters, but I did think I was going to drown once. I was fishing Mogadore Reservoir back in the early 80's. I had rented a canoe from the boat house and had taken it down and dragged it across Congress Lake Rd. so I could fish the far east end of the lake for bass. That end of the lake was so weedy then (pre grass carp days) that it was easier to get back in with a canoe than it was with my boat and trolling motor. I was way back in fishing some of the openings in the lily pads when I rather stupidly flipped the canoe. The weeds were so thick that I could barely kick my legs to tread water. The canoe was on its side and the water was deep enough to where I could barely touch bottom, but the bottom was all muck, so when I'd try to get my footing to right the canoe, the muck would close around my feet. I'm thinking this is it. The seat cushion they give you as a PFD isn't keeping me afloat, I can hold on to the capsized canoe but how am I going to get out of there? There is no way anybody is going to hear me yelling for help and if they did, how are they going see me because of the height of the lily pads. Long story short... I ended up dragging the canoe through the weeds (I didn't want to let my only floating go) and to the lily pads to where I was able to stand on the roots to right the canoe. I climbed back in over the one end and almost sunk the canoe again. I had to bail it out go collect my fishing gear that was sitting on top of the thick weeds (thankfully my rod didn't sink lol) and then go back to the boat house. I did lose my car keys though, Had to call my brother in law to come get me.

A second hand scary encounter with a critter story happened to my dad and brother while we were bow hunting in Huntingdon county PA. back in the mid 70's. We were hunting one of the power lines on a ridge adjacent to Stone Mountain. We were hunting our evening stands. A family friend and I were in one area and were to go and pick up my dad and brother from a different area.
After it was too dark to shoot, the family friend and I made our way out and went to pick up my dad and brother. When we got where we were to pick them up, we had expected them to be there waiting for us, but we were surprised to see their flashlights shinning pretty far down the power line. We figured one of them had gotten a deer. Nice !!!

They finally get to the spot and we are saying who got one. At the same time they both said..... "there was a mountain lion" Yeah right, but the look on their faces said they were telling the truth. Evidently it was getting just to the time they had agreed to get out of their stands and meet for the walk back to the pick up spot, when they both heard this scream. They were hunting about 150 yards from each other. My dad said from the way it sounded he thought my brother had either fallen out of his tree stand or had fallen on an arrow or something. My brother said he didn't know what the heck it was. As my dad was starting to get out of his stand he saw my brothers flashlight come on, so he knew my brother was ok. My dad had just gotten down out of his stand when he saw something moving. He could make out a shape but wasn't sure what it was, but it was coming his way. He said it got about 30 yards from him when he could tell what it was. He said he froze as it stopped and was looking around. He was getting ready to shoot it if it kept coming closer but that it started walking again and he lost sight of it. He said from what he could see of it, that it wasn't a very big one. He did say it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up though.


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

1st time was in the Navy. Was aboard USS CARL VINSON on her 1st deployment going around the world. Was kneeling on a fold out boarding step outside the open canopy of an F-14, at night, trying to shove a parachute container into the pilot`s ejection seat receivers in the rain and this accursed thing just would NOT go in and lock into place. There were planes landing, and suddenly was just scared crapless for some reason; heard an A-7E "Corsair II" coming across the end of the flight deck (was facing away from it ) heard a crash, and saw a bright light. Fell the 7 or 8 feet to the deck and briefly saw a VERY bright light that thought was a flare then the crash alarm sounding. A Chief Petty Officer ran up, asked if I was OK, checked me over and helped me stand up and saw the still open boarding step and said "You are LUCKY !" The A-7 attempting to land in fairly rough weather had struck the round down (very furthest part of the flight deck) and tore off the plane`s right wheel and part of the landing gear which cartwheeled into the canopy of the plane that I was kneeling on. It slowed it and it and what was left of the `Tomcat``s shattered canopy fell between it and the F-14 next to it killing a married E-5 while the guy he was working with 3` away wasn`t scratched...The `flare` was the fire resulting from the magnesium landing gear strut and hydraulic fluid igniting; the `Corsair` was thrown to the right by the crash while the pilot desperately jammed his control as hard left as he could, missing the island by about a dozen feet streaming a brilliant blowtorch along side. He flew the plane clear of the ship and safely ejected. Heard he was devastated by the death of the sailor, and gave up flying, but considering that it COULD have been MUCH WORSE, personally believe he saved more than a couple people. He calmly stayed with that flying inferno and kept it from striking the island and possibly the bridge, possibly causing a far BIGGER disaster. The other aircraft still aloft were ordered ashore to a naval field in Sicily if remember correctly...


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

Btw, later saw the flight deck and island camera footage, the camera in "Pri-Fly" shows the A-7 almost 90 degrees to the flight deck but less than 20 FEET from the camera lense and then for several seconds it just WHITES completely out. In the 1st few frames you can see the nose wheel and open landing gear panels very clearly and far too CLOSE...


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## City fisher (Jul 12, 2012)

M R DUCKS said:


> I "googled" it.....
> Thomas Lee Dillon...serial sniper...5-11 victims, 1989-92 got life in prison w/no chance of parole (for 165 years)......


My uncle found a guy in the woods leaned up against one of those round oil wells that had been shot dead by this guy. I remeber him telling my mom the story when I was younger and just getting into hunting. I will have to ask him exactly where it was at. He didnt go hunting for a while after that.

When i was stationed at Ft Lewis in 07 me and a friend were fishing a small pond we had found on the out skirts of an old range of some sorts. We were leaning on a couple boulders just BS'ing when we heard a car approach from behind us. We turned and looked and it was an old red jeep wrangler about 50 yards behind us. A guy gets out with a rifle and levels his scope at us. We ducked behind the boulders and low crawled through the tall grass to get to my friends truck, about 25 yards away from us at the time. By the time we made it to his truck we turned to see if the guy was still there and he was gone but we saw him again on a hill top on the way back to base. We told the MP's when we went through the gate about him and they went looking for him. Turns out he had taken a few shots a some other guys the same day as we saw him. Never heard if they caught him or not.


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## BMS (Mar 26, 2008)

my wife and i went camping at beaver creek a while back and when we pulled in there was no one else set up to camp. We thought this is great the whole campground to ourselves. We went on a hike and met a guy from the area hiking for fun and the first thing he says I "your not from around here are you?", we say no were just up for some camping. He proceeds to tell us that a young couple was just shot dead there a few days earlier. we figure OK, probably just trying to scare us (good campfire tale). We go on farther and as we round a bend by the river there is the yellow police tape around a couple of areas. Never got the chills up my spine before but now I know that it does happen. we were freaked out but decided to stay anyway. later as the ranger came by I asked him about this and he said it was some young man went nuts and did that, he also said this man did end up across the river where he took his own life. ranger said it was the worst thing he ever had to deal with. I use to want to be a ranger but glad now I'm not, they must have to deal with some real s##t at times.


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## James F (Jul 2, 2005)

I was treed by a pack of dogs while out with my Flintlock Muzzle loader.five dogs and not much of a chance of hitting any of them after a tense few moments I took a shot at one of them, missed and luckily they ran off.And so did I hoping they wouldn't come back.Another time I thought I saw my Son's Mother-in-Law! Turned out to be Big Foot what a relief


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