Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries - 72: Backwoods Horror: Creepy Encounters, Cryptids, and more // Dark Summer Series

Episode Date: June 27, 2024

Three tales of horror from the backwoods Be sure to subscribe to Heart Starts Pounding on Youtube! This episode is sponsored by Fum, the award-winning flavored air device. For a limited time, use my... code HEART to get a free gift with your Journey Pack! Head to tryfum.com This episode is also brought to you by Quince. Pack your bags with high-quality essentials from with Quince! Go to Quince dot com slash hsp for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. This episode is also sponsored by Better Help. Take a moment. Visit BetterHelp.com/staycurious today to get 10% off your first month. Lopaka Kapanui night marcher tours Subscribe on Patreon for bonus content and to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society. Patrons have access to ad-free listening and bonus content. And members of our High Council on Patreon have access to our after-show called Footnotes. Apple subscriptions are now live! Get access to ad-free episodes and bonus episodes when you subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror. We have a newsletter now! Be sure to sign up for updates and more.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 It's nighttime in Honolulu, and you're sitting on the beach under a waning crescent moon. In front of you, waves crash on the shore, and behind you sits a campsite that you and your friends just put the finishing touches on, nestled in some trees. It's so peaceful. You and your friends sit in the sand, sipping beverages around a campfire, sharing memories. When all of a sudden, you hear something in the distance. It catches you off guard, and your friends laugh when you flinch. You look around to see who made the sound at the campsite, But you notice that there's no one camped here besides
Starting point is 00:00:45 you three. And what little you can see in the dim light of the crescent moon just underscores how alone you are. In between the trees behind you is just empty blackness. And then you hear it again. again. This time closer. One of your friends tells the rest to stop messing around but how could it be any of you? It sounds like it's coming from the other end of the beach but when you look down there it doesn't seem like anyone is on the beach with you. Then it's silent. The horn doesn't sound again after that. You start to think, maybe it was all in your mind. Or maybe it was a ship in the distance, invisible in the thick cover of night. The three of you laugh it off. What's that? The sound of pulsing drums start in the distance, first quiet and then growing louder. The horn blasts again.
Starting point is 00:01:53 And now you can hear people chanting. This time, when you look, you notice little lights at the other end of the beach, about a dozen of them, bobbing up and down in a line as if they're being held by soldiers marching. Before you can even make sense of what you're seeing, someone grabs you by the shoulder. Get down! Someone has appeared from out of nowhere,
Starting point is 00:02:18 and they're trying to get you on the ground. They lay down on their stomach and close their eyes. What's happening? You scream. The lights in the distance are getting closer. The drumming is getting louder. Those are night marchers. The stranger screams at you. They're the army of the undead. Close your eyes. You and your friends get to the ground. The lights are so close you can almost make out the shapes of the people holding them. Whatever you do, the stranger pleads with you, holding their eyes closed tightly.
Starting point is 00:02:48 Don't look at them. You can't look at them. You close your eyes and hold your head to the ground just as the first few footsteps of the undead pass you. It's that feeling. When the energy in the room shifts. When the air gets sucked out of a moment. And everything starts to feel wrong. It's the instinct between fight or flight.
Starting point is 00:03:20 When your brain is trying to make sense of what it's seeing. It's when your heart starts pounding. Welcome to Heart Starts Pounding, a podcast of horrors, hauntings, and mysteries. I'm your host, Kaila Moore. This is our third installment of Dark Summer, and I'm taking you deep into the woods with me. We're talking about terrifying encounters people have had while camping.
Starting point is 00:03:46 So even if it's winter for you, which I know it is for all of my Australian listeners and everyone else down south, I want you to gather around the campfire, make yourself a s'more, and whatever you do, don't look at the tree line. But before we dive in, we're taking a bit of a summer break
Starting point is 00:04:03 and we'll be off for the next two weeks. But don't worry, if you want more content, I just uploaded this month's bonus episode on Ouija Board Horror to Patreon and Apple Podcast subscriptions. So if you've been looking for the time to subscribe and binge listen to the back catalog and archives, this is it. You can get a free trial on Apple subs and I'm adding a free trial to the $5 Patreon tier as well if you want to check that out. I'll also still be uploading videos to YouTube. If you haven't subscribed over on YouTube yet, I have a new show called The Attic where each week I talk about what the internet is darkly curious about.
