SC EP:1258 The Fireside Encounter

Ryan writes "I'm sending this email because I spoke with my daughter many times about her experience in WV on our 30acre property next to my sisters 30acre property, so between us 60acres. Emmy decided she wanted to tell you what she experienced outside of telling me her dad. Emmy is 13 yrs old now and when she had her experience she was 7 maybe 8 years old with my memory. When she was little, maybe 5, I taught her how to build a fire in the fire pit(stones stacked in a circle) next to our house close to the wood line next to the hay fields. The night she had her experience she started a fire with me and we were hanging out. She had built a fort with blankets and with some camp chairs and we were watching the fire. I told her I had to run inside and use the bathroom and get a snack/drink keep an eye on the fire, I'll be right back. After going inside and using the bathroom, grabbing a bag of potato chips and drink, I was at the back porch door and Emmy was there trying to open the door and crying upset. I opened the door and she was crying very scared and I asked what happened. She told me there was something very large and tall and dark in the wood line watching her next to big pine tree while she was watching the fire. She told me she looked multiple times thinking it was her imagination but she thought it would go away but it didn't and then she realized it was real and she got really scared, when she got the back steps maybe 100ft from the fire the tears and uncontrollable crying hit her. That's when I met her at the back door almost immediately as I was headed back outside. I asked her to show me where she saw the figure and the leaves on the ground next to the big pine where flat. Not like the other leaves like something had laid down on them or stood on them if it was really big. Not the same as the other leaves in the woods around that particular point. No footprints, just flat leaves. I looked up and there was a broken pine branch about 8ft. I'm 6'3" and my arm outstretched above my head couldn't touch the broken limb. Anyway, we went to bed that night and Emmy calmed down and told me what she saw and I told her it's ok I believe you. She told me it was big and dark and red eyes, watching her but the eyes were red or orange like the fire burning, but she said she saw what she said was hair off the arm holding the big pine tree. She told me it was just standing there watching her. The next day, daytime I asked her to show me where she saw the figure and it was the same spot as the night before when we went to look. The same the leaves were flat in the woods like something heavy was there and the same branch I saw the night before was bent or broken. Afterwards we did some gifting in the woods with marbles and had them replaced with rocks on the mosssy log. We had some feathers replaced with different feathers. Recently we had a 6 point deer skull blanched white with time and no meat or hair on it about 8ft up in an oak tree next to my woodpile for firewood. We recently had a deer leg same blanched white no meat or hair on it on the edge of the hay field up from the creek in a tree about 7ft off the ground. My daughter Emmy told me she wanted me to email you and tell you what she experienced." Tayler writes "My husband and I are originally from Arkansas. He was recently stationed back here for my his final duty assignment before retirement. We are big outdoors people hunting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, kayaking you name it. Over the years, we've had a few strange encounters, and even my grandmother, who lives in a rural part of Arkansas, has had her own experiences. Last weekend, we went to float the Buffalo River and do some primitive camping. Not long after getting on the river, I was taking in the scenery and admiring the massive bluffs when I noticed a cave. As I focused on it, I caught movement off to the right along the bluff. At first, I assumed it was hikers, which isn't unusual in that area. I pointed it out to my husband and said it looked like an adult and a younger teen. Then I realized something was off they appeared entirely brown in color. As I tried to get my husband to look, they suddenly disappeared into the cave. That's when it hit me there aren't any trails in that specific area that I'm aware of, and we know those trails pretty well. They were gone before he could see them. I was disappointed he missed it, both to confirm what I saw and to share the experience. As the day went on, I tried to rationalize it and mostly brushed it off. We continued floating for several hours, had a great time, and eventually made it to our campsite. We built a fire, cooked dinner, had a couple of drinks—just enjoying a rare kid-free adventure. That night, I woke up suddenly with my body shaking uncontrollably. My husband noticed and thought I was just cold and held me closer it was in the 40s, after all. But I told him I felt sick. He eventually went back to sleep, and that's when I noticed a bluish-white ball of light hovering outside our tent. At first, I thought it might be the moon, but it didn't make sense the light was coming from the wrong direction, and it was moving slightly. As I focused on it, I became violently ill. I was getting sick about every 30 minutes for hours. It was intense to the point where I genuinely felt like I was dying. At some point, I realized the light was gone. Not long after that, the sickness stopped. I remember just begging for it to be over so I could get some sleep. I hadn't planned on reaching out, but today, while cleaning my house, I put on your newest episode the one where Rick talked about a woman who became sick after seeing a similar ball of light, possibly related to radiation exposure. The timing and similarities felt hard to ignore. What's also strange is that my husband and I had the same food and drinks that day, and neither of us drank much. He never got sick, and I was the only one who saw the light."