Solve My True-Life Mystery!

OK, I've got a bit of a mystery.

It seems that there's something hanging around my house. It started last spring.

Twice, Mrs. Sauron set aside pieces of firewood that I hadn't split all the way and she could not pull apart. The next morning, they were split and laid neatly on the chopping block.

Along with this, items left in the yard or pasture are gathered up and placed at the back door. No one knows who puts them there.

At night, and I mean the wee small hours, if I go outside, I hear something doing bird calls. Now, there's a mockingbird around who does bird calls, every bird in the area, and does them perfect. Once he gets started, you're going to hear them all. He's a show off.

But there's something else that does bird calls too. It does not do them well. You can tell it is not a bird. It sounds like a human imitating birds. And it has a limited repertoire and does not show off.

Whatever it is scares the liver out of my normally aggressive and confrontational dog. She barks and carries on, but retreats to her house. My other dog, an Airedale Terrier who is normally not afraid of anything, will not come out from under the truck when it is around.

It also scares the horses at night if it comes, but in the daytime, they often act like they see someone they know in the woods and don't seem so bothered.

Whatever it is, it is bold. I went out around 0300 the other morning because the dogs were barking and the horses were running around frightened, and there was something moving in the bush, not far from me. Something very large. I shined the light in, but could not see it. I did not fire into the bush because I do not fire on targets that I haven't identified.

The latest peculiar event was this morning. I got up bright and early and walked out onto the porch. There are three horses in the pastures close to the house, and every morning they greet me and wait to be greeted. They usually blow to get my attention and let me know they see me. This sound is like a horse "raspberry". They blow through their lips. Humans can do the sound too. You need lips like a horse or human to make the sound. A deer or a bear couldn't do it, they don't have the lips.

So after the three horses greeted me, something else greeted me. It blew and made the "horse raspberry". It came from the woods up by the pond. The horses heard it too and turned and looked up that way.

If there was a human up in there, I would know. It is not difficult to detect human presence, even if they're trying to be careful. I would have detected a human long ago.

Whatever it is, it's very stealthy.

A brief recap:

1). It splits wood and stacks it on the chopping block if Mrs. Sauron finds pieces that I didn't fully separate.

2). It places lost or forgotten items by the back door in the night.

3). It frightens dogs that are normally aggressive and confrontational.

4). It imitates bird calls, but not very well.

5). It is quite bold, and it is large, judging by the sounds it makes moving in the bush.

6). It can imitate a horse greeting and greeted me this morning along with the horses. So it has the lips to make the horse raspberry sound.

7). It appears to be uncommonly intelligent.

I live in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. There are thousands of acres of forest that begin at the edge of my back yard, untouched and for the most part, unexplored by humans. If you got lost out there, you might starve to death before you found your way out if you didn't know how to survive.

So, taking all these things into account, and the fact that all these separate incidents seem to be linked as the horses react the same way in every case and I'm pretty attuned to the horses, so I believe it's the same unseen creature every time, what do you think I've got out here?

By the way, whatever it is, it always approaches from the woods in back of the house that lead out into the huge wilderness area. It is a forest dweller.

Any guesses? I know what comes to my mind, and there have been lots of reported sightings around here, but I just don't want to think it without a lot more reasonable evidence.

Cheers!

Rick...

Lay a trap. Drop and forget something obviously, then have a camera indoors filming the object overnight.

If you've got some nutcase out there, be sure to use, drop, and forget the bait object in a very realistic way, in case you are being watched. And set the camera up so it can't be seen either.

What kind of bait object? Something that the suspect know you keep close. A hat?

Manbearpig.

"There's a 'squatch in these woods"

Get a bunch game cameras. Place them all over the place in likely areas where you have odd stuff happen. They are motion activated and
will even work in the dark, take video to. It will solve your mystery in no time and then you can show us your visitor. Would be interesting
to see what it is.

It fits the profile of a forum moderator. Just throwing that out there..

