Bad Trip

[NatG]

LAst night i wlked a few miles to some woodland i know to spend a night out, i left home at around half past three and had plenty of time to set up camp and do some relaxing whittling,

Then the problems seemed to start- firstly ANTS i hate ANTS, they get everywhere, they bite and some even ended up in my dinner, which i was not best pleased about.

Theni realised i had forgotten the fuel bottle for my stove- this was not a pproblem, i really quite enjoyed using a small fire to cook up dinner.

After dinner, i settled down and did a bit of reading, it started to get dark shortly afterwards, though it could hardly really be called "dark", all along the horizon, even at half 9 was very bright , and then there was the noise! I've never heard so much noise polution, it sounded like i was actually standing next to a motorway, it was so loud and bright that i couldn't actually sleep, i could barely even see the stars!

If this had just been it i would have rolled over and gone on to sleep, got up early and come home, but on top of everything else, i just felt like i was unwelcome in the place, it's very hard to explain but it was as if the wood viewed me as an unwelcome visitor, and when i finally got up to leave to walk home, i still felt ill at ease until i was well away from that particular spot.

anybody else had similiar experiences?

 

[Nonimouse]

I know what you mean about a camp site feeling like it doesn't want you - come across a few of those over the years.

There's a little wood I look after down by the A303 near Ilminster - odd place. Used to have a cross roads of the old A303 right by it, so most likely a gallows or gibbet at one time. It's one of those places that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, you feel like you are being watched. I hate it; and ; 'hate' is a strong word for me.

 

[crazyclimber]

I've also had that 'unwelcome' feeling once; dark wood, creeped me right out. It's always stuck in my mind since I'm not easily spooked and I usually enjoy woods (and their noises) at night.
Uncomfortable nights though - I think anyone who's spent more than a few nights outdoors must have had at least one! in my case significantly more than one! Home in mid Wales I've now learnt to appreciate the lack of man-made noise and light at night, for years I took it for granted.
It does make you think though doesn't it. A few thousand years ago before all our modern science and technology I bet people were spending nights in the woods in a similar way. I bet they felt uncomfortable sometimes, I know from experience what a pleasant sight sunrise can sometimes be and it does make you really value a good fire too. They must have appreciated the same things, and whenever I'm in those situations maybe it sounds a bit cliched but I can't help but realise that a part of me has almost stepped back in time. Extending that further you wonder what they would have done about it. Would that bit of wood have got a name for being 'haunted'; would they have tried to make it more pleasant with something that now we would see as mostly psychological, making a sacrifice to the wood or Earth Gods for example. After all before modern ideas such as Christianity they were probably as unable to explain that uneasy feeling any more than we are today. Perhaps on the other hand thay'd have had a far more intimate knowledge of that bit of land, it could all have been a part of their home, playground and work area. They say knowledge dispels fear - they might have been 100% comfortable there.
sorry for the long winded reply anyway. Some idle things I daydream about sometimes when I'm in the woods

 

[J14]

Iv had some of those experiences, sometimes I could happily sleep their and feel safe but in some places I just want to keep on walking a bit further to get out of there

 

[alpha_centaur]

Could be a lot of reasons for not liking being in that particular woods:

We still don't know everything (science cant explain everything)

Our sub-conciousness can sense things that the more "evolved" parts of our brain can't.

When you're in the woods trust your senses, that's why your there isn't it

If I'm making sense agree with me if not ignore me

One of my local woods that is supposidly haunted I love being in at night another I hate being near after dark.

 

[Bernie Garland]

Not enough beer Nat

Bernie

 

[NatG]

no beer at all i'm afraid, a bit of quite spicy biltong, but no beer

 

[redneck]

Dryads - a little ticked off because they've been suffering the light and noise pollution caused by humans for years and now that they have one camping in their midst they decide to let you know how uneasy it makes them feel...rather than feel you've been made to feel unwelcome, realise it's their way of trying to show you how uncomfortable they feel in our modern world, if anything it's a compliment that they felt you were worthy enough for them to make themselves known to you.

 

[commandocal]

There is this small part of woodland about 5mile away from me called Irby, and i can sleep ANYWHERE, Im not into the big supernatura l haunted woods buisness but this place makes me feel so unwanted and uneasy and get that being watched feeling bloody spooky! Ive tried stopping there a few times, 1st time i got chased out by bees, second time i got settled down and got that feeling and packed up about 2130 and headed home started casually walking out and ended up running for no apparent reason and the third time i was with the dog and stopped the night but with the constant darting of his head i didnt get much sleep, spooky stuff. :O

 

[crazyclimber]

Eh Cal, not seen you post on here for a while. Been away? Did you apply to the RM after... how did you get on?

