re: scariest sounds you've ever heard in the woods at night?

I was a private security guard (armed) for a government contractor who needed someone to protect a range for clearing of 203 munitions -- both expended and duds (for reuse if at all possible).

Way out in the deep woods, my car battery died because it was literally the only source of light I had -- you don't know dark until you're a mile or five into the woods on a moonless night.

So it's getting on, and I figure I'm going to walk back to the highway to just get the frick out of there. It's maybe a 45 minute walk if you're at a brisk pace.

So, about halfway through the walk, I hear something massive moving about 25 feet away off to my side. I've got a pistol on my hip, so it's not so bad and I figure it's probably a coyote or maybe even a feral dog.

Then I hear a tree pretty much get broken in half, huge snap and I hear the distinct groans of a bear, and it was really fricking close.

So I just stopped moving, froze, then I hear another one down the road I just came from.



Yep, hearing two bears in the middle of a moonless night while I'm completely alone on a deserted road was probably the scariest thing I've ever heard in the woods.

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Dead silence.

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This is actually spot on for me. There's something about absolute silence in the middle of nowhere that is very eerie.

Yes, even as an adult, I still am kinda scared taking out the trash at night at my parents house when I go home to visit because they live in a heavily forested area and it's a long walk with no light. So many noises and you always feel like you're being watched. Heavy winds so shite is always shifting around. Branches falling and all of that shite.

Camping down in Florida when I was 10. Went to hit the head and when I returned, I heard a bear growling. I slowly edge back and edge towards our campsite. Only to realize it was someone snoring at another campsite. Kinda freaky.

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Yes, even as an adult, I still am kinda scared taking out the trash at night at my parents house when I go home to visit because they live in a heavily forested area and it's a long walk with no light. So many noises and you always feel like you're being watched. Heavy winds so shite is always shifting around. Branches falling and all o that shite.

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Back when we used to live out in the boonies with no neighbors within 3 or so miles, you would get used to hearing a lot of these critters. We would get foxes, owls, coyotes, bobcats etc. Scary if you didn't know what you were hearing.

The only ones that particularly bothered me out there were the coyotes, and there's a story behind that. We had a large molosser type dog (with at least a little wolf way back in line) named Yoyo to keep them away from our chickens. Frightful looking thing with a huge scar through one eye and bigger than any coyote. Sweet with the kids and chickens though. They stayed pretty well clear of our little 18 acres on the mountainside. When we were getting ready to move, poor Yoyo couldn't come to the burbs with us. We got rid of the chickens and sent him to someone that had a farm that needed guarding. Still took us about 8 months to sell the place.

Now, our driveway was a quarter mile long and on a steep slope. Taking trash out was a 20 minute chore. I liked to walk it. Nice and relaxing especially in winter after dark. Yoyo and my cat, Tippy, would accompany me on these trips to the road. I missed the company Yoyo provided, but Tippy and I still made the walks.

One night, I was on my way back up when an ambulance passed by a few miles off in the distance. The woods lit up like I have never heard before. Must have been dozens of the things within a few hundred yard of me. That was a long walk back up the hill with only the moon to keep me company (Tippy had at this point bolted).

I still made the trip on foot for the last few months we lived there, but with a loaded shotgun and a neoprene forearm band holding 6 double aught shells.

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#WhitePeopleProblems

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I went to high school with a black kid that coon hunted and wore Wranglers and a John Deere trucker cap at all times. He was an interesting kid, that's for sure, and probably one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of knowing. Definitely marched by his own drum beat.

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I believe it. Hell, I'm a NASCAR fan and wear cowboy hats/boots regularly

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My man.. You're a cool dude Tbird.

Quiet night in the woods a simple rustling of the leaves will make me think the worst.