Starting point is 00:04:41 Last week I talked about the theme park ride in Oregon that recently got stuck upside down full of people for 30 minutes. Come scream with me about that. I'll put a link in the show description. Okay we're gonna take a quick break and when we get back I'm gonna tell you about the terrifying ghostly presence that lurks in Hawaii. This episode is brought to you by Fume. What have I talked about often on this show? That some things that used to be popular were actually bad for us. I can think of at least one habit that some people still have that isn't that great for
Starting point is 00:05:20 us if you catch my drift. What if I were to tell you that there's a better alternative that helps you kick your bad habit in an enjoyable way so we can leave those bad habits in the past where they belong? Fume is an award-winning flavored air device. What does that mean? Well, they describe it like this. If the flavor of a vapor is like soda, fume cores are closer to herbal teas, and that fits with my experience, and also I love herbal teas. You can pick from flavors like orange vanilla
Starting point is 00:05:52 and my personal favorite, crisp mint. With flavored air, you can satisfy your oral fixation through a passive diffusion system that utilizes no electronics, vapor, or combustion. I have one that I keep next to me while I write these episodes, and it gives me something to fidget with while I think, and it's easy for me to throw in my bag and bring with me wherever I go. Fume has served over 300,000 customers, and you can be their next success story.
Starting point is 00:06:19 For a limited time, use my code HEART to get a free gift with your journey pack. Head to tryfume.com, that's try f u m dot com, and use code HEART to get a free gift with your order today. Locals in Hawaii know exactly what to do if they hear drums in the distance that have no source. Just ask Lopaka Kapanui. Lopaka has spent his life dedicated to collecting stories of people who have had similar experiences to what I described at the beginning of the episode. He says the islands are alive with spirits, both benevolent and malicious, and it's Hawaiian tradition to pass these stories along by word of mouth as a warning to others. Hawaiian tradition to pass these stories along by word of mouth as a warning to others. But one of the most terrifying spirits you can run into is that of the marching army
Starting point is 00:07:12 of the dead. Stories of their ghostly encounters have spread around the island for generations, Lopaka says. These stories have stayed preserved for hundreds of years, long after western influence made its way to the land. The marching dead have always been in Hawaii, and they always will be. But they have a name. Night Marchers.
Starting point is 00:07:36 Night marchers are the spirits of fallen Hawaiian soldiers who have been allowed to come back to Earth on certain nights. Usually it's under the waning crescent moon, the moon phase that casts the least amount of shadows. You'll know they're coming because you'll hear the sounds of banging drums, chanting, shell horns blowing, and notably you'll see the flames of torches barreling towards you faster than any man can walk. Their presence causes fear, dread, and even death. If they see you, you could be the next to join their army.
Starting point is 00:08:16 So whatever you do, you must not look at them. The best way to save yourself is to lie down, close your eyes, and be quiet as the undead march past you. It's sometimes even suggested that you get naked to show your humility and that you're not the enemy. You'll look like a madman to them and they'll take pity on you. But if they do see you, the only thing you can do is pray. Those with ancestors in the army can be spared if they call upon them.
Starting point is 00:08:49 So basically, if you're not a local with hundreds of years of genealogy on the island, you're done for. Malia Collins grew up in Hawaii, and she learned her mother's superstitions about the island the way that some kids learn nursery rhymes. They were repeated to her early and often. No whistling at night, don't sleep with your feet towards the window or doorway, don't look outside once it's dark, never step over a body on the floor, don't cut your hair and if you do cut your hair, save it.
Starting point is 00:09:25 But most importantly, she learned about the Night Marchers. One day, her aunt pointed to the mountains behind her house. Up on that hill, there used to be a path the warriors would take into battle. It comes down the mountain and leads directly through this house. Young Malia stared at her aunt in horror. They come straight through here? Yes, when your cousin was just a baby, one night the army walked through the house. The first warrior in line took her out of her crib, and the last one put her back in.
