The Curse at Cedarock Park

“The Cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.” I pause for a moment as I looked at the campfire. The fire was crackling on the burning wood. You could hear the sizzling sound as the melting marshmallows dripped down on the flames. I was about to tell the tale that was forbidding to say out loud. It wasn’t like a wanted to, they force me to give them a spooky story! “Who else can give a better ghost story than Ranger Tom” they said. I was assign with the duty to entertain the boy scouts during their camping trip over the weekend at Cedarock Park. I looked up at them and saw the sparkle in each of their eyes, I could tell that they wanted to hear more. Maybe, if I tell them what happened they might heave my warning. I look at the boys in front of me, took a deep breath and continue with my tale.

“The cabin was supposed to be an inside joke, you know a prank to scare the new staff at the Cedarock Park. I for one never thought the stories were true…I mean, how could they be… I guess... I guess I was wrong.” “Long ago before Cedarock became one of the Alamance parks it once belonged to the natives of the land, the Cherokee. They would pay homage to their gods in these woods, and the spirits of the forest would flourish and bring prosperity. But everything changes when immigrant from Europe arrived, the beauty of the forest had attracted German settlers in search of a new home. The Cherokee did all in their power to keep the white man out of their lands, but the white man is hardheaded and took the Cherokee warnings as a sign of hidden precious stones and gold, little did they know that these were sacred grounds due to supernatural occurrences.”

“As soon as the white man came, the trees were cut down to use as timber. The rivers and creeks were dammed, desiccating the lands below. Animals were killed for sport. But the worst sacrilege of all was constructing the cabin on top of the offering stone. This angered the spirits in a way that not even the Cherokee dared to enter the wood anymore. Spirits that had once been benevolent are now evil demons hunting and terrorizing anyone in its path.”

“As the years passed the demons were more out of control, ever more angered with all intruders. In the middle of the night, they would ravish the cattle, destroy the crops. You could hear their laughter in between the dying screams of the animals. In broad daylight you could see the shadows of figures walking along the tree line, seizing the children, dragging grown man into the abyss! Anyone who would venture into the woods was never to be seen again.”

"After all hell had been broken loose the Germans begged the Cherokee to help them escape this horrific nightmare. “Only with the powers of a quartz stone can anyone walk into those demonic woods” was the advice from the Indians. But you see, having a stone around your neck isn’t enough to keep the demons at bay. Sooner or later, they find a way to get you, they always do.”

I was interrupted by one of the boy scouts. He was a chubby little kid; his face was filled with the S’mores he just shoved in his mouth. “If these woods are really hunted” he said in between bites “How is it that we can camp here?”

“Yeah” said another boy. This kid was a skinny boy and as he talked, he was cooking his marshmallow on the flames of the fire. They were most likely good friend, since they were sitting together. “We’ve been playing all day and haven’t see any cabin or spirits”.

I looked at the two boys with a serious face hoping their curiosity wouldn’t take them any further and said.

“Most visitors at the Cedarock Park don’t notice the cabin while hiking the trails. They come and go in their own bubble, never observing their surroundings, always listening to music on their AirPods or talking with their friends not really giving it a second thought about anything. Those people don’t get taken, it’s the curious ones that vanish. It’s the people that want to bird watch, collect mushrooms or venture off the trails. Those are the people that get the tingly sensation of needing to walk further away from the safety of the trail, they are the ones who notice the cabin. No one has ever resisted the Cabin. Their curiosity is too strong and that’s what gets them killed!”

“In the many years I have worked at the park we would prank about the cabin, about the candle lit on the window. According to the stories the candle on the window is ignited when it’s time for an offering, and it won’t go out until it is satisfied. The longer the candle burns, the longer the spirit world and ours are connected. Ever since the offering stone was destroyed the cabin became the gateway for the demons, their source of power, their way of trapping you. I mean come on, the stories of the cabin were great to spook any greenhorn at the park!”

“But one day a hiker got lost. If it wasn’t for his family members desperately shouting his name, no one would have noticed his disappearance. That was my first time.” I said as I keep looking at the flames of the fire in a trance. As the flames danced on the wood, I could begin to see the images of that day being displayed. “Now that I think of it, I remember my supervisor saying in a whisper, “Not again, God help us all.” I was only able to hear him because he was standing right next to me. At the time I didn’t think of the cabin, I just tough what it was at the time a lost hiker that would be found in a couple of hours. I mean, how lost could he really be in a 500-acre park? But then I notice that the search party were descendants of the Cherokee that once inhabited this forest. The strangest of all was that no one else was allowed to help in the search for the hiker, only the Cherokee. No one even wanted to explain why! The search lasted about a week, for a week the park was closed to visitors and staff. No one was allowed in until they said so. The body of the hiker was never found, no one mention a word about the cabin, but you could just tell by the looks on their faces, the look of despair. As the days passed things got back to normal at the park, visitors coming in and out, park personnel working on their daily routines. But not me.”

