Every fifth grader gets the chance to spend a week in Camp Tyler in the middle of a forest. People say that Camp Tyler is haunted, but I didn't believe them. I went to Camp Tyler in the middle of Fall. One day, while everyone else was getting ready to ride the zipline, I sat in a spot several feet away from everyone else. I had chickened out of riding the zipline. I felt as though someone was watching me, so I looked around, but no one was so much as looking at me.
One night in Camp Tyler, we had gone out to watch owls, and we were on our way back to the cabins. We stopped, and one of the camp counselors mimicked the sound of a nocturnal bird that was nearby. I saw a partially transparent white figure standing among the trees, but no one else seemed to notice it.
This happened on September 23, 2006:
My best friend Jeremi and I were exploring a forest in his neighborhood. Jeremi stopped to check out some paw prints on the ground, and I heard something jump from a tree branch above me. I looked up, and by the looks of it, whatever had leapt from the branch had been larger than a squirrel because the thick branch was shaking and waving slightly. My breathing became shaky. "Jeremi let's get back to your house," I said, looking at Jeremi. I had begun to feel as though someone was watching me. Jeremi stood up. "Uh oh," he said, looking around, "I don't know where we are anymore."
Suddenly, the hair along my spine stood on end. "Jeremi?" I said, starting to sweat from fear. Jeremi looked at me. "Do you feel someone watching you too?" he asked quietly. I nodded. Jeremi and I glanced over our shoulders, because it felt like they were behind us. We followed a deep dried-up creek bed. The invisible person followed us.
At one point, Jeremi stopped and signaled for me to stop, too. He listened closely to a hole in the left wall of the dried creek bed. I listened, too, and heard rattling. "The only explanation for that noise is a rattle snake!" Jeremi exclaimed quietly, jumping back, "Be careful! There's one here so there are most likely others!" Jeremi and I continued our journey to find a way out of the forest.
Climbing over tree roots, pushing our way past vines, and watching out for snakes, the invisible person continued to follow us. Every once and a while, we'd hear them step on a leaf behind us. It felt like they were right behind only me instead of both of us. I felt cold, and I was still sweating from fear.
When Jeremi and I found our way out of the forest, we were a long way away from his house. In fact, we were right beside Golden Road. We walked along the curb until we reached a train track, and we turned the corner and followed it. I sensed that the invisible stalker was still there, and my heart sank. "Who's following us?" I thought, glancing over my shoulder. No one was there.
Soon, we reached a road and turned, walking along the road. "We're close... I think. I recognize this neighborhood," said Jeremi, leading the way. I still kind of felt the stalker behind us and muttered, "Good." It was getting close to sunset. We heard the sound of a leaf getting stepped on behind us. Jeremi and I both jumped and turned in midair, startled. There was no one there. Jeremi and I exchanged glances, turned, and ran for it.
When we stopped to catch our breath, my whole body was shaking. Jeremi started walking again, but I couldn't move. I felt something touch my back and the invisible stalker's cold breath on the side of my neck. A surge of fear flowed through me, and I ran to catch up with Jeremi. Eventually, we found our way to his house with no more incidents.
Several weeks later, I went with Jeremi and his mom to his grandparents' house. We explored the forest there, but then, we eventually got bored. Jeremi sat on a dead, fallen tree and began digging into it, tearing it apart. I stood on a stronger, less-rotten part of the trunk, and we talked for a while.
Then, I felt a sharp, stabbing pain on the back of my neck. Looking up, I saw a dark figure standing in the distance, seeming to stare in our direction. My breath seemed to get caught in my throat, and I glanced at Jeremi to see if he saw the dark figure, but he didn't. He was too busy tearing into the dead tree. When I looked back at where the figure had been, it had vanished.
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Everytime I walk down the stairs out of the office after work, I feel someone is behind me walking as well, I always look back, and to calm myself down, I would imagine the ghost tripping and falling down the stairs, it always makes me smile, even when I'm writing this.