Starting point is 00:10:00 And then her aunt repeated the warning. If they see you looking, you're the next one dead. But what's scary to children is usually not as scary to adults. Decades passed and Malia grew up. She got married and she had children of her own. She spent time away from Hawaii. And perhaps the night marchers stopped seeming so scary. Like when you think there's a monster under your bed as a child and eventually grow to know that's not possible. Or perhaps you
Starting point is 00:10:31 just forgot about them altogether. Regardless, in 2017, Malia decided to hike with her husband Josh 10 miles from Waipio Valley to Waimanu Valley. The hike is gorgeous. Big flat top hills covered in dark green foliage roll for miles to one side, and on the other are bluffs that lead down to the ocean. When a storm comes in, the dark cloud cover touches the top of the hills. Malia and her husband walked up to the trailhead where they saw a wooden sign that had a confusing and ominous warning written on it. It read, don't fall off cliff. Caution. Menehune. No stair. Dead-end trail. Wild pigs next eight miles, plenty sharks, strong current, they're watching. Good luck! Menehune, by the way, is a race of small people said to inhabit the island
Starting point is 00:11:33 far away from civilization. The two looked at each other and braced themselves. They should be able to do the hike in one day, and if they really needed to, they had tents on them to set up a campsite and rest. And so, together they stepped into the jungle, passing the sign as they went. The first part of the hike was really intense. As they walked in, they could see storm clouds in the distance. A few people walked back to their cars and passed the couple, but as Malia and Josh walked further into the jungle, they started feeling like they weren't going to see anyone else. There were no ocean views during this part, just a thick canopy that blocked out the sky
Starting point is 00:12:20 so much parts of the jungle looked like it was the dead of night. Thick air and switchbacks were making it nearly impossible for Malia to catch her breath. And she thought back to what her mother had told her about the trip. Don't go any place you're not supposed to go, her mother told her with wide, panicky eyes. But her mother was superstitious. Malia had written off her warning as paranoia. There was something about the hike though that did make her wonder if there was something to her mother's superstitions. There was almost something oppressive in the air, and it wasn't
Starting point is 00:13:02 just the humidity. Every few yards, she noticed little sand mounds piled up with crosses on them. Some of them read, Keep out Hawaiian graves in the native language. At one point, she fell quite a bit behind Josh, so she called out for him. She swore he answered, though it didn't sound like his voice. His response seemed to come from deep in the trees and was almost unrecognizable. She didn't have time to think about that though, because just then a man was coming their way down the trail. Turn back! He shouted to them as he approached. the trail. Turn back! he shouted to them as he approached.
Starting point is 00:13:45 It's getting dark, you're only halfway to Waimanu. You'll get stuck on this trail in the dark, you really don't want to do that. But Malia wasn't about to just turn back. She struggled to make it this far, and turning around now would be just as treacherous as continuing. They'd just set up camp once they got to the beach and finished the hike the next day. They thanked the man for his concerns,
Starting point is 00:14:10 but they kept going anyways. Night was coming fast though. The man was right about that. The couple was probably not going to make it all the way tonight, and they were going to have to stop. Eventually, they saw the black rocks that meant the ocean was near, and eager for rest, the two set up camp on a sandy beach.
Starting point is 00:14:33 By 9 p.m., they were both laying down in their tent. What was that man so worried about? Turn back. Lying there in their tent on the beach, it was so peaceful. The clouds had separated and the stars were out, a gentle wind was blowing. Before she could even finish that thought, Malia was asleep. Sometime in the night, something awoke her. Waves gently crashed in the distance, sloshing around debris that made its way into the ocean after days of rain.