 

[pumbaa]

We got one of those woods . Its known as Knighton woods localy but during the second world war was actually Warmwell airfield . If you look up aviation accidents on google there is a site that lists lots of crashes from this period and Warmwell has more than its fair share on there , guess thats the lightnings they had there !!!! I dont know of anyone thats managed to spend a night there , its bit of a local legend for that . Even during the day time you feel like your being watched . Most of the trench systems are there (allthough collapsed) and the horse shoe shaped banks that held spitfires are still there . Its a very strange wood .
Pumbaa

 

[John Fenna]

The Isle of Jura realy did not like me.
It felt realy bad on the west side but the feeling of disquiet did not fade until we got back to Isla.
Both me and my wife felt it so it was not just me being a softy!

 

[bushcraftbob]

I've had bad vibes from places too - i thought it was just me!!!

 

[Wayland]

I know a place that makes me feel unwelcome most places I camp.








It's called England....:bluThinki

 

[In Wood]

How spooky! OK, Coincidental then.

I stopped out in my local woods this Saturday night, now I love these woods, really chill out when I am there and have spent many a full day even into dusk and never had any ill or bad feelings.

However this Saturday I stopped over, started fine set up all ok and sat and chilled out, as it turned dusk I had a little wander and had the feeling someone was watching me, first time I have had that in these woods. The animals & birds were really jumpy too, alarm calls ringing out all over, and not caused by me. This “feeling” came to the point of thinking of packing up and going home. I did not want to turn in if there was someone in there (kids or yobs intent on trouble), but I thought it through rationally, I would have seen or heard “people”, I know these woods like the back of my hand and could have easily spotted anyone before they saw me, especially where and how I set up.

I walked outside the woods to see if my camp light or fire could be seen, and even though I knew exactly where to look, I struggled to see my camp gas lamp, the fire as usual was not seen at all. No tracks in the long grass to show anyone had walked here or by, no sight or sound of anyone other than me.

At about 21:00Hrs I decided to turn in, settled down nice and warm, still air no wind, all very nice but still feeling I was being watched. As my night vision came into play I could see quite well from the light outside the woods, no moving shapes or sounds so I started to doze off.

After an hour or so I was woken by the birds alarming again, raised my head and listened, nothing. Then really loud sticks snapping, but randomly, not like someone walking. So I convinced myself it was wind drop branches (yeh right, no wind) and lay back down.

Well to try and cut this short, I hardly got any sleep at all, birds kept alarming, wood pigeons kept taking fright, Jays kept calling out, a rabbit ran under my hammock like it was being chased by the devil, at 04:00Hrs foxes were barking and screaming like mad, along with background noise of a distant dual carriageway and overhead pylons buzzing all night, I did not enjoy the stay at all.

In the morning, probably due to lack of sleep I just wanted to pack up and go home, which I did after breakfast. But even on the way out, opening the gate, the slide bolt took a big bite out of my finger which started bleeding really badly.

So, even in a place where I normally feel welcome by the trees and creatures, I definitely did not feel welcome Saturday night. Weird eh? I suppose you get some night where all is well and others where something definitely is not well and as said earlier, our “Senses” pick up on this and let you know, it is just good that we are able to pick up on these alerts, as so many people nowadays are not able to tap into these senses.

 

[dwardo]

I find i feel more uncomfortable on one nighter trips out, probably due to the fact that its hard to tune in in such a short ammount of time. I think a lot of the sleepless nights people have experienced are probably due to some mental baggage they have taken with them.
I had a bad night a few months back in the peaks where i awoke in a pool of sweat due horific nightmares and an uneasy feeling to say the least. I could have said that the area was known for its ancient goings on and my dream was about a witch with pure white eyes ,,,, however i was also under a lot of pressure with things at home........

 

[NatG]

That was almost exactly the same thing as happened to me, i normally really enjoy the time i spend in these woods, i know them well, and although i've never camped in that spot i've spent nights there before.

i just got the overwhelming feeling i was not wanted, it's quite hard to explain but it's a real gut feeling like the woods are trying to make me know how inconsequential i am and how little i am welcome, it was quite a threatening feeling, any one of the trees could have dropped a branch, or i could have tripped and fallen on any number of roots etc.

i'm glad to hear it wasn't just me, but you take the good with the bad, i've had some fantastic nights out, and i'm willing to put up with a bit of a scare from time to time

How spooky! OK, Coincidental then.

I stopped out in my local woods this Saturday night, now I love these woods, really chill out when I am there and have spent many a full day even into dusk and never had any ill or bad feelings.

However this Saturday I stopped over, started fine set up all ok and sat and chilled out, as it turned dusk I had a little wander and had the feeling someone was watching me, first time I have had that in these woods. The animals & birds were really jumpy too, alarm calls ringing out all over, and not caused by me. This “feeling” came to the point of thinking of packing up and going home. I did not want to turn in if there was someone in there (kids or yobs intent on trouble), but I thought it through rationally, I would have seen or heard “people”, I know these woods like the back of my hand and could have easily spotted anyone before they saw me, especially where and how I set up.

I walked outside the woods to see if my camp light or fire could be seen, and even though I knew exactly where to look, I struggled to see my camp gas lamp, the fire as usual was not seen at all. No tracks in the long grass to show anyone had walked here or by, no sight or sound of anyone other than me.

