This is one of the weirdest stories I’ve ever heard.
Jim, the guy who had this ‘encounter’, is the older brother of one of my closest childhood buddies. Jim is a cool person, very calm and easy-going. He’s a big outdoorsman….a hunter\fisherman kind of guy.
He’s also not into the ‘paranormal’ at all. It was actually humorous for him to even discuss this story.
When I was 12 years old, Jim was around 18 or 19, and he would sometimes let some of his younger siblings and me ride with him when he drove to the cabin that their family owned. It was about 70 miles away, in some heavy wilderness. The men in their family used the place for hunting and fishing.
There was an area that we called "the clearing", which was an open area in a dense woods. You'd follow a trail for about 3/4 mile from the cabin, and you'd come into this clearing, which was an amazing natural circle of trees. We put some tree stumps inside the clearing to sit on. I remember the sunlight filtering through the trees, which sometimes produced a fantastic effect. The place always had this vibe, like it was a powerful spot. It can be spooky. As a kid, I felt like it was almost overwhelming sometimes.
I was at Jim’s house recently, helping him with his computer. We were talking and I brought up the cabin, and I said “ There’s something about that place that’s eerie…it’s mystical”. I told him how the place literally scared me when I was a kid.
He said that he had something ‘absolutely crazy’ to tell me, that he had never told anyone, not even his wife, because it was just too crazy. He felt like I might be ‘understanding’, because of the way I talked about the place.
This is our conversation, almost verbatim…
Jim said: ‘Remember the spot we called 'the clearing'?
I saw something there in August of 1994. You won't believe me..you'll think I'm crazy... I guess a person could try to explain it away as a complete and total hallucination.
I swear I saw it as sure as you’re sitting there.’
Me: What did you see?
Jim: 'I was out there about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, and I was just walking up the trail with my .22 rifle. I was walking really slowly. I scared up a couple grouse and they flew right up in front of me, almost in my face. It got very windy and looked like it was going to rain or storm. As I approached the clearing, I heard this really spooky bird call sound. It was very mournful, like a dove or pigeon. I have no idea if that sound was related to what I saw. I could not place the sound. When I walked into the clearing, I saw this shadow, this movement to my left, so I looked over, thinking it's going to be an animal, and then I saw this little man!'
Me: What????????
Jim: 'This tiny f'ing little man! He was kneeling down, like he was doing something with the plants... he seemed to be waving his hand over some plants, and I think I startled him...he stood up.
I only saw him for about 4-5 seconds...then he disappeared into the shadows. I saw his head, neck, shoulders, upper body, and long skinny arms. He was very thin.
I doubt that he weighed 10 pounds.
I froze, absolutely motionless, and watched him.
I could actually make out some of the features on his face, even though he was in the shadows. He had this really strange appearance, like a cartoon that had come to life.
If he was wearing any clothing, it was some kind of jumpsuit, almost like a type of camouflage… I couldn’t see any discernible shirt or pants.
He was two feet tall....the top of his head was the height of one of our tree stump stools. I got the distinct impression that he was doing something which I interrupted, I caught him by surprise, startled him...and that wasn't cool, and something told me to leave there quickly, so I turned around...I didn't run, but I walked very fast, trying to stay calm and quiet. I didn’t even go back to the cabin. I got in my truck and drove home. I was so freaked out I stopped at the store right before I got home. I got one of those small bottles of whiskey, like a pint, and poured the whole thing into a glass of Coke and drank it.”
Jim asked me who I thought the little man was, and what he was doing.
Like I was supposed to know! I told him I sure as hell don’t know. I’ve been doing some research, and in addition to the standard gnomes and faeries lore, I found some native American stuff about ‘little people’ that is quite interesting. I’ve also read some stories about construction crews in some Scandanavian locales actually re-routing highways so as not to disturb the little people. That’s wild!
Like the majority of ghost stories
, I think most of the stories about ‘little people’ are the result of over-active imaginations, but I believe these little people do exist. Maybe they live underground, or only in densely wooded areas. I also think they totally avoid humans.
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