Starting point is 00:15:14 She opened her eyes, but couldn't really see anything. The waning crescent moon didn't offer much light. Then in the corner of her tent there was a strange orange glow. It took her a second to realize that it was coming from outside the tent and then she heard it. The orange glow started getting brighter as torches made their way down the path, she and her husband traversed towards their tent. A conch blew in the distance. And she thought back to what her aunt told her. If you hear the night marchers, keep quiet. Put your head down and pretend you're dead. If they see you, they'll take you with them. And so that's what she did. She
Starting point is 00:16:03 squeezed her eyelids together as to not catch even a single glimpse of the marchers. And so that's what she did. She squeezed her eyelids together as to not catch even a single glimpse of the marchers, and she put her head down as they got closer and braced herself. Soon, bodies were brushing against her tent as the undead marchers walked by, their drums pulsing in the night. They were so close they could almost reach down and just grab her. It was only the thin fabric of the tent that separated her from the Warriors. Malia tried to count to calm herself but each time she counted a full minute the marching didn't show any sign of slowing down. Don't move, don't move, don't move she said over and over in her head willing her body to stay perfectly still. Plus she didn't want to wake't move, don't move, she said over and over in her head, willing her
Starting point is 00:16:45 body to stay perfectly still. Plus, she didn't want to wake Josh. He didn't know about night marchers. What if she woke him up and he looked at them? The marching started to die down, but not because the warriors had passed. She could tell that now the undead children in the line of marchers were passing her. Their little feet made softer footsteps than the full grown warriors. After a few minutes, the drums faded away in the distance and she lifted her head. Way down at the end of the beach, she could see the line of their torches split in two. Half of the warriors walked towards the ocean and the other half walked up into the mountains. Eventually the torches faded
Starting point is 00:17:29 away and they were gone. The next morning as she and Josh were taking down the tent she looked at the sand. It looked even smoother than when they had come in for the night. There were no signs of footprints or any disturbances at all. The beach looked pristine. She figured it would be best to not tell Josh what had happened. Not because she thought she would sound crazy, but because she heard that when you talk about spirits in Hawaii, they can hear you. And maybe it was best she kept this one to herself.
Starting point is 00:18:07 Throughout the rest of their hike, Malia got an overwhelming sense that she was not wanted in the jungle. When she tried to take the lead, they kept winding up in the same place, as if the jungle wasn't allowing her out. Eventually, Josh had to take the reins and slowly guide them back to safety.
Starting point is 00:18:25 When Malia eventually made it home, she told her mother about the hike. Not about the night marchers, though, but just about how difficult it was for her to navigate out of the deep forest. Her mother's eyes went wide. The voice she heard, her mother said, was a mimic, pretending to be her husband, trying to call her into the forest. Malia wondered if the Nightmarchers arrived to fulfill the forest's desires and take her with them. She's lucky that she'll never know. More after the break. This episode is brought to you by Quince. So it's officially vacation season.
Starting point is 00:19:11 I don't have one scheduled, but I do have some friends' weddings to go to, so I'm pretending like those are vacations so I can get new travel outfits. Enter Quince, my go-to for high quality vacation and vacation-ish essentials. Quince has everything I need. European linen dresses, blouses, and shorts from just $30. They even have swimsuits, luggage, and sunglasses to complete the packing checklist. I mean, yes, I'm going to a wedding in New England, but I can pretend it's a trip to Europe.
Starting point is 00:19:42 Which is why I've been browsing the vacation shop on their website looking at European Lennon Square Neck Tanks and the European Lennon Wide Leg Pants. And of course, they have summer sweaters, which are like my favorite thing ever and actually will be good to have for the weddings. I love having a light sweater on me for when it cools down at night. Last year, I used one of their cashmere sweaters for that. And probably my favorite part of all of this, Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. I love that. Pack your bags with high quality essentials from Quince. Go to quince.com slash hsp for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns that's q u i n c e dot com slash hsp to get free shipping and 365 day returns quince.com slash hsp
Starting point is 00:20:40 one of the most terrifying things you can encounter while out in the woods is a big angry animal. Well, outside of night marchers, apparently. Back in Connecticut, each summer I would work at a nature day camp in my town, where kids preschool through fifth grade would come in and learn about frogs or whatever they made me, an ill-informed 16 year old, teach them. Camp started around 9 a.m. but we had a program for kids who came early. It was called, One Teenager Watches All the Kids That Get Dropped Off Early. It was super legit, as you can tell. One morning, my friend was monitoring the early
Starting point is 00:21:20 arrivers who were catching frogs down by a small pond, when out of the woods next to her walks a bear. She froze, about 20 yards away from where the kids were squatting at the edge of the water, and watched as a 200-pound black bear slowly trod between her and the children. Luckily, none of the kids saw saw but who knows what a five-year old would have done. Bears, though terrifying, have somewhat predictable behavior especially in the summer when they are well fed and in their element. They rarely randomly attack and as long as you're not bothering it, it won't bother you. But what happens if you encounter something in the woods
Starting point is 00:22:05 that's unlike any creature you've ever seen? One that doesn't have predictable behavior. What are you supposed to do then? This next story comes from a camping trip that a boy will call Ian went on. It was July of 2007 in northwest Wisconsin. The days were long, school was out, and Rihanna's umbrella was the most played song on the radio. Ian was 17 years old and headed up to a cabin that his family owned in the woods. He spent every summer there growing up so he knew things about those woods. Like the fact that you should stay in your cabin at night, or at least by a large fire if you were going to be out. The woods were filled with all sorts of creatures. Cougars, wolves, bears. You didn't want to be outside when they could see you, but you couldn't see them.
