The ancient Boogeyman.

As the sun fell behind the trees, it threw lengthy shadows across the woodland floor. A group of adolescents had opted to spend the night in the woods, completely oblivious of the deadly mysteries that lay beneath. As they sat around the fire, telling stories and cracking jokes, one of them mentioned the legend of the old boogeyman. The forest was thick with trees, their branches reaching towards the sky like bony fingers. The ground was carpeted with a layer of dead leaves, rustling underfoot as the group of teenagers made their way deeper into the woods.

They had been walking for hours, their backpacks heavy with supplies. It was the perfect spot for a camping trip, they had thought. Remote, quiet, and secluded.

But as the sun began to dip below the horizon, the woods took on a different character. The trees seemed to loom taller, their shadows growing longer and darker.

One of the girls shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders. "Do you guys ever get the feeling that we're being watched?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Her friends laughed nervously, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling that had settled over them. But as they settled around the campfire, a sense of unease lingered in the air.

It was then that one of the boys brought up the legend of the ancient boogeyman. And as they huddled together in the darkness, the forest around them seemed to come alive with unseen terrors.

"Have you guys ever heard the story of the boogeyman?" he inquired.

"Yeah, right," one of his pals mocked. "That's just some silly myth."

"No, it's not," the first lad responded, his voice low and solemn. "I heard about it from my granddad. He said that the boogeyman lives in these woods and only comes out at night to hunt."

Fear gripped the gathering, which became quiet. They were surprised to hear a rustle in the woods. When they looked around, they saw a black figure emerge from the shadows.

"What the hell is that?" said one of the youngsters, his voice trembling.

"It's the boogeyman," the first youngster muttered, hardly audible above a whisper.

The thing moved closer, its eyes sparkling in the firelight. It had black, leathery skin and long, twisted claws that glinted in the gloom.

"We have to get out of here," one of the adolescents exclaimed, his voice increasing in terror.

However, it was too late. The boogeyman had already surrounded them, encircling them in darkness.

"What do you want from us?" one of the girls said, her voice shaking.

The boogeyman remained silent. It just surged forward, its jaws locking tight on one of the guys' throats. The others yelled and bolted, rushing into the forest aimlessly.

They could hear the boogeyman's rasping breath behind them as they staggered into the darkness. A deep, sinister growl resonated across the trees.

"Run all you want," it grumbled. "But you can never escape the boogeyman."

They raced until their legs gave out, dropping in a heap on the forest's border. They turned around to find the boogeyman standing at the edge of the woods, its luminous eyes fixed on them.

"Go back to your village," it said."And warn them that the boogeyman is on his way."

The adolescents staggered back to their hamlet, their terrified expressions on their faces. They knew they'd seen something old and terrifying, something that had haunted these forests for ages.

They murmured to one other in low tones as they snuggled together in the protection of their houses.

"The boogeyman is real," they declared. "And he's coming for us all."