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Weirdness in the woods


Nighthawk9653

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I don't know if this belongs here, but it's something I've been wondering for a while now.

I live on a mountain, and my backyard is basically a forest that goes on for who knows how long. It spans over a mountain, and probably has a good hundred or so kilometres until it hits anything remotely populated by people. Maybe a campground...

But anyways, the forest is really weird. It's a mixture of birch and pine trees, but there's no little animals roaming around in it. There's the occasional deer, coyote, lynx, or bear, but no little squirrels or birds or anything. There are wolves and mountain lion in the area, but I've never seen them near my house.

In the rest of my yard, there's birds galor, but I go up into the forest and there's no birds at all. There's no sounds either. No squirrels making squirrel noises, no birds chirping, maybe the occasional crow somewhere far away cawing, but besides that just the trees. There's no little animals, or noises at all.

It's actually quite eerie, it's so silent and devoid of animals... Plus there's always this feeling of being watched. Maybe it's just paranoia, but when I go hiking with my brother, I take the back because I can feel something watching us, and if anything were to attack, I'd rather it get me because he's smaller. But it's so intense, and creepy.

I've also had a few experiences where there has been something crashing around nearby me that my dogs had not detected. Which is odd, because they can smell things up the mountain, so they bark all the time, but one time I went up a little ways in, and I wasn't too worried because my dogs weren't barking, but then something comes crashing towards me just a few feet away. It stopped, and I quickly but calmly retreated, but it still scared me.

But my main question is, is why is the forest so empty of life? There's no squirrels, or chipmunks, or birds or nothing. It's dead silent, and has an over all creepy feel. Even my friend who spends a bunch of time hiking around said that the forest by my house feels weird and creepy.

Also, there are squirrels and stuff in my area. There's a campground nearby that is far into the woods, but is still teaming with squirrels and birds and stuff.

We also go camping farther away, and deep into the woods there, there is still little creatures, and it doesn't have the creepy feel to them.

It might be a tad off topic, but I really want to know why the forest by my house is so creepy and weird compared to everywhere else.

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First off things do crash (Trees, Rock slides etc) in the Woods wether you are their, or not.

Dense forest just sometimes does not support certain animals due to habitat needs.Cut a swath through a forest, and certain animals will increase, and flourish.

Get yourself a trail cam that you can afford, and see what you see, and even put some feed corn in front of it too.

Try sitting down for a half hour, and be very quiet, then watch.

Edited by davros of skaro
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A trial camera sounds like a great idea. There maybe be something living near you that has killed and eaten and scared off the smaller animals like birds and squirrels, possibly some sort of Pine Martin type creature. I think you should consider getting a weapon to keep in your home in case there are any dangerous creatures about. Also consider taking a good Buck knife when you are out and about, although your dogs will probably keep most creatures at bay. If you have a camera please take a load of photos next time you go for a walk, you never know what you might get. Also post the photos here.

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A trial camera sounds like a great idea. There maybe be something living near you that has killed and eaten and scared off the smaller animals like birds and squirrels, possibly some sort of Pine Martin type creature. I think you should consider getting a weapon to keep in your home in case there are any dangerous creatures about. Also consider taking a good Buck knife when you are out and about, although your dogs will probably keep most creatures at bay. If you have a camera please take a load of photos next time you go for a walk, you never know what you might get. Also post the photos here.

Good point, and even Yotes will gobble up all the lil critters too.

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I agree with the above comments. I would guess that if you put out a few bird feeders, some feed corn, and a salt lick or two, your empty woods would suddenly be teeming with life.

Not to mention, if those larger animals are present as you claim, they have to be eating something, right?

Edited by Rafterman
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'tis the nature of the deep forest. Birds and squirrels like to be around people...food is more plentiful...and...the dangers of lurking predators diminish because of the human presence. Your dogs have an incredible sense of smell...but they cannot smell something if the breeze is blowing the wrong direction. You didn't say what crashed in front of you. I suppose you didn't see it. Deer possibly. Also...there are eyes watching you...everywhere. If the animals come around your house it is because they are familiar with people. In the deep woods...YOU...are the intruder...your presence 'hushes' the forest. They can all hear you tromping mile away...and that distant caw of a crow...they are talking about YOU. Do not be afraid of the woods...but be prepared to be attacked by anything out there...deer, skunk, possum, wolf, coyote, lion...always carry and keep close at hand pepper spray...and a weapon if you have one. And don't go far without a compass. The woods are very, very much alive.

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It sounds like a really beautiful place that you live in. I want to live beside a creepy forest. You've made me jealous now. Sorry that was a bit off topic. Some forests are so dense that sounds of animals and birds won't escape from it. It's likely that your forest is one of those deep thick forests. I'm certain you have wildlife in there. Is it possible to post a picture of it?

