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| The thumping noise | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 24 2006, 11:38 PM (232 Views) | |
| Pareidolian | Jun 24 2006, 11:38 PM Post #1 |
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Brackenwood Newbie
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There are a lot of strange things that have happened to people in my family, but this one will give me the chills for the rest of my life. This happened many years ago, when I was eight or so, I think. My two cousins, Jordan and Chris, were ten and twelve. They lived a couple of towns away, with my uncle, and our grandfather. The house was on a long, narrow dirt road, in an area with very few people, and the place was nearly surrounded by woods...there are a lot of little dirt roads like that in the smaller towns around here. I remember once when I was visiting, Chris told me that if you walked a little ways into the woods directly behind the house, you could hear a noise. A low, hollow, rhythmic thumping, with no apparent source. He swore there was no animal or anything else that could be making such a noise, and that it was always there, night or day, the same rhythm. There were certainly no houses or anything else close enough for it to be coming from. He was being pretty strange about it, and I sort of figured he was full of it, and just trying to scare me. Older cousins are like that. Of course, I was kind of a wussy kid, so I didn't wander into the woods to find out for myself. Instead, I went to my uncle and asked. Surprisingly, he confirmed the story. He didn't seem to think it was creepy, just odd and amusing, and even laughed about it. He told me that he'd looked around a little for the origin of the thumping before, and never really seemed to get closer to the source, but he was sure it was some ordinary natural phenomenon or other, possibly underground water. There were streams around, and even a bog somewhere not too far off. In any case, he said it was nothing to be worried about, and not to be upset by Chris. I still refused to go into the woods with him and Jordan. The idea gave me the creeps, for some reason, even if it wasn't supernatural or particularly threatening. My cousins loved to explore outside, but they didn't usually go very far. Neither my uncle nor my grandfather was ever really what I'd call overprotective, but they both were a bit concerned about how easy it would be for Jordan and Chris to get lost, when there were so few roads and people nearby, so they set rules about how far the boys could go on their own. Obviously the rules weren't always followed, but for the most part they stayed near enough that there was little risk of losing their way. But once, when they were both playing around at the edge of the woods, fencing with sticks and throwing rocks and such, trying to think of something else to do, Chris made the suggestion that they should find out what was making that thumping noise once and for all. They could grab some snacks, and then follow the noise to wherever it was coming from. Grandpa was napping, and their father had gone to get groceries, so it was the perfect chance to go farther than they were allowed. They snuck into the kitchen and got some food, then went back out, and into the woods. As soon as they could hear the sound, they listened carefully to determine the direction it came from, and started toward it. They didn't seem to get closer, but it was early afternoon, and they had plenty of energy. They followed the thumping for hours, occasionally stopping to eat, or be distracted temporarily by interesting nature-y things, or just rest. The sun started to set, but they kept going, determined to find what they were looking for. After some time, they didn't bother worrying about how upset their father would be, or even whether it might be dangerous to be alone out there with night falling. They just kept walking in the direction of the thumping. Suddenly, the noise grew somewhat louder and faster. Jordan shouted that they must be very close, and rushed ahead, leaving his brother behind. Startled, Chris took a moment, and then ran after Jordan, but it had gotten even darker by this time, and somehow he lost sight of his younger sibling. He stopped and called out, and listened for an answer or the sound of Jordan running through the dead leaves and sticks. All he heard was the low rhythm they had followed so far. He could no longer tell which way it came from. It seemed to echo from all directions. Hours later, a friend of their father's, a member of a search party looking for my cousins, found Chris. He was curled up, shivering, in a small clearing. Jordan was not with him, and Chris seemed to be in shock. The group continued to search for the younger boy for most of the night, but found nothing. They notified the police early in the morning. They never found Jordan, and it's assumed he died of exposure, or whatever kids lost in the woods die of. They never even found his body, though, and they went through the whole area as thoroughly as possible, more than once. I heard, at the time, that my cousin had gotten lost in the woods, and later, that he was dead. I didn't really know how to react. I'm pretty sure I cried at some point. It wasn't until years later that Chris told me the details written here, in a long and uncomfortable phone conversation. He's moved several states away, and nobody in the family hears from him much at all anymore. Last year, on a weekend sometime in July, I drove over to the house where they used to live. I have no idea who owns the property now, and I know trespassing isn't the best of ideas, but there was no one there at all, and no sign of anyone having been there recently. I got out of the car and walked around to the back, following some intense, unwise curiosity. I stared into the woods for a long moment, took a deep breath, and began walking. After a few minutes I stopped, and listened. No birds, no wind. Only a low, hollow, rhythmic thumping. I left. |
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| Auctionedllama | Jun 25 2006, 05:43 AM Post #2 |
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Brackenwood Newbie
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Thats freaky, but is that really true? Plus it would make sense if it was a spring, or possibly like an underwater creak, or (just an imaginative answer) maybe like rocks shifting under the ground like, stuck together or something. |
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| eviljoe | Jun 25 2006, 12:04 PM Post #3 |
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I put the Laughter in Manslaughter
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I'm not sure if I understand Where you with them? or were you just inside the house and heard about this later? |
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| Pareidolian | Jun 25 2006, 04:17 PM Post #4 |
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Brackenwood Newbie
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I was told about the noise once when I was visiting, but I wasn't there at all when Jordan got lost. I only heard the full story a very long time later from Chris. |
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| eviljoe | Jun 25 2006, 04:42 PM Post #5 |
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I put the Laughter in Manslaughter
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Ah I get it nice |
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| Ravenseye | Jun 25 2006, 04:54 PM Post #6 |
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Brackenwood Heavyweight
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Damn dood im sorry. Knowing how someone died is one thing but not finding the body and really knowing what happened is worse. Specially with that story to go along with it. Storys like this make me hate living right next to a woods. The creaking and howling of the trees and such freaks me the hell out when im out there alone. At the same time if your cousin actully just got lost and nothing supernatural did happen to him i can see how it did happen. Exploring the forest my self as a kid i remember several times of not knowing where i was and trying to find my way back to land i knew enough to find my way home. Im truely sorry for your loss. |
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| Fibibble | Jul 5 2006, 12:38 AM Post #7 |
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Brackenwood Member
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Damn thats a sad story...weird but sad...Kinda like Bingbong's adventure thing but..without the death
It's teh ghosties!
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It's teh ghosties!

4:52 AM Jul 12