Scary Story To Tell In The Dark

Happy Friday! I had planned for this upcoming blog to be of a garden I went to. It's a beautiful area with flowers spread out in almost every part of it. Along with fountains, crystal blue water, and some dazzling statues. I figured it would be a nice light and charming change compared to my usual posts. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted all the photos off of my camera. I went to the gardens to take some new photos, but they were closing right as I arrived and I couldn't finish. That blog will come out though.

The same night, I felt defeated for not getting new photos, and my dog was getting restless. My husband and I decided to take her to the dog park even though it was dark out. What I found in the darkness was a hiking trail that looked much more mysterious without daylight shining itself into it. I took some photos in the forest while going through this path. It was an eerie experience, and I fully expected Slender Man to jump out at me. Yet, there's also something mystical about the woods at night. It's has a enchanting, mystifying mood to it. So I figured with the post, you could take a walk with me through these shadowy woods, and I'll tell you a scary story. The scariest experience I've gone through to be frank. On a rainy, stormy night such as this, I think it's the perfect time to tell it.

When I was a young child, about six or seven, I played outside alone a lot. I sometimes just played with chalk, or rode my scooter around, but most times I'd sit in my backyard around the wild dandelions and just dream. It was just a normal day like that.

Where I grew up, it was about sixty degrees year round. Most days had thick fog all day, or rain, and it was almost always windy. I love that weather to this day. I remember on that particular day I was annoyed because it was sunny. Nonetheless, I still went outside and tried to enjoy the day.

I lived in a house with a big lot. I'd say about half an acre. My parents had a tent trailer parked in the back, and I often liked to sit near it while I drew on the cement with my chalk. Right next to the trailer though, was my neighbor's property. They had a forest as their backyard. Long, enormous trees loomed over our property and created shadows on the whole right side of the yard. We had a chain link fence separating the multitude of pine trees, and maybe a few redwoods, that constantly darkened half of my parents property. That day I was sitting near our trailer, with the trees to my right, as I drew with my chalk. I remember I enjoyed being under the shade because the sun was out. I wasn't scared, the most I was worried about from my neighbors side was foxes and skunks, and even then we had a fence separating the properties.

I suddenly had a feeling to go look through the squares of the chain link fence. I don't know why. Sometimes I would just like to stare into the woods next door and see if I saw any wild animals, so it was probably just that. I stared into the darkness for a few minutes, mesmerized with trying to see all of the details in the brush and trees. No one was outside. My dad was at work, my sister was inside watching TV, and my mom was cleaning the house - I was completely alone.

Then I heard it. A shrieking whisper that said, "Virginia." It was unlike any voice I've ever heard before. It was faint, but strong. Like a child's voice hissed my name. It may not sound scary, but the feelings that came with it were. Every hair on me stood up, it was like my animal instincts kicked in. Then, something in my throat went off. I don't know how to explain it, but if you were to put every negative emotion into one cluster, that's what I felt in my throat. It was like an elaborate knot had tied itself inside the back of my throat. I had the sudden urge to puke. I can't quite put into words all that it felt like, I guess the best I can describe the feeling in the back of my throat, was it felt evil. I started coughing and gagging, then booked it inside. I felt shaken and scared. I cried, but didn't know who to tell or how to describe what had happened.

I can hear you now. "That doesn't sound scary," or "it was probably your neighbors messing with you." I'll try to debunk the second one. These neighbors were an older couple who weren't jokesters. The husband was usually gone and liked his privacy, and I doubt he could have made such a high pitched, hissing sound. The wife has always had walking problems and just liked to be left alone as well, and I also don't think her voice could have made had such a childlike sound to it. Their house was very far away from where I was and there was no reason they would have walked that far into the trees. I stood there for a few moments as my 'fight or flight' mode was charging up, so they had plenty of time to tell me it was them.  You may still think it was them, but the chances are slim. Though, a part of me wishes it was them.

On the note of it not sounding scary, you're right. It doesn't sound scary. It felt terrifying though. I've never experienced such a wicked aura, and you can't possibly understand the feeling unless you've felt it yourself. If you haven't felt it, I pray you never will. If you have, you'll see it reasonable as to why I can't describe such an evil feeling.  It was the greatest paranormal fear I've experienced so far in my life.

So there's my story. I sometimes think of it when I'm covered in shadows, looking into the darkness of the forest. I often wonder what it was, and why I experienced it. I've heard the stories now of skinwalkers, black eyed children, stick Indians, and wonder if it could have been any of those. Perhaps it was bigfoot, I know he likes hanging around Northern California. I pray it was something logical, like the wind hitting the branches of the trees a certain way and my imagination took over the rest. Or my neighbors having a laugh and messing with me. Yet deep down, I know it was something more sinister. I've hiked and camped a lot in my life, and I continued to play outside (it took me about a week to go back out after this incident though) through my childhood, and I've never gone through anything like that again.

I'm thankful I can look into the illuminated woods now and not just think of that ominous memory. I see Earth in a slumber now. I see the animals in the woods getting their rest, or their meal, depending on if they're nocturnal. I see God letting the whole forest sleep, renewing the cycle every day. I suppose life is what we choose to see and feel in it. We can choose to see the emptiness between the stars, or we can see the brightness they radiate.

 "Remember, darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good" - P.C. Cast.

Vale Cemetery

On Friday the 13th, I visited Vale Cemetery. People from different classes, color - all walks of life really - are laid to rest in this 100 acre land. The one thing the 33,000 people here have in common, is they're buried in the soil of this cemetery.

