I was twenty five when this happened to me and it’s annoying that I was the only one who witnessed it.
It was the mid-eighties and my best friends at the time, let’s call them Mark and Ray, always looked forward to October, when we would go camping.
We had loads of fun fishing, having a few beers and telling ghost stories around the campfire.
Updated 2/9/2020 – This time it was Mark’s turn to locate the spot and seeing as he was a bit of a prankster, he chose a place that was well out of the way and circled by an abandoned town in the mountains.
Me and Ray were pissed that we got lost – three times – but we eventually found the spot and pitched the tents before sundown.
Even as I pulled the station wagon into the campsite, I had a hunch that something wasn’t right.
The others used to call me Spooky Sam, because I had a thing about the paranormal.
Apart from horror flicks, they didn’t give a damn but I always had my nose in a book about real ghost stories or serial killers and things like that.
Still – I was definitely spooked.
We had a good fire going but didn’t bother with dinner, preferring the chips and other salty snacks that went hand in hand with the beer.
When Ray started telling one of his stupid stories, the hairs on the back of my neck pricked up.
Now, it wasn’t Ray’s story that spooked me, but I felt like a million eyes were watching us from the woods.
Then a strange wind picked up, making me shudder even more
Mark and Ray started laughing at my face.
Apparently my eyes were as wide as dinner plates, but I shrugged it off and continued drinking.
For the first time, I passed on sharing a story, much to their disgust.
Something told me not to add to the creepiness of the scene, even though they seemed not to notice.
It wasn’t long before I had to go and take a piss, so I wandered over to the edge of the woods to find a tree.
I was too proud to admit to my buddies that I was afraid to go alone, so I strode over and unzipped my jeans.
No sooner as I started peeing, the wind picked up again.
This time I thought I heard an old man laughing.
I looked over my shoulder to see if it was Mark or Ray doing the laughing, but they were talking normally and not paying attention to me.
I zipped up but then I heard twigs cracking in the woods – like someone was closing in on me.
I raced backwards and fell over a rock, landing straight on my ass and making my buddies roar with hysterics.
They were more amused at me tripping than telling ghost stories
When I looked back into the woods, I heard another round of twigs cracking and tried to calm myself down by thinking aloud that it was a deer or some critter.
I said, “There’s an animal in the woods!” which made Ray and Mark snort even louder and laugh like hyenas.
“Yes, Sam – there are animals in the woods!”
You wouldn’t believe it, but as I got up I felt a hand on my shoulders roughly pushing me back down again!
My buddies continued laughing at me as I screamed and began to quickly crawl towards them.
I yelled, “Someone pushed me!”
They shook their head and Ray held up his beer can, seeming to indicate that it was just the alcohol.
To be honest, I was glad to be sharing a tent with Mark, but after we’d gone to bed I realized that I had to take another leak.
I tossed and turned until Mark yelled at me.
I begrudgingly got up and crawled out of the tent, straining my eyes to get my bearings.
When the wind picked up and the old man’s voice groaned, I panicked.
I can’t explain why I didn’t go back in the tent or wake the others up.
Maybe I subconsciously realized that they wouldn’t believe me and make more fun of me.
I ended up running to the station wagon and let myself in.
For some unknown reason, I thought I’d be safe.
What happened next still chills my blood to this very day.
The wind was now whistling around the car and I occasionally heard a grunt or a groan – but the sounds were inside the car.
I hadn’t noticed that Mark had woken Ray up and they were walking towards me, because I was focused on trying to figure out what was going on.
Then I saw the rear view mirror steam up.
I know it sounds crazy, but I knew the breath wasn’t coming from me.
I started to scream as the old man’s voice laughed – right at my neck.
When Mark opened the door I didn’t wait to fall out and run away.
Soon Ray caught up with me and yelled, “What’s the matter, you idiot?!”
I pointed to the car and screamed, “The ghost!”
It took me at least an hour to calm down and I decided then and there not to have another beer until I got home.
I never heard the end of it as my buddies still tease me about that night.
Funny though, we stayed another few nights and nothing else happened.
Whatever it was, I hope I never encounter that creepy old bastard again.
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