`derigin` [Thread]

This thread seems like a good place for this story. I've forgotten the
details of it, and it doesn't creep me out so much as fascinates me, but
I think it would be a good addition here.

I grew up in a rural mining town in British Columbia. When I was a kid
(early 90s), I had a friend whose father (a doctor) resided in a large
home in my neighborhood. The home, originally built for a wealthy mining
contractor, was one of the first ones built in the community. The
property was large, containing not only the house, but a surrounding
private forest, an old mining shack, and a small house for (what might
be assumed) servants or guests. It's hard to put into words the size of
this forest; despite being in the heart of the community, you could
easily lose yourself in it. In part because of this it was a prime
location for my childhood antics; my friends and I would play fight,
hold adventures, and use it as a playground. Nevertheless, we never went
in there alone.

It's true for most forests that (especially at night) they can often
seem foreboding or scary to kids. But despite that, I felt there was
something really off about it, even during daylight hours. The few times
we weren't playing and sat silent within it, the forest itself would be
unnaturally quiet. It had that foreboding feeling, like a calm before a
storm, where we'd get a tense anxiety about the location. As kids, it
was something we'd brush off, and move on from, and try to forget.

Forward many years, the family of the friend who lived in that house
moved away. I worked as a page in the local library then. One task
involved cataloging the local newspaper collection we had available, and
making sure it was in order. Sometimes curiosity would get the best of
me, and I'd sit there reading some of the more fascinating stories that
would make the town's top headlines. And then one in particular stood
out to me. I wish I remembered the details, and it would be nice to find
it again.

Back in the late 60s, the teenage son of the wealthy contractor who
owned that property went missing walking home from high school.
Witnesses recall seeing him walk along the road, and into the forest
surrounding his home. One witness, in particular, remembered saying
goodbye as she went in a different direction as he entered the forest.
He never left the forest. His body was never found. The only evidence
the police ever found was a bloodied blanket in an old mining shack,
owned by a hunter who resided close to the property.

It certainly made for an interesting read.

  [Thread]: https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/q0sgj/what_is_a_mystery_that_creeps_you_out_the_most/c3txpgp/