#real ghost

When I was younger , one of my best friends lived close to the railroad tracks.  There was a bunch of trees and bushes and shit around it so we would call it our “forest.” We would go here on the weekends when we weren’t playing video games just to hang out and hit each other with wooden swords. We also used to pretend there were tree spirits living there so we would try to keep the place clean and always say hello and goodbye. (Yeah, we were weird idk.)

Anyway, one Saturday I was spending the night at his house. This was close to halloween so we were watching spooky movies and trying to freak each other out. My friend suggests that we should go into the forest to try to see the spirits of the trees. His mom was already asleep so we left the house and walk over there. As we were walking through the trees to the denser part my friend starts telling me a story. He says that he’s seen the spirits before but never told anyone. He says that you can see them out of the corner of your eyes if you know what to look for. When you’re walking through they will watch you. All you will be able to see is a glimpse of there white faces. They will be either close to the ground or in the trees. The rest of there bodies are pure black.

The only problem, is that when you try to look at them straight on they just disappear.  By this time I’m spooked. I’m that type of spooked like when you’re a kid and shit like ghosts killing you can actually happen. So we sit down for 5 minutes quietly to try to coax them out. We started walking single file looking straight forward but paying attention to our peripherals. My heart was pounding and I felt like I was definitely going to die. I could hear every sound in the trees. We walked around for about 15 minutes and didn’t actually see anything but we had psyched each other up so much we were both about to piss our pants. Then, as soon as we gave up and started walking back towards the house, that’s when I saw it. My heart dropped into my stomach and I stopped walking.

It was something white.

I stared ahead for a few trying to concentrate on what could be by that tree. My friend kept waking but I stayed still and silent. I quickly looked towards it but when I did it was gone. I turned to look towards where my friend was and he had just kept walking. I glanced back where the white face should’ve been and there beside me stood a man. His face was white and almost seemed to glow and his eyes were dark and sunken so far into his skull they looked black. He was balding but what hair he did have was a matted mess. He wore a brown suit covered in dirt and what looked to me like blood. He didn’t move, he didn’t say anything, he stood there and seemed to stare right through me.

All this took about 3 seconds before I started running. When I caught up with my friend I glanced back but the figure was gone. He asked me what was wrong and I said I thought I saw something, but it was nothing. We went back to his house and played some super smash bros, Then went to bed. Every time I opened my eyes in his dark room I could still see that face. I tried my best to just tell myself it wasn’t real and I finally went to sleep.

I still don’t know what it was I saw, A spirit, a strung out bum, or just my own mind fucking with me. I never told anyone what I saw until now, even years later when I learned how many suicides had happened near those tracks. I never looked up any of the people that died near the forest and I don’t think I ever want to. Just in case I see that face staring back at me.