I have no idea, but then again, I live in a city in Europe.
Pls, let us know if you find out what it is! I am intriged by what is happening now at your place.
And yes, try what Adlabs6 sugests, set up a camera and drop something like it is by accident and
see if you can film or picture whatever it is that returns your things.
You said you have an idea what it could be, any chance you wanna share that with someone from the old country?
I am always intriged by the unknown and mysterious.
I am not someone who laughs with things like that, I think there are sometimes strange things that can not always
be explained by modern logic.
Keep us updated if you want.
My best regards, Kodiak.

I'm with Adlabs6. Get a camera trap set up.

And remember - The more blurry and uncertain it is, the more hard cash you can probably get from the Discovery channel. They'll pay up for anything by all accounts!

This event takes place every year, right down the road from here:

http://www.bigfootmountain.com/

Whatever it is, it strikes me as a large, intelligent hominid. But I find no evidence of human activity, no tracks, and whatever it is, it's not afraid of me walking out there carrying an AK-47 with a thirty round clip.

Also, the dogs would be on a human in seconds. The Jehovah's Witnesses who come out to leave pamphlets won't get out of their vehicle, and the guy who reads the electric meter won't get out of his Jeep until we secure them. He drives back in here and blows the horn then waits. They're hog dogs, and have no fear of anything. They hunt wild pigs, and I've never seen them back down from an encounter. They're aggressive and confrontational.

But when this thing is lurking in the area, they act like they've seen the devil himself. Their whole personalities change and they cower. That is so ridiculously unlike them, it's actually funny. We've had a couple of panthers come around, but they're not even afraid of those. The effect on the dogs is unique.

I think I'm going to have to invest in some motion detector cameras and see if I can bait it. The guy down the road took a deer off the highway that had been killed by a car and put it out with one of those cameras because he suspected a mountain lion in the area. It turned out to be three of them, not just one. But whatever this is, it does not operate like a mountain lion. And bears are big, clumsy, rambunctious things, they'd be obvious. And the dogs would be on them, too.

It gets very, very quiet at night when this thing seems to be around. I don't think other animals are too thrilled with it.

The kids had some leftover candy apples awhile back and I put them out on the chopping block the day after one of the firewood incidents awhile back. They were untouched in the morning. Normally, a raccoon or 'Possum would have grabbed those in a second.

It's certainly strange. I'll update if I happen to find out what it is.

Cheers!

Rick...

Oh man, I am so curious right now I could walk all the way from here to your place!
You got me hooked to this topic!
I would definatly try to make pictures or film it!
Try a stealthy setup of camera's (and maybe together with motiondetectors)
If you know where it walked before try to lure it to walk there again, but then into the eye of a camera.
My best regards, Kodiak.

If I do get any pictures, I'll post them here first.

And if anything else noteworthy happens, I'll report in.

Cheers!

Rick...

It probably just wants you to teach it how to fly Blackshark, but I think you're going to need a bigger pit!

If you really must know who that is, I'll give you a hint:

Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.

If you ever see a flamethrower or weeds removed, it's 20mm.

ROFLMAO! Funny you should bring that up, I just finished reading "The Lord of the Rings" the night before last for about the 23rd time.

Cheers!

Rick...

I say put out more wood for him to split if he's willing to do it.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

It's obvious you've got a skinwalker on your ranch. Don't worry; the lumberjack types are usually okay.

+1
Maybe you can get him/it to do more for you if you work it right. Then you will have more time for video games & SimHQ.


Wheels

El Chupacabra!

Better watch out...

http://www.gorillanaut.com/reviews/images/BigfootMovies/bigfoot1.png

Well, looking at that "News" story, here's my theory. You are dealing with a Bigfoot. Female, or worse, Homosexual male. He or she is attracted to you, and has been doing errands for you, and making offerings of love.
Ignoring these signs will cause you to wind up like the unfortunate victim in the "News" story. Heed these signs. It is probably better to go willingly than to be her/his slave. Your wife will just have to understand. Then again, maybe she/he has an open mind and ...well, who knows.

Jackalope.

Maybe it is a ghost?

I'm glued to this thread Sauron, keep us updated!

Really all that is happening here is that Sauron is having one of his episodes and we are going along for the ride. That or he is getting ready to write a zombie apocolypse book and he is testing the story line out on us.


Wheels

This has all the makings of a Stephen King classic. Watch your six and report back regularly.

