ORIGINAL: bowman15

Okay, I wasn't going to post this, but seeing what everyone else posted.....

Take it for what it's worth.

About 4-5 years ago, a buddy of mine and I were walking into the woods on a state-park I've been hunting for years. It was about an hour before light. We got to a spot where we split;he went west and I turned south. I went about 40-50 yards and was just overcome with a feeling of dread. Almost terror. My knees got weak and I had a hard time standing.For the first time ever, I understood themeaning of the phrase "Paralyzed with fear".I never saw or heard anything, just that something was there and that Iwouldn't have a chance against it if it cameat me.I squatted down off to the side of the trail, pulled out my hunting knife and held my bow out in front of me. I sat like that till it started to get lighter out. All of a sudden, everythingjust feltnormal, like someone pulled a blanket off me. It was gone. I strained my eyes and ears for movement or sound the whole time, but never heard or saw anything.

Later on in the parking lot, I told my buddy. We're good friends and I thought he'd get a laugh. I was half way through my story and he interupts and says "I had the exact same experience".He said the exact same thing I just wrote. He walked about the same distance from me before he got the same feeling. He said he nocked an arrow and just stood there for about as long as I (about 30-40 minutes).

I was 35 and he was 37. We're both about 200-210 pounds, 6' tall and in very good shape. We can both take pretty good care of ourselves, and we both sat about 100 yards away from each other totally terrified of something we never saw, heard or smelled, only felt. I've never had an experience like that ever again and I still hunt the same immediate area and walk the same trails at the same times.

I live in n.e. Illinois and I was in an area of about 1200 acres of woods.