This event happened a couple of years ago during spring break in college.
My two friends and I decided to go on a three day rafting trip near Fresno.
I had been on these rivers before, and I love them.
They’re easy to navigate and for the most part are pretty calm.
The weather was going to be just right for the weekend, sunny and warm temperatures.
Photo credit: flickr/annette_grossman
Updated 2/9/2020 – The first day everything went pretty smooth.
The rivers were calm as we paddled down them.
The scenery during the day is amazing, and the night was clear and cool.
When it started getting dark out we stopped to make camp for the night.
After dinner and a couple of drinks we each went into our own tents to pass out.
I love camping, but the one thing that annoys me to this day is trying to fall asleep in the woods.
There all sorts of sounds like bugs, birds and flowing water.
It takes me forever to fall asleep when I camp.
Just as I was lulling into a slumber, I heard this very low humming sound.
It was like a subwoofer that was cranked up to ten.
It was so loud that the ground underneath my tent started to vibrate.
It was very brief and only lasted a few seconds.
When it was done there were no longer any sounds of bugs, birds or anything else.
I walked out of my tent and saw in the moonlight what I can only describe as a shadow figure standing by our campsite.
Photo credit: flickr/unauchbar
The mysterious “thing” had no clothes, no skin, and no facial features.
He was enwrapped in darkness.
He turned towards me and then looked toward my friend’s tent and vanished inside.
At first I thought I was just imagining things, but then I started to hear shouts and noises coming from inside the tent.
Fearing something terrible had happened to him, I quickly ran over to my friend’s tent and went inside.
My friend was violently shouting, but it appeared he was still asleep.
He wasn’t saying anything that I could understand, just a lot of gibberish at a very fast speed.
He started thrashing in his sleep back and forth and starting shouting louder.
I went over to him and tried waking him up.
I called his name but he couldn’t seem to hear it.
I started shaking him, which didn’t seem to do anything as he was already lashing around.
Desperately I looked around for something to snap him out of this trance.
To the left was his water bottle.
In a panic I pulled off the top and dumped it on my buddy’s face.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, and from under the sleeping bag I thought I saw a dark mass exit and crawl under the tent.
I asked my friend if he was okay and if he could remember anything that happened.
He said that he was having a horrible nightmare where he was wandering through the forest surrounded by fire and demons.
He told me it felt like he was in hell.
I kept my friend company for the rest of the night, and in the morning we told our third friend what had happened and he agreed we should cut our trip short.
I’ve never witnessed something as terrifying as that night.
I’m glad I was awake when whatever possessed my friend did, because if I hadn’t I don’t know what would have happened to him.
– Jose V.