Oh yeah...and make sure it's sorted by October 31st...

What if it's an escaped ape? It might scare your animals because they don't know the smell of an exotic animal?

Dolphins and octopi are also very intelligent but I suspect there is a small problem with this theory that I can't put my finger on yet...

It might also be a somewhat insecure and scared orc that feels attached to you because of your nickname.

I also fully agree that after setting up a webcam or other suitable camera you should try to increase the amounts of unchopped wood you leave out there and make it work a little harder.

"This event takes place every year, right down the road from here:

http://www.bigfootmountain.com/ "


Maybe he's in the area in anticipation for the event?

Kinda hard for bigfoot,(bigfeet?) to get a bus or cab or something.

He had to hoof it and is working for food.

I just thought of something. It could be the Loup Garou.

I'd better hang a salt shaker by the back door. They get mesmerized by their compulsion to count the holes and it stops them in their tracks.

Cheers!

Rick...

pics or it didn't happen C'mon Rick , where is your camera setup dude ? All of the evidence does point to the aforementioned manbearpig with the jackalope running a close second, senility is hot on both their tails

I would expect a man of your talents would have setup a perfect camera situation by now and be posing on the front cover of every newspaper in the world with....something hairy or hairless and large , or at least a footnote in a medical magazine about old age and living in remote areas

Do you have access to a thermal imager by chance? If so combine it with a camera, forget to fully split the wood and have the camera trap set. it should work.



Bullet

Maybe your wife hired an ex-navy seal grounds keeper and forgot to tell you....

Also, it sounds like its half man, half bear, half pig.

I vote for your alter ego having fully evolved and escaped your brain pan to exist on his own. better play nice!!!!

It sounds like a neighbor prank (even if the nearest neighbors are far away, never underestimate kids' ability to dream up something to do when they're bored).

As for spooking dogs, there are ways to do that that 10 secs on Google will find you. Again, supporting the bored neighbors theory.

--------

Regardless, from the activities you've mentioned, and in this last part I'm dead serious: I'll tell you its time to invest in a couple more good stout dogs. I'd go for 4 more to have an even half-dozen. They never sleep together: some in the house and some out.

Anything messing around on your property is cause to ramp up security no matter what.

Good luck

Are you too far south for it to be a Canadian?

Do you think this will do?





It couldn't be a Canadian, we've cooked bacon with the window open and it didn't come to breakfast.

Seriously though, if that thing comes around tonight I'm going to try to get close enough to identify it.

Cheers!

Rick...

Come on you are pulling our leg,lol. looks like a friend in a suit,lol.




Bullet

He doesn't realize it, but he caught himself running out to the outhouse. Still no indoor plumbing where he lives.

and lots!!!


I am afraid Wireman is right Rick.Solving this problem requires firepower, the more the better.I suggest big guns with a high rate of fire, chaingun ala Arnie/Predator style.It's the only way you can be sure.




Save the fur (if there is any left) and make a nice pillow case

Yes, I certainly am pulling your leg with that night vision picture. That isn't real.

But the story in my original post is absolutely true and no joke.

If it comes tonight (it has been here several nights in a row around 0300 to 0330), I'm going to try to get close enough to see what it is.

And I don't want to shoot. It has done no harm, and seems to be a peaceful creature.

Cheers!

Rick...

hmmm ok fair enough, it will know you are there before you will know it is around. I do think the camera trap is the way to go to get a good shot of it. I support you whole heartadly on not shooting it. I had an encounter when I was a boy living in White Cloud, Michigan. I never found out what it was, but the sound and smell I will never forget. I wish you luck as it does seem to be friendly and I hope you can get a good shoot of it.


Bullet

It's Tyler Durden. Clearly.

I am hooked to this thread and awaiting all results of your actions to identify the creature or whatever it is!
Pls, keep us updated, I think you are not the kind of man to joke about these things.
I am burning up here from curiosity!

My best regards, Kodiak.

It's most definately Sauron sleepwalking and sleepworking

...and?

I got up at quarter to six this morning, didn't hear anything all night, but my Lab came running to me all freaked out when I went out to fill the bird feeders and feed the horses. She doesn't normally do that. She always stays over by my Airedale unless I call her to me in the morning. And the Airedale stays in her favored spot always unless I call her.

