Stairs in the Woods

Hi Ghosties, I'm Macy, and I'm Natalie, and the U.S. has more than 50 million acres designated and protected for our national parks. You'll find all sorts of wildlife and beauty within those boundaries and families flock to them year round, but there are some who believe these parks hold other things, deep inside. There are secrets, kept amongst those trees and waterfalls. There are some who believe encryptants and the fay calling these parks home. Others think there may be portals to other places, dimensions that lie inside, waiting for some unsuspecting passurbides make contact. There are many people who happen upon something they just can't explain while hiking the most desolate areas of our world, like these mysterious stairs in the woods. These steps stand tall, surrounded by nature, completely out of place, and look as though they lead to nowhere. Wait, is this what we're doing? Yes. The people who work day in and day out within those parks have stories, and lucky for us, some of them turn to reddit. Today we'll be discussing one of those secrets kept until about 11 years ago, the string of stories that started the discussion into the phenomenon we all know today as the staircases in the woods. Oh, my gosh. What a good day. This is a great day. I… This was yet another one on your list. I know, and I didn't think you would ever want to do this one. Because the more things I suggest, the more you're like, "Well, I looked into it and it's just a creepypasta, so." No. No. No. Okay. Is it? No. It's going to say this. This lens true to the idea that every, every paranormal thing you know is creepypasta. Oh no. It's okay. We can talk about it, we can discuss it, and see where you land by the end. I wish you wouldn't have told me that. I couldn't have told you that. I couldn't hold it in. Because now I'm going to be like, "Wow, creepy." I wanted to be like, "Oh, no way." Okay. Let's rewind and pretend I didn't say that. I will. I'm going to choose to believe that you're a liar. Okay. I'm a liar. Yes. Also, you can think our patrons because they chose this one. Yes. I knew. I knew they'd be on my side. It was overwhelmingly this one. Yeah. Shout out. Let's go. It's a great story. It's a great story. So we hope you will stick around. I was actually there. Really? Yeah. Okay. When the time came, I was, I wasn't like first there, but I was there in the early days for these stories. Okay. For sure. I'm really excited. Honestly, I didn't. Unbeknownst to me. I know all the creepypastas. Yeah. Unfortunately. And I thought they were real. When these creepypastas were being made, you were prime target. I was like 13. You were like junior high, early high school in that area, preteen to, you had young teen. Yeah. You were there. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. Slender man. The birth of Slender man. I was there. I was there on creepy internet. So I knew I read all the stories when these were appearing too. Okay. Well, I'm so excited. All right. Our tea today is one we've actually tried before. It's Arne and Sons, Tower of London. Sorry. Actually. Well, yeah. Natalie forgot that this was on Monday. So we were recording. But I went and bought like a two pound bag of loose leaf tea for this one, because it's just, I love this tea. It's a real good one. Yeah. All right. I'm disappointed. But prepare yourself. Let's go. And while you grab your tea, I just wanted to mention one more time that these shirts are for sale. You can go to ghosties.store, check it out. We've got black and orange, white or cream and purple, they're very cute, very limited. Like I think this is it. Like in some time in the middle of this day, we're cutting off borders because we got to get them shipped. So today, today's your only day. Go ahead. Pick yourself up one. They're, they're so cute. They're so cute. I have not taken mine off. Also, the inside is actually super soft. I didn't say that last time because I was just like focused on the episode. But when I put it on today, I was like, oh my gosh. It's actually really cozy. Yeah. I'm not going to take it off until, um, probably like March, can I be truthful with you? What? I wore this shirt like three or four days from now. I mean, I am inside and I don't really do anything, but yeah, yeah, it's a bit much. I know what I really do. I love it. And I want to see all of you guys wear it and it's just, I've been putting it on over my other shirts. Yeah. Like I'll put a new shirt on and like, I can wear this again. Check it out. Ghosties.store. It'll be written in our description wherever you're listening to this. But we'll go ahead and get started with our episode. If you look around the internet today, there are stories and photographs of random sets of stairs from all over the world. It's an unsettling sight to see staircases in the middle of nature, pristine as if a home was picked up and taken off somewhere else, leaving those stairs behind in its wake. Oftentimes, they are simply the remains of an old structure, a home or cabin in the woods that's long gone today. Maybe even an art installation placed out in the middle of nowhere for those lucky enough to stumble upon and marvel at. But the stairs I'm talking about today are different. These stairs are nice and clean with no indication of a former home, anywhere in sight. No cellar, no basement, nothing, no foundations. They rise up into the sky and give off a feeling of unease to all who come near. They are free of vegetation and the animals in the area seem to avoid them too. Animals' sound emits from them and those who come across them feel like they shouldn't be there, but are also drawn to them, like a magnet. Some who choose to go against their gut and climb them anyway, experience all manner of strange encounters, getting injured or disappearing all together. In 2015, a user on Reddit named Search and Rescue Woods took to the R/NoSleep sub and detailed their strange and unusual encounters while outworking in an undisclosed park. Our first post, I'm a search and rescue officer for the U.S. Forest Service. I have some stories to tell. Took the internet by storm. I've seen this exact post. I was there when it was written, like literally. They listed out stories of searching for lost children and hikers and coming across some of the most terrifying and mysterious things in those woods. The stairs are real. They really do exist and they are out there. Oh, what's not clear is if any of these stories are real, especially considering the source. Okay. So the stairs really are out there. There are sometimes stairs in the woods. Okay. So see, this doesn't, I don't feel as dooped then because there are stairs in the woods. You don't know. I can choose to believe what sounds real. Yes. That just brought me back. I literally, my next sentence is, but we can take this episode to spend our disbelief