Have you ever seen anything creepy?

[jeepin]

This thread reminded me of a very weird childhood incident. I grew up in a suburb adjacent to Chicago. My folks wanted to do an addition to the house, replacing the back porch with a small room. I came home after school one day -- I was about 9 -- and my parents were in the kitchen talking to the contractor they hire, "Mr. Skiles." They introduced me to him and he leaned in to pinch my cheek, smiling like a depraved clown. But it wasn't just his smile, it was his incredibly creepy vibe. I backed away like a shot, several feet until I ran into the stove, like a scared cat. The only thing I can compare it to is the first time I heard a rattlesnake, when I found myself moving automatically backward even before I had consciously figured out what the sound was. My parents scolded me and were very embarrassed for my rudeness. I just got out of the room pronto.

A week later the guy disappeared, having done nothing but complete the foundation. My parents had of course paid him plenty up front, more than for the work he'd done. They tried to track him down but it turned out he had used a fake name. A couple years went by, and then the police caught John Wayne Gacy, "the killer clown," a construction contractor outside Chicago who had raped, killed and then buried dozens of young boys in his basement crawl space. We were watching the news and they showed his mug shot & I said "holy shit that's Mr. Skiles!" but he had a mustache & they didn't believe me. So I was never able to verify that it was him.

Thats crazy. I watched the movie about him a little while ago. That guy is a freak:barf:

 

[bush-haus]

I will never forget hiking with a close friend of mine this year in east Texas. We were deep in a national forest, about 10 miles, when we set camp. We like to sit back and stare at the stars at night. This is kind of a tradition. We were laying down at the bottom of a dry pond bottom when all of the sudden the bushes behind us started to come alive. It got louder and louder! I stood up and grabbed my flashlight. My friend did the same. We were REALLY freaked out. The noise divided up into two and encircled us. We were surrounded by two or more animals and our flashlights were not bright enough to spot the animals. They started to run, but we did not know which direction. I grabbed my knife but doubted it would stop what was now charging us. I was scared shitless! We ran towards the bank then walked towards our camp. We crawled into the tent quickly and the animals stayed about 50 yards away from us. Then a thunderstorm came through about two hours later.
I think they were wild hogs, which are still very dangerous, but WOW, we were scared.

 

[uyotg]

Smile when you pass someone in the hall when they make passing eye contact. You will almost always get a smile back from them. Would they have smiled if you hadn't? Probably not. Don't try this in NYC.

I'm starting to notice a trend here on Bladeforums... people just hate NYC and sometimes it's not even about the knife and gun laws, like in this case. I do this in NYC often and people have been friendly.

I get creeped out when I think I'm alone and can't verify it (rural areas, the wilderness) or am around less than a handful of strangers (they could have ill intentions). In a place like NYC, there are just too many people around that all of them couldn't possibly be scheming together against you. Too many witnesses. It's why I feel comfortable. Doesn't seem to be the popular opinion around here.

 

[Liberando]

Many years ago, I was working with a Boy Scout troop in Northern CA. Our troop received permission to spend the day at Alcatraz, performing service projects like clearing brush and such, and then spend the night on the island...in the prison. A Park Ranger would stay on the island with us, and we'd leave the next morning. We brought our own food and stoves.

So we arrive on Alcatraz and take the official tour before we start working. It was a beautiful SF day, with sunlight streaming in through the skylights of the prison cell blocks. The cells were designed for one person, with one cot in each cell. The scouts ran around saying "I'm sleeping in this one," staking their claim as it were.

We did our service projects and roamed the grounds at will, exploring. After the last public tour left, the ranger took us around to areas that the public didn't often see, like the roof, the warden's office, etc. Very cool.

All well and good till the sun went down. Once it did, that prison got pretty darn dark. And eerie. There is no electricity, save the lighthouse. Suddenly, the scouts weren't so sure about sleeping inside the prison. Many opted to sleep outside on a grassy area near the lighthouse, overlooking the lights of SF. Can't say as I blame them, I wasn't feeling so brave myself. But the ranger, myself, and several others decided to sleep inside the prison as planned. I stayed in B block, cell 135.

Truthfully, that was the longest night I've ever spent anywhere. I've experienced some creepy nights in the woods but nothing on the order of this. While nothing specific happened, the accoustics were incredible...if someone several cells down turned slightly on a cot, or coughed, you could hear it crystal clear thoughout the cell block. Just lying there, the general "vibe" of the place was very eerie indeed.

