From the disappearance of the Wittebane brothers 400 years ago to the present day, a wide variety of strange incidents of all kinds have been recorded in Gravesfield.
People claiming to see strange things among the trees, objects that disappear without explanation, creepy sightings to say the least. There are even some cases in which witnesses swear to have seen the Wittebane brothers themselves, alive, wandering in the depths of the forest decades after their disappearance.
However, although the people have always lived with these things, originally they were very isolated cases. And when I say isolated, I mean that it could be years, decades even before a new testimony appeared.
Originally, yes, but recently over the last 30 years, the rate of cases has been increasing progressively without any apparent explanation, with between one and five new incidents every month; just to give a margin, although without being strictly correct.
Not only that, but the most interesting thing about the fact is that the individual events practically disappeared. The stories are now related to each other.
For example, there is Marilyn herself, who has been appearing in Gravesfield for 10 years, participating in all the stories that I told you before. She is now known as the town madwoman, or the witch, depending on who you ask. This is what I mean; there is a continuity, the same mythical image that is spoken of in different perspectives.
There is another legend in Gravesfield of these characteristics, which was talked about long before Marilyn appeared. In fact, is the pioneer of this increase in cases of anomalous activity within Gravesfield.
Today it is less well known, and there are not as many reliable testimonies as Marilyn's; But the ones that exist have terrified the people of Gravesfield for nearly a decade.
1992, mid-August, a particularly cold morning.
A man who loves the outdoors goes for a jog like every day on a not very busy path through the woods near his residence. His plan, as always, was to go along the dirt road until reach a small lagoon that is next to the path, about 30 minutes away, from there turn around and return to his house, which would be another 30 minutes.
It was early, the first rays of the sun were beginning to peek through the tops of the trees, and the sound of the birds accompanied their footsteps on the damp earth, product of the rain that had occurred the night before. That cold and pure air that filled the environment was wonderful to feel in his lungs.
This is how he spends the first 20 minutes, distracted by the beauties of nature to which he had become so accustomed. Until suddenly, the birds... stopped singing.
All of them, which brought an almost sepulchral, suffocating silence for the poor guy, who, without giving it more importance than the mere fact of the loneliness it represented, kept a firm step.
There was something strange, but he couldn't identify what.
And it would make him more uncomfortable when a sudden sensation passed through his neck, one of those times when you perceive that something is watching you from the deep darkness, in this case, the denseness of the trees that extend to infinity. For some reason, he felt helpless, stalked. He surveyed his surroundings without finding anything distinguishable.
A few minutes later he reached the lagoon, where everything returned to normal. The birds sang again, and that freed him from the oppressive previous atmosphere.
But now, he had to go back.
With the calm of that moment, he took a short break to give him space to think, and only imagine that it was some coincidence and imaginations that were made by suggestion.
After relaxing her nerves, he started walking again.
Again, everything was normal. The song of the birds, the noise of the wind crossing the trees causing that characteristic whistle; no weird feeling, no heaviness in the environment.
Wish it had stayed that way, and that it had been nothing more than a curiosity of the day that he would have forgotten in the afternoon.
The strange situation repeated again. The silence, more or less for the same distance that he had previously passed. The discomfort was felt again, but now worse.
Those eyes, glued to the back of his neck, closer.
He wasn't scared by it, but he did quicken his pace because the situation wasn't pleasant at all and wanted to get out of it as soon as possible.
He looked around again, and this time could see something red stirring in the bushes, approaching him.
Now he had reason to be afraid, more than that, he directly panicked.
He forgot about jogging and ran wildly as fast as could. It was not enough.
He tried to look back one more time to see in detail what was chasing him. The only thing was able to realize was how that stalker... was pouncing on him.
He fell forward, his right leg ended up in the jaws of the animal; with the other tried to kick his face, only to take deep lacerations from his huge front claws, on his thigh, and a good part of her back.
The attack was short, it only lasted about 10 seconds and most of it was upside down, with one of the animal's legs on his back, so he couldn't see it closely; But he was able to determine that it was definitely not a bear, or any large cat.