So since the dog seemed all keyed up and frightened I walked around the place and then headed into the woods. The sun still isn't up here, just a glow on the horizon, so I couldn't see very far in the woods.

There was a rabbit running around in the dry leaves at the edge of the woods, but beyond the rabbit, further into the woods, I could hear something else moving. It was something very heavy, moving at a slow pace uphill. My house sits at the base of a large, wooded mountain.

Whatever I was hearing had some significant weight to it. And its footsteps sounded bipedal.

One of the elements of this could be that I have the only watering hole, spring-fed so it never goes dry, in the area. We have been experiencing a prolonged drought, enough to cause a hay shortage in the area and bring people around wanting to buy hay. Creeks and waterholes have dried up. The pond sits right at the foot of the mountain at the edge of the woods, off to the right as you come out the back door and further up in. It is in a grove of trees that flow right into full-on forest, and there are a couple of artesian wells up in that part of the property that flow year round. I looked yesterday and they're still flowing. There's a couple of holes in the ground with water pouring out continually and it flows down and into my pond, helping out the springs in the bottom of the pond. That's why my pond never dries up in summer like some around here.

Also, I have various nut trees and some mulberry trees up by the pond, as well as oaks that have produced a pretty good acorn crop.

There are a lot of black bears around here, but whatever is out there doesn't behave like a bear or sound like a bear when I hear it moving. This is the region that spawned "The Legend of Boggy Creek" about which they made a movie. Fouke is just across the state line on the sodbuster side not too far from here. The Indians from this area have been reporting a large, hairy hominid for centuries, and there are many modern sightings of a man-like creature covered in hair.

Updates as they happen. I will be getting a motion sensitive camera before too long.

And yes, if I was joking I'd tell you. But I'm not joking.

I've been a hunter, trapper, and fisherman since I was a kid. I can track. I also have a pretty good military background.

And so far in this case, I can tell you this:

There's something very strange in the woods around here.

Cheers!

Rick...

I think it's Gary Busey and Nick Nolte.

Jeez, after the last picture I saw of Nick Nolte, that scares me worse than Bigfoot!

Cheers!

Rick...

I saw this movie as a kid and it scared the heck out of me. Yet I remembered the setting for that movie was further south into Arkansas.

I too am waiting with bated breath for the pics. I'm hoping Cicero stops in too and sees this thread.

Southeast of here, just across the border into sodbuster territory. The name of the place is Fouke, Arkansas. It's not far from here.

Cheers!

Rick...

Do dolphins count as bipedal?

If there's some kind of bigfoot, the it has to be a huge troll going by the way it behaves, would probably get banned around here as well.
What you forgot to mention is whether you set up a camera and why not if not.

Some say bigfoot, some say jackalope, I shall add gruffalo to that list.

Or maybe one of your neighbours sleepworks? There was some guy interviewed on the BBC who sleep-draws...

I have to buy a camera before I set it up and I just bought another house with 11 acres, barn, etc., on Saturday, and still own my other real estate including this house (except the stuff I sold off awhile back that I mentioned at the time), so it might take a little while. Maybe after the closing.

Cheers!

Rick...

hehe call the bigfoot hunters and get it done for free,lol.



Bullet

I don't know.. this creature is known to scare little kittens to death.

Sounds like youve got yerself a sasquatch infestation. Or a wendigo. Prob too far south for that though.
The logs were mostly split? Id guess it cracked them open looking for bugs or sap to snack on. Have you tried putting some grubs or honey in a bowl out by the logs?
Been reports here in TX of some monkeys and such on the loose after being released/escaped from the recent wildfires. Could be something like that has made its way North.

Why not make a present - something to eat ? Seems to have no aggression towards you or your family ?
Get a camera and a small screen, record some nights on a harddisk - this is cheap stuff nowadays.


But if you are the rugged redneck type:
Shoot it ! Kill it !

Sell the house, buy the camera, photograph the dolphin, I mean bigfoot, make millions from selling the story/pictures, buy many hice.

I'm also curious what it could be, though your descriptions seem to make the list of possibilities rather small, especially the huge and has two legs part, apart from bigfoot, dinosaurs come to mind, or a yeti, or Bud Spencer.

