The Haunted Cabin

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

Dating back to the 1910’s, the cabin was known for its origins as the site for a summer camp for teens. However, after being a successful summer camp for twenty years, it then became known for the devastating fire that took place one night while teens were using a Ouija board to communicate with spirits that they learned lived in the woods.

It was the year 1936 when Camp Wildwood hosted one of their yearly summer camps for ten teenagers. One night around a campfire, the teens were indulging in roasted marshmallows when one of their camp leaders told them stories about the people that once lived on the land in which they were camping. The land that was once occupied by working class America, became a battleground during the Civil War. At this time, families lost their homes and lives due to the violence surrounding them. This raged on for four long years. Once the war was over, the town had been destroyed and abandoned. However, it was believed that the spirits of those who lived on the land were still there.

That same night, the teens went back to the now-abandoned cabin and wanted to try to talk to the spirits for themselves. Knowing about the land’s past already, one teen had come to camp already prepared with a Ouija board owned by his family so that they could try to talk to those spirits. They created a circle around the board and took turns summoning the spirits and asking questions. As they did this, strange sounds could be heard and the temperature felt like it dropped ten degrees immediately. They knew that the Ouija board was working and that they were in the presence of spirits, so they kept going. The final question that was asked by one teen caused a sudden rattling movement of the cabin, also rattling the one burning candle that was placed by a window for light. The teens became frightened of the angered spirit and screamed. The candle then fell over and caused a fire to break out of the small one-bedroom cabin. Unfortunately, the teens did not make it out in time and all passed away in the fire, along with one of the camp leaders. The other camp leader that did make it out of the cabin was severely burned, but managed to re-tell the story to the police that responded to the fire. When the camp leader finished explaining the event, he was sent to the hospital where he succumbed to his burns.

It was believed that the abandoned cabin contained the spirits of the teens and camp leader that lost their lives in the fire. Once in a while, people went to the abandoned cabin to explore its remnants, and some report that they still saw the candle that caused the fire to light up in the window. It would deter them from proceeding any further in fear that the candle would then fall over again.

It was now the year 2022, nearly a hundred years later when 19-year-old Alec learned about the haunted cabin in the woods that was not too far from where he lived in Virginia. Alec was known for being a fearless daredevil who thrived on thrill-seeking. He often took his 18- year-old friend Miranda along on his antics. Alec proposed the idea that they go find this cabin, spend a night there, and take pictures of their findings. Miranda did not have much fear, but was weary about the idea of going into the middle of the woods and exploring an abandoned cabin that was known for spirits and a major fire, and then staying the night in said cabin. Alec did everything he could to assure her that they would be fine. They would bring food, water, flashlights, their phones, and a fire extinguisher just in case something went wrong. Miranda had a strong gut feeling telling her that this was too risky of an adventure, but she shook it off and took Alec’s word for their safety. After all, it was not often that they were harmed. Alec was always good about preparing ahead of time before doing something insane.

That Saturday, Alec drove up to Miranda's house to pick her up for their adventure. His car was packed with items that they would need to survive in the cabin for the weekend. However, he knew he could not pack more than what was absolutely necessary because they would have to carry everything from the car through the woods, to the cabin since there were too many trees and ditches to drive. Miranda came out with a small bag and got into the car.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Alec? I know we have done crazy stunts in the past, but we're talking about a haunted cabin that is notorious for going up in flames."

"We'll be fine! I even remembered the fire extinguisher, just for that reason."

It only took twenty minutes to reach a parking lot that was close to the woods. Alec and Miranda unloaded the car and made their way to the cabin.

"How far away is the cabin from here?" Miranda asked.

"Don't know. I cannot foresee it being too far away since it used to be a summer camp."

"So we're walking in blind," Miranda said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but hey, it will make our trip that much more interesting. We can take pictures of all the cool things we find along the way." Alec paused and searched through one of his bags. He took out his cellphone which would be used for the camera. "I got my phone so we can take pictures. Did you remember your phone?"

"I did." Miranda took her phone out of her pocket and showed Alec. She then put her phone back. "I'll take pictures, and if needed, we can call for help if something goes wrong, right? That's why we brought them."

Alec looked at her with a concerned expression.

"Right?" Miranda asked again.

"See, we're going to be in the woods. We may or may not get reception where we are. We have our phones for pictures, videos, and for when we are our of the woods."

Miranda face-palmed. She had not thought about that possibility.

Alec and Miranda stepped over a small wooden fence that separated the woods from the rest of the parking lot and began their adventure. In the woods, they saw many types of animals and bugs. The teens took pictures as they walked. They were impressed with how gorgeous the surroundings were, despite it being haunted.

The sun began to go down. Alec and Miranda had been walking for a few hours and had not come across the cabin or anything that could lead to it.

"Alec, I think we're lost." Miranda was becoming nervous.

"The cabin is definitely around here somewhere. We may or may not be lost right now, but we'll find our way. I know it," Alec said as he took a sip of his water.

"Do you think anything is going to kill us? Like an animal or a ghost or something?"

"Nah, nothing to worry about." Despite Alec's cool demeanor, he, too, was concerned for their safety.

Finally, they spotted a small light up on a hill. They were pretty sure they had passed that hill earlier, but did not question it. Miranda and Alec ran up the hill and saw the broken down cabin. It was as eerie as it sounded. Looking around it, there were holes in the wooden walls, easy enough for small animals and bugs to get in. There was moss growing around the sides, and one side of the roof had caved in and was as black as charcoal. It was as if the fire that took place so many years ago had been centralized in that area. Alec was the first to go up the creaky steps. Slowly, Miranda followed behind. Suddenly, one of the steps broke in half with Miranda on top of it. She screamed and fell onto the next step, trying not to fall from the broken step. Alec quickly turned around to check on his friend.