It was big, almost the size of the aforementioned bears; however, with orange-red hair that covered his entire body, except for his legs and face, which had a very marked white color.
- It is terrifying to think that you suffer the attack of a wild animal, and even worse is to realize that you cannot recognize that something; a being that walks away from everything you thought you knew –
- You fight to survive, but at the same time you want to understand the situation you're in, it's the only thing you can hold on to find a certain serenity in your mind, think about how to react, how to act. If you don't even have that, if you are facing something unknown and the seconds tick by, that is the true horror – This is how the victim describes it.
Among what he managed to see of the appearance of the being there is something that he always emphasizes a lot; his extravagant and horrifying eyes.
- I saw them only for a brief moment, and since then I have had them engraved in my mind. Those eyes, big… and completely empty; no pupils, no iris, nothing at all. Imagine, a window to the abyss, to the darkness that is tearing you apart while remaining expressionless. You don't see it enjoy, you don't see hate it, you see nothing but death, your own death, looking back at you –
The man, father of a family, was desperate to get rid of this animal; he squirmed and kicked, but nothing worked. He yelled at the top of his lungs, but he was too deep in the woods to be heard.
He was going to die, he thought he was going to die there... and suddenly, without further ado, the creature released him.
He never explained himself why, but he remembers the scene vividly looping in the nightmares that haunted him for years to come.
Deep shrieks came from the creature as it let go of its leg that chilled its bones. He expresses it as the most tearing sound he has ever heard in his entire life, indescribable, just… he said it sounded like a scream, but it made him feel much more horrible than the pain of his wounds was capable of. He felt inside of him… as if a woman was suffering a lot; an ordeal far worse than he could imagine at the time.
The creature reared up, raised its front paws to its face as it screamed, and a few seconds later ran back into the trees.
The man was very lucky. In that state he had no way to go for help, but a cyclist also taking that route came upon the scene a few minutes later.
He crudely helped him put a tourniquet on his leg since he couldn't take him on his bike, and quickly headed back to town to return with the emergency services. He had no other choice.
The man had to wait, once again alone, praying that the "thing" would not come back to finish the job. If so, he could do nothing.
The most tortuous and distressing moments of his life, and with that constant fear haunting his head for a long time, he ended up falling unconscious.
Paramedics rescued him 15 minutes later, a little more and he would have bled to death. He had to go through a couple of emergency surgeries, but miraculously, managed to survive such a shocking experience.
This story is completely true, and it caused such a stir that it not only made it into the local papers, but it was one of the few times an event in Gravesfield crossed its borders and made it into the media in the state of Connecticut. The news of the incident covered the television channels.
For a time the town was filled with journalists, reporters, hunters, forest guards and independent investigators. All seeking to find out, each with their means and for their interests… What had happened on that cold August morning? What was it that this man saw, and attacked him?
This is what makes this case so genuine in my opinion. Unlike other alleged sightings of strange creatures, here we have physical evidence; the man lost his leg because of this incident, to invent a story like this considering the great loss it meant for him. It seems to me not.
Nor is it irrefutable proof, but at least it is proof that something had to happen; whether as said or not, that is the question.
In any case, if this horrific testimony is not enough, it turns out that it did not end there. The mystery only intensified as the weeks passed.
The authorities inspected the scene of the event and managed to take the mold of a pair of tracks partially dissolved in the mud, at first glance not consistent with the animals in the area. In addition, they found a sample of hair entangled in some nearby bushes, red.
Everything seems to corroborate the descriptions of the victim. However, something very strange happened with this.
I wanted to continue investigating about these recovered samples, but I could not get anything else. No photos, no analysis, no more mentions about it; Just what I mention to you, which appears in a report from the Gravesfield Police Department.
Either the report is false, or the evidence literally went… poof… and disappeared from public knowledge. As if they had been forgotten, or taken away, erasing almost all information related to the discovery.
