Urban Legends and Myths

Old Man On The Rocks

A few years back, a friend of mine and I had a really strange experience. This particular friend was very open-minded and simply loved to do whatever, and for some reason we had the craziest adventures together.

One warm day during the summer of 2005, we decided to explore a new hiking path that we had never been on before. The path went back deep into the woods and eventually ended up in a dead-end circular clearing. There was a small creek next to it, so we sat down on some large rocks and just talked and enjoyed the day.

When it began to get dark, we brushed ourselves off and went to stand up when I felt a weird prickly sensation on the back of my neck. I felt as if we were being watched.

That's when my friend gasped and I turned to see what she was looking at. Behind us was an old man. He had white hair and a white mustache. A straw hat was placed on his head. He was sitting on two large boulders with his head propped up against the second boulder. His eyes were closed. It was such an awkward position that i feared the worst. My heart was racing a mile a minute and so were my thoughts: How long had he been sitting there? He certainly wasn't there when we first got there! Was he watching us this whole time? Is he sleeping? Is he... dead?

We looked at each other wide-eyed and fearful. I cleared my throat and croaked out, "Are you okay, sir?" My voice seemed weird and loud in the darkening stillness of the woods. The man didnt move, didn't bat an eye. He seemed to not even be breathing, but we were too far away to be sure.

Without any more hesitation, we took off at a sprint down the path, back to my car. When we got there and jumped in, I grabbed my cellphone and quickly dialed 911. I told the dispatcher our location and that there was a potential dead man back on the path.

It seemed to take forever for the police to locate us. When They did, we directed them down the path. They insisted we go with them, but stay close behind. Two officers led the way, with a female officer trailing behind us. When we reached the clearing, it was completely dark out at that point. The officers swung their flashlights around the clearing, but the old man was nowhere to be found!

My friend and I clung to each other in a panic. We hadn't imagined it! The officers were not happy! They asked us if we had been using marijuana or other illegal substances, but I think the female cop believed that we had really seen something. We walked back to our cars confused and disappointed. We were still insisting on what we saw, but it was no use.

I know what we saw! I don't know if it was considered paranormal or not, but it certainly was scary enough. I never went back there again!