I probably dozed off close to dawn. Couple hours sleep and I was most happy to see sunlight again. Quite an experience. Glad I gutted it out, but in no hurry to do it again!

 

[Liberando]

I'm starting to notice a trend here on Bladeforums... people just hate NYC and sometimes it's not even about the knife and gun laws, like in this case. I do this in NYC often and people have been friendly.

I get creeped out when I think I'm alone and can't verify it (rural areas, the wilderness) or am around less than a handful of strangers (they could have ill intentions). In a place like NYC, there are just too many people around that all of them couldn't possibly be scheming together against you. Too many witnesses. It's why I feel comfortable. Doesn't seem to be the popular opinion around here.

Uyotg, though I'm not a city person, I think I understand your point. I've been in some big cities, including NYC, and if I'm in a crowd, I feel pretty safe in the hustle/bustle. My hackles are more likely to go up in the boonies, or in the parking lot of a convenience store in a so-so part of town.

 

[uyotg]

Uyotg, though I'm not a city person, I think I understand your point. I've been in some big cities, including NYC, and if I'm in a crowd, I feel pretty safe in the hustle/bustle. My hackles are more likely to go up in the boonies, or in the parking lot of a convenience store in a so-so part of town.

Well someone understands
I am starting to think that when most people here say "city," they aren't always thinking of that "hustle and bustle." In poorer areas, a city can be something a lot more menacing, like in Rochester, NY.
But still, NYC isn't like that so it's weird bigjuice singles it out. What he's implying is very far from the truth.

 

[JK Knives]

Not wilderness related at all, but still kind of spooky and creepy.

When my oldest grandaughter was about 2 years old, they lived in a apartment. She would sit by the couch and talk as if she were having a conversation with someone. When my daughter asked who she was talking to, she said that boy on the couch. My daughter asked a couple of the other tenants about it, and they said a young boy had died in that apartment of an illness. About a year later they rented an older farmhouse on the outskirts of the town next to me. My grandaughter would always talk about the old man with the hairy face like mine (I have a beard), and the funny hat. When we asked about the hat, she said it was kind of like a cowboy hat. She said his name was Thomas. One Saturday when we were there my daughter said the lights in the bathroom were sometimes flickering. I said I would go in the attic crawlspace and check out the wires. I came across some old boxes there that had some old books and photos in them. One of the photos was of an old man with a beard dressed up in an old time suit with a derby hat. On the back of the photo was written Thomas! After she turned 7, she never mentioned seeing people again.

Second story. As you all know, I have some dogs, but I used to have 2 cats. About 5 years ago Missy, my white cat died. Every so often we will find a clump of white cat fur on the back of the couch, which was her spot to lay in the sun.

 

[gutsy]

this thread needs to be way out in the boonies around a campfire.

 

[bigjuice]

this thread needs to be way out in the boonies around a campfire.

NO! I am freaked out enough in my living room!

 

[lmalterna]

Uyotg- I believe what was insinuated is how New Yorkers tend to be in their own world when walking and make little eye contact or pay little attention to those around them. I have experienced this in many cities with walking commuters. I could be mistaken about the intentions though. Being around lots of people is good IF- A) the perp is concerned about being seen, most are- bangers are not. B) those people in the crowd might actually DO something to intervene- many would not.

My wife is from a city very close to Manila, Philippines and spent alot of time working there. I have been there and most people there would NOT intervene- out of fear for themselves and their families. I will not go much into detail but I understand their fear. Good people but afraid and little support from LE.

My friend and I were once walking the woods surrounding his pasture fields just getting air and carrying a couple of new rifles- me a Uberti/repli Sharps in .45-120 and he a 10/22. Both of were country boys with many years of hunting between us, late Summer and daylight. The part we were in was the blend of hardwoods and brush that happens near field openings on a southern facing slope- pretty thick- maybe 10' visibility. We start hearing the most God aweful growling/snarling and crashing sound through the woods above us and getting into the brush we were in----heading slowly in our direction. We kept a roughly 10' perimeter cleared near the barbed wire and I suggested we start back towards that. We get to the wire about the time the brush start parting and we see fur thrashing. I was thinking pissed off bear. Rifles come up and out tumbles an immature white tail buck- maybe 125lbs with a pit bull locked on its rear quarter and a GSD snapping at it. I fire a round low to break up the fight and the pit bull lets go maybe 25' in front of us parlell to the wire. The GSD back up and drops its tail. The pit bull starts the growl and starts slowly towards us, teeth bared. While I am loading, my buddy opens up on it with the 10/22 and I finish it with a through and through. The GSD lays down and drops its ears, I slowly approached it and is was calm and submissive. So we got the number off his collar and walked him to the house with my belt as a leash. Owner was very happy to have his GSD back and understood on the pit- said he had been having trouble with it since his son dropped it off at his house. Deer was crippled and had to be put down.

