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Red Eyes!

By ledoux69
(1 stories) (6 posts) (the author is a middle age adult)
Date: 2020-02-21
Country: United States
State: New Jersey
Paranormal Category: Non Human Entities

I'd like to say, that I am pretty disturbed about my subject and since the internet has come about, I have been looking for some kind of answer to explain what I saw and to this day no one seems to have an answer! I see that some people (very few) have seen almost exactly what I saw but, that is where the experience ends. No answer!

I grew up in Southern New Jersey about 3 miles or so from Fort Dix Army Base in the 70's in a small town (Country Lakes). Growing up here everyone around knew that the woods here are very scary and more so at night! As a kid, my friends and I were always running through the woods or driving down the dark dirt roads of The Pine Barrens at night and it became almost normal to hear that someone heard or saw something unexplainable. I heard many stories from people but, I never saw anything...Until!

It was around 1978 and I was 10 years old. During the summer, my best friend at the time and I came to my house after running around outside and it was already dark out, probably around 9:00 pm. My friend lived right next door to me and our houses were up against the woods in the back yards. After playing, we went to my backyard and sat on the deck with our feet hanging over the side and were small talking because it was time for him to go home soon.

As we are sitting in the dark, I happened to look over to my right, say the one or two 0'clock position and to my SURPRISE, I saw two large glowing red eyes staring straight at us! Now these eyes were about 8 or so feet high from the ground and not a normal height for a person. The second thing, these eyes were large! I would say they seemed to be the size of a tennis ball and that was from a distance of around 30 yards. I can best describe the color as almost the same color as a brake light from a car, the same type of glow! It also looked like there was a small black pupil in the middle.

Whatever this was, it didn't move at all and it made itself very obvious the way it was just staring at us! Another thing I noticed is I could see no body and no face! There was no outline at all but, it was very dark. This thing was standing right at the edge of the tree line and my back yard.

So, as I glanced over and saw this, I became VERY scared and my reaction was to swing my left arm and hit my friend to get his attention and point to the obvious! I was so scared I didn't speak just reacted! This entire moment was literally only a few seconds! As my friend saw this, we both shot up and ran as fast as we could into my house! When we got inside we went straight to the back window and saw these eyes leaving through the woods like it was running and you could see the eyes going in a flowing motion up and down like it was flying but, the woods were to thick for that! What I saw was not human and huge! And I'm now 50 years old and I believe I will never know what the hell this was! This is the first time I have ever told what I saw publicly!

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, ledoux69, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Badgers_Absinthe (2 posts)

5 years ago (2020-05-13)

I have also had an encounter when I was very young. But these were we huge, with a constant red glow. Almost almond shape and about 6 inches in diameter for each, for lack of a better word, eye. There was no fear. I saw it at the bottom of my window, on the first floor, in the right hand corner.
I looked away for my father and they were gone.

i-have-a-crush-on-firestar (1 stories) (24 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-26)

the average height for an female is 5 foot and 6 foot for an male, so that WAS NOT human, I am quite doubtful that these things are real but... Maybe it was an werewolf! But then again... It might have been an owl or bird, but why were the eyes red? But it also might have been an bike light, or car light, maybe the mothman? God knows what it was, ever heard of the pigman? It might have been that! [XD I read way too much forfolk] but the must likely reason is it was an demon but it was flying, hope this comment helps

ledoux69 (1 stories) (6 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-21)

Hello SDS and Thank You!,
Yes! Right after my friend and I witnessed this he went home and I felt bad that he had to go outside and run over to his house. He was very afraid and when he left he went through the front yard instead of the back.
I then went to my step mother who was in the kitchen and told her what just happened. She blew it off as someone was wearing (Zannie Zappers) glasses back then that had flashing red lights in them. You may remember them from that time. I stopped talking with her about it when she suggested that.
We didn't really bring it up anymore after. I guess I realized it was too much for people to take in or were trying their best to right it off as something explainable. As an adult I started to think about it a lot and I know what I saw, it's out there and other people have had to have seen this as well! I would love to hear from them!
I do know of two other people that had a very similar experience as my friend and I at that time. This time, a guy, a little older than me had a very similar experience and he was with his father. Their experience was a lot worse than mine!

sds (14 stories) (1436 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-18)

Hi ledoux69, welcome to YGS. The comments here are made for clarity purpose and as Manafon said, it is to eliminate any mundane possibility. But your experience is quite different and you said that it was definitely not an owl.