Starting point is 00:23:05 And they could see you, but you couldn't see them. But there was another reason that he didn't love being out in the area at night. There were times where his family would go down to the beach to have a bonfire, where the tree line of the dark woods was visible. And he always felt like they were being watched from a distance. The deep, dark woods had a sort of omniscient feel to them. Some nights, when the fire was just about out, he and his younger cousin would hold their breaths as they dumped water on the fire
Starting point is 00:23:36 and then took off running back to the cabin. It was said that if you were the slowest, you could feel the darkness of the woods nipping at your heels, preparing to swallow you whole. One day in July, when the sun was out and the woods felt safer, Ann's cousin asked if he wanted to play with their airsoft rifles in the woods. It was the early afternoon when they dressed up in full camo and ran off the front porch into the forest
Starting point is 00:24:11 they crept up a hiking trail rifles clutched to their chests when they came upon a clearing Ian knew exactly what to say to scare his cousin so he put his fingers to his lips making a shushing sound for being watched. His cousin went dead silent, scared that something was in the forest with them. Ian was trying not to laugh, his cousin looked like he was going to pee himself. But it was then he noticed that the woods went eerily silent, as if someone had turned down the volume, as if all the birds had vacated the trees and the bugs had gone into hiding. A chill went through Ian's whole body. He was just joking, but now something did not feel right. He turned to say something to his cousin, but saw that his cousin's expression was
Starting point is 00:25:00 that of a silent scream. His eyes were locked on something across the clearing. Ian followed his gaze, and when he saw what his cousin was looking at, he felt ice run through his veins. It looked like a wolf, crouched by a tree, but the biggest wolf he had ever seen. crouched by a tree, but the biggest wolf he had ever seen. It was close to the size of a bear and must have been 300 pounds or so. It was panting heavily and staring right at Ian's cousin. But what was even more concerning about this creature was how it was positioned.
Starting point is 00:25:39 It wasn't on all fours like other wolves, but instead on its two hind legs, towering almost seven feet tall, it had one arm outstretched holding onto a tree beside it. Instead of paws, it looked like it had clawed hands. The way it was standing made it look more human than animal. Ian grabbed his cousin, we have to go. And the two took off running, but so did the wolf. First running on its hind legs and then moving to all fours to pick up speed.
Starting point is 00:26:17 The boys bounded through the woods with the creature right on their heels. It was the same feeling they got when the darkness closed in on them as they ran home from the bonfires. But once they reached the clearing where their cabin was, it was gone. Ian never saw the creature again after that, and he didn't know what to make of it. To this day, he and his cousin wonder if they had some sort of shared delusion. It sounds fantastical, right?
Starting point is 00:26:49 A wolf-human hybrid that lurks in the woods of Wisconsin? But what if I told you that there are multiple reports of this creature from over the years? All independent of each other. Many are from campers and hikers who never even heard of the creature before and couldn't make sense of what they saw. Linda Godfrey was a journalist for the now-defunct Wisconsin newspaper, The Week,
Starting point is 00:27:16 when she was assigned to write a profile on locals' experience with this creature. It was an otherwise slow news week and the paper needed some filler. She put out a call for anyone with stories to come forward and she was shocked at how many people had seen this same creature Ian described. People who felt crazy, who had tried to tell loved ones and friends about it but were ultimately laughed at. It made her a believer, and the creature was nicknamed the Beast of Bray Road. Over the years though, it's earned a more obvious title.
Starting point is 00:27:53 Dog Man. Dog Man sightings still happen to this day, though it can be hard to find convincing photo or video evidence of him. He's said to still stalk the backwoods of Wisconsin, but he's been seen in other places around the country as well, suggesting there's not just one dog man, but a whole species of them. So if you ever find yourself out in the backwoods this summer and you feel like the woods are watching you. You better watch your back. Our final story after the break.