My hands shook a bit after that one!! But it was really over too fast to be scared at the time.

Yep, sitting in a tree stand at o'dark thirty and hearing a bobcat scream on the ridge behind you is not a good feeling.... LOL!

Bill

 

[Myal]

what is really creepy tho , and seriously interesting at the same time .. is the stuff people wont put out in public for fear of being labeled weirdo or nutter or accused of being on drugs

When I drive thru the night at times , I have very often been aware of kind of a light play over the bush at the sides of the car , kinda like some one shining a torch around looking at random stuff , not a really bright beam tho , but it will show up stuff that is seriously far away at times even still . I like it because it makes me feel less lonely in those long hours somehow , when its happening , I can literally drive all night and not get tired or feel lonely even tho we are the only people literally for maybe hundreds of kms in any direction .

I gave a tow to a guy recently who was stuck out in a desert area , we drove till about 2am before we camped . Id have been happy to go all night , I was in the zone , the wind was gone , the heat of the day was gone and my truck was running happy , and we were feeling good watching the reflections of light out over the plains . its a feeling like traveling with friends .

Next day , the guy we towed took me aside and asked if I ever seen things like ufos or anything ... I asked why . he asked me if I was aware of the balls of light that fly in from over the scrub and travel along next to my car , then zoom off out over the scrub again , like flying headlight beams was as best as he could describe it .

I just grinned at him and said yes , he was kinda relieved , and kinda even more spooked at the same time about that .

two hundred years ago , the same thing would have been no big deal , just spirits , nothing unusual to see here ... nowdays tho .. yeah it freaks people out big time .

When I was working in mine maintenance , servicing the remote outback mines in WA and the NT , there was one section of road I used to love hitting at night , youd see a pair of headlights coming toward you , on a narrow stretch of dirt road . They disapear into a hollow , and the natural reaction is to move over to allow room when we pass ..
the fun part is tho , the lights appear behind you , as if they are coming up out of a hollow ... but you never pass a vehicle , and the road is dead flat and straight , no hollow , also to make it more fun .. only one or two people see the lights , the rest of the crew dont ..

The road is bitumen now and realigned so that you dont pass that section anymore .. it was always good value to see how the new guys would react tho back then , again the usual reaction .. there is something out there that is not explained in scientifically acceptable terms .. I used to make a point of taking them aside after and asking them to think about what kind of attention they would bring to themselves and their family if they made a big deal about it when they got back home . Im not totally uncaring

there is actually a lot that we cannot explain in scientific terms .. its always been there , but we dont deal with it now we live in our self made concrete jungles near as much as our ancestors did when they lived with the earth , not living from exploiting it .

but seriously , the stuff that people are not talking about but probably would like to if they didnt have that fear of losing face or being ridiculed , or are not really able to believe it happened tho it did and it happened to them .. thats the most interesting to hear about .

 

[dougo83]

I'm starting to notice a trend here on Bladeforums... people just hate NYC and sometimes it's not even about the knife and gun laws, like in this case. I do this in NYC often and people have been friendly.

I get creeped out when I think I'm alone and can't verify it (rural areas, the wilderness) or am around less than a handful of strangers (they could have ill intentions). In a place like NYC, there are just too many people around that all of them couldn't possibly be scheming together against you. Too many witnesses. It's why I feel comfortable. Doesn't seem to be the popular opinion around here.

I don't like NYC. It's nothing against the city. I'm sure it's just fantastic to some people, but it ain't for me. I have some friends from there and they are great folks and showed me around when I visited, but I just felt uncomfortable and on-edge the entire trip. I am from a slow-moving country town, so I guess it was just way too much going on for me. It smells funny to me too. I am used to air that smells like cattle or sheep or pigs or pine trees. Again, it's nothing negative, just not some people's idea of a good time, just like most of my friends from Detroit don't like goin out in the backwoods for a weekend around the campfire.

