VIDEO : 7 Why I'm afraid of trees

 So I live in a fairly heavily wooded area of Alberta,Canada. My job is about a twenty minute drive from the flat I live in,through a small forest. The forest is fairly dense and comprised of mostly conifer trees. I leave my job at about 6.00 Pm every day,so during the winter it's dark when I drive back. I usually don't mind,though,the road is peaceful and I find it relaxing.

It was January 11 when this story happened. I remember the date because my boss had promised me a promotion on that day,but when I arrived I discovered that she had instead given it to my co worker. So I was pretty pissed when I drove home. I was driving slowly so I wouldn't get into an accident from distraction due to my anger. When I'm angry,I like to look at the forest as I drive. It soothes me and calms me down. Something about the unwavering strength of the tress.

Anyways,I was just driving along the road,looking at the trees. They seemed darker than normal,and the forest was dead quiet,which is pretty unusual. Animals are everywhere where I live. I've seen moose,mountain goats,and tons of elk and deer. The number of nights I see animals outnumbers the nights I don't by a ratio of about 15:1. There's usually at least one animal sound at this time of night. However, I didn't think too much of it because I was pre occupied with my anger.

As I was driving, I noticed a tree that I had never noticed before. I must have driven along this road a thousand times,so I was pretty familiar with the landscape. But I swear to god, I'd never seen this tree before. It stuck out to me in a way that's difficult to describe. It wasn't that much taller than the other trees,but there was something about its branches,and about its bark. It just seemed more...dead. If that makes sense. In a million ways it was no different than any if the other trees that surrounded it,but it still stuck out.

I hadn't realized that I had stopped my car to look at the tree. A little bit unnerved,I pressed on the gas and drove off. I went along,expecting nothing more to happen.

But as I rounded the next corner,there it was again. I slammed on the brakes. How the hell could the same tree be in two different places? Because this was definitely the same tree. Now completely unnerved, I drove off. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.

I rounded the third corner at a snails pace and with the eye closest to the side the tree had appeared on both times screwed shut. When I thought I was safe, I opened the eye and let my car speed up,only to slam on the brakes again. . Because there the tree was. Only it wasn't in the forest. It was right in the middle road. Right in the fucking road. I'm not religious,but at that point I think I remember asking God what the hell I had done to deserve this. My head hurt. Maybe I was hallucinating.

I screwed my eyes shut again, hoping that when I opened them the tree would be gone. I counted 10,20,30 seconds,then cautiously opened them a crack.

I screamed in shock. Screamed until I thought my vocal cords would snap. The tree was right in front of my car. I desperately hoped that someone,anyone would come. The tree wasn't 20 feet away anymore,but close enough so it's branches were brushing my windshield. Up close, it looked even creepier. I thought I could see faces in its bark. Twisted,cruel faces. God, I was terrified. I was shaking and crying by now,but I didn't dare take my eyes off it. I wasn't sure how this thing worked, but I did know that whenever I wasn't looking at it it seemed to move.

I don't know how long I sat there in my car with that goddamn tree outside before I decided to do something. I couldn't just sit there forever. The only thing I could think of was to drive around it,and so that's what I did. I slammed the accelerator pedal and swerved around the tree.

I got about half way to the next corner before I noticed something was off. There was an odd tapping noise coming from the back of my car. I tried to pass it off as my imagination at first,and only pressed harder on the gas. But it got louder and harder and harder to ignore. I risked a glance towards the back windshield.

What I saw still haunts me today. Thick branches were wrapped around the trunk and back windows of my car. The tapping noise was coming from what I can only describe as fingers. Long,thin fingers attached to the branches. I could now definitely see a face among the brittle leaves and grey bark. It leered at me and the wood rearranged to form a grin.

I must have blacked out after that. I woke up in a hospital,and was told that I was found in a ditch in the side of the road in serious condition. No wood or tree had been found in or near the car. To this day, I still don't have an explanation for what happened.

        Something in the woods called back to me

Alright, here it goes. I've never posted here before, but what happened to me last weekend still has me rattled. I need to get it off my chest, and maybe, just maybe, someone here can help me make sense of it.

I live in a small town in Montana, nestled in the Rockies. My house is just a few miles from a vast expanse of national forest land. It’s beautiful, sure, but it can be incredibly isolating. That isolation is part of why I love it, but after what happened, it’s also why I’m terrified.

Last Saturday, I decided to take a late afternoon hike. There's a trail I frequent, one that winds up to a small clearing overlooking the valley. I brought my dog, Max, a German Shepherd who’s never been spooked by anything in his life. We set off around 3 PM, figuring we'd be back before sunset.

The hike up was uneventful. The forest was serene, and the only sounds were the rustling of leaves and the occasional chirping of birds. Max was his usual self, darting ahead and then circling back to me. It was perfect, exactly why I moved out here.

When we reached the clearing, I sat down on a fallen log to catch my breath and enjoy the view. Max was sniffing around, but after a few minutes, he froze. He was staring at the tree line on the opposite side of the clearing, his ears perked up and his body tense.

"What's up, boy?" I asked, trying to see what he was looking at.

That's when I noticed it. At first, it was just a shadow moving between the trees. I squinted, thinking maybe it was a deer or something. But then it stepped out into the clearing.

It looked like a person, but not quite. It was tall and gaunt, with limbs that seemed too long for its body. Its skin was pale, almost grayish, and its eyes... its eyes were completely black.

Max started growling, a low, menacing sound that I'd never heard from him before. The figure took a step forward, and that's when I noticed it was mimicking my movements from earlier, almost like it was replaying a tape of me walking. Then it spoke.

"Max... what's up, boy?"

The voice was mine. Exactly mine. I felt a chill run down my spine, and Max started barking furiously. The figure stopped, tilted its head, and then turned around, disappearing back into the trees.

I didn’t stick around to see if it would come back. I grabbed Max by the collar and practically ran down the trail. It was getting dark, and every sound made me jump. Max kept looking back, growling intermittently.

We made it home just as the last light was fading. I locked all the doors and windows, something I rarely do out here. I tried to calm myself down, rationalizing that maybe it was just some sort of trick of the light, or maybe another hiker messing with me. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t it.

That night, I couldn't sleep. Every creak of the house made me jump, and Max was restless, pacing around the living room. Around 2 AM, just as I was starting to doze off, I heard it.

"Max... what's up, boy?"

It was faint, almost like a whisper, but it was definitely my voice. It was coming from outside, near the tree line.

I didn’t sleep at all after that. When the sun finally came up, I took Max and drove into town. I needed to be around people, somewhere that didn’t feel so exposed. I told my friend Jake about it, and he just laughed, saying I’d been out in the woods too long.

Maybe he’s right. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But I can’t shake the feeling that something out there saw me, remembered me, and called back in my own voice.

I haven’t been back to that trail since. Every time I think about going for a hike, I hear that voice again, and I can’t bring myself to leave the house. I don’t know what I saw, but I’m sure of one thing: it saw me too.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? I need to know I’m not losing my mind.