if only for a moment, and I'll tell you all about these strange and sometimes terrifying staircases in the woods. But I do recommend you go check out the original posts. There are, I think, like eight parts. Each of them are written really well. They're chilling. There are a lot more stories than what I'm including in here. They've got tons of tales of other creatures and strange, unusual, really sad, sometimes things that they've come across and experienced, so definitely check it out. But it began on no sleep. I wasn't sure where else to post these stories. So I figured I'd share them here. I've been a search and rescue officer for a few years now. And along the way, I've seen some things that I think you guys will be interested in. Like I said, they went on to tell several stories that are very interesting and will link it. But the one that caught my attention originally and the attention of millions of people all over the internet was the last one. Quote. This is the last one I'll tell. And it's probably the weirdest story I have. Unquote. This writer claimed that there is something that all of the S.A.R. officers in his unit come across on a fairly regular basis. And it may even be true in other units as well, but they are told by their superiors to never talk about it. They claim that in nearly all of their cases that take them super far out into the wilderness, they will come across a staircase. Quote. It's almost like if you took the stairs in your house, cut them out and put them in the forest. Unquote. The first time they came across these strange stairs, they asked another officer out there with them. It was confusing and didn't make sense to OPE as to why they would be this far out into the woods. Everyone they asked, however, told them it was normal not to worry about it, but they also gave a warning. If they were to come across stairs like these again, they should never. Under any circumstances, go near them. Quote. I just sort of ignore them now when I run into them because it happens so frequently. OPE stories were incredible and garnered so many comments back. Many people detailed their own experiences in the woods, some even seeing staircases of their own. This was a comment under the post. In all seriousness, you'd be really surprised by what you'd find out in the boonies. Up here in New England in some of the more rural states, it's not at all impossible to find old foundations, sellers, or even short staircases just out in the middle of nowhere. That's if they're built well, but they're kind of rare and usually are accompanied by foundations. And that's not just a no-sleep story, that's real. It's strange to think that there are places in this world touched and then forgotten by man, and we never know about them until we stumble upon the evidence and wonder why there's no story, why there's clearly signs of previous habitation that just just left behind. Humans are really good at finding value in even the most adverse locations, so why not here? What's so bad about this place that made people leave it and erase its existence from memory? I didn't even think about that aspect, though, to just up and leave your house. Yeah, I mean, obviously besides the, like, something could have happened, but besides all that. I think about it in a creepy way, it's like, yeah, why did they just flee, flee, disappear? There's just the foundation and memories left, like that's so chilling. Oh, I don't like that at all. Stamp on the timeline. Yeah. Ooh. Another comment. I live in Wisconsin. I've only seen one staircase like this, and when we went to it, everything just fell off. Like, we didn't feel scared, but we felt unwelcome. Like, we shouldn't be on the stairs. It was very weird for the middle of the day. nice and sunny, then feeling dry. red, like if we didn't leave by our own accord, something would make us. As we were leaving the entire trip back, we felt watched, like the whole forest had eyes on us. It was not fun." And then another comment. How about that? I didn't realize the stairs were that common. Came across a set in rural West Virginia. I don't think I was quite 40 miles deep, but at least 10 or better. I thought maybe a house had once stood there, but there was no cellar or other debris that would indicate a home was there before. Just a set of stairs with a base that went up, maybe one flight, 16 or so steps if I remember right. People were enamored with this person's tales, but the stairs were so interesting that I remember when I first read these stories years ago, I wanted to know more about them. Yes. Luckily, I wasn't the only one because our OP addressed this in part two. Quote, "There was a lot of feedback about the stairs, so I'll touch on that briefly here. And I'll also include a story. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and conditions. Some are pretty dilapidated, just ruins, but others are brand new. I saw one set that looked like they came from a lighthouse. They were metal and spiral, almost old-fashioned. The stairs don't go up infinitely, or farther than I can see, but some sets are taller than others. I don't have any pictures. It's never really occurred to me to try again after the first time, and I don't really feel like risking my job over it." Once again, our OP goes on to tell several more interesting stories about their time in search and rescue, but in this part there was one story about those arcane stairs. They encountered them once more early on in their career while out looking for a four-year-old child who got separated from their parents. They had dogs out searching with them, and they seemed to be on a strong scent trail, and there were clear signs that the child had been in that area. It turned out that the kid was in a berry patch, about half a mile from where his mom had last seen him, and they were able to bring him back and reunite him with his family. This definitely isn't the case for many of the cases this OP relays, though. Just after this happy result, OP's trainer decided that it might be a good idea to show OP some of the so-called hot spots where they have found several missing people before. When they finally get out there, roughly eight miles from the main parking area, his trainer is pointing out locations when OP spots something. It looks man-made with straight edges, and couldn't possibly belong this far out here, he thought. "I pointed out, but she doesn't say anything. She just hangs back and lets me wander over and check it out. I get within about twenty feet of it, and all the hair on the back of my neck stands up. It's a staircase, in the middle of the woods." OP claims that they looked like your normal stairs, with beige carpet along each step and went up about ten steps high. Under all other circumstances, these stairs would mean nothing, but to see them sitting perfectly out there in the trees was