At about 21:00Hrs I decided to turn in, settled down nice and warm, still air no wind, all very nice but still feeling I was being watched. As my night vision came into play I could see quite well from the light outside the woods, no moving shapes or sounds so I started to doze off.

After an hour or so I was woken by the birds alarming again, raised my head and listened, nothing. Then really loud sticks snapping, but randomly, not like someone walking. So I convinced myself it was wind drop branches (yeh right, no wind) and lay back down.

Well to try and cut this short, I hardly got any sleep at all, birds kept alarming, wood pigeons kept taking fright, Jays kept calling out, a rabbit ran under my hammock like it was being chased by the devil, at 04:00Hrs foxes were barking and screaming like mad, along with background noise of a distant dual carriageway and overhead pylons buzzing all night, I did not enjoy the stay at all.

In the morning, probably due to lack of sleep I just wanted to pack up and go home, which I did after breakfast. But even on the way out, opening the gate, the slide bolt took a big bite out of my finger which started bleeding really badly.

So, even in a place where I normally feel welcome by the trees and creatures, I definitely did not feel welcome Saturday night. Weird eh? I suppose you get some night where all is well and others where something definitely is not well and as said earlier, our “Senses” pick up on this and let you know, it is just good that we are able to pick up on these alerts, as so many people nowadays are not able to tap into these senses.

 

[Gill]

has anyone been that spooked they have had to sack it ,no just me then ! about nine years ago me and my dog a brute of a merle collie x lurcher,drove down to new galloway forest to walk a part of the southern upland way.i got there late afternoon walked for a couple of hours and decided to camp in the woods just off the path at the side of loch trool.anyway i set up a tarp and bivvi and set about collecting plenty of wood to keep the fire going .after making some supper ,the light seemed to go very quickly and if you went away from the immediate vicinity of the fire it was ink black.then i had the most spooky feeling ,i got really unerved and what freaked me right out was my brute of a dog huddled up next to me whimpering and really shaking .i was that bad i franticly threw every thing into the bergan and walked out to the car in pitch black ,we got startled when we ran into a herd of wild goats in the blackness . i drove all the way home around 2 hours and still i had the shivers.this experience spooks me even thinking about it just now. a couple of years later i camped in the same area near the loch with a mate and i had a really strange episode indeed ? there was an article in the paper some time after about some ex sas guy that chases ghosts now had seen what he beleived to be the ghost of the Bruce down in those very woods, of course this is the very site of the battle ! i am not a supersticious man but i had never been so frightened than the nights i spent there and when i am out in the woods now it usually comes to mind about that place,if i allowed myself to think about it too much i would be off again.

 

[Gill]

while were on this subject ,i might as well ask a stupid question.when you are out sleeping in the woods do you sleep just the same or as well as you do in your own bed.i mean do you just nod off and if anything like me snore badly ,no problem ? just that every other time i sleep out i feel i am not really sleeping ,but seem to go into a sort of trance like sleep and i am very aware of everything around me ,i even feel i am wakened but cannot move a muscle no matter how hard i try. i have often wondered why this happens ,some friends i have asked about this feeling recognise it but like myself am at a loss to why .is this maybe a sort of heightened awareness that maybe we used to have , and is no longer used or needed with all our mod cons and safety of our homes. or am i just a weirdo ! i can,t say i particullary like this sleep pattern i always fall into when outdoors it can also be a bit spooky because i never get it in bed strange or what .i am also very very aware of my snoring as well when outside

 

[spamel]

I've had a very strange awake sleep, as you seem to describe, where you are awake but cannot do anything like you are asleep. It happened on a course I did in the Army when we had to go to Gibralter Barracks in Camberley for the Signals phase of the course. Instead of going down the night before, getting a good bit of kip and getting up in the morning for the first day of a two day Signals package, they send you at sparrows fart so that you are knackered for the first day of the package!

Anyway, after the first day had finished, we had an hour to kill, after a quick shower and change into civvies. The four of us in the room all crashed on the end of our respective beds for a quick hours safety wob, and I woke up after 40 minutes or so. If anything, I can only describe it as some wierd out of body experience, where I was fully aware of everyone in the room including myself and had a perfect day time view of everything (My dreams when I sleep always take place in what appears to be twilight or after dark, even if the dream suggests it should be daytime!) Try as I might, I could not move any part of my body, although I was awake and had my eyes open. I couldn't call out or anything, and remembered that this used to happen to one of my mates when I was in training, all that was needed was for him to get given a shake and he'd snap out of it but otherwise he was totally paralysed until his body decided to let him out of it. Really wierd. I've never had it happen again as badly as that, but I get strange semi-awake moments when I'm drifting off where it feels like I am literally floating away.

As for getting spooked in woods, I've had perculiar feelings before now, but my over-active imagination is normally to blame. I know there aren't spooks and ghouls, werewolves or vampyres but I can still spook myself out with them if I think on it! I think the only time I've quit the woods is when I went camping with my Dad and we were drenched due to the torrential rain and another time when trees were falling and both Shewie and myself decided to bow out as it was getting a tad scary with the thought of a tree crashing through our hammocks!