Why? This really is very rare. I was left with the unknown just like you, I will try to find out more about it.
A 30-kilometre perimeter search around the area was carried out to try to find the creature, but nothing else was found.
Interviews were conducted with all those involved, their acquaintances and the surrounding people. Apart from what has already been said, some mentioned having heard strange noises during the night before the attack.
A hunter who was in his retirement cabin 8 kilometers from the town, said he heard screams in the depths of the forest, around 3 in the morning.
Just as the victim described it, horrifying screams that instilled deep discomfort, anguish, and the impression that someone was experiencing horrible suffering. They were quite noticeable despite the roar of the rain.
In his more than 40 years of experience traveling through the woods, he had never heard of such a thing.
The population of Gravesfield was terrified.
No one wanted to get even a meter between the trees, and the nights were deserted because of a self-imposed curfew among the people.
The months following the attack further encouraged belief in this being with the appearance of new testimonies. People claiming to have seen the creature, or heard of it, but no experience as amazing as the original.
Not today, but at that time Christianity still had a great presence in the town. Most of the people were believers, which means that, when questioned by the media, ended up coming out and echoing what would become the nickname of this urban legend.
The Gravesfield Demon, of course.
One more link to add to the campus of cryptozoology.
However, like many of its exponents, belief in its existence would be relatively short-lived.
In early 1993 the police closed the case, supposedly solving the mystery.
The attack was attributed to a Bengal tiger illegally released into the area. It is suspected that an eccentric millionaire would have acquired the animal as a puppy, a practice that was gaining popularity at the time with different species of wild animals. Once he got older, either because he found it awkward to keep or lost interest, he released him into the woods. Incredibly stupid and unconscious decision.
In addition to this, many of the testimonies following the August attack were later shown to be frauds, designed to gain attention or gain some financial benefit by taking advantage of the wave of tourism.
The authorities obtained the confession of several of those involved and demonstrated the falsification of alleged evidence that validated the existence of the monster.
Even so… the thing is that the people were in a state of paranoia and collective panic, leading to the almost total omission of these statements. Either they didn't believe it, or they were directly so influenced by the idea that there was a demon coming from hell itself, that a different option didn't enter their heads. At least not at that moment.
It would be with the months and then the years that little by little these resolutions would be accentuated, hand in hand with the arrival of new generations increasingly skeptical of the mysticism of the church.
This is how it all ended, people simply forgot about the Gravesfield Demon, bringing back tranquility to the small town; leaving his image buried in history as a mere unusual incident that by misinterpretation created a myth.
So the Gravesfield Demon legend is false?
That would be the easy answer, but although it was shown that there was a clear sensationalism and fraud in many of the stories on this subject, it should also be mentioned that there were loose details that could never be explained.
There are theories, but personally I don't see that any of them really solve the problem, they just leave even more gaps and inconsistencies, making the most unreal alternative more and more logical.
Despite what the authorities said, no one suspected of being responsible for the release of the tiger was ever pointed out, nor was the alleged animal ever captured despite numerous inspections of the area. Not only that, but also no traces of the presence of a feline with similar characteristics were found: no footprints, no droppings, no corpses that he could leave behind from his hunts in the forest.
Several zoologists who have investigated this case do not explain why, if it was a tiger, it would decide to abandon its prey by having it at its mercy, just like that, or because it did not directly try to bite its neck at any time to end its life. There are many inconsistencies in the behavior, as well as the noises described by the victim that could hardly be attributed to a Bengal tiger.
The screams that were heard in the woods at dawn, the evidence seized from the scene that completely disappeared. It seems that we are dealing with one of those cases where there is a source that genuinely involved something unexplained, but it was overshadowed by quackery and a lot of false stories.
Perhaps now you are wondering what happened to the man who was attacked by the alleged entity?
A year after what happened, he and his family left Gravesfield never to return, his new whereabouts being an absolute mystery. No one knows what became of him, he chose to completely disappear from the public eye.
In the year 2000, a radio network managed to contact him for an interview about everything that had happened, and the repercussions that it would have on his life up to that moment.