chilling to say the least. That's when his trainer finally makes their way over to OP, standing next to him and casually looking at the stairs as if they belong. "Get used to it, rookie. You're gonna see a lot of them. I start to move closer, but she grabs my arm. Hard. I wouldn't do that," she said. "Her voice is casual, but her grip is tight, and I just stand there looking at her. You're gonna see them all the time, but don't go near them. Don't touch them. Don't go up them. Just ignore them." And that's where this conversation ends. It seemed to OP that his trainer didn't want to elaborate further, and they didn't push it. After years of working in the field, OP knows that she was right. He claims about a fifth of the calls they go out on, they run into a random set of stairs, quote, "usually in good condition, but sometimes it looks like they've been out there for years. All different kinds, all different sizes." The biggest I ever saw looked like they came out of a turn of the century mansion, and they were at least ten feet wide with steps leading up at least 15 to 20 feet. I've tried talking about it with people, but they just give me the same response my trainer did. When trainees ask about it now, I give them the same response. I don't really know what else to tell them, unquote. So people in the comments were really starting to speculate about these stairs. My favorite theory was that aliens used them when they couldn't get their ship close enough to the ground to bring back their human hostages. I've never heard that one, but that's a good one. I thought it was so funny. I really like that one. Yeah. Interesting. And also, for some reason, doesn't sound as scary. Although they're saying like, "Oh, they're taking people, but I don't know." I just picture an alien walking someone through the woods like, "Oh, right this way up these stairs." After you, others believe that they could be linked somehow to the people who go missing in the woods. Many people, including O.P. mentioned David Politis and the missing four-one, one-one cases, a lot. There were also several comments from self-reported National Park Rangers, or workers, Rangers, Trail Guides, etc. from all over the world who agreed with O.P. that there are plenty of strange things out there, like this one that really freaked me out to a gush. I'm a Trail Guide and Backpacker, years and miles, seen lots of stuff. I can't explain everything I've seen in the wild, but I can tell you this. You will see things out there that defy explanation, and you'll spend the rest of your life wondering about them. If you ever take word of caution, take this like your life depends on it. Don't go into the wild alone. Don't stray from your camp at night. Don't answer or seek out anything that calls you mysteriously in the night. Do not believe everything you see with your own eyes. I need to repeat that. Like your life depends on it. Do not believe things, especially out of place, people, voices, or suspicious things that you see, even with your own eyes, especially when your gut and instincts are warning you. There's something out there. Something that scares grow men even like me, something we won't talk about, but it's real. Has no consistent form, and it lures you. If you are a wild thing and a hunter of human beings, there's no better hunting ground than our busiest national and state parks. So old, so skilled, so clever and cunning. Not just a being, but a species that has or have developed a specialized survival skill, luring and praying on lost or solitary humans. What I submit, if exists such a species, old as man who success depends on the successful hunting of humans, not only would it be very clever and good at it by now, but we'd have no record or memory of it in our history. Just as no insect has probably ever survived an encounter with a trapdoor spider. I submit their hunting approaches case by case. They're lower, different depending on their human praise age, strength, and size. What I submit is that our oldest natural predator, an undiscovered predator, is still operating due to its skill of being able to read us like a book. Hit us with a lure a lure I've distinctly recognize several times, particularly at night, just beyond the glow of a campfire. Lead us into a trap to never be seen or heard from again. People, I submit a thing exists. Some things out there, a species that's not too unlike Stephen King's it. Nothing can explain the sensations, but deep down you'll feel it in your gut. Something's not right, something's waiting, something's watching. Ask any man who survived long enough alone in the wild, there's a siren like hunter out there, it'll own you dead to rights if you don't listen to your gut. Having said that, I have questions. These stairs, do they move, their one minute gone the next, do others always see them, or are they visible only two targets? Do they see stairs? Or for them are the stairs another lure, like an apple pie, a warm bed, something to surrender to. What I'm getting at are these stairs definitely sound like the work of the it. A cave or door might be too scary to enter, but stairs, a perfect lure for the search and rescue mindset. Perhaps the vision of stairs are perfectly tailored to what's on your free mind. If I could only find some higher ground, spot that lost kid. If only I had a ladder or see what I mean. Oh, my God. That is. I've never heard that one. Absolutely. Tilly. Who wrote that? Just some person claiming that they work or it's just the lords underscore cheap. Great. It's a commentary. Okay. I don't like the description of an it. Being setting up traps, setting up traps. This is horrible, which sucks because they're beautiful. And I want to go see them. But I know there's a part of me inside. It was inside me. There are two wolves. Yes. And one of them wants to explore nature and the other ones like, please get me out of here. Yeah. Yeah. Same. Oh, my God. Because I think about like, oh, I could go with just like me and Ryan. I'm like, and then Keith Morrison's like, they were just a young couple on a hike. Yes. Until. And then, you know, we're dead. And it's like the screen turns black and white. Oh, it's so it's so scary. There's going to be people commenting like girl, I hike all the time. It's really not that scary. But I'm scared. I am also scared. There were of course more commenters who claim to have come across these stairs on their own travels. Like this one can confirm random stairs. Do not touch. Do not photograph. Be safe. Eosimony is my backyard and my people have used the land for a few thousand years. We know the area better than anyone. And there are places even we don't go. I might put up a few stories after years are done. And people were asking them to share their own stories if they could. And of course, so I have a possible bit of info and a personal account regarding