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I don't know if this belongs here, but it's something I've been wondering for a while now.

I live on a mountain, and my backyard is basically a forest that goes on for who knows how long. It spans over a mountain, and probably has a good hundred or so kilometres until it hits anything remotely populated by people. Maybe a campground...

But anyways, the forest is really weird. It's a mixture of birch and pine trees, but there's no little animals roaming around in it. There's the occasional deer, coyote, lynx, or bear, but no little squirrels or birds or anything. There are wolves and mountain lion in the area, but I've never seen them near my house.

In the rest of my yard, there's birds galor, but I go up into the forest and there's no birds at all. There's no sounds either. No squirrels making squirrel noises, no birds chirping, maybe the occasional crow somewhere far away cawing, but besides that just the trees. There's no little animals, or noises at all.

It's actually quite eerie, it's so silent and devoid of animals... Plus there's always this feeling of being watched. Maybe it's just paranoia, but when I go hiking with my brother, I take the back because I can feel something watching us, and if anything were to attack, I'd rather it get me because he's smaller. But it's so intense, and creepy.

I've also had a few experiences where there has been something crashing around nearby me that my dogs had not detected. Which is odd, because they can smell things up the mountain, so they bark all the time, but one time I went up a little ways in, and I wasn't too worried because my dogs weren't barking, but then something comes crashing towards me just a few feet away. It stopped, and I quickly but calmly retreated, but it still scared me.

But my main question is, is why is the forest so empty of life? There's no squirrels, or chipmunks, or birds or nothing. It's dead silent, and has an over all creepy feel. Even my friend who spends a bunch of time hiking around said that the forest by my house feels weird and creepy.

Also, there are squirrels and stuff in my area. There's a campground nearby that is far into the woods, but is still teaming with squirrels and birds and stuff.

We also go camping farther away, and deep into the woods there, there is still little creatures, and it doesn't have the creepy feel to them.

It might be a tad off topic, but I really want to know why the forest by my house is so creepy and weird compared to everywhere else.

Game usually holds In cover between water a steep terrain. My guess is your area is a transitional zone. Most animals will not live on mountains. Check down in one of the ravines with water. Animals will also congregate where humans go because we drop all kinds if useful things, tend to make navigatable trails everywhere, and follow water ourselves. Your dog will not be able to smell something upwind, possibly hear it, but things like mountain lions are notoriously stealthy. Chances are you are being watched by a mountain lion, I bet your dog knows it. If you are walking your dog and its a good dog put the wind at your back if you are worried about attack. Wind will have a tendency to blow down hill until about 10 am in calm weather and will then shift to blowing uphill until it starts to cool in the evening.

Check for game trails in your area, I bet you will find some. Take care.

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Try sitting down for a half hour, and be very quiet, then watch.

Most people, when they visit the woods, make so much noise that they see few animals, and the few animals they do see, are running away in terror.

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To the OP, can you post pictures even if there are no creatures please. I want to see what it looks like out there next to the wilderness.

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That is Erie,something is going on.the deep woods creeps me lol.set some cameras maybe its ufos landing.try doing Bigfoot calls

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But my main question is, is why is the forest so empty of life? There's no squirrels, or chipmunks, or birds or nothing. It's dead silent, and has an over all creepy feel. Even my friend who spends a bunch of time hiking around said that the forest by my house feels weird and creepy.

I've been on lots and lots of hikes and camping trips in which I saw no animals. This does not mean the areas were "empty of life". It means the life is smarter than us.

If there are large trees, animals prefers to say high in them where you won't see them unless you're looking for them. I went on a camping trip with a wildlife photographer and I swear that guy could see a bird out of the corner of his eye that took me ten seconds to see with binoculars. He regularly saw wildlife that I had overlooked.

Last summer I hiked through a clearing in a forest and took several wide angle photos of the area. When I looked at them later I saw that marmots had been peaking out of their burrows at me the whole time. I didn't see a single one of them which p***ed me off because I had a long 400mm lens and they would have made adorable photos. I'm terrible at wildlife photography!

So not weird. Not creepy. Just nature.

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I have been an avid hunter and fisherman all my life and have lived in houses that were backed right up against the mountain as well. I too have seen that the further up the mountains you go and the thicker the trees and underbrush get, the less plentiful the small animals are. I have spent whole days hunting up near the tops of mountains and seen very few if any small animals. Thats one of the reasons I choose to hunt in these locations, there are less noises being made from small animals.

