Instead of a tent, we booked an Airbnb for convenience—twelve hours of driving later, we arrived, excited for a change of scenery. The group included my friends Emma, Matt, Parker, and Emma’s younger brother, whom I’ll call C. Emma had legal custody of C, and we were all fine with it.After unpacking, we split into rooms: I got one alone, Matt and Parker shared a room, and Emma stayed with C. We tried setting up a campfire, but forgot the marshmallows, so Matt and I drove into town to grab some. During the drive, Matt joked about seeing a Skinwalker, which I dismissed. Back at the Airbnb, C excitedly told us about a deer he had seen, and we prepared dinner—burgers, hotdogs, and marshmallows.
Suddenly, a stranger appeared at our fire. He introduced himself as Josh, a hiker, carrying a duffle bag full of meats: chicken, beef, venison, and possibly pork. Emma eagerly accepted the pork, despite Josh warning it may not be fresh. After dinner, Emma became ill from the questionable meat.
That night, strange things began. The cabin was unnaturally quiet. I opened my window slightly, heard nothing, then suddenly something hit it. Outside, I heard Emma calling to be let in. But when I checked her room, she was sleeping safely. She began mumbling in an unrecognizable language, her movements strange and unsettling. Footprints appeared outside that didn’t match anyone we knew, and shadows seemed to shift in the woods.
The next morning, we found our van’s tires slashed. Our phones had no signal, and the nearest town was a mile away through rough forest paths. We were trapped until Josh reappeared and offered help. He attached our van to his truck and drove us to safety—but even then, something felt wrong. Shadows seemed to follow us, and a foul odor lingered in the air.
After returning home, Emma’s behavior changed drastically. She became distant, irritable, and almost unrecognizable. She barely spoke, ignored calls, and even frightened C. Her once vibrant personality had turned hollow, and my friends and I felt an unshakable sense of dread.
We still don’t know what we encountered in the Appalachian woods, but it left a mark—one that changed Emma and left us questioning the unknown. Something had followed us home, and the memories of that trip continue to haunt us.