The Scream | A True Story

I Want To Believe: Season 7

I Want Believe Season 5: The Scream | A True Story (written by NK Kranda, performed and produced by Nomar Slevik)

Closing song: Lullaby of Woe by Ashley Serena

NK first posted her experience on her FB page, the following is an excerpt from her original post (shortened due to character limit in Anchor's shownotes)

Caution : This post contains guns, possible assailant, possible assault in progress, and a bunch of other fuckery. Ye be warned.

Enter night #2. It is Sunday night. I have gone into town for groceries and am eating a very healthy dinner of carrot cake. I am locked in my car and I have my privacy blankets up. I am in my pajamas. The time is close to about 6:40. 6:45. I am getting ready for bed. The parking lot is completely empty. No other campers or hikers. Then I hear it...

Have you ever heard a woman not just scream, but she is screaming straight from every inch of her throat to her diaphragm? I have. It is what I imagine people think of as a blood curdling scream. It is worse than that. I scramble for my pistol and check my phone. No service. Another scream. This time paired with a "HELP ME.... HEEELP MEEE!!!!!!!"

We all know that the first rule of the woods is to not follow screaming things into the woods at night. Especially alone. This is how one dies. Not just in horror movies either. But here I am. Pajamas on. Door open. Pistol raised. Standing barefoot in a deserted parking lot.

Should I try and follow the screams? Is it a bobcat? Is it a mountain lion? Is it some kids fucking around? I don't even have a flash light. Where are my shoes? This parking lot is completely unlit. Fuck. The scream comes again and interrupts all my thoughts. It is the same pitch of screaming to death, complete with the words help me and stop. Even worse she sounds farther away now, like she is being dragged or carried deeper into the forest.

Instinct or training or adrenaline or all 3 take over. I raise the pistol high above the woodline and fire. My only thoughts now are to be as LOUD as possible. Hopefully a park ranger will come. Hopefully the shot scared the attacker or animal and it will leave the area. Still in the state of shock or whatever it was, I fired 2 or 3 more rounds high above the woodline. Then I see it. And I feel it. About 30 yards away from where I'm standing is the mouth of the trail.

What probably wasn't, but looked very much like a shadow person, appeared suddenly against the light sand of the mouth of the trail.It regarded me for a long second, then decided to charge at me. Fast. I dont know if I drove away with my van door still open, or maybe it closed on its own.... but I got the hell out of there and drove to a ranger station. A ranger was close by, and seeing me shaking in the car asked me what was wrong.

I told them I heard a woman screaming and noises in a certain parking lot of a certain trail. Strangely, he did not question me further. The ranger said thank you, then left in the direction of the trail.

I then continued to leave the park for the night. I didn't stop to put my shoes on. Didn't stop to find my glasses. Just drove and drove and drove until I found a gas station about 45 minutes away.

I called one friend babbling about what happened. I was terrified.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of rain on my car. No woods. No screaming. Just a gas station.

So my friends, even when we are far away from the Appalachian Mountains......

Rule #1 : That is probably not a woman screaming.

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