“The incident made me think, What truth lies behind the stories of the cabin? Why was that story invented to begin with, Could it be because the cabin really exists? Over and over, all I did was think of the cabin, wondering if the stories were true. I couldn’t sleep for all I saw in my dreams was that damn cabin. It was like it was calling to me, summoning me to come find it. Every night I would wake in a pool of my own sweat. My heart racing with shallow breaths. I would sit in my bed for hours trying to shake that tingly feeling of wanting to go find it. Then I thought came to me, I started to wonder the meaning behind rules of the park.

• Please abide by the hours posted at the park entrance.

• Alcoholic beverage are prohibited

• Loud music are prohibited

• Do not remove plants, animals, or other natural material from the park

• Please abide by the closed trail signs!

• Trails are blazed to ensure the safety of hikers!

• STAY ON THE TRAIL!

What if they were warnings? Warnings to stay safe from the demons that hunted this forest. I decided to find out for myself. I told my supervisor that I would clean up the trials, after it being unattended during the period of the search. But in reality, I was going to find the cabin beyond the closed trail sign. I’ve work at the park for 2 years now and never had I seen anyone working on the repairs for that trail. No one ever talks about it. It’s just forgotten. But now I believed that it must lead to the cabin. As I walked deep into the forest, I notice the quartz used to mark the trail zigzagging between the trees. I could hear the lullabies of the birds, feel the cool breeze. The sun rays reaching the ground from the canopy above. The flowers were blooming and the butterflies drinking their nectar, just another perfect day for a hike.”

“That is, until I got to the closed trail sign. “TRAIL CLOSED. PLEASE STAY OFF TO ALLOW TRAIL RECOVERY”. The forest beyond the sign was denser, darker. The light didn’t seem to penetrate the canopy. The breeze was gone, the birds were quiet. Just looking beyond rose the hairs on the back of my neck. Even the sign was on the inside of the quartz boundary, as if whoever installed it didn’t dare to walk even a few feet out of the trail. “Well, the moment of truth” I said to myself as I crossed over and walk into the dark.”

“The deeper in a got the thicker the trees, the harder the path the fainter the trail. It felt like the last chance to return before it was to late. It was mid-day, but it was dark as night. With each step forward the stronger the feeling that I was being watched and followed. I could hear steps behind me but when I turned, I didn’t see anything but the trees. The silence and stillness was overwhelming, my heart was racing, my sweat dripping like thick bullets from my forehead. Form the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone stalking me from behind the trees. Whenever I thought I saw him, I would turn to face my follower. But I could never see him, for his presence was only notice in the corner of my eye! I decided to follow the ghost through the trees, but not being able to see him made it hard to keep up. I had to rely on my senses to decide the next step forward. I probably walked for hours, couldn’t really tell the time in the darkness of the shadows. After I while I stopped to look around but now everything looked the same. I couldn’t tell where I come from, or which way was the trail back home. I was starting to question if this had really been a good idea. As I looked around, I saw something. I couldn’t believe my eye, I could see a faint light coming from in between the thick foliage. I walked towards it without even realizing my actions. I was like a moth attracted by its brightness. And there it was The Cabin. It was overgrown with vines and trees. If it wasn’t for the candlelight in the window, I wouldn’t have noticed its location.”

“The front door was open and clear from the overgrown. It had a welcoming feeling attracting me inside and that was my mistake. The inside was dark, the air was moldy, spider webs filled every corner. With every step I took inside the wood below my feet would creak. As soon as I entered to what seem to be the living room, I hear the door behind me squeaking as it gently closed. I turned around to see what had closed it, and that’s when I heard a voice “Are you lost my child” I quickly turned towards the room again and with the light of the candle I could see a rocking chair in the middle of the room and a figure of a man swinging back and forth. The squeaking of the chair against the wooden floor gave me goosebumps. All my sense said that something was wrong and that I needed to get out! But as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat… I slowly walked over to him; he had his back to me. “Hello? Are you okay?” I said. As I got closer, he seems to look like the missing hiker! I couldn’t believe that I had found him! I slowly continued walking over to him, I needed to see his face. But it was too dark in the cabin, I couldn’t see his face very well, in seem distorted in the shadow. I took out my phone and turn the light on. The sight terrorized me!"