He says that he left Gravesfield because the place had become a torment for him. He lived in constant terror every day, he was afraid to leave his house, and even going near the edge of the forest caused severe anxiety attacks that led him to end up in the hospital more than once.
Paranoia was eating him alive, along with night terrors that landed him in therapy for several years.
Always the same, always the same dream
Those screams, and those…. Eyes.
Blacks, completely empty, looking at him, while tore him apart.
Of course they asked him what he thought of the official explanation regarding the Bengal tiger. I quote verbatim the words he used in response.
"Memories can become blurred, what we see may not be what we believe. But there is one thing that will never be wrong, and that is fear. So simple, so superficial at times, but at the same time so clear. No matter where I go, no matter how many years pass, it is always there, in the dark, deep in the trees, ready to transport me back to the place and time that was so tragic. It's here (pointing to his head) and it will never go away, so I'm sure of what I saw. I can't escape no matter how hard I try, I know will follow me until black-eyed death comes back for me"
The idea of a "tiger" to explain the tortuous experience that he lived through and will haunt him until the end of his days, was as if they were practically insulting him and making fun of his mental reasoning abilities.
That wasn't a tiger, it wasn't anything he could classify within the knowledge of man, end of story. With that he ended the interview, and since then he has never been shown in any similar medium, leaving this case as one of the greatest mysteries in the history of Connecticut.
Today, almost 30 years later, the legend of the Gravesfield Demon has been relegated to mere rumors and village stories to feed supernatural folklore. However, that would not be the last thing that would be known about this particular urban myth.
The creature has continued to star in some encounters throughout these three decades, cementing with more data and descriptions the knowledge of its appearance, as well as the behavior it usually has.
Right off the bat, to say that according to how the witnesses represent it, it looks more like a bird than a mammal, something that we could only compare with other mythological beings, such as the griffin.
They say it is quite similar; it has wings, it is quadrupedal, taking the idea of the bird and the lion, but the rest is different. Instead of an eagle's head and neck, it has a white humanoid face, with elongated pointed ears, and from it comes long hair that runs down its back until it ends in a small tail.
The hind legs are three-toed claws, two in front one back, brown, while the front ones look creepily human; five fingers, counting one opposable, white as the face.
One feature that stands out a lot is his eyes, just as described by the original victim. Black, completely empty, but at the same time they glow in the dark; Some say white, others with a reddish tint.
Apart from all that, another detail that is also mentioned and is very curious. A black sphere on his chest that doesn't seem to be part of his body, but is like something he is wearing for some reason. No one has any idea what it could be or what purpose it serves, the assumptions that exist range from a calcified protuberance, to a kind of identification mark from some secret research center from where this creature would have escaped.
Of everything as you see.
It is extremely aggressive, at the slightest provocation or anything that you are in a certain proximity, it will launch to attack. Fortunately, the first case is the only one registered where there has been a victim close to being fatal.
It has almost never been seen inside the town, usually keeping to the edge of the tree line at most. It is commonly associated with strange noises, such as screeching or hissing, and some believe that bright lights frighten it, being a possible way of defending itself in the event of an encounter.
The descriptions are very interesting... but, there is something that I didn't agree with at first.
This is what is said in the stories now, but in the old ones, the Gravesfield Demon was represented in other form.
Not completely different, but different.
Now when they talk about it, they say that its fur or plumage varies between gray tones, and that it has an enormous size that in comparison would be almost twice the size of an adult brown bear.
It is said to be about four feet thick; on all fours it reaches two meters in height, and upright it could reach three or even four meters.
This is not the same as described by the victim in the first documented case.
He claimed that had orange fur and was not much larger than a young bear, which was reaffirmed by credible testimonies a few years later.
Of course, then I understood it, and I realized why these discrepancies have fascinated cryptozoology lovers.
Very rarely is it possible to see a case where these changes are witnessed, which, more than inconsistencies, seem to be a natural evolution.