I can also say that many times while being in an area heavily populated by squirrels and other small critters that after the first screech of a hawk the entire area will become dead silent except for the occasional squirrel giving out a distress call. I dont know if there are hawks in your area but birds of prey will definitely keep all the small animals in the dens.

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Thanks everyone for your input. It's night time right now, and winter, but I'll try and get a picture tomorrow, then I'll go through my computer and get some pictures I took when I went up in the summer.

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Thanks everyone for your input. It's night time right now, and winter, but I'll try and get a picture tomorrow, then I'll go through my computer and get some pictures I took when I went up in the summer.

I don't know what that will prove. I have thousands of wilderness photos with no animals in them.

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I don't know what that will prove. I have thousands of wilderness photos with no animals in them.

Everyone's asking for some pictures...

But I'm Going out this fine Friday night, but I'll try tomorrow :P

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What a great thread! No mention of demons, aliens, djinns, evil spirits, just some common sense people with some wisdom & experience who aren't set on scaring the tweet out of everyone. Normal. Thinking. Problem solving. Thanks!

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Beany, could you please post some photos with fake ghosts and aliens and spaceships and Bigfoot? This thread is sooooooo boring!!

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I have had the fortune to hike in some great places in my life and on occasion you do sort of find yourself in a section of forest that does seen "creepy". Not scary or haunted, just a little creepy. I'm not sure why this is really, there wasn't anything paranormal about it. I do have a theory and it has to do with sound. We're all use to hearing things in the woods be it animals, birds, wind blowing, water running. They sort of become normal background noise that we just sort of hear but don't really pay attention to it.....until it's not there. Much like sleeping with a fan running, you don't pay it any attention until suddenly it isn't there, now you're not hearing what you're use to hearing and it's a little creepy. Much like being in a crowded room full of people talking and all of a sudden everyone just happens to stop talking and the room gets quiet suddenly. You'll see people looking around like they aren't sure what just happened, then moments later they all start talking again and everything is back to normal.

The forest is the same way. If you have larger animals present in that area then you must have something there for them to eat......ie, smaller animals and birds. For whatever reason they moved to another location and now the area feels different......maybe the vegetation has changed, is it more or less humid? All these things can effect the sound levels and dampen the normal background noise you're accustomed to hearing and hence, give you that "creepy" feeling.

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Although I do believe in the paranormal, I also feel it is best to eliminate all the scientific possibilities first. If you are on a mountain or steep slope, do these crashes occur during larger temperature changes? Sometimes changes like that can free up loose rocks or logs and they will gravitate downhill.

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I have had the fortune to hike in some great places in my life and on occasion you do sort of find yourself in a section of forest that does seen "creepy". Not scary or haunted, just a little creepy. I'm not sure why this is really, there wasn't anything paranormal about it. I do have a theory and it has to do with sound. We're all use to hearing things in the woods be it animals, birds, wind blowing, water running.

I always camp next to a stream when I can. As silly as it sounds, I have trouble falling asleep with complete silence, at least the first night.

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Yeah, I always like camping near running water so long as I can find a nice place that I don't have to worry about a sudden flood. I recall talking with a fellow who camped near a nice "large" stream once, ate, wrote a little in his journal, then went to sleep. He was awoken by water rushing against his tent. There was a monster rain storm several miles away and the run off from this storm caused the water to rise rapidly. He lost some of his gear but he managed to get to safety in time.

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What a great thread! No mention of demons, aliens, djinns, evil spirits, just some common sense people with some wisdom & experience who aren't set on scaring the tweet out of everyone. Normal. Thinking. Problem solving. Thanks!

I'm with you!! I'm also one wanting pictures of what the OP is talking about. Why everyone may ask? Because it's sooo rare to have someone post about NATURAL things that I believe we're all wanting these pictures simply to say "Well, that's gorgeous!" lol.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I tried to upload a picture, but it said it was too big to use. I'm not really an expert on computers, so I kinda don't know how to get around that....

Also, I think I know what's causing the forest to fell 'creepy'. I had a chat with my neighbour who is a hunter, he regularly goes up the back to hunt and he too said it was dead and quiet, but when he got up near the top he said he saw two lynx watching him, hidden in the brush, and I think that's what it must be.

He said that he thinks the lynx got all the grouse and stuff, and that's why there's nothing around.

And for the crashing I experienced, I didn't realize that the time I went up that there could have been bears around :/ I asked him about it, and he said that there was a black bear roaming around at that time.

Luckily when I experienced I didn't run off screaming. I froze and then calmly walked back, yabbering to myself.

Also, yesterday I saw a squirrel in my yard. It was really odd, since it was below freezing, but there he was, chilling in my front yard in a tree.

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