Ok, that happened quite long ago when you were 10 years old. I want to ask you, being kids, you and your friend, did you discuss with your parents or siblings or friends? If so, what was their reaction to this sighting. Because when something bizarre happens at that age, all of us will be sharing it with others. Had you done that, perhaps we might have had some more light into the sighting. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

Regards and respects to you.

SDS

ledoux69 (1 stories) (6 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

[at] Manafon1, yes I didn't expect to be talking about owls like I don't know about owls,lol!
Thanks for the update, that's the kind of info I'm looking for!I'm gona see if I can find that story.

Manafon1 (7 stories) (722 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

ledoux69--I understand completely what's it's like to have seen something that can't be easily explained and feel frustrated when prosaic explanations are put forth. For a site like YGS it just makes sense to attempt to eliminate the mundane possibilities first. I believe you saw something bizarre and that you're convinced it wasn't any type of animal. I've seen a lot of weird things throughout my life that can't be easily explained.

With that said, I did find an interesting case on the Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal website that seems to have some parallels with your account. A mother and son driving to a McDonalds in Richmond, Illinois one evening witnessed something that has stuck with them. The mother stated, "we both saw something very tall (6-7 feet) hunched over with the brightest eyes we've ever seen. It looked as if it were floating or hopping."

When a guy from the webpage contacted this woman, she told him, "The eyes were similar to 2 very bright lights, that emanated from within the creature." The brightness and the "floating or hopping" aspects reminded me of your account. Although what the creature was remains a mystery, it's always interesting to find similar sightings.

VeronicaMarie (5 stories) (106 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

What a baffling experience, and the kind of thing that doesn't go away, no matter how much time may have passed. It seems that other people have had similar experiences to yours when they were young.

Https://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=26765

silverthane61 (4 stories) (344 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

I submit myself to Tweed's correction (-: Owls are silent when they fly whenever the person observing them is deaf like me (25 years military). But yes, owls are deathly quiet when they swoop in for the kill, because they do not flap their wings. Flapping their wings would probably make a sound audible to anyone nearby (who are not deaf like me). I am thinking though that the person in this story did not hear any wings flapping, which still adds some mystery to this case.

ledoux69 (1 stories) (6 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

Silverthane61 brought up a great point! As we were watching through the window the eyes were leaving to the left at about the 10 o'clock angle away from us into the woods at a steady height of around 8 feet like it was running but with an up and down flowing motion. Here is the great point; I could see it was not looking at us, it was looking in the direction it was running but, the eyes were so large that it had a very large side profile in the eyes.
Don't be afraid to trust me when I tell you this was not an owl! Just think, if each eye were around the size of a tennis ball at 30 + yards away than imagine how big they are at 5 feet from you!
I don't believe in the Jersey Devil.

ledoux69 (1 stories) (6 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

I am here to talk about this. I want to talk about it!it's been on my mind for a long time. I have no plans of arguing. I know what I saw and if a reader wants to come to a conclusion that is fine with me.
My real hope is that someone else may have had a similar experience and can share it with me.
I never said this thing was flying. It looked like it was running or possibly flying because of the way the eyes were moving. I think it was running through the thick brush and trees. Trees and brush would make flying in a straight line impossible at 8 feet. Trees are to close together and brush is thick. This thing was very big to be that tall and have a head that would support huge eyes. Tweed is right about owl eyes. These eyes were not from an owl or any other animal. If I had any thought this may have been an animal I would not post this experience.

Tweed (36 stories) (2529 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

Arfhgh
Must resist the urge...can't

Sorry, tragic crazy owl lady who can't stand hearing
"Owls are silent when they fly."

It's not completely true. They sound like the industrial fans in the Half Life games. A low gentle wafting sound. They're only silent in hunt mode. Which is what they tap into in falconry and on tv etc.
There's a reflective lens within the owls eyes which are enormous and reflect in low light conditions. Owls don't have eyeballs, their eyes are tubular. Sorry to be crass but their eyes resemble a human penis. Down the length of the owl's eye it's all about rods, the double lens bounces low light around like a mirror. It's unlikely to see red reflecting in extreme darkness, but if an outside light was on, it's possible. Owl eyes be hardcore.

Manafon1 (7 stories) (722 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

ledoux69--Owl eyes do glow at night and can look quite menacing. Type in "images of glowing owl eyes at night" in any online search engine and some of those images are not only red but quite large in appearance. All it takes for this glowing effect is moonlight or even the light coming from a house or back porch.