Was what attacked that man 30 years ago just a young specimen, and what has been described in current testimonies is the same creature, but has matured and is now in an adult state?
Perhaps we are not dealing with a paranormal entity, but rather some species unknown to science that has its own life cycle. Although something like that would be complicated for very obvious reasons.
Be that as it may, leaving aside the beliefs of one or the other, what is definitive is how the figure of this Demon of Gravesfield has left his mark on the mystical image of the small town. Be it just as a legend, or as forbidden stories hiding a horrible truth that nobody wants to find out.
I told you how it all originated, but there are more stories worth telling, with their own elements and perspectives that may be just as interesting, or even more interesting.
Unfortunately or fortunately not many have had the opportunity to encounter the Gravesfield Demon in the 30 years since it was first known, compared to other urban myths.
His appearances are very occasional, years have passed without a related incident, at least if we talk about genuinely strange cases.
Of course fakes keep appearing, 4 out of 5 almost certainly are. But in that extra 1, we can find some of the most incredible experiences known within Gravesfield, which have had the biggest skeptics scratching their heads looking for an explanation for what happened, without much success.
What I am going to share with you are the experiences that are most often told when talking about this topic; either because of the remarkable credibility of the witness, or the startling evidence it was provided to refute the words.
This, is what they told.
A few years ago a guy was camping deep in the woods, about 10 kilometers outside of town. It was not the first time that he did it, his experience as a Boy Scout endowed him with very good survival skills and a lot of passion for time outdoors.
He already had a place where liked to go whenever wanted to camp, on the edge of a small lagoon, near a hill with spectacular views. For him, it was regular every few months to give himself a few days of rest in that place: enjoying the fresh air, fishing, taking photographs of flora and fauna or going to the hill to just contemplate the landscape meditating on his life.
On that particular occasion he had been there for a couple of days; in fact, this was his last night before he packed up and headed back. Nothing out of the ordinary, a very calm week as it had always been. A starry night, precious; frogs croaked, crickets sang and a few fireflies were visible.
He finished dinner by his campfire, went into his tent, and got ready to sleep while the sounds of the forest accompanied his sleep.
He calculates that it would be after midnight, when something... unusual, slipped in the middle of the pleasant nocturnal sonatas. Something, which he could not yet identify with his experience of several years camping in the area, causing a sudden reaction of bewilderment that would wake him up quickly.
He describes the sound as… a kind of hissing sound, similar to the noise that cicadas make, but not as high pitched, and at the same time louder.
What could it be? He had no idea, but at first he thought logically and just assumed that his intuition was wrong to recognize the noise, or perhaps it was some oddity of nature that he hadn't coincidentally had the chance to meet until now.
This filled him with curiosity and he decided to go out and take a look to see if could discover what it was. Barely opening the entrance to his tent did notice something that petrified him on the spot. The noise was literally too loud, too wide; he did not know how to express it, only added that in no way could it be produced by an insect.
At first he hadn't noticed because sounded lower, giving him a great shock to realize that it was because the source of his origin was further away than he thought. Which means… it was getting closer, the sound getting louder and louder.
He closed the tent again and sat huddled on the ground, just waiting for what might happen.
Was it some larger animal? The idea was more and more distressing to him, because as the minutes went by that hiss completely monopolized the environment, followed by the sudden movement of several bushes and the strong creak of some branches; he couldn't see it, but noticed him… now if was very close. That overwhelming noise, the excessive way he perceived in his movements through the brush; whatever it was, it seemed to be very large.
According to his calculations, at that moment the strange being was no more than 10 meters from his tent, crossing a line of trees on the right side of the entrance.
The hissing stopped being the most chilling thing.
Almost could hear him breathing…and growling, in a particularly horrid way. Nothing he knew of in nature could produce such a sound, so used a different comparison instead. In his words, it was as if a person wanted to scream, but was short of breath, either on purpose, or something was choking him.
Definitely, he was facing something completely unknown.
The calm was trying to maintain was completely shattered and he panicked.
