The Drums

Happy Halloween my readers! Right now where I am, it's windy, dark, and late. Trick-or-treating is over, children are in bed, but the night is still young for those of us who are awake. The veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. So keep your jack-o-lanterns out to ward off any malevolent spirits. If they manage to get in your house, make sure you're wearing a costume so they don't recognize you. I thought since it's a dark, dreary night for All Hallows Eve, I'd tell you a spooky, true story my dad told me.

It's been years since I've heard this, and currently only my sister and I remember it, so bear with me if I've missed any details. It's a supernatural occurrence that happened to my dad when he was a kid. It's short, but it raises the hairs on my skin.

My dad grew up in San Francisco. If you know much about there, you know that they can have some crisp, cool weather. They have their infamous fog that sweeps over the rolling hills of the city. It's a beautiful area, at least in terms of terrain, and my dad told me a lot of stories from his time growing up there. One story always stuck out to me though. The story of the drums.

When my dad was younger, his family would go on hikes in the local parks and surrounding forest. One day, his family and him went on a hike. It was a normal day - cool and refreshing out. He described it as a day like any other. There weren't necessarily a lot of other people out, so it was a bit isolating. Other than that though, everyone was enjoying the fresh pine air, and subtle gusts of wind  glossing through the trees. They were getting pretty deep into their hike, when suddenly they heard a faint thumping sound.

"Thump, thump, thump," it went off in the distance. They were confused, but quickly figured out it sounded like a drum. It was like someone was hitting a powerful drum with a thick stick, over and over in a repetitive, steady pattern. It was odd, but they chalked it up to just an abnormal occurrence, and kept walking.

The sound stayed stable in the background for awhile, but it did start to get louder and louder as time went on. Eventually, my dad's family started wondering where this noise was coming from. The noise was gradually getting closer and closer to them, and their curiosity started to soar. Additionally, their fear started to peak up too. This was an odd sound, with no explanation, and my dad's family hadn't seen another person on their hike for awhile now.

The sound continued, "thump, thump, thump." Perhaps the most bizarre thing about this sound, my dad told me, was that it wasn't coming from one direction. It was surrounding them from every angle, with seemingly no origin.

"Thump, thump, thump" - the noise got louder. It all became more confusing.

The beat then started going faster. It was quickly gaining on them from all around.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump."

It got closer and closer, surrounding them. My dad said his heart was racing. He looked up and saw fear in his parents eyes. That's when he knew it was time to be scared, even his parents didn't understand was going on. They all started to run.

It didn't matter how fast they ran. The noise was closing in on them, from every angle. They kept running and running, trying to get away, but it stayed caught up with them. In fact, it was only getting louder.

"THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP."

My dad described it as being right on top of them. Even if they kept running, it kept following them, enclosing in on them. My dad was so afraid. The drums were hurting his ears and he didn't know where he could go, or what he could do to find safety.

Just when the whole family was at their limit for fear, and felt completely hopeless, it suddenly stopped.

My dad and his family were out of breath. They all looked at one another, wondering what had just happened, where the noise had gone, and if they were finally safe. They kept waiting for it to come back, their nervous expressions didn't fade for a long time. But the sound didn't come back. The noise stopped so abruptly, they started to wonder if they had just made it all up in their heads, or exaggerated how loud it was - how fearful it had made them. They went home, seemingly never talking about what had just occurred in the forest.

My dad spent many nights in the woods alone after that through his life. He went on and became a ranger, and hiked and camped a lot just on his own time too.  Whether it was from his work out in various forests, or a motorcycle road trip alone, he was always out in the woods by himself for one reason or another. However, he told us he never heard those drums again. He had no explanation for it. He knew he remembered it right. He was so young, but he could never forget the fear on his parents faces as the sound closed in on them from all sides. It was an phenomenon he never found an answer to, and something he wondered about his whole life.

So there you have it. Here's a simple story to help your skin crawl this All Hallows Eve. Stay safe tonight. And remember, there are things in this world that have no logical explanation. So be safe when the veil between the living and the dead is it's thinnest - sometimes you can't run away from something that's set on getting you. Have a happy Halloween.