 

[dougo83]

what is really creepy tho , and seriously interesting at the same time .. is the stuff people wont put out in public for fear of being labeled weirdo or nutter or accused of being on drugs

The one that really sticks out to me was when I was young and hunting with a buddy out in Centerville, TX. The weather was terrible, but we were determined to stay out and hunt. When it got progressively worse, we decided to go hunker down in this old farmhouse on our property because it was too dangerous to ride the ATV's back across the main road to camp. This place had been out of service since we had picked up the property and had NO way to be getting power to it. This is very important in this story of getting freaked out. Anyway, my buddy and I walk in and start looking around to see if we can find something to get a fire going inside. As we are working on that, I catch a weird orange glow coming from outside the house. I look out the window and the porch light is on. Remember, this house has no power, so it really freaked me out. I tell my buddy we should high-tail it and at least just stay in the deer blind. He agrees when I tell him why, so we scoot on out the door. No sooner than we hop on the ATV's, the whole front porch and part of the entry area kind of collapses, porch light still on. Well, we go back to the blind a few hundred yards off and the wind kicks up pretty fierce. Fast forward to the next day, the house has completely collapsed from the wind the night before. Now, it wasn't in the greatest shape, so it could have just been a flluke, but the porch light creeped me out.

 

[OwenM]

there is actually a lot that we cannot explain in scientific terms .. its always been there , but we dont deal with it now we live in our self made concrete jungles near as much as our ancestors did when they lived with the earth , not living from exploiting it .

but seriously , the stuff that people are not talking about but probably would like to if they didnt have that fear of losing face or being ridiculed , or are not really able to believe it happened tho it did and it happened to them .. thats the most interesting to hear about .

Oh, now you've done it. When I was a teenager, a couple of guys in an Explorer group I was in took me "somewhere". They wouldn't tell me what we were doing, said I wouldn't believe it. I don't remember the street, and would love to go back there now if I could find out where it is. Residential street in Southside in Birmingham, AL that they called "Gravity Hill". I thought it wasn't much of a hill, just a very slight incline. They didn't say anything, just stopped the car and put it in neutral, and waited for my reaction as it slowly rolled up the hill.

I just googled and found some mentions of it:
"Gravity Hill?

Last night, the wife, a friend, and I drove up to Chattanooga for Wine over Water, a festival to support preservation of historic structures. Wine was drunk, historic structures preserved, and a good time was had by all.

On the way back, our friend informed us of a little place known as Gravity Hill. She grew up in Alabama, and was introduced to a place where the laws of physics simply do not apply. If you place your car with the front end facing down the hill, and put it in neutral, it will roll backwards, up the hill. This girl is intelligent, so I was a little intrigued, but I’m a skeptic and an engineer, and didn’t quite believe the hype.

Obviously gravity works just the same anywhere on earth, so something more must be occurring. She suggested that the mountain nearby was heavily full of iron, and the weight of that iron might be attracting that car. This is demonstrably false. Even if you fill that mountain with the most dense substance on earth, the relative mass compared to the entire earth will be miniscule. Any gravitational force could simply not overcome a downhill incline visible to the naked eye. Another possible explanation offered was magnetic force. Most modern cars are heavily made from metals like aluminum and stainless steel that is very weakly magnetic, so again, the magnetic force needed to pull a car up a noticeable incline would need to be enormous. Not a possibility.

Occam’s Razor states, that in the presence of multiple explanations for the cause of certain phenomena, the simplest explanation is most likely to be true. The simplest possible explanation is that it is not a downhill incline that you are being “pulled up” at all, but that an optical illusion makes you believe that it is a downhill incline. In reality, borne out by experience, this is also the true explanation. From the link above:


I have lived on Gravity Hill for 30 years. It is nothing but an optical illusion. From my home you can see you are really rolling down hill. A surveyor checked it once, and it has a 2 degree decline for about 75-ft. then a 31 degree decline, which gives it the appearance of going uphill."
I'm still going to google some more and see if I can find the street, now that I've found mention of it. It may be an optical illusion, but if there's a "31 degree decline" that "gives the appearance of going uphill", and that a car in neutral rolls down at ~1mph without gaining speed, I'd kinda like to see that, too

Hmmm, the stuff I'm reading says it's in Sylacauga...maybe there are two in AL?