But what could he do? He had no weapons, no battery in the cell phone... just his old camera that had a very powerful flash.
What the hell was he thinking? Doesn't even know, just that it might be able to scare him with the flash.
He said that was so scared that his mind was blank, that didn't know what else to do and at the time it seemed like the most sensible idea.
What was it out there making those creepy noises? At least wanted to know, because if he'd just stood still and waited, maybe that gotten close enough to attack his store, and then wouldn't have been able to do anything.
Was making this decision what saved his life?
There is no way of knowing, the only thing that is certain is what happened.
He steeled himself, grabbed his camera, and left the safety of the tent, slipping out of sight into the line of trees that separated him from the creature.
Frightened, he raised the camera, aimed at the huge black mass in front of him, and just when it became aware of his presence, fired.
The photograph he took and with which validates his testimony is one of the most impressive pieces of evidence for the existence of the Gravesfield Demon. The most famous photo of the creature to date.
The guy was lucky. Satisfying his curiosity could have meant death if the creature turned aggressive against him; but according to him, apparently the flash did scare it. Let out a great scream before fleeing into the depths of the forest, which would penetrate to his bones, make his legs tremble and would back up until nearly collapsed.
He was in shock for several seconds, the world seemed to have stopped around him while his brain tried to assimilate what had just happened.
When was able to come to his senses his mind cleared, and now was able to analyze the situation.
Didn't want to be there if that came back. He grabbed what could from their camp as quickly as possible and escaped in the direction of the town.
Advancing 10 kilometers in the middle of the night in the forest, he knew was the recipe for certain suicide, so he had to stop to wait for the sun to come up once considered that had moved far enough away.
He lit a makeshift fire and climbed into his sleeping bag, though couldn't sleep again that night.
At the first ray of sunlight, he got up again and started the rest of the way to Gravesfield. Experienced great anxiety along the way, but luckily for him that was it, did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary again.
A few hours later it was back in town, safe and sound, ending with the most terrifying experience of his entire life.
There are very few photos that can be obtained of the Gravesfield Demon, and that is precisely why its veracity is highly doubted.
The photograph in question was taken with an old camera, one of those polaroids, so it could hardly have been manipulated with digital media.
The man affirms that it is authentic, and expressed that like most people he had always been skeptical of the stories that were told in the town. But after this experience, he was no longer sure on what should believe.
He never returned to that place in the forest, not even to retrieve the rest of his things, and to this day continues to ensure that this story is completely true, which has marked his life so much that now one of his hobbies is to investigate the village legends. Recently got his own space assigned in the local newspaper, where goes around telling about his finds.
To date, this is the last recorded incident involving the so-called Gravesfield Demon. No new testimonials have surfaced recently.
Most of the people who claim to have had contact with the Gravesfield Demon have not really even seen it, only heard it; or at least to him they attribute certain strange noises that have had the opportunity to hear in Gravesfield.
The screams, those deep shrieks in the middle of the forest late at night; that is what is most commonly reported. Although there is another sound that has also appeared very frequently.
The hiss.
Like that of an insect, a cicada or a locust, but more intense and to a certain extent unpleasant.
In 2008 a young girl who had stayed up late studying for exams had the opportunity to hear this strange cacophony coming from outside her home.
At first she thought it was the natural noises of bugs, but it wasn't long before realized it was something unusually loud.
Her property connected directly to the edge of the forest through her garden, it was easy to identify that the noise was coming from the deep darkness of the trees.
She wasn't scared, on the contrary, it produced a lot of intrigue.
Had never heard such a strange hiss, she wanted to know what kind of insect, or perhaps exotic animal, produced it. At that time had not heard about the legend of the Gravesfield Demon.
Went to get the family camera and began to record outside the window of her room that looked directly onto the garden and the forest. She wanted to have the evidence to later show her parents, or her teachers, and to be told what it was.
The immense blackness of the night did not allow her to see anything in the trees, only heard the hissing in the distance, mixed with the usual noises and the light rain that was falling.