I am not trying to be argumentative with you at all but if you're sharing an account on this website you will receive many possible explanations and opinions. It's obvious you saw something that has stuck with you for forty years. I am just giving a theory of what you might have seen. Maybe what you saw was some sort of nature spirit. I witnessed what I believe to have been a nature spirit some years ago. It's eyes weren't glowing but I could discern a full face. I felt a sense of calm after my experience but if I'd been ten I might have felt threatened. YGS is all about sharing thoughts and that's all I'm doing. It's clear you were quite effected by this occurrence.

silverthane61 (4 stories) (344 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

Owls make no sound when they fly. When they flap their wings, their body makes a gentle up-down movement in time with their wings. However, an owl's eyes are not self-luminescent - they need a light source to reflect their eyes. Was there a light source present? The eight foot tall presence could have been an owl perched on a branch. You say the being moved away from the treeline. Did you say that you saw the eyes as it moved away? If so, then it was moving away with its head turned towards you - kind of an uncomfortable thing to do moving through a forest in the dark. I have been through the Pine Barrens at night and know how spooky it can be. I am also sure that you have heard all of the stories concerning the Jersey Devil. Do you think you saw the Jersey Devil?

Tweed (36 stories) (2529 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

Hi ledoux,

My first thought was owl too. But if you're confident it wasn't look into shadow people. They're a common ghostly sighting, and many report seeing red eyes.

Other than that trolls are supposedly very tall, you could into folklore entities. If a troll it was probably guarding the forest perimeter, and curious about you both, or perhaps had observed you both before. Either way it retreated into the wood so odds are it wasn't very concerned with you.

ledoux69 (1 stories) (6 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-11)

Growing up in the woods and hunting, we were very aware and educated with the wildlife around. We were smart kids with good common sense.
The purpose of my story is to explaine that we saw something that was not in anyway normal or human. The size of these eyes were huge and not normal for any animal or human being. The way they were glowing with no light around was not at all normal. Owls don't go around with (brake light) type glowing eyes at night, in fact, nothing does!Owl eyes (shine) they do not glow. My friend and I were filled with fear the instant we saw this! It wasn't like we saw it then stopped a minute to try and figure out what it was. We knew instantly this was not right. I would rather have seen an owl than to see this, it wasn't enjoyable!

Manafon1 (7 stories) (722 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-10)

Hi ledoux69--I wanted to offer a possible non-paranormal explanation for what you witnessed. There are several aspects of your account that suggest you might have seen the eyes of a barred owl. They live in thick woods, are very large at 16 to 26 inches tall with a wingspan of 38 to 45 inches and are noted to have large red or orange eyes.

The barred owl was listed as a threatened species in New Jersey in 1979 so seeing them isn't a common occurrence. You state, "you could see the eyes going in a flowing motion up and down like it was flying but the woods were too thick for that." Like you, I grew up in a place (South Carolina) where there were a lot of thick woods. I'd often see owls at twilight flying down the street I lived on before suddenly shooting off into the woods hunting their prey.

Owls are nocturnal and can navigate what for a person would be impenetrable forest. As you were ten years old when you saw the red eyes, it's possible that the whole experience was intensified. There's no way to be sure that you and your friend witnessed a barred owl but it does seem quite possible.

ledoux69 (1 stories) (6 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-10)

Hello Biblio,
I was raised with the Jersey Devil folk lore and for me it's just a tale. What I saw was real. Also, I wonder how did this thing get as close to us as it did without crashing through the woods? The woods are very thick, you can only walk if there is a small trail and there were none.
We couldn't tell if it was running or flying because we couldn't see a body but, there is no way it was flying 8 feet from the ground the woods are way to thick. The eyes didn't change shape they remained round but, they were going up and down in a flowing motion just like a boat traveling on small waves.
After years of contemplation I think we may have seen a Demon but, don't know!

Samasnasir (4 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-10)

You saw the new jersey devil. That or a type of mothman. Who knows maybe they're one and the same?

Bibliothecarius (9 stories) (1091 posts)

5 years ago (2020-03-10)

Greetings, ledoux69, and welcome to YGS.

The moment you mentioned the Pine Barrens, my mind went to the cryptid "The Jersey Devil." At least one sighting of this phenomenon has attributed "red glowing eyes" to the mysterious creature. If the creature was not running but loping through the forest, then the eyes would have the same elongated up-and-down movement as a bird in flight.

If you believe my guess is incorrect, please let us know why.

Best,
Biblio.

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