Scenario: Something in the woods called back to me Alright, here it goes. I've never posted here before, but what happened to me last weekend still has me rattled. I need to get it off my chest, and maybe, just maybe, someone here can help me make sense of it. I live in a small town in Montana, nestled in the Rockies. My house is just a few miles from a vast expanse of national forest land. It’s beautiful, sure, but it can be incredibly isolating. That isolation is part of why I love it, but after what happened, it’s also why I’m terrified. Last Saturday, I decided to take a late afternoon hike. There's a trail I frequent, one that winds up to a small clearing overlooking the valley. I brought my dog, Max, a German Shepherd who’s never been spooked by anything in his life. We set off around 3 PM, figuring we'd be back before sunset. The hike up was uneventful. The forest was serene, and the only sounds were the rustling of leaves and the occasional chirping of birds. Max was his usual self, darting ahead and then circling back to me. It was perfect, exactly why I moved out here. When we reached the clearing, I sat down on a fallen log to catch my breath and enjoy the view. Max was sniffing around, but after a few minutes, he froze. He was staring at the tree line on the opposite side of the clearing, his ears perked up and his body tense. "What's up, boy?" I asked, trying to see what he was looking at. That's when I noticed it. At first, it was just a shadow moving between the trees. I squinted, thinking maybe it was a deer or something. But then it stepped out into the clearing. It looked like a person, but not quite. It was tall and gaunt, with limbs that seemed too long for its body. Its skin was pale, almost grayish, and its eyes... its eyes were completely black. Max started growling, a low, menacing sound that I'd never heard from him before. The figure took a step forward, and that's when I noticed it was mimicking my movements from earlier, almost like it was replaying a tape of me walking. Then it spoke. "Max... what's up, boy?" The voice was mine. Exactly mine. I felt a chill run down my spine, and Max started barking furiously. The figure stopped, tilted its head, and then turned around, disappearing back into the trees. I didn’t stick around to see if it would come back. I grabbed Max by the collar and practically ran down the trail. It was getting dark, and every sound made me jump. Max kept looking back, growling intermittently. We made it home just as the last light was fading. I locked all the doors and windows, something I rarely do out here. I tried to calm myself down, rationalizing that maybe it was just some sort of trick of the light, or maybe another hiker messing with me. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t it. That night, I couldn't sleep. Every creak of the house made me jump, and Max was restless, pacing around the living room. Around 2 AM, just as I was starting to doze off, I heard it. "Max... what's up, boy?" It was faint, almost like a whisper, but it was definitely my voice. It was coming from outside, near the tree line. I didn’t sleep at all after that. When the sun finally came up, I took Max and drove into town. I needed to be around people, somewhere that didn’t feel so exposed. I told my friend Jake about it, and he just laughed, saying I’d been out in the woods too long. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But I can’t shake the feeling that something out there saw me, remembered me, and called back in my own voice. I haven’t been back to that trail since. Every time I think about going for a hike, I hear that voice again, and I can’t bring myself to leave the house. I don’t know what I saw, but I’m sure of one thing: it saw me too. Has anyone else experienced something like this? I need to know I’m not losing my mind