The hissing was not constant, it lasted for a few seconds, stopped suddenly, and returned after a while. Sometimes it was closer, other times farther away. The closest it ever got, according her calculations, was about 20 meters counting since her window on the second floor.
The event lasted about 15 minutes, while in the final 5 minutes she describes how the hiss sounded further and further away, until it stopped being heard.
It was the next morning when her high school classmates told her about the legend, and that she had possibly recorded one of the most characteristic noises produced by the Gravesfield Demon.
Despite this, the girl continued to consider herself skeptical, although she could not determine what it was that produced that strange noise. To everyone who asked replied with the legend, or they simply excused themselves with they had no idea.
Did what could, but had to settle for remaining in doubt.
A few years later she posted the video online asking people if anyone knew what animal might be responsible for the hiss.
Some offered hypotheses, but in the end, no one was able to answer the enigma satisfactorily.
The next and last story i will tell today took place in the year 1998, and involves a group of friends traveling by car back to Gravesfield after a party in a neighboring town.
In the vehicle were 5 people, 3 men and 2 women, all experiencing a deep state of intoxication; including the driver, although knowing this responsibility would remain in his hands, decided not to consume as much liquor as his companions.
It was late, although the party had not ended when they decided to retire, knowing the huge road that awaited them to return to their homes before dawn. It could be a very good party, but neither of them liked the idea of being punished for being absent the next day.
Two o'clock in the morning. By that point they had been on the road for a long time and they only had about an hour and a half left to reach Gravesfield, so they were confident. They were able to have a great time at an incredible party, and also be in their beds on time, avoiding any anger from their parents. The perfect ending to the day of the average teenager in the 90s.
The night passed with total normality, very very calm; the road was a desert, and silence reigned in the atmosphere. The only thing that accompanied the boys were their absurd conversations influenced by the dementia of alcohol, the car lights illuminating the next steps they would take, the trees on both sides of the road moving in unison with the wind, and the dim glow of the moon who that night only showed the right half.
However, it was very dark. There was practically nothing to be seen, and it didn't help that the irresponsible passengers in this car were too distracted from themselves to notice what was going on around them.
No one noticed.
In the middle of the road, standing, there was a very large figure. The driver didn't realize it was there until was right in front of him, a measly second away from hitting him.
He swerved to the right and hit the brakes going off the road, avoiding hitting anything only by a miracle. The commotion woke some of the passengers up from drunkenness.
- What happened? -
- A bear, some object in the middle of the road? –
Any doubts were immediately dispelled as they looked back through the windows, coming face to face with a dauntingly unsettling scene. A large black silhouette, still standing on the road; They couldn't tell what it was, but it was screaming madly, staggering, even though they hadn't hit him.
Stunned, they just watched; without gesturing or performing any action, any act, as an effect of ignorance of what they were experiencing.
The moment that seemed static in time was distorted, when that dark thing stopped its rickety reaction, turned towards them, noting its large eyes that shone white, watching them.
Before they realized the situation they were in, the entity crouched down, let out an even louder scream, and threw itself on top of the vehicle. Everyone started screaming and scrambling inside the car, listening to the creature scratch the roof with its claws while still letting out bloodcurdling screeches.
The driver rejoined, steered the car back onto the road, and pushed the throttle as hard as he could. The creature fell from the ceiling on impulse; tried to run after them, until they lost sight of him.
The boys were terrified by what had just happened. They argued, they looked for an explanation, only getting more desperate for not finding any.
They tried to calm down, thought that everything was over; whatever it was didn't see him anymore, and maybe it had just been a big misunderstanding. But it turns out that this creature was not going to give up on them so easily.
Between shouts and blasphemies they didn't notice, not until one of them raised his voice even higher asking them to shut up and listen. The doors and windows were closed, it was not very noticeable, but there it was.
A hiss, weak at first, but gradually gaining strength, becoming evident even with the isolation inside the vehicle. They couldn't identify it, or what it was, or where it came from, it just flooded the environment around them.