Starting point is 00:28:30 This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. This year has gone by really, really fast. I set all of these goals for 2024 and now that we're halfway through, I think I hit some of them. It's really important to celebrate wins even if they're little. It's just not something I always do a great job with. The truth is, I struggle with anxiety. It's something I've struggled with my whole life. And when you have anxiety, it can be really hard to feel like
Starting point is 00:28:56 you've actually achieved anything. I feel like anytime something good happens, I think, oh, well, something bad is going to happen next. So instead of celebrating the good thing, I just brace for the bad thing. Therapy has really helped me with my anxiety though. I honestly don't think I'd be able to function if I didn't work with a therapist when I was 17.
Starting point is 00:29:15 They taught me how to slow down and get out of my head a little bit. If therapy is something you've been curious about starting, consider giving BetterHelp a try. It's all online so you can do it from the comfort of your home and around your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire and get matched with a licensed therapist.
Starting point is 00:29:33 And if you're not feeling who you got matched with, you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. Take a moment. Visit betterhelp.com slash stay curious today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash stay curious. There's a viral question being posed to everyone on the internet over the last few weeks. Would you rather be left alone in the woods with a bear or a man?
Starting point is 00:30:04 Responses to this question have been passionate, to say the least. But I think at the heart of this question is the idea of how terrifying it would be to encounter someone out in the woods whose intentions you don't know. You pretty much know what a bear's intentions are, but people are different. This last story comes from someone I'll call Ben. Back in 2014 in East Texas, Ben was assigned a big project at work due the following Monday. He knew he was going to have to spend a lot of time over the weekend focusing on the project, and he wasn't going to be able to do that in his tiny apartment. Luckily, his grandparents owned a cabin deep in the Big Thicket, a heavily forested area in East Texas. It was the perfect place to
Starting point is 00:30:58 just disappear into the woods. No distractions, no neighbors for miles. He'd be able to crank out the work he needed to do and take some nice naturey walks to clear his head. So he called up his grandpa to ask if he could stay in the cabin that weekend. And prefer you didn't go by yourself, his granddad said. He was a worrier. There were just so many places to get hurt in the woods. It was always good to have a buddy. But Ben reminded his granddad that he was 24 now and he had basically grown up hiking in the area. He knew the area as well as anyone. And he was really just gonna be head-down riding all weekend anyways. His grandfather finally agreed that Ben could go by himself, but not
Starting point is 00:31:46 before he asked one last question. You know where I keep old Henry, right? Old Henry, of course, was his granddad's rifle. A 30-30 Henry repeater, to be exact. It was mostly used for shooting whitetails, but you never knew if something bigger would come along and you'd need protection. Yeah, I know where it is," Ben replied. Honestly, that kind of freaked him out though. His granddad never really talked about having guns out in the cabin. Maybe it was this acknowledgement that he might need it that spooked him, but he still
Starting point is 00:32:22 figured he'd be fine. The next day, Ben left the office around 4.30 and headed out. Getting out of Houston was a nightmare, but things died down once he got out into the woods. It got quieter, more still. Ben pulled up to the cabin around 7 p.m. All the lights on the porch and inside were off. He was thankful there was a little bit of daylight left as he drove up. As he unloaded his things and brought them inside, he thought about writing that night, but decided to take a walk first before it got too dark.
Starting point is 00:33:01 There was a three-mile loop that went around the property that would be a perfect way to clear his head before he got started, he thought. He had grown up walking the trail. Really, no one but his family walked that trail, so it did get overgrown quite often, which sometimes got a little dicey when you were hiking. He grabbed a flashlight just in case it got too dark on his way back, and he walked out of the house. And as he walked out of the house, he thought about old Henry. He could grab it, just in case.
Starting point is 00:33:33 Wouldn't hurt. But before he could turn all the way around, he saw a five-foot-tall walking stick in the corner. Eh, that's basically the same thing, he thought, and he grabbed it. There was no moon that night. And slowly the Milky Way revealed itself, blanketing the night sky. It was gorgeous. He really didn't see anything like that in the city, he thought to himself. It was finally dark enough for him to turn his flashlight on. And when he did, dark enough for him to turn his flashlight on. And when he did, he saw just how overgrown part of the trail had become. Branches and vines made it nearly impossible for Ben to pass.
