We've all been told a scary story a time or two in our lives.
We typically hear such stories when we're young, with our respective parents, older siblings, or bored babysitters sitting us down and spinning a yarn full of all manner of ghosts, UFOs, and unexplainable noises and imagery. Our eyes grow wide, maybe we have a nightmare or two, but for the most part, we've pretty much forgotten it by the next day.
I've pretty much fallen back into that pit of horror over the last few weeks, courtesy of about a thousand different videos on YouTube.
You know how it goes: you're scrolling around the site for content, something interesting, looking for something that seems worth it, and some titles just happen to catch your eye. Well, I found two separate video series' on there, and I've become fairly addicted to the content of both of them in recent weeks.
The first series is called What Lurks Beneath, in which the host shares stories that have been submitted to him by viewers, usually coupled with some artwork or video clips that move the stories along. These stories are experiences that viewers allegedly had, with most of them having taken place during their childhood. They're stories of the generally unexplainable; we're talking ghosts, strange sightings, and things right out of someone's nightmares. Some of my favorite videos highlight the strange phenomena apparently taking place in some of the biggest, most well-known national parks in the United States.
The second series is called Mr. Nightmare, in which the host once again shares stories that have been submitted to him by viewers. The host simply narrates the videos, which are typically comprised of artwork or generic video clips that help illustrate the stories, but sometimes there is actual video footage that has been submitted. Now, some of these clips? Total nightmare fuel. There's one in which a lone carpenter assigned to do some renovations in someone's house hears some door knocking, and it turns out that it's the door leading down to the basement. He calls down there, and no one answers. Suddenly, the door slams shut right in front of him, and this poor guy just books it right out the door! He dropped his phone before he left, and something that we don't see ends up moving the phone on the floor, coupled with an odd breathing noise. In another clip from Japan, a man investigating an abandoned house in the woods apparently isn't alone, as you see a hand wrap around a corner of the wall. If that wasn't enough, a few seconds later you see a figure peer just slightly around the corner, locking eyes with the man holding the camera.
These kind of videos make me think about all the strange things I thought I saw when I was a kid. There's one strange instance that I still remember today that took place way back in the mid-90's. I was maybe 9 or 10 at the time, and one of the things that Conquest kids did back then was meet up on our bikes at a designated meet-up spot and just go around town, finding something to do. Well, on this night, the meet-up spot was by the old Pioneer elevator, which gives a great vantage point of the main access road off the highway coming into town. When you enter or exit Conquest using the main access road, you eventually find yourself right next to a canal that's located where the access road and the highway meet. This canal used to be a popular hangout spot back in the day, and some interesting things have been left abandoned in it, such as the Conquest cafe's entire food stock when the owner got up and left town one night. I guess the coyotes and raccoons ate good that night.
Anyway, a small handful of us Conquest kids met up at the elevator one night on our bikes, and we were just shooting the breeze, wondering what we should get up to or where we should go. And when I say 'night', I should mention that I don't mean it was late or anything, as it was more of a 'summertime at 8:00 PM' kind of shade. The sun was down but there was still plenty of light. As we were talking, we decided to point our bikes west and were about to take off, when suddenly we saw something right above us. It was a very odd-looking green light, and it was moving east behind us up in the sky. I can't say that I remember seeing anything physical that was actually producing the light, it just looked like a night light with a mind of its own. This green hue whizzed way up above us, moved east, and before any of this bizarre sighting could fully register with us kids, it looked like this light was actually coming down! Sure enough, it did, and it landed straight down in the Conquest canal. Seconds later, the entire canal was emanating this bright green glow. It was the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen, and I couldn't put my finger on what the heck could be causing it. Everything happens for a reason, right? So what was this about?
We watched the green lightshow, as it seemed to glow and radiate out of the canal up the road. A few of us wanted to bike out there and get a much closer look at this vibrant green "show", but one person in our group started to cry and pleaded with the rest of us that he wanted to go home. We chose the intermediary option and just stayed right there, watching it for what seemed like five minutes. Soon, the light started to go out, and POOF, it was gone. Like it wasn't even there to begin with. Strange stuff, man.
I think about that time now and then, and for the life of me, I still can't explain what the heck we saw that night. A green light that soared above us, flew east, and planted itself in the Conquest canal, giving off a bright green light for a few minutes? What kind of farm machinery is that?
Now I turn the mic to you, dear readers. What strange phenomena have you encountered? What terrifying situations have you ever found yourselves in? As you can see, I'm a sucker for this kind of content, so hit me up and reach out to me! I'd love to hear what your story is!
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
