The Stalking Shadows of Lakeside California

From the moment man first harnessed fire it became far more then a method for heating our cold and weary bodies and cooking our hard won game. It was a ward. A ward from the unknowable danger and fears that lurked in the darkness. Yet, where fire may have helped light the way, it also seems to give power to that just beyond our sight, whatever it is that lurks in the shadows. One wonders, however, how ancient man would’ve felt had they known that it was not what was beyond the shadows that they should fear, but perhaps the shadows themselves. While out having fun with friends in 2008 reddit user whycantibelinus may have learned just that lesson. This is their story:

“My friends and I went out one night to the hills in Lakeside, CA, a suburb of San Diego, looking for a supposed screaming tree. We were in this field walking around to different creepy looking trees and one buddy took another aside and started whispering. The rest of us were getting creeped out by this so we asked what the hell they were talking about, just then one of them yells out toward a hill about 100 yards away. “Excuse me! Should we not be here?” …Silence… “If we aren’t supposed to be here we can leave.” The rest of us turn to look and there’s this dark figure traversing the hill, it had to be 12 feet tall and the steps it was taking were massive. It stops and looks down at us, just then another friend exclaims, “What the fuck is that!?” And points to a tree about 20 yards away from us and another similar figure looks like it’s hiding behind a tree and staring at us. The figure on the hill started walking toward us and I don’t think any of us had ever ran so fast in our lives back to the car and hauled ass out of there. The night was clear and it was a full moon so it was weird that they were just dark, no features whatsoever.”

An amazing and truly harrowing tale. Stories of shadow people have been around for just about as long as stories have been told. Here is a link to a great video about shadow people from the Youtube channel Unexplained Mysteries. Although part of me also wonders, with the sheer size reported, could it have possibly been a bigfoot? Is it possible that it was covered in a sheen of black fur that made it seem like it was simply a dark figure? It is a stretch, but, with all the sightings of giant hominids on the west coast it does give me pause. On a side note I would love to know more about the screaming tree. Perhaps someday our reddit user or someone else will add more to the tale of the shadow-stalked screaming forests of Lakeside, Ca.

Keep it creepy kiddos,

-C