Distraught they listened carefully, and without needing to speak, in unison concluded that the sound was dispersing from the sky, just above their heads.
He didn't give them time to panic again, when -BOOM- something hit the roof of the car with such force that it made it stagger a little. Again the horrible shrieks echoing through the trees, indicative of the obvious.
They desperately tried to look around afraid to roll down the windows, even in the impenetrable darkness; And there it was, that black figure with white eyes that they could only glimpse through the windows, because now was flying above them, stalking from the sky.
-Boom- another hit, and everyone goes crazy. A girl has an anxiety attack and passes out, the two boys urge the driver to speed up more, to do something, to which he hits the accelerator even harder and tries to zigzag. He can't think of anything else.
This chaotic scene was his vivid example of that phrase "It seemed like it lasted for hours"
Although later when they saw it in hindsight, calculated that it was a few minutes, without specifying an exact number.
The creature kept hitting them and more than once the driver almost lost control of the vehicle. They prayed what they had not prayed in their life, they begged and asked for forgiveness even without feeling worthy of it; whatever it was, they just clung to whatever gave them comfort that everything would work out. But nothing worked.
The horrible noises went on and on overwhelming them, the blows did not stop, the scratches.
How much longer was that car going to last?
Or how much longer would they last until went off the road and crashed into a tree?
With that speed… certain death.
I suppose that something like this would be haunting their heads, filling them with hysteria and a terror that few have come to experience, much less imagine.
Suddenly, just like that, the attack stopped, and the noises produced by the unknown being gradually dissipated until ceased completely. This time, for good.
The horrible experience that those 5 friends lived that night in 1998, as quickly as it began, came to an end.
They all looked at each other in disbelief, with nerves on edge the rest of the way to Gravesfield, trying to figure out what all of that had been.
Did they find themselves with the legend what had heard about?
The same one that they skeptically discredited?
Now with what face would they stand before their acquaintances to tell them that the monster is totally real. There are no more explanations, only the doubt, that, even if it has an answer or not, his memory would leave a mark for the rest of their lives.
Days after the event and with calm and reflection, the boys would make the assumption that the creature had gotten tired of chasing them, or that it stopped considering them a threat and simply left. The marks and dents on the car attested to their testimony to the people with whom shared the story.
Due to the deep darkness none of the boys could give a more accurate description of their attacker's appearance; except the driver, who was the only one who managed to see the creature illuminated during that brief moment about to crash.
He was also unable to give many details, but mentioned that in general appearances had orange hair, black eyes, and resembled a very large bird, almost the size of his vehicle.
His testimony was of vital importance in further defining the sketches of the Gravesfield Demon, and in general the story helped to confirm an idea that had been held but had not been possible to verify.
The various mentions of the entity having wings, even though it had never been described using them to fly. Interestingly, to this day this remains the only incident in which has been seen doing so.
Since 1992 such an impressive encounter with this urban legend has not been reported, standing out above all in the fact that here, an official resolution could not even be given.
The case, remained unsolved.
A Witch and a Demon, the two most transcendental legends of Gravesfield.
Is there any reason for this?
There are people who are sure that there is some kind of relationship between the two figures, partially or completely direct.
Theories abound.
Just as you can find people who say that everything is paranoia, there are those who think that the famous witch of Gravesfield returned from hell bringing this "guard dog" which would prepare the ground long before her reappearance.
I have even read that they are the same entity; i mean, that the witch is capable of transmuting into this creature at will to torment and slaughter the inhabitants of Gravesfield.
There is nothing to prevent from thinking about that possibility, however unlikely it may seem, until the mystery has a solution; and for the moment, it seems that it will not have it.
Since 1992, the Gravesfield Demon has terrified, mystified and intrigued; had ups and downs and has even evolved. A whole story worthy of being part of the most famous cryptids in the world, but it was relegated to just the rumors of a town that nobody knows.
Will it still be out there?
Will it reappear one day?
The mystery persists, and whatever happens, I'll be on the lookout to document it.