I'll tell you what.. I wouldn't be standing there talking to any 911 operator for very long if one of those things were scoping me out. I'd be high tailing it outta there!

Yup, that should be enough for them to make a two hour special out of.

I have to admit, it's a subject that I find endlessly fascinating.

My Dad took me and my brother to see that at the Drive-In when I was about 13. I remember it scared me too at the time and looking out the car window into the darkness during the drive home from the movie around midnight was creepy.

In australia we have the Yowie ..




Another ' perfect' pic that we always seem to see of these creatures.

This next pic has the caption..This image, long thought to be of a yowie, has recently been revealed to show a ..









so...maybe it's a duck?

I could play with this kid all day.



Rick, if you hear banjos,

RUN!

The hunchback of Sauron forest ?

Uh oh... No early morning post from Sauron. Maybe he did find it?

Sauron. Come in. Over. How is your permiter. Over.

Maybe they've started filming a sequel to this in Sauron's backyard in anticipation of a blockbuster opening in theaters:

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/creature-feature-s-opening-one-of-the-worst-ever-at-the-box-office.html

Don't worry, I haven't been captured and forced to be Bigfoot's love slave yet. And even if that happened, can you imagine how much the Weekly World News would pay me for my story?

Cheers!

Rick...

Saurons Mum has taken away his TV privileges but is not aware that this computer she bought him for his homework can also be used for entertainment.
Since he can not watch his favourite Animees he´s extremely bored

He does a pretty good job at decieving us for a 12 year old

ROFLMAO! I wish I was 12 again. Maybe I wouldn't have so many aches and pains.

Cheers!

Rick...

It's Manbearpig I tell you. I'm super cereal! And nobody'll listen to me. I'm cereal!

If it turns out you need to get rid of it, just ask and I'll come over with my guitar and sing it away. If I can clear out a room, I'm sure an echoing forest will be no problem. I'm cereal.

I really interested in hearing/seeing what this is. I'm almost willing to offer myself as bait and camp out in the woods for a few days to help out, or to help with lookout from the safety of a comfy chair. The comfy chair sounds like more my style right now though.

Im down with Skystring, i am prepared to put my ears and life on the line, being the super skeptic that i am.I will have no problem sitting out there in a comfy chair waiting for a bipedal type creature.You pay the fare Rick and i will suffer Skystring's music and promise not to sleep on my watch, and it seems he is supplying the breakfast's as well so food is covered

But herein lies the problem.. and it's a fairly consistent trend. When you or I are looking for them, they're nowhere to be found. The main folks these missing links seem to be interested in are those who are biding their time casually in rural settings who are, as far as my observation can carry, vague products of media fascination. Think of all the the money spent by researchers embarking on fruitless expeditions. Usually the best that they can do is produce supposed mating calls on tape or show out of focus pictures of a tree stump.. nay.. until I see one of these outside my sliding glass door in the basement (Like I did a few years ago with the big black bear), I will remain a Doubting Thomas..

Has Rick been in yet today or did the BIGFOOT eat him ?


Wheels

Yes, they've been finding animals thought to be extinct by setting up cameras in the jungle with a trigger, elusive rare jungle cats, so you'd *think* someone would be able to do the same with a huge bipedal ape.

Dude, you got a Saci,leave bottles of vodka or other heavy drink to make him go away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saci_%28Brazilian_folklore%29

The Saci sounds very similar to the Tikoloshe in South Africa, right down to the red hat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikoloshe

Cheers!

Rick...

This is the last place in the world I would expect to see somebody talking about the Saci. The Saci used as a mascot on the bottom of the wikipedia page is the mascot of a team from my city here in Brazil. Talk about coincidence.

I have to wonder what the pipe is about.. Seems that all renditions indicate a knack for smoking a pipe.

The pipe is actually a addition from Montero Lobato, a great brazilian writer, the original folklore only had saci stealing the pipes or filling them with dirt.

Any news on the mystery?
Rick you still looking out for it?

My best regards, Kodiak.

So based on Quantum mechanics what are you observing, and who is observing you?