the stairs for UOP. We're not supposed to talk about it either, but I really believe in being kind and at least passing along info about dangerous stuff. The first time I came across them, I was a kid, out with older relatives. I spotted them maybe 60 yards away from where we were gathering bear grass and wandered over. I got to within 20 feet of them and they were made of wood, clean and polished, no dust, no leaves, nada. When I got that close, everything went quiet and the light became dimmer. This is funny because it was a bright day up until that point. I looked back and my family, although only six years so yard to way, looked like they were much further than that. A feeling of sheer terror hit me and I ran like hell back to my family. I sprinted to my uncle crying and breathless and told him about the stairs. But when I gestured back, they were gone. My uncle's face went very stern and he told me not to ever do that again. He said they used to appear as the frames of of wiki outdoors or stone steps up large boulders, now they show up as stairs, and they are never ever to be approached. He said they lead to the spirit world and people who touch them can be stolen away. I've seen them several times since then, not the same set, but just like you described, they can be big, small, new, dilapidated, et cetera. Each time I lay down medicine, say a prayer of protection and get away from there. Be sure to smudge yourself at the end of every day when you come across those things, even if you don't believe in anything, sage smells good and it can't hurt. - I don't know why I ever considered, or why I never considered, where did they lead? If you go up, what happens then? I just was always like, "Ah, bad, scary!" I didn't even think about now what? - Yeah. - Where are you going? - If you go up the stairs. - There are a lot of theories. - Some say, nowhere. - Some say, another dimension. - Some say, it's a faith trap. - Yeah, I knew you were gonna, like you like that theory, don't you? - I do. - I knew it. As you were reading it and it said like another realm, I started thinking about like theories and stuff. I was like, "But I am intrigued at the concept of it being a trap of some kind." - Yeah, yeah, me too. - Because, I mean, if you're out hiking and you're playing around, especially if you're younger and you're adventurous and you see a five of stairs, of course, you're gonna be like, let's climb it. Let's see what we can see from the top. - Yeah. - Whether you're searchin' rescue or not, you know? - Yeah. - That's really scary though, the thought of something wanting to get the searchin' rescue people. - Yeah. - That just feels dark on a different level. - So many levels, yeah. - The people have read it wanted more, so our OP brought it with part three. Again, they addressed the stairs, but this time, they brought stories from some of their friends who worked in similar positions. Along with the other tales of his time working in the park, he claimed that one of his friends encountered the stairs while working as an S.A.R. officer for seven years. He was also told to leave them alone and not to mention them. And for his first year on the job, he listened. But eventually, he got curious. They were out searching for missing teen girl, following dogs that caught her scent. They were roughly 10 miles out from the path that she was less known to be on. But OP's friend was lagging behind when he noticed a set of stairs. Quote, "They look like they were from a new house because the carpeting was pristine and white." He said that as he got closer, he didn't feel any different or hear any weird noises. He was expecting something to happen, like bleeding from his ears or collapsing, but he got right up next to them and didn't feel anything. The only thing he said that was odd was that there was absolutely no debris on the steps. No dirt, leaves, dust, anything. And there didn't appear to be any signs of animal or insect activity in the immediate area, which he found strange. The officer approached the stairs and reached out to touch them and the carpet felt brand new. So he slowly made his way up the stairs. - Oh no. - When he finally made it to the top, he was a little shocked, expecting something terrible to happen after all of the warnings about them for so long. Quote, "But he said the longer he stood on the top step, the more he felt like he was doing something very, very wrong." The feeling only intensified the longer he stood there and then he realized that all of the sounds around him had stopped. It was eerily silent and the only noise left was the sound of his own breathing. At this point, he felt it was time to get back to the search so he climbed down, not telling anyone about what he had done. Quote, "He said the weirdest part came after. His trainer was waiting back at the welcome center after the search ended for the day and he cornered my buddy before he could leave. He said his trainer had this look of intense anger and he asked what was wrong. You went up them, didn't you?" My buddy said it wasn't phrased as a question. He asked how his trainer knew and then the trainer just shook his head because we didn't find her. The dogs lost her scent. My buddy asked what that had to do with anything. The trainer asked how long he'd been on the stairs and my buddy said no more than a minute. The trainer gave him this really awful, almost dead eyed look and told him that if he ever went up another set of stairs again, he'd be fired immediately. So it's like a superstition that if you go up the stairs, we're not going to find the missing person. They lost the scent as soon as he touched the stairs. Yeah, why? Okay, so there are theories, of course, this is just another layer of unusual and horrifying in my opinion. But it confirmed that they are connected somehow to the disappearances, right? Do they act as a portal of some kind and only one person can come out at a time? So maybe Missing Girl went to the stairs or got lost in whatever dimension that is. And when Search and Rescue Officer touched the stairs, he was also, and then he came back out and she couldn't. Oh, for some reason, I don't know. I don't know. It's horrifying. Like, I don't know if they're touching the stairs or they're returned from the stairs affected her status. But also the boss person was like, come on. It's not confirmed. You don't know for sure. And then you're going to blame like y'all not finding this girl on the person. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure it's hard to be a search and rescue or not finding a teen or a child or anyone really. But if you've had in the past, say you've worked there 20 years in the park. And you know, every single time we come across stairs and someone touches them, sent gone. Missing forever, we never find another trace of them. And that's happened. I mean, it's obviously happened enough time for this superior to know you touch the stairs that now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There were other comments on this post, but the one that really stuck out to me had more to do with the disappearances than anything. Quote, I used to volunteer at a state park in Oklahoma. And I always got spooked by the stories the older park rangers would tell me. From the perspective of the old ranger who told me the story, he was a younger vet in the '90s when he came across a structure that looked like the bottom floor of a house, a floor of wood about eight by eight that looked well crafted for being out in the middle of nowhere with a chair and a table on it. He approached it until he heard his CEO calling out to him. But when he turned around, he saw him yelling with all of his strength. He ran back to the CEO, told him that it's a common trap used by messed up people in the world to catch someone. They use familiar objects to prey on wanderers because they feel comfortable near them. Or in the case of stairs, they look like good vantage points to see what direction civilization is. What made the floor particularly crazy was that it was put in a sort of natural bowl in which the acoustics blinked at all noise with a layer of white noise, making it so you can't hear anyone approaching. He said the next week his CEO brought in the proper authorities to blow the thing up. The story did not end there though. They went to check the site immediately after to make sure there was no way that a fire could start. And in the middle of where the floor had been, they saw three or four holes near where the table and chairs were. Now, due to the explosion, the holes had caved in, but the authorities said that with some of the wood they collected, it was possible that near the table and chairs, inner wood was used to where they could fall through into the holes. They didn't find anything in the holes after digging them up again. But from how different the densities in the soil was, they could tell that the holes were built to be about six feet deep. Oh, my God. Moral of the story, animals aren't the only hunters out there. If you see something too unnatural or too perfect to be true, don't Instagram it, run. - That is so scary. That is, oh my God, that could be a movie. That would be a thriller. - Connects to that first commenter's it thing, like trapping people, luring people out there. - Yeah, but I'm just-- - Whether it's person or not. I'm just thinking like the killer, oh my God. That is so scary. - And that's sick. - Oh, I've never even thought about something like that before. - I think I've seen that in the movie. Not with objects, but like digging a hole and covering it so that hikers and stuff will fall in. - That is so, who thinks of stuff like that? Oh my God, I don't know, it's horrible. I feel sick. So in the next part posted part four, our OP had just returned from training with several other S.A.R. officers. While there, some of his friends shared their own experiences and a couple of them had encounters with those stairs. The first person OP spoke to was given the name EW. EW was a former trainer who worked as an EMT at the time of writing. And his specialty was finding lost children. And he was described as having a kind of sixth sense about locating them. But after sharing a handful of their experiences while working search and rescue, the conversation turned weird and the stairs were brought up. At first, EW was quiet, but then he asked good for what he had heard of the boy who had disappeared from a few years prior. - I think I might have heard this one before. You probably have. Joey was only 11 years old and had gotten separated from his group near a river. At first, S.A.R. believed he may have fallen into the water, but when they didn't initially see him anywhere that made sense for the time, they brought in dogs. Those dogs led them to a very densely forested area. The dogs were moving erratically back and forth along the path they were searching, picking up on Joey's scent in one spot and jumping across to another. Quote, if you think if a checkerboard, Joey's scent was being picked up in random black squares, but never in red. It was around this time that EW spotted the stairs. They were about 50 yards from where he was standing and he told his partner that he was going to check in that area. His partner refused to go near them, heating the warning given by all of their superiors. But EW didn't want to leave any stone unturned. If you were an 11-year-old, it would only make sense to go and explore the random staircase in the wilderness. EW made his way over his partner watching him as he checked from a distance. Quote, I walked over to the stairs. They were small, kind of like stairs into a basement. I don't really feel strongly one way or another about them. The stairs, I mean, so I wasn't scared or anything. I guess I'm like everyone else and I just prefer not to think about them too much. Anyway, I went over and I could see that there was something lying on the bottom step, sort of curled up. My heart sinks. Because, of course, you always hope for the best. And we were confident that we'd find this kid alive because he'd only been missing for a few hours. But I knew right away that it was him and that he was dead. He was curled up in a little ball on the step, holding his stomach. It looked like he'd been in horrible pain when he died, but I didn't see any blood except someone his lips and chin. I radioed in that I'd found him, and we got his body back to command. That poor family, they were devastated. The parents couldn't understand how he'd be dead because he'd only been gone for such a short amount of time, and on top of that, we didn't have any obvious cause of death, which just made it worse. I figured he'd probably eaten something poisonous since he was holding his stomach when I found him, but I didn't want to guess. It's hard enough to hear that your kid is dead, let alone have some stupid S.A.R. guy guessing about what happened. They took him away, and I went home and tried not to think about it. We don't always hear back from the corners about cause of death. It's not really our job to know, I guess, and sometimes if they think it's foul play, they won't tell us because of legal BS. But I've got a friend who works for the Sheriff's Department, until he usually passes along any interesting info if I ask. In this case, though, I actually got a call from him about a week later. He asks if I remember the kid, and of course, I do. And he says some seriously weird stuff is going on. He tells me, "A.W. Man, you're going to think I'm crazy, but the corner has no idea what happened to this kid. He's never seen anything like it." My friend goes on to tell me that when the corner opened the kid up, he couldn't even believe what he was seeing. The