 

[tman038]

Oh, now you've done it. When I was a teenager, a couple of guys in an Explorer group I was in took me "somewhere". They wouldn't tell me what we were doing, said I wouldn't believe it. I don't remember the street, and would love to go back there now if I could find out where it is. Residential street in Southside in Birmingham, AL that they called "Gravity Hill". I thought it wasn't much of a hill, just a very slight incline. They didn't say anything, just stopped the car and put it in neutral, and waited for my reaction as it slowly rolled up the hill.

I just googled and found some mentions of it:
"Gravity Hill?

There is a place just like that in FL. I have never been there but apparently it is in Lake Wales, FL and it's called "Spook Hill".

"Just down from peninsular Florida’s highest point, the aptly named “Spook Hill” has been thrilling the willing for nigh on 100 years now by making wheeled vehicles seemingly roll up hill. Is it the result of a buried magnetic pole? Or is it the protective ghost of a Native American chief and the gator with whom he fought to the death, both of whom are supposedly buried nearby? Or maybe it’s a Bermuda Triangle-esque portal to another universe?

Actually, it’s an optical illusion that makes cars and such appear to roll up hill. Because the hill on the north end of the street is relatively big and steep, it makes the south end of the street – the approximately 100-yard stretch on which cars appear to roll up hill – look as if it’s on an incline, too. In reality, it’s a slight down hill".

 

[jeepin]

Me and some friends used to go Ghost Hunting.

A few years ago we went to this local memorial park that can get kind of creepy at night. There is a spot with remnants of 4 stone walls. We decided to go in there with our digital recorder and start asking questions and to see if anyone was there.


My friend also had an EMF detector which has a red light on it that blinks rapidly around electro magnetic fields. There is a tree near the back wall which he held the emf detector to. Nothing happened. But when he moved the emf detector up higher in the tree, the red light would blink, he lowered it and nothing. Raised it back up and it would rapidly blink again.

Kinda weird.

Anyway it was me, my friend, his brother, his cousin and his brothers girlfriend that were there. She wanted to use the digital recorder to ask questions. You cant hear any responses while you are asking, you can only hear something once you play back the recorder.

She was just screwing around and said. (hello my beautiful friends how are you) It responded Perfect in kind of a whispery voice. Next we were all talking and my friends cousin said (that sounds like a good idea), because we were going to leave the recorder by itself and go walk around. After he said (that sounds like a good idea) there was a Yessss. Kinda stretched out like that.

Then the last thing that we got really freaked us out. It was an evil sounding voice that said you go now.


That was good times.


I would like to get out and do it some more:thumbup:

 

[Sulaco]

Never seen anything "creepy" while out. However, I have had that feeling that something wasn't right bad enough to call off an overnighter. Packed up and hiked back to the car at about 11:00PM with my gun in my hands. Nothing happened, but I've never felt it quite like that.

I have learned to trust that gut feeling from many things other than camping as well, and it seems to serve me fairly well. It is a pretty rare occasion that I do but it does usually pay off.

I did that one time also. My wife and I were camping at a state park on the coast and I woke up to voices in the middle of the night. They were talking real quiet and moving towards our camp. I made some noise and they seemed to stop talking but I could hear them move on down the trail (which ended near our site). I couldn't shake that there was something off about it all and couldn't get back to sleep. We got up, packed up and drove home.

I've never done that before or since, and as loony as it sounds, I don't regret it. Something was just "off" about it all.

 

[Sulaco]

Well someone understands
I am starting to think that when most people here say "city," they aren't always thinking of that "hustle and bustle." In poorer areas, a city can be something a lot more menacing, like in Rochester, NY.
But still, NYC isn't like that so it's weird bigjuice singles it out. What he's implying is very far from the truth.

Now see, I could take offense at your singling out Rochester. My Dad's from Rochester, born and raised in a Ukrainian neighborhood. Yeah they were poor and yeah it was rough, but the worst thing he had to deal with was the snow.

 

[InquisitorLord]

One day when I was in 6th grade, my brother and I happened to be coming home at the same time. He was in 2nd grade and it was my responsibility to make sure he was ok. Upon unlocking the door we both heard voices coming from upstairs! We both bolted back out the door. This was pre cell phone and none of our neighbors was home, so we waited outside until mom got home. Apparently she forgot to shut her alarm clock OFF after hitting snooze and it was on all day

 

[Magnaminous_G]

Does it count if I've avoided a creepy situation in the woods? Me and my cousin were invited on a camping trip by this guy in his wilderness survival class. We politely declined.