"You okay?" Alec held out his hand and helped Miranda up. She had a small cut on her knee from the impact. "I have a bandage that I can put on it."

"I'm fine." Miranda stood up with Alec's help.

Alec opened the door at the top of the steps and they walked inside. They inspected their surroundings. Cobwebs were formed in every corner and crevice in the cabin. There was also a hole in the floor the size of a football towards the back of the cabin. The bunk beds were still in tact with the cabin. Blankets and pillows covered in mold and cobwebs covered each bed. They looked as if people had been lying in them. The cabin had been frozen in time.

"Alec, look!" Miranda pointed to the window where there was a lit candle glowing.

Alec turned and saw the light. It was the same candle from the tale of the summer camp.

"Should we put it out?" Miranda asked.

"Before we do that, let's catch some pictures and videos of the cabin. It will make for a decent light source."

Alec and Miranda went around the inside of the cabin and took pictures. Alec turned the video feature on his phone and walked around inside the cabin. As he walked throughout the cabin, a snake came out from underneath one of the bunks.

"Snake!" Alec called out to Miranda.

She turned around and saw the grey snake slither across the room and into the hole in the floor. Miranda jumped onto a ladder attached from a different bunk. "Oh my god! I hate snakes!" She then glanced down at her hands and they were covered in slimy mold that was on the ladder. "Gross! I need to wipe off my hands. Do we have a towel or napkin or something?"

Alec grabbed a napkin and hand sanitizer from a bag and gave them to her.

Miranda checked the time, and it was after midnight, about time for bed. Alec walked over to the candle and blew it out, then turned on his flashlight. Miranda and Alec cleared off two bottom bunks so they had places to sleep. They set the moldy pillows and blankets on the floor and placed their sleeping bags on the beds. Before lying down, they inspected their bunks for any bugs and critters. Alec found a hairy spider the size of a thumb tack and grabbed another napkin and squished it. He crumpled the napkin and threw it in an empty waste bin.

Once they were in their sleeping bags, Miranda and Alec heard footsteps outside. They froze. Alec got up and glanced outside each of the windows to see if someone was outside. He did not see anybody. "Could have just been an animal." Alec went back over to his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

Not much time passed before they heard a whisper. "The candle."

They looked at each other, thinking that the other had said it. Confusion and fear started to get to them. Suddenly, the candle that had been blown out was thrown across the room, also revealing another snake that had been hiding near the floor hole. Alec and Miranda shrieked and jumped out of their beds.

"Should we leave? Obviously something doesn't want us here," Miranda said concerned.

Before Alec could say anything, they heard another whisper. "Fire."

"Maybe the ghost wants the candle lit again?" Alec walked across the room and picked up the candle. As he held the candle, it lit up on its own. Then, a face appeared in front of him. The face shown appeared to be a young male, and was covered in blood and third degree burn marks, and eyeless. The face opened its mouth and howled. The teens screamed.

Without thinking, Alec dropped the lit candle on the floor, starting a small fire pit. Him and Miranda quickly grabbed some of the blankets and pillows that were on the other bunks and put them overtop of the small fire. Unfortunately, the fire ate through them all. They had no choice, and they ran around the cabin and got their belongings together to leave. More ghostly screams were heard, and more ghostly bodies were appearing. A mixture of eyeless male and female ghosts covered in blood, charcoal, and burn marks roamed inside the cabin. Alec and Miranda ran towards the door, and they were forcefully pushed to the back of the cabin by two of the ghosts, as if the ghosts did not want them to leave.

One of Alec's bags fell through the hole in the floor. The fire continued to rapidly grow. They got up once again and made a run for the door. Miranda felt a resistance from one of her bags and was dragged down to the ground by her bag. Alec turned around and saw her on the floor and grabbed her by the arms and picked her up. The fire had taken over about half of the cabin. Howling ghosts surrounded them as they made their third attempt at leaving the cabin.

As Alec approached the door with Miranda, the candle appeared in front of them, lit. They tried to go around the candle, but it remained in their way. Alec held the candle. He then turned around and threw it behind them, and then they finally managed to escape.

They ran about two hundred feet away from the cabin and watched it burn. Miranda got her phone out of her bag and took a picture of the sight. They were able to see the ghosts in the windows and could still hear the howling.

Once she got the pictures, they ran downhill hoping to find the parking lot that the car was in. Unlike the time it took to find the cabin, they fould the parking lot in no time. When they got to the car, they put their stuff in and called 911. The emergency services reponded immediately and they met them outside of the woods.

Alec and Miranda led them up the hill to the cabin. However, by the time they go there, there was no fire. As a matter of fact, it did not even look like a major fire took place there that night at all. They approached the cabin and it was set up they way they found it, as if they were never even in it. The bunks still had all moldy pillows and blankets on them, even the candle was upright in the window.

This time, however, it was not burning.

"There really was a fire here," Alec pleaded to the firefighters.

"I saw it, too," Miranda said.

One of the firemen shrugged his shoulders and looked at them. "This isn't the first time this situation has happened. Every few years we get a call about a fire related to this cabin, but by the time we get here, nothing is present." Everyone parted from the cabin.

The next day, Miranda and Alec looked at the videos and pictures that they had taken to see if everything they recalled actually happened. To their dismay, all the pictures and videos that they took of their night in the cabin had been corrupted and could not be opened.

They had no proof that anything they did happened. Maybe the cabin in the woods was meant to remain a mystery to all.

Only the brave and bold are to experience it first-hand. Until the next brave soul, the cabin remained hidden in the woods, seemingly untouched, with only a single candle showing in the window.