Bullet

Avid reader, rare poster here but I have to tell you all: you guys keep cracking me up!

Please keep these postings going, lightening up some otherwise dull moments

Raises megaphone to lips ...clears throat .. GRUUOOOW!! SCreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooowww ..shi# !.. Sorry folks...Check ..check 1 .. 2 ..ok. Uuuum ..Rick ? .......Rick ? ... you out there buddy...? manbearpig?

He's been busy getting his plane all shot to heck...
Tough Day On the Job!: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3390916/Tough_Day_On_the_Job.html#Post3390916


Wheels

Maybe you could give the "Beast from the East" a call and he could help you. Apparently he's into this kind of thing.
Valuev's hunt for Yeti

Though him blundering about in the back yard would be more or less the same as having the bigfoot knocking about.

Nothing new to report. I spent half the night last night surrounded by dense smoke from a forest fire less than five miles away, on fire watch while everyone else slept. They got it under control, but it was close. If the creature has any sense, it put some miles between itself and here for awhile. I wish it would rain for about a month straight. It's still crackling dry out there even though it's been raining this morning. The ground is parched and just sucks it up as fast as it falls.

Cheers!

Rick...

At approximately 0515 this morning I had one of the most bizarre, if not THE most bizarre experiences of my fifty-three years.

I'd tell you all about it, but I'd then be bombarded by an endless litany of:

"He's off his medication!"

"He's taken too much medication!"

"What is he growing out there?"

"He's gone 'round the bend this time for sure!"

"The seizures have finally short-circuited his brain!"

Suffice it to say, the entity wandering around loose out there is not Bigfoot, or space aliens, or anything like that.

It's something much stranger. I saw it with my own eyes, and it approached me to within three feet under the outside lights, plain as day.

But if I told you about it, you'd think I was mad.

Case closed. Not Bigfoot. Not even close.

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Cheers!

Rick...

It was Elvis, wasn't it?


Seriously, you HAVE to tell us now.

Who cares what we think, anyway?

Possum?

Spill the beans, Rick!

For the love of God man what was it?!?!?

Come on Sauron, you've already made me come back every day and now you hold back on the conclusion, do you get a share of the ad revenue in this thread or what?

yup at this point you have to pretty much tell us . and I would like to see what quantum machincs would say about this observation,lol.



Bullet

Altho it is most likely the south western wood fairy .


Bullet

Did it have Patrick Duffy for a leg?

All right then, fine. Just remember, I am only reporting what happened and what I saw. I draw no conclusions. It's probably some natural anomaly. But I'll tell you what went on and give you some background.

Around ten past five this morning, while it was still dark, I awakened very suddenly. I live in the middle of nowhere, far out a rough dirt road and then three tenths of a mile back in, but there are always the natural night sounds, peepers, crickets, coyotes, and occasional night birds. So when everything suddenly goes silent, I wake up fast.

When I awakened, there was an almost palpable energy in the air. All the usual night sounds were gone, it was dead still.

I got up and went out on the porch. I had turned on the porch light, which isn't very bright but gives me enough light to see what I'm doing just fine. It doesn't illuminate much beyond the porch though.

As I stepped out onto the porch, I could feel a "presence" or "energy" which felt very much like I was being watched. And the sense I got was of something sentient observing me.

Suddenly, there was a very loud BANG! It came from down by my well house. The well house sits beside a huge old oak tree. The well has a lid on it made of plywood and roofing metal. The sound was very much what I would expect to hear if someone had slammed their fist down on the well lid.

"Bears," I thought. "Bears trying to find water because of the drought."

I peered into the darkness, and suddenly I saw something coming straight at me. It was coming fast. I stood my ground and what appeared to be a ball of dense white mist homed in and bore down on me on the porch. I didn't move, I wanted to see what it was. It was coming straight at me fast, headed due north, at a ninety degree angle to the wind, which was coming from the west. It was moving much faster than the wind. I could see through it, but just barely. And it gave the impression of something under intelligent control. It stood out from the darkness to a degree that almost makes me say it glowed a bit.

When it was almost to the porch, it veered off its direct path to me, and turned just to the right of me. As it turned, it slowed considerably, and changed into an elongated teardrop shape, approximately the size of a full grown adult. There were no features, it was just a moving light gray mist, somewhat transparent, and capable of abrupt changes in speed.