“His face was gone, a skull filled with centipedes running in and out nonstop through the eye sockets, and mandible. The horrific creatures filled his entire body. The worst part was that he turns to looks at me! I slammed against the wall of the cabin when I jumped backwards. “Fear not, for you are now home” he said in the most terrifying and monstrous voice. The dead hiker was now standing. I looked at the floor and more centipedes, beetles and cockroaches were coming out from between the joints. It was like he was summoning them out from the earth. They ran towards me starting to climb up my legs. I desperately tried to swipe them off. But they were too many, I couldn’t shake them all. Not at the speed they were coming. I frantically ran towards the door but couldn’t find it. The room had changed, and the door had vanished. The entire room was blocked, no way in or out. I turn to the hiker, and he was now walking towards me. His movements were grotesque! The insects were using his decomposing body to capture me. Every step he took insects would fall to the floor and race back to the body they were controlling. I looked around as fast as I could around the room in search of a way out. “The Window!” The hiker stands in between me and the only way out. I ran towards the window pushing the hiker aside and jumped out, burning myself with the candlelight. As I flew out, I could hear him scream the most horrific sound. I high pitch scream. I could feel the vibration leaving the cabin like a wave.”

“I was lucky to make it out falling to the ground. As I tried to get up I felt the ground moving. I was surrounded by copperhead snakes. They bit all over my body. Their hemotoxic venom can cause temporary tissue damage in the bitten area rarely kill a grown man. But these many bites would not be good. I yanked them of, I am now cut and bleeding. I ran towards the forest trying to escape the cabin, only to now notice that the trees have skeletons trapped in the wood. The trees seem to have grown from inside their bodies exploding out of them. “Oh my God!” I shouted as a tried to push through the branches.

I felt something grabbing my left ankle causing me to fall, When I turn to look the hiker was outside the cabin controlling the roots and vines of the forest. They popped out of the soil and restrain my limbs. I was unable me to move. “No! No! No! Don’t do this!” “Oh God, please help me!” were few of the things I remember shouting.”

“The shadows were surrounding me. I had no way out! Their monstrous figures were like smoke, shifting and constantly changing form. With every blink they got closer. I had made a mistake. I should have followed the rules! I should have never left the trails! I should have listened to the warnings! How could I have been so stupid! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!” I said as I hit my head with the palm of my hand. “Their laughter, that evil satanic laughter. I can still hear it, haunts me, taunting me. It never goes away!” I said as I put my head in between my knees and pulled at my hair.

“How did you get out?” Said the first boy scout from before.

I was startled by his question. I forgot I was talking to them and not to myself. I sat back up, straighten up my hair, found my composure and look straight at him dead in the eyes.

“Who says I did?” I looked at the kids and their faces were filled with terror. Some of them even stopped eating their S’mores while looking at me.

“Oh, wow that was a scary one. I got goosebumps and everything.” said the counselor of the boy scouts “Thank you Ranger Tom for your scary campfire story. It was very vivid.” The counselor looks at the boys and says, “Let's give Ranger Tom a round of applause!”

“It was my pleasure.” I said with a rough voice as I still looked at the boy that had asked me the question.

“Come along chop, chop, time for bed!” said the counselor and all the boys went to their tent except for the two boys that were asking the questions during the story.

“Do you think that story was true?” asked the skinny boy to the chubby one.

“I don’t know but I’m curious to see where Ranger Tom is heading to. Let follow him.”

“Yeah.”

Both the boys walked as quietly as they could following the Ranger without being seen. They found it strange that he didn’t walk in his tent, but instead continued into the forest.

“Wait. What if the stories are true? Don’t you think we should stay in camp?” said the skinny boy.

“If they were true then why is he walking into the woods at night? I want to follow him and see what he is up to. Are you coming or not? Or are you too much of a chicken?”

“I’m no chicken!” he said before walking into the woods.

The two boys followed the ranger beyond the limits of the trail. They hid behind every tree to avoid being seen. While they walk, they could hear the crickets chirping. Until suddenly, the boys didn’t hear them sing anymore. Silence was absolute. Up in the distance the boys could see a faint light.

“Is that a firefly?” one of them asked.

“It looks like the candlelight on the window!” whisper the other boy in terror.

The ranger stopped and turned to look at the boys. The boys hid behind the tree truck and thought they were well hidden from his view. They peaked out again and saw that he was now grinning at them. The ranger took his quartz necklace off revealing his true form. He was a skeleton controlled by the centipedes! Their tiny little hearts began to race, silent tears began to roll down their cheeks. They were frozen with terror! Laughter began to fill the forest. When they turned to run away a beast shadow was up on their faces!

Their screams were drowned by the evil laughter.

They. Had. Been. Warned.