kid's organs were like Swiss cheese. Quarter-sized holes were punched clean through just about every single organ the kid had, aside from his heart and lungs. My friend said the corner described it as if someone had taken a hole punch and punched holes out of everything. They were so neat. But the kid didn't have a scratch on him. No injury or exit wounds. The closest anyone had ever seen like this was a guy who'd filled himself full of buckshot a year or so back while cleaning his rifle. No one had a clue what could possibly have caused it. My friend asked me if I'd ever heard of anything like it, or if we'd had similar cases in the past, but I'd never even heard of something like that, and I told him I wasn't going to be of any help to him. As far as I know, the corner determines the cause of death as something like massive internal bleeding, but no one knows what really happened. I've never been able to forget that kid. I have nightmares about it sometimes. I don't let my kids go into the woods alone, and when we do go together, I never let them out of my sight. I used to love it out here, but that case and a couple of others just sort of ruined it for me. Yeah, I have heard that one before. It's horrible. OP and EW parted ways after dinner was over, but before they left, EW stopped him with a warning. He looked OP in the eyes and told him to be careful that there are bad things out there. Quote, "Things that don't care if we have families or lives, or that we can think and feel," unquote. This story really stuck with me, especially after reading the warning from that other redditor in part two in the description of the trap in the comments of part three, are the stairs related to these beings, or are they something else entirely? I don't know. Is that even a physical possibility? I mean, I guess it has to be something totally otherworldly. Well, OP had one more conversation that they included in part four, and that was their talk with someone they named P-B, another veteran S-A-R officer. During a training grid search, the pair passed an old set of stairs that looked to belong to a fire lookout abandoned years ago, so there's a reason for those stairs to be out there. That's when OP casually mentioned their interest in those strange stairs, deep in the wilderness, that didn't seem to have an explanation. After some hesitation, P-B told OP to turn their radio off to make sure they weren't overheard, and he began to tell him his own stories. That would already freak me out, because what do you mean? He's like, "Okay, I'll talk to you, but we gotta turn our radio off." No, that's horrifying. I would say, "Sure, click." Like, I would not do it. I would make the little clicking sound. You would say click. Yes, I'd be like, "Click, it's turned off." No, that's horrifying though. Seven years prior, P-B claimed that he was out on a call with a rookie. Walking through an area of the park where reports of strange and unusual things were often called in. The rookie had heard all about it and seemed to be pretty spooked about the goat man. Quote, "Finally, I told him that there was plenty else to be afraid of out here. That was very real, and that he'd better get over this thing with the goat man." This stopped the rookie in his tracks, and he became very curious about what else was out there. It was about this time that the two happened upon a staircase. It was only 10 yards or so ahead of them. Quote, "See? That's something you should be afraid of." P-B claimed the rookie freaked out and asked what that was doing all the way out here. After being on the job for so long, P-B had watched their policies change about these kinds of things. For a while, it wasn't a big secret, but after all of the turnover with staff and the stories getting out to the media, things had really changed. At first, when P-B first started walking out there, it wasn't something they talked about, but it wasn't this big top secret thing. It was just like, "Oh yeah, there are stairs. Here's the gist." The four services became tight-lipped about it all. Yeah, because once people start hearing about it, I'm sure people were going out there and investigating and messing with the stairs and stuff. It makes it dangerous. He finally, so P-B finally relented and gave the rookie and our OP all of the information that he had on it. But I'll tell you everything I can think of, and after that, I'm done talking about it for good. And I expect you not to bring it up around me ever. The stairs have been out here as long as the parks have existed. We have records going back decades describing them. Sometimes people go up them and nothing happens. Other times? Look, I really don't like talking about this, but sometimes really bad stuff happens. I saw one guy get his hand sliced clean off when he got to the top step. From what? He reached out to touch a tree branch, and it happened so fast. One second his hand was there, and the next it was gone. Completely clean wound. We didn't find his hand, and the guy almost died. Nuh-uh. Another time, a woman touched one of the stairs and a blood vessel in her brain exploded. Literally exploded like a water balloon. She sort of stumbled down and came over to me, and all she got out was, "I think something's wrong with me." She dropped like a sack of flower dead before she hit the ground. My watch should happen, and there wasn't a single thing I could do to help. We warn people not to go anywhere near them, but there's always at least one idiot who does. And even if nothing happens to them, something bad always happens. Kids go missing as we're on their trail. Someone dies the next day. Cut in half in a completely safe part of the park. I don't know why, but something bad always happens. I don't know exactly why they're out there, but it doesn't matter. They're here, and if we were smart, we'd tell our new officers exactly what they're capable of. Unquote. The explanation left OP speechless for a moment, afraid to speak, and waiting for PB to continue on. After a long pause, PB finally spoke up. Quote, "Have you ever noticed how you can't find the same ones twice?" Unquote. And that was the end of their conversation, and the two walked in silence for a while before returning to normal conversation, as co-workers do. But PB didn't return to the training the following day. He left before sunrise, claiming he was sick, and hadn't been hurt from by OP's then. Rightfully so. I would have, okay, you know what, I would have left the second, the superior person was like, hey, turn your radio off for me. Gone. Done, because what do you mean by that? You're telling me all these stories in your like, but we're never talking about it again. So that tells me, you believe all the stuff you just said, and you're scared. PB, the one telling the story. Yeah. Left. Left didn't say goodbye, didn't say anything, said, I'm