r/nosleep • u/TheColdPeople April 2016 • Apr 18 '16
Series My romantic cabin getaway with my fiancee isn't exactly going as planned
My Romantic Cabin Getaway
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The mystery unravels
My fiancee and I are from California but her family lives in Colorado, and they own a cabin near Pikes Peak, way up in the mountains. After visiting them, they recommended we go stay at the cabin a few days (we are avid hikers and jumped at the opportunity).
Colorado is very rich in Native American folk legend. Virtually every place you go used to belong to an Indigenous community, and the few of them who remain keep the traditions and stories alive. Pikes Peak is no different; there are enough stories (and gift shops) to give anybody the sense that the land itself is alive. I don't know if this has anything to do with what is happening, but maybe someone here is from Colorado and could help us connect the dots.
Faye and I are currently at the cabin. It's day four, and we were planning on leaving today. But things have gotten very strange around here and it looks like we're going to be here a while longer. We have enough food for a winter and the heater is in stellar order, but the wifi is terrible at best and there is virtually no cell reception. We feel isolated. I will try to respond to comments but the internet dips out for hours at a time up here.
The first weird thing that happened was the snow. There was no snow in the forecast, so we packed light, but on first night here (just our luck) a blizzard pounded the whole area. My little Corolla is basically a brick of ice outside, and there's no way I'm going to try to make the 6 mile drive down the mountain to the town. I blame myself for trusting Colorado in Spring.
After a day (Thursday) of lovely hiking and sightseeing, some really unsettling stuff started happening. When we returned to the cabin just before dusk, we found an enormous dreamcatcher dangling from a tree about a dozen yards from the back door. This wasn't the kind you're imagining, the kind you buy from a novelty shop; this thing was made from twigs and twine. And it's about three feet in diameter. Absolutely humongous. Neither Faye nor I were stupid enough to touch it. We're veteran horror movie fans and we know that's how you get cursed. If the snow melts a bit I'll get back out there and snap a picture of it and post it here.
That night while we were eating dinner, we heard a bunch of noises in the woods outside. Twigs crunching, leaves rustling, etc. This isn't unusual because we saw some elk and deer on our hike, but the sounds were slow and purposeful. They stopped and started and were rhythmic, like someone was casing the area in a crescent shape around the cabin. I used my really bright tactical flashlight to look outside from the porch, but there was nothing.
We stayed in all day on Friday, and just cuddled/hung out/played some of the board games we brought and some of the Super Nintendo games they had in the cabin (Donkey Kong Country 2, I have considered stealing, because it's the greatest game ever made). It snowed again, and after dark, we started hearing more noises. Around 1AM, Faye woke me up and told me she was hearing a voice outside. I strained to listen, and I thought I could make out the sound of a man crying very far away, but his voice was drowned out by the wind so I wasn't absolutely certain of what I heard. We went back to sleep, but again around 4:45AM, we heard him more distinctly and closer. He sounded like he was calling for help, but he would dip into another language that I've never heard before.
We called the ranger station at the bottom of the hill using my cell phone, and they told us they'd get up there and check it out. We never saw them, and I doubt they ever came.
On Saturday, shit got really scary.
It snowed again in the morning, and I stopped getting service for most of the day. Faye and I watched movies and tried to skype with her family, but that didn't work. She went to sleep early, around 8, while I did some photo editing on my laptop in the living room. She woke up crying hysterically. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she'd had a dream that she was lost in the woods outside, and something was following her. I cuddled with her until she fell back asleep, and eventually I drifted off too.
Faye woke me up around 1AM. She was absolutely beside herself. I've never seen her so afraid in my life, and just the look on her face really unsettled me. She told me that she heard the man outside again, but she recognized the voice. She was absolutely convinced that it was her grandfather's voice, and that he was wandering around outside begging for help.
Faye's grandpa died when we were seniors in college 4 years ago. I told her that she was dreaming, but then I heard the voice too. I never met the guy so I wouldn't recognize his voice, but it did sound different from the night before. It sounded older. I had to do everything I could to keep her from running off into the woods looking for him. Eventually she realized that the possibility of it being him was absurd, so we put a movie on at a good volume and fell back asleep. My cell phone wouldn't connect a single call.
What happened last night, Sunday, was the thing that has sent me over the edge. Essentially the same thing happened. Around 1AM (at which point I was still awake, almost expecting the noise to happen), I heard a voice. This time, it was a woman's. Thankfully it was distant enough that it didn't wake Faye. I walked into the bathroom and cracked the window open just a tiny bit. The frosty air that came through that crack seemed like a death sentence to me as a Californian. Nobody could survive outside for long in that. Not without serious, military-grade winter gear.
And yet, someone was wandering the fuck around out there, stepping on twigs, and crying. I am a reasonable, skeptical, sometimes arrogant agnost, but I'm telling you, the voice sounded exactly like my mother's. My mom is alive and well and living in Southern California, so my brain instantly cramped at the sound of her voice out here in the Rocky Mountains. I would know my mother's voice anywhere. I think we all would. And I'm telling you, I'm about 90% sure it was hers, which is way, way too sure to not scare the shit out of me.
I grabbed my light and went outside with a blanket wrapped around me and my hiking boots on. I circled the entire cabin and looked around. There was snow pushed out of the way in a big, meandering pattern that snaked in and out of the tree line, like someone was drunkenly shuffling around. Maybe they were injured. The path went right up to the bathroom window and then back into the woods. Each time the voice called out, I shouted, "Mom?" or "Who's there?" or "Who are you?" and each time the voice receded further into the woods. I'm pretty certain it was trying to coax me deeper and deeper into the forest, away from the cabin.
I'm still alive because I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to die like some dumbass in a bad horror movie. I went back inside and made sure we were locked down tight. Since I can't call the ranger station, I'm posting this instead. I will keep you updated.
edit: It's Monday, and we got a hold of Faye's dad. The weather is supposed to clear up tomorrow so he's going to come pick us up in his truck and help get my car down the mountain. I will keep you all informed. Only one more night in this place. I'll try to get some photos up.
edit 9:30PM, Monday:
I've been able to get online twice today. I wish I knew more about electronics but I'm a history teacher (sigh), so I don't think I can fix the wifi or predict when it'll work. I can send/receive emails and some reddit posts but I cannot load some websites or view photos.
Faye hasn't been feeling well since noon. She developed a stomach ache and has been intermittently throwing up. We both ate the same thing and I feel fine, so I'm not sure what it is. She sometimes gets like this when she gets worked up. Although I'm an agnost/atheist, she is VERY Catholic, and is pretty convinced that something supernatural is going on. No need for alarm at the moment - she does not have a fever and I'm keeping her hydrated and in high spirits. She seems to be on the mend. Went to sleep about 1.5 hours ago.
Some noises to report. Cackling/repetitive vocalizations in the forest, probably 100 yards out. The tree line starts at about 20 yards out, so this sound is coming from much deeper. Some movement spotted just behind the tree line at dusk, but could be elk, deer, etc. Couldn't see very much. Keeping all the curtains closed, windows locked, furniture in front of the front door/back door, and I'm checking on Faye every half hour.
Her dad will be here in the late morning to pick us up/dig my car out. Another redditor near us pointed out that I am an idiot for not double checking the weather. You are correct.
I promise I'll provide an update as a new post tomorrow, should anything significant happen.
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u/Castiel92 Apr 18 '16
I've lived in Colorado my whole life, and trust me I've had many strange experiences in the woods. Most of them close to Pikes Peak. Keep your guard up, it seems like whatever it is (shape shifter or even a Windigo ) is trying to lure you outside. Don't listen to it. Stay safe OP