The sign in the picture to the left really says it all. This land has a lot of history, becoming an official cemetery in 1857, the first buried here was a four year old child. I came here because of such history, with whispers of hauntings in the land, bleeding gravestones, headless statues - I discovered there was some truth to these rumors I heard.

Every statue in this enormous cemetery had at least one body part missing. The most notable were the headless ones. They stood tall and proud, but had no face anymore. So much love were made into these statues, to stand and watch over the dead, but vandals ruined this. It just added an overarching sadness to the cemetery seeing the decrepit figures.

There were also at least half a dozen mausoleums throughout. Made for elites and families, the most despairing one I saw when looking through the cracks of the doors was a memorial for a one year old child. It was laid next to its mother's and father's memories as well. The mausoleum was dedicated to that family, and it was a dismal site to see.

I did mention there were some elites here, and I'm not lying. I saw countless Freemason symbols on a variety of graves. It was shocking to see - it's hard to wrap my head around such a secret society being so prevalent. It's also worth noting, that wherever I saw a Freemason symbol, no matter how old the grave, the stone it was on was not touched by vandals and in strong condition. Some of the older gravestones with age contradicted the ones with the society's symbol on it because they were worn out, while the Freemason ones of the same age would be in peak condition.

This was the first gravestone I saw that looked like it was bleeding. It was actually amazing to see the moss grow in such a way, with such a distinct color, that it looked like red blood spilling from the gravestone.

Here's just a photo of a multitude of graves. It's hard to show just how big this place was, but this was only a minuscule portion from the rest of the cemetery. You can also see many big trees planted. When originally being made, thousands of trees were planted, all of different kinds. The cemetery was originally built outside of Schenectady, it was out of the way and in nature so people would come and have picnics here, almost as if it was a park. As the years went on, Schenectady grew and developed around it.

Armless grey statues.

A glowing, green statue of Mother Mary stood high on a pedestal here. It was so high that I believe it kept away the vandals. She was the only statue I saw in such pristine condition. Even the vandals willing to disrespect the dead by decapitating the other statues thought it best to leave Mary alone.

A headless woman stood next to this bench that was hidden under a multitude of trees. She held roses at her right side. It was a romantic, yet eerie, scene. 

This was another statue with a green tint to it. This one may have not had any body parts missing from it as well. Perhaps the vandals thought it'd be better not to mess with an angel overlooking this dead.

Another gravestone that looked like it was bleeding. I was perplexed that the moss grew in such a distinct way. It added a spooky aura to the graveyard experience.

I did not, and still do not, know what this was. It may have been another mausoleum, or it could have been a shed of some sorts. It looks extremely old, with the rough stone, climbing vines on the sides, and faded color. The style was unique compared to everything else there, but there was no information on what it was anywhere on this mysterious building.

The top statue here is missing its hand. This gravestone actually intrigued me immensely as most on the stone is in German.

A very high up statue looked down on me here. It was a simple figure, nothing extravagant like Mary or an angel, but I felt its eyes on me as I walked underneath.

A praying child sat on this stand. It almost looked like the figure was praying over all the souls from the land, asking God for their souls to make it up to Heaven, but it's hard to say what the praying child's purpose truly is.

I caught an orb in this photo, it's in the bottom right corner. I took this photo trying to capture a good shot of the dark, metal fence here that was surrounding a multitude of one family's graves. Whether you believe it's supernatural or not, it is quite the coincident to catch the lighting in such a specific way. I did not see this in the photo when I originally took it.

Another handless statue right above this, then a headless one below. It broke my heard to see such distorted figures. I don't know who would want to ruin something that meant so much to the family members who laid their loved ones to rest here, but I can only hope those troubled enough to ruin such beautiful figures are able to find peace in their own hearts.

This set of graves was actually inside of a circle. I believe the main, center gravestone was a memorial to the whole family, and the smaller gravestones on the side represented each, individual family member. You can also see the middle grave has the bleeding look to it too. Strange moss, isn't it?

This was by far the creepiest part. There were various graves under a circle of trees. It was almost as if the trees were planted specifically to put these graves inside of them, sheltering them in a way. The main headstone in the middle says "Some Are Fallen Asleep." Then there's a tiny doll, sitting on the steps. It was a strange, depressing sight. I'm glad the trees were here though, they seemed to be protecting the many memorials inside.

Vale Cemetery had a sinister vibe to it. Graveyards themselves can be sad to explore, but this one had many factors leading to a more disturbing aura. The headless statues had to be one of the most frightening sights. Even though I knew it was caused by vandals, their distortion was saddening in an already sorrowful place. Next was the bleeding gravestones. The moss grew in such a unique was that it made it look like the headstones were bleeding. From the corner of my eyes they were. The last factor was my camera was acting up a lot in this place. Don't get me wrong, my camera has a bit of an age to it, but it's never messed up so much before. It kept turning off at random times and its functions were all out of whack. It has not messed up since Vale Cemetery. The land here has so much history. The rich memories that the loved ones have of the dead placed here is strong I'm sure. And there are still dead being placed here to this day. Some graves seemed ancient, with chipping stone and sunkissed, faded color. I couldn't even make out the names of most of the older graves there, they had been so exposed for such a long time that they were rubbed into the rest of the stone. Many were knocked down and broken, or cracked from age, some crumbling from the elements. The ones not yet deteriorating, the newer dead, were much fewer than the older. This place is worth going to and experiencing yourself. It's a beautiful, unique, ominous graveyard. Thousands of people's loved ones are at peace here, I hope their souls have moved on somewhere better.