sick, I'm going home. Goodbye. Oh, I thought it was the trainee. No, no, OP did not leave. PB, the guy telling the story, the vet. Oh, that's even worse. The the stair man, get him like, it didn't reveal too much. No, he told, he told the the people running the camp. I'm leaving, and was gone before sunrise, and just never spoke to any of them again. And I hope the stair man didn't get it. I mean, just like that's, I don't know. How do you not find the hand? It disappeared. The hand itself went into another dimension, but you say that's what I'm thinking, like it's like a portal to another dimension. And when you cross through, like you're either in or out, my god, that's a lot. Could you imagine being in that other dimension in my hand across a hand? Just a severed hand on the ground. Nobody, no, no signs of anything else. That's really scary. I don't like that. It's so disgusting. But this wasn't the end of the stair conversation for OP at this training. Another vet had something to say after coming across OP's first reddit post. So they, they saw these posts and found out that it was OP posting them. Oh my god. Yeah. Quote, I think it's important that people be aware of what's out there, especially since the Forest Service is doing so such a good job at covering it all up, unquote. This vet claimed that the lack of media attention and the little to no coverage for some of the missing children in strange places that bodies end up was like not okay. Like they needed to be talking about this. Quote, for a service is doing everything they can to keep people coming here, even if it isn't safe. The numbers add up and it's worth looking into, especially the stairs. I was surprised you didn't mention the flipped ones. So not only are there normal stairs in the woods, but apparently there are staircases that appear to be flipped upside down like the top is shoved down to the dirt and like each step goes up this way instead of trusting this way. Yeah. They said they're much rarer and they're out there. It looks OP described as if like a tornado. Blue dorses house away. Yeah. Like shot the stairs off into a plunk them down in the middle of the forest. By part number seven. So part six didn't have anything about stairs that I remember. But part seven. OP had collected a couple of more stories that pretty much wrapped up the saga of the stairs, but they were personal encounters with a couple of friends that he was talking to. When OP first brought it up, there was a real shift in the energy. So they were talking about, you know, their time out and search for my scheme before a survey on the job. Yeah, just, you know, random co-worker talk. Yeah. But when he brought up the stairs, he could tell that everyone kind of got a little bit of it. - It's still uncomfortable. - Yeah. It remains a topic that makes those who've encountered them extremely uneasy. But finally, someone did speak up. A friend named Eddie was camping with their girlfriend roughly two miles out from the road. When it was finally time for them to get some sleep, it became an impossible task because of the grinding noises they heard outside their tent. He said it was very much like the sounds of someone grinding their teeth. They tried to ignore it, and Eddie was assuring his girlfriend that he'd heard it before and they just need to pretend like it wasn't there. Quote, it goes away eventually. You guys know what I mean. No, they all nodded in agreement. No. They did, they did in fact know what he meant by the grinding noises. Horrible. The couple finally fell asleep, but just two hours later, Eddie woke up to an off feeling. Something just wasn't right. And when he rolled over to check on his girlfriend, she was gone. She was no longer in the tent. He ran from the tent, calling her name through those dark woods, and he found her, not far away from where they set up camp. She was kind of at the edge of camp, looking out into the trees, staring at something that he couldn't yet see. No, and she looked very pale by the light of the dying fire. Quote, I ran up to see what was going on and she was dead asleep, but her eyes were open. She had this real spaced outlook, you know? So I put my arm around her to lead her back, but she wouldn't move. She just said really quietly, something like, I have to go now, Eddie. I have to go. It's here. I was like, you're just sleepwalking, come back to bed, but she still wouldn't budge. She just kept standing there and saying that she had to go. And I looked where she was looking, and there was an effing staircase right there, about 15 yards away. Gray one, concrete. And she started to walk toward it, but I yanked her back, and that woke her up. She looked at me like I was out of my mind, and she asked what she was doing out there out of the tent. I didn't tell her anything. I just told her she was sleepwalking. The grinding noise was gone, so she just went back to the tent with me and fell asleep again. I don't know. I don't like thinking about it, you know? I do know, because I don't want to think about it. This left a chill in the group. I've got chills in my face right now, but another person spoke up. They had read a report about a missing child that had thankfully been found a week after he went missing. He had stories about the stairs, about him talking to them. Quote, he said he'd been watching his dad build a fire, and the stairs came up to him, and he had to go up them or something back would happen. Quote, the kid kept repeating over and over, like the campfire, like the campfire, like the campfire. He told them about sounds so loud he had to cover his ears, and what really stuck out with this S.A.R. officer though, was that when the authorities asked the kid where he had been? He claimed he had been, quote, right there, and pointed at himself. No, quote, they thought that meant that he thought he'd never left. He said he wasn't scared because the stairs were there, and he said they talked to him, but not like people talk, unquote. What does it mean? Nobody could understand what he meant, and figured that he had some sort of amnesia from his time out in the woods alone, didn't remember what actually went on, maybe some trauma or something, but another interesting note, when he was found, he was in perfect condition. Well fed, no dirt or sticks or anything on him, and he did not look like he'd been living out in the wilderness for a full week. This is horrible. And that's kind of where theories of like alternate dimensions come in, like where are these missing people going, and how are some of them, or parts of them returning? 