It flew over the porch to my right, within a meter of me, slowing to a near stop for a moment as it passed me, as if something was having a good look at me. That's what it felt like, as if someone was examining me as they passed. It turned straight into the wind, accelerated, and sped off. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen. I have no idea how to explain it. I wasn't expecting anything even vaguely like that. But the word that immediately leapt to mind was "ghost", despite the fact that I have never believed in ghosts.

It looked like the image on the left as it approached, and then shifted to the image on the right as it slowed and passed to my right. That's a Paint Shop Pro image below, and I've tried to represent what I saw. It's not perfect, but it's close.



I told Mrs. Sauron about it, and she reminded me of something the old timers around here told us shortly after we bought this place.

The huge old oak tree down by my well, the direction from which this thing came and from which the loud bang came, is known locally as "The Lynching Tree". Many years ago, when this was the only homestead in the area, there were a number of lynchings. They hung people. They hung them from the oak tree by my well.

Now I don't know what this thing was. But it bucked a stiff breeze, crosswind and head-on. It moved with good speed, I couldn't have outrun it if I had wanted to, and I'm a pretty good runner. It came straight at me fast. And then it slowed almost to a stop in the stiff breeze. Then it accelerated head on into the breeze and vanished. About twenty seconds later, all the usual night sounds resumed. The peepers peeped, the crickets chirped, and the coyotes yipped.

But just before the night sounds returned, I heard a strange, brief sound from the direction in which it had vanished. It was a sound like the wind makes on a winter night, trapped in the eaves.

I remained on the porch for awhile, but there was no further sign of the thing.

I was expecting bears. Or some other animal. I was chuckling to myself about the idea of Bigfoot. But there wasn't a thought of anything like this in my head. I don't know what to make of it. It defied common sense and the wind, and seemed to be something sentient. I have no conclusion. I don't know what I saw. But I know I saw it. And I know it should not have been moving the way it was. I've never seen anything like it before. I leave you all to decide what it is that I saw. I'm not quite prepared to start believing in ghosts at my age, but whatever it was, it was something that I have not encountered before in fifty-three years of a widely traveled life.

Cheers!

Rick...

In that case, it may just want an apology.

At least you and Mrs. Sauron weren't making whoopee or it would have had to kill you to stay within the rules of ghosts.


Wheels

Sauron, there might still be a bigfoot around there, it sounds to me like that ghost was high tailing it AWAY from something.

I read about glowing kittens that have genes from jellyfish inserted to help in aids research, maybe one escaped, got scared by a ghost at the hanging tree and headed for your porch, only to be frightened off by you!

I have a notion that this is a wind-up for Halloween.

boitata, will of the wisp,many cultures had a name for this fenome.....it remains a mistery, now get the camera ready for next time.

Good call, I like the will o wisp theory. As an old DnD dm, I loved using them to lure people to their demise. DONT follow it S.

Hah! I knew it!

A possum.

If the story is true, it could have been something like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning

Perhaps Mr Burns was getting more treatments?

The ball lightning came to mind as well.

The whole sense of being watched is not much to go on I'm afraid because it's been shown that people cannot sense being watched, no matter what they claim.

What you should do now, no matter what it was, is write a book about it and get rich!

And btw, I doubt that was what cut your wood at night, so apparently it has a boyfriend.

Probably true with suburban sheep. Not so much with wilderness wolves.

Most experienced military personnel would dispute this.

It is also true that if you look at something long enough, it will look back.

Cheers!

Rick...

Or die, if it's a goat!

Well, eyes are passive sensors so no, not possible to feel being watched.

As for the feeling of being watched, it was quiet, unusual circumstances, you heard sounds, you were sure there had to be something out there, so of course you selfishly assumed that Miss BigFoot would only have eyes for a handsome guy like you, but you forgot about her lumberjack boyfriend. The feeling of being watched doesn't mean you can feel being watched even if you are being watched.

As for the looking back part, try it on a train or an airplane by staring at the person in front of you, statistically they should look back now and then but I doubt it's because they feel that you're watching them.