Starting point is 00:34:13 He walked up to the impasse and shown his flashlight through it just to see how bad it was. When he saw something on the other side, it looked like there was a pile of clothes laying in the path just beyond the thick side. It looked like there was a pile of clothes laying in the path, just beyond the thicket. He squinted to get a better view and shone the light directly on the clothes when they twitched. Next thing he knew, the clothes were off the ground and whoever they were attached to was sprinting off deeper into the woods in the direction of the cabin.
Starting point is 00:34:47 Ben's heart nearly dropped out of his body and adrenaline rushed through his veins. He should have brought old Henry. What was he thinking? If anything were to happen out here, no one would know until Monday. He reached for his phone, but his pocket was empty. All of his pockets were empty, actually. The phone was by his bag, back in the cabin. Shoot. He took off back in the direction of the cabin. As long as he could get back there quickly, he would probably be fine.
Starting point is 00:35:19 But as he approached, his expression dropped. The front door was ajar. Did he leave it open? No, there's no way. He tiptoed up the porch, trying to reason with himself in his head. But perhaps knowing the truth in his gut, slowly he pushed the door the rest of the way open. And that's when he heard it. A loud shriek came from inside the house near the living room. Every nerve in Ben's body was on fire as he ran through the house and upstairs. He wasn't even thinking, he just knew he had to get to his phone.
Starting point is 00:36:03 Once inside the bedroom, he locked himself in the room and then again in the bathroom and called 911. The shrieking continued downstairs. Ben barely made any sense as he tried to describe what was happening to the 911 operator. Who was in the house? What if they had old Henry? He should have grabbed it on the way out. Why didn't he grab it? Finally, around 20 minutes later, he hears, Police! Come out! From downstairs. He unlocked the bathroom and ran out, only to hear another officer yell for someone to get an ambulance. What was happening? Ben opened the bedroom door to peek out into the hall, and an officer was there with his gun drawn on him.
Starting point is 00:36:47 On the ground, he shouted, and Ben obliged, not sure what else to do. Still confused as to what was going on, the officer was on him, handcuffing him. He brought Ben downstairs where he finally saw what was happening. In the middle of the living room, laying on the floor in the clothes he had been wearing in the woods was a man. A pool of blood lying under his head. Ben was pulled out of the house and brought to the car for questioning. house and brought to the car for questioning. To this day, Ben doesn't know who the man was, or even what happened to him. Eventually, officers cleared Ben of any wrongdoing and explained the situation a bit more. They claimed that neighbors down the road had reported seeing a man in the area acting
Starting point is 00:37:43 erratically. He must have been suffering from some mental illness and ran into Ben's house. From there, they didn't really know what happened. Maybe he just slipped and fell? That explanation though didn't do much to make Ben and his grandfather feel any better. What if the man had been running from something and ran into the cabin for safety? And what if the thing he was running from finally caught up with him there? Needless to say, that was the last time that Ben ever went to his grandfather's cabin alone. As you pack up your camping equipment this summer to go on a backwoods adventure, mother's cabin alone.
Starting point is 00:38:25 As you pack up your camping equipment this summer to go on a backwoods adventure, remember what you've heard here today. And if you'd like more creepy stories of Dogman, be sure to join me over on the High Council tier of Patreon where I'll be sharing more encounters and some video evidence of Dogman with Producer Matt. One thing I wanted to mention before we're done is that if you're interested in tales of night marchers and you're able to go to Hawaii,
Starting point is 00:38:52 Lopaka Kapanui actually does night marcher tours. I'll include a link in the description, but I am adding that to my horror bucket list immediately. So this summer, if you do come into contact with something unexpected in the woods you better tell me about it afterwards. I'm serious. www.heartsartspounding.com there's a form there fill it out send it to me I cannot wait to hear your stories. Heart Starts Pounding is written and produced by me,
Starting point is 00:39:23 Kailin Moore. Heart Starts Pounding is also produced by Matt Brown. Additional research by Marissa Dow. Sound design and mix by Peachtree Sound. Special thanks to Travis Dunlap, Grayson Jernigan, the team at WME, and Ben Jaffe. Have a heart pounding story or a case request? Check out heartstartspounding.com. Until next time, stay curious.

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