'Cause what do you mean I was right here? What does that even mean? Pointing to themself. You know what that reminds me of? Oh, they're mommy. Oh my God. It creeps me out. I can't wait. We're getting so close to that coming out. I'm really excited. Read the book. Be a part of the book club. Oh my gosh, I need to. But it freaks me out. What does it mean? Stairs were talking to them telepathically. The noises that were being made is that another language, something else that only some people can understand. Like it's calling to certain people. I mean, I would assume so. Yeah, but part of the lure. I don't know. Now you'll see, or I hope you can see, what the hype was about these stairs in the woods. For so long. This is scarier than I remember it. Oh yeah. Well, our OP only had one more update where they shared a few stories in part eight, but nothing much else about those stairs. Quote, this will be my final update for now. Things have deteriorated here to a degree that I didn't foresee. I didn't know how much writing about things that are happening out here would affect every single part of my life. And maybe that was stupid of me. People ask me about the stairs now. My boss is no, someone is talking about them. And I'm sure that if they know, the higher ups know. And I can tell you that they aren't happy about it. I've been formally told that I am not to speak a word about them to anyone anymore. Oh my God. Which is part of the reason this has to be my final update. I can't risk my job for this. As much as it's been wonderful to get a lot of these things off my mind, I still do love my work and I need to be out there. There are so many things I won't ever be able to understand about my job. And it would take me years to relay all of the things I've heard in the last few months. When I feel like my job isn't in jeopardy, I will come back. And OP left us with one final warning. If you go out into the woods, I encourage you to be safe. Bring water, food, survival equipment. Let people know where you're going and when you'll be back. Don't go on on charted paths unless you know exactly what you're doing. And above all, don't touch them. Don't look at them. Don't go up them. Don't tell me twice. Have I received? Am I going to any of these parks? No. But got it. But I will keep that rule in my mind forever. Yep. Well, whether this story drummed up the creativity and curiosity of the entire internet or simply drew attention to the matter, many other people came online to tell their stories about encountering those stairs in the woods, like a hiker in 2019 who claimed to see the stairs with a group that he was with. As they got closer, a little boy who was walking with them insisted that they leave the area immediately. He said he felt a force compelling him towards the stairs. But had enough sense to know something wasn't right about it at all. Or a pair of hikers in Sweden that claimed to come across these mysterious stairs who also felt drawn to them with that same magnetic force. When one of the friends started climbing, they claimed to hear a piercing scream echo through the woods as they ran out of the woods knowing they needed to get out. Both of them felt another presence there with them. And stories continue to this day. There is also another sub dedicated to photos of stairs in the woods. They give those same vibes that photos the back rooms or limo spaces do. Like something just isn't right, you know. You're intrigued, but know that it's not something you should be experiencing. So if you ever get the urge to hike deep into the woods, bar out into our national parks and you come across alone instead of stairs way farther out, then they should be. Remember the warnings of our search and rescue officer and all those who came before him. Leave them there, unexplored, and calling out to another victim. So good. Oh, that's a horrible way to end. And that is the stairs in the woods. OK, you know what? At the beginning, you kind of crushed my soul a little bit being like-- but I kind of believe it. OK, so two things. One, this is no sleep. It's real, but it's not. And two, at the end of the part eight, they were like, I might be working on a book in the future. Great writer, I would read their book. I don't know if they ever came out with one, so I'll look it up. But they did post other things in other subs. And they're pretty interesting. I started reading through a few. So definitely check out this person on Reddit. We'll leave. Like I said, we'll link the first part, I think, and do the description. But it's so interesting. I'm into it. I like stories like this. But if it-- OK, so if it isn't real, which I'm going to go ahead and say that it's not, who's to say there aren't things like it? That's what I'm saying is out in the wilderness-- unexplored territory. --anything could be out there, I think. Because how do we know? We're not there. There aren't people there all the time. You don't know. You don't know what's out there. If a tree falls in the forest with no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, OK. Yes, but I think it's real. OK, OK. Or there's some cut. There's at least a sliver of truth somewhere in all of those stories. Whether or not it's real-- A sliver. It's still such a spooky and good story, especially for this time of year. It's got that chill. It gives all the right vibes, you know? Yes. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And it's so spooky. It really is spooky. I agree. Let us know. Have you ever encountered stairs in the woods? Have you ever seen something strange out there that you just can't explain? Have you ever built the magnetic force calling you towards something you know you shouldn't be near? I'm sure. Well, let us know in the comments. You can also email us your stories. If you would like to, it's [email protected]. Something forgot our email address. I was like, ghosties. And don't forget to check out final moments-- the final countdown for these beautiful shirts. They're lovely. I love the arm details. They're so cute. Yes, yes, yes, yes, perfect for those guys. And if you want, for year round, like this is more Halloweeny. This is like year round winter springtime, the cream color, the cream in the purple. It's more ghosties year round. Orange and black is more ghosties October. Yes. So check it out, ghosties.store, also in our description. Like this video if you liked it. Share it with your friends if you feel compelled to do so. And subscribe for more. Or we've got more very fun things coming for the month of October. This is our last September episode already. Yeah, that's wild. Come back for that. We've got bonus episodes coming for the month of October, too. You're going to love-- And costumes. Costumes? Yeah. Also, let us know. This is what you can comment today. What are you dressing up for Halloween? What's your Halloween costume? What are your kids' Halloween costumes? What are your pets? Halloween costumes, nieces, nephews, uncles, whatever you want. What is your uncle dressing up as? Tell us, believe it or not, let us know. who is going to be. And with that, we will see you on Friday. Goodbye!