Look, it's okay that you saw a ghost, but this whole feeling that someone was watching you makes me think you didn't take your medication.

(I've had the feeling myself but I still doubt it's more than the mind trying to make sense out of other observations etc., certainly not enough to assume that a sentient being was around)

There are quite a few experienced military personnel who try to avoid looking directly at things, preferring to keep watch with their peripheral vision. I've also heard countless stories over the many years I wore a uniform from guys who swore that the hairs on the back of their neck stood up, they knew someone was dialing their number and moved, and it was a good thing they did.

If you live in a classical Newtonian world, which no one does, perhaps there's no reason to suspect these things. Who did the research "disproving" it, doctors? Most physicians deserve about as much credibility as a transient carnival worker.

In a world where things such as paired electrons (which appear to be capable of superluminal communication) exist and the Quantum Enigma has not been explained, discounting this sort of thing is skating on very thin ice.

And it's not necessarily the eyes that are involved.

I'll take the word of experienced military personnel over your researchers anytime.

People who insist on living in a Newtonian world and who discount things that they know nothing about should remember to take their medication. That world view was dead long ago. They killed it in the lab, using the Empirical Method.

Cheers!

Rick...

I'm only going to ask you once.Not having a go at you or anything, but i just want to know , for real- are you pulling our leg ?

Bigfoot, UFOs and a Ghost all in one week. Sorry, not drinking the grape kool-aid.

Dangit Sauron you forgeot to use the "Twilight Zone" Intro for your story.


http://youtu.be/YBusptmJq4Q


Wheels

Wild pig. And the raspberries aren't coming from its mouth.

Good with an axe too? Spiderpig?

This thread fails to deliver ...

I don't know about that. WIth this post it has delivered 123 replies. Not bad for one of Sauron's or anybodies else's threads for that matter.




Wheels

Alien technology performing reconnaissance.

I knew we couldn't be the only bastards out there in the whole wide galaxy!

Indeed, we're on page 13! It must deliver something!

Hey Flyboy! Look! Double digits!

And Ajay, no, I'm not kidding.

There's...something in the woods! Some...THING!

Cheers!

Rick...

I am only on page 6.


Wheels

Not all of us have monitors the size of a rugby pitch. Mine's only a 24-inch HD.

Cheers!

Rick...

Hey i only have it at page 3 , 24 " .Edit preferences in My stuff options and get rid of all of those 962 page threads

..thread too epic to die..


Any updates Rick ? did it follow your move? maybe it was the bobcat?

Nope, doesn't seem to have followed the move. All I'm seeing out here is a lot of whitetail deer and coyotes. So far. You never know what could turn up.

Cheers!

Rick...

got directed to this via the 2011 review on the homepage.... Holy **** is all i have to say! absolutly amazing read! though the picture where you demonstrated what you saw, i couldnt see as its no longer active, do you still have it i'd really like to see it to get an idea of what it looked like, these things intrigue me and my god i got shivers and everything reading that!

I missed this thread back then - this is the second simHQ thread where someone tells a first person Ghost Story. Not so unlikely as it seems I guess.

What an awesome story; too bad I missed it as it was unraveling. The part that blew it for me was reading that the house was at the foot of a "Big" mountain -- this put an image of a remote area of the Rocky mountains, in my mind. Later on I read that the house was somewhere near Fouke, Arkansas. Totally blew the sense of place and scale.

Great story Sauron!

Rick has been away a few days, maybe it found him again...


Wheels

Just found this on the front page, and it's very interesting, I would love to know what the finale outcome is.

I had a hunting buddy who would only enter the woods after sun up because he swore to me he saw strange things moving about.

Good luck in your endeavor finding what ever is out there, just stay on your toes, keep us updated plz.

Well, I don't know if Rick has pulled the legs of the readers here or not, but my gut feeling is, he didn't. And if I'm wrong, it was well done, as it certainly was a good read.

Well, the outcome was that I moved. So whatever it was, it's still creeping around back where I used to live.

I did, however, buy another remote place smack in the middle of nowhere.

And lately I've been suspecting that there's some sort of manitou in the woods. Possibly the Wendigo.

Cheers!

Rick...