Chilling Encounter in the Woods: Feral People

A routine camping trip for a youth group took a terrifying turn when a leader encountered a mysterious figure deep in the woods—an experience that continues to haunt him to this day.

The leader, who oversaw children aged 8 to 10, recalls the incident vividly. The group had chosen a new, expansive campsite for their annual adventure, making it impossible to fully explore the terrain before the children arrived. As part of their tradition, the leaders organized a “night game,” a spooky challenge where masked leaders would hide in the woods to scare the kids as they completed tasks.

While moving between checkpoints in a particularly dark and open stretch of forest, the leader noticed a shadowy figure darting between the trees. Initially, he dismissed it as a trick of the light or perhaps another leader in disguise. But as the game drew to a close, the figure appeared again—this time, standing motionless near a tree.

“I thought it was one of the other leaders, maybe trying to pull a prank,” he said. But as he approached, the unsettling details became clear: the person was dressed in a torn burlap sack, their head wrapped in white plastic bags, barefoot, and covered in mud. The only sound was a rhythmic knocking—later revealed to be the figure repeatedly banging his head against the tree.

Despite calling out, the leader received no response. The figure’s hands were twisted into unnatural positions, and when he finally turned and began walking toward the leader, a wave of dread set in. Trusting his instincts, the leader ran back to camp, pursued by the mysterious figure.

Back at the campsite, all the other leaders were accounted for, none dressed in the bizarre costume. The group dismissed his story as an attempt to spook them, but the next day, curiosity and concern led the leader and a companion back to the scene. There, they discovered a gruesome sight: a dead, skinned rabbit nailed to the tree where the figure had stood.

Authorities were called, but after a brief investigation, they chalked it up to a prank by local youths or another group. The incident, however, remains unexplained.

“I’ve spent years in the woods and can explain away most strange things,” the leader said. “But this is one night I’ll never forget.”

Credit: Reddit User