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Chased By An Eerie Laugh

 

This is my first submission to the site. I have tried to be detailed in my description of the physical surroundings to help readers understand why this occurrence was so disturbing to me.

On St. Patrick's Day, either 2011 or 2012, I was out with my friends at a sports bar when our designated driver saw an ex-boyfriend and did not want to be in the same room with him. It upset her so we cut our night short and she drove everyone at home. I lived in Poulsbo, WA, and my house was about 2 miles from the quaint downtown area so I asked to be let out there, so I could hit up the local watering hole since it was only about 10:30pm. I do drink, but that night I remember I was fighting a tummy bug so I was taking it easy on the beers, so I ordered my third for the night and sipped on while catching up with some folks I knew. The overall mood of the place wasn't very fun, too many people were sloshy-drunk and those who weren't drunk also weren't very festive so after less than an hour I decided to walk home. It wasn't super cold, and it wasn't raining, and I had made that walk many times so I didn't even give it a second thought. I should also say that generally this town is pretty safe, and that I am taller than most men I know and have an imposing frame, and carry myself with purpose (thanks to my military time), so I don't get harassed much.

My walk home followed the street that ran parallel to the bay, the road and sidewalks were well-lit and about 30-50 ft above the water level, and set back from the water by a thin strip of land and trees. There are a handful of small homes and businesses situated between the road and the water, but next to downtown a strip of that land is comprised of a park. During the day it's a nice place to walk on the shady path by the water, and in that park is a peculiar tree that has a small half-stump sticking out of one side, that resembles a toilet seat. I remember some acquaintance of mine once called it the "leprechaun toilet". I never asked about it and just assumed that it was a name he came up with on his own. I've seen and heard people in that park after dark, and when I do I try to hurry past it because I don't want to get involved with whatever they are up to. Anyway, I wasn't surprised that on that night, while passing the park, I heard rustling in the bushes and a high pitched, eerie laugh. It lasted quite a few breaths. I figured it was some kids trying to mess with the girl walking home alone at night. So I hurried my step, felt to make sure my cell phone was in my pocket if I needed it quickly, and kept my head on a swivel in case kid's hijinks turned out to be a real street assault.

I stayed alert but it became clear that no one was following me, and the road was pretty straight so I could see well either direction with the streetlights. My walk home was about a mile along that road, then would take a right on a perpendicular road for about ½ mile that bordered another small park, then I would turn left across the street and into my neighborhood. All of the way home was well-lit and pretty free from obstructions to see who was coming. I didn't run into anyone else on the sidewalk, and only remember a couple of cars driving past, opposite of my direction home. It seemed to me that whoever was trying to mess with me at the park near downtown was not pursuing me.

I made the right hand turn and after passing a few small businesses on my right, I came up to where the second park ran along the sidewalk. The city had put in a new sidewalk there a few months earlier and I often walked my dog in that park, and knew its layout well. The sidewalk was uphill from the park, in a way that there was about a 5-6ft drop from the sidewalk to the park, so the city had put a handrail along the sidewalk. On the park-side of the railing, a large amount of invasive blackberry bushes were going crazy, often my dog and I would spot a rabbit or two bounding through the paths they made under the thorny branches. This particular night, there was a rustle as usual as I disturbed something with my footsteps, but this time it was accompanied by the same high-pitched eerie laugh that I had heard at the last park. It startled me and scared me to the core.

I instantly began running, I crossed the street and ran to where I turn into my neighborhood, and then -a bit short of breath- I turned around to see if anything was following me and I pulled out my cell, intending to call 9-1-1. The whole time I was running I could hear the laughter coming from the park, but it didn't move closer, and now that I stopped, I heard nothing and saw no one. I was shaken up, and even though my house was uphill from there, I ran home and turned on all the outdoor lights and double checked the locks on everything.

I know the first assumption is that it was someone playing a joke on me, or harassing me, and I think that's what I reacted to, and I had expected to see a person emerge from the bushes. But if you knew the layout of the second park, you would know that there is physically no way for someone to get themselves from the first downtown park into position in the second park without being VERY fast, and also having some sort of path/tunnel already cut out of the blackberry bushes so they could get into that position without cutting themselves to pieces and making a ton of noise. Or to have something that would rustle the bushes and project sound. To me, its equally scary to think that someone would pre-meditate something like that, or if it was something that can't be explained.

I personally have never heard a laugh like that before in my life, it was high pitched but not feminine, and kind of evil or mischievous sounding. I know how calm and quiet the night was, and am pretty confident I would have heard a car, or running, or any footsteps of whoever would have to do that. I've told friends and neighbors, worried there's someone messing with people, but no one else ever heard of anything. In hindsight it wouldn't have been a bad idea to call the police, but the sound was so odd that once I got home I thought that maybe I had misheard another noise, or that it wasn't anything but a raccoon. Most of the people in Poulsbo are Scandinavian decent, as am I, so there is a tradition of forest people like elves and trolls, and being on St. Patrick's Day it's hard to ignore the Leprechaun link as well. Only months later did I remember the name my friend gave the tree stump, and for some reason that brought to mind this incident immediately. I'm not sure I even really believe in those types of things, but it was just such a weird experience.

I'm not sure what exactly that was, but I never walked home at night again, and since have moved out of the town.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, jaderae, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

razorback95 (2 stories) (48 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-09-01)
I honestly wish I was this good of a writer. I have so many stories of the paranormal I want to share on here! Great imagery! Great everything! Very nicely put together! 😁
abbykay_luv (4 stories) (43 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-13)
Wow great narration. Its very detailed. I you are a very brave girl, even to decide to walk that long distance home even though you know the kind of routes you will take and the possible dangers. The laughter you heard is not from a person, maybe a residual spirit trying to punish you and deter you from walking alone so late at night. I was wondering if you have ever heard someone talk about having same or similar experience... Thanks for sharing
jaderae (3 stories) (29 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-13)
Thank you for the supportive comments everyone, I was nervous to submit anything, but you have given me courage to write and share other strange incidents!

Dee-J, I totally think it could have been an animal, especially because the blackberry bushes attract a lot of animals. And the first time I heard a rabbit scream when a dog attacked it, it was certainly very chilling. Even from my new house, I was awoken one night to a loud, strange roar-scream that sounded like it was coming from the forest near my home. I had an instinctive reaction in my gut of fear (I think my dog did too, she climbed in bed with me haha), but then I remembered that although its rare, cougars make such sounds. But I could see how that sound would be attributed to something far more sinister than a cougar. But back to this story, I think the thing that set the laugh apart from an animal noise was that I heard the same laugh from two different places. It may have been a coincidence that some animal was bothered by me in both places, but it did put me off from walking at night.

Zander, after this experience, I've been trying to pay more attention to things I hear about fairy-type creatures. I once took an IcelandAir flight and they had factoids about the country on the in-flight entertainment, one of them was that more than half of Icelanders believe in a version of fairies! They also have planned development around sites where fairies are traditionally thought to live!

TPA_Abhijeet could also be correct that my imbibing may have contributed to the experience. I think that's part of the reason I was so quick to immediately dismiss the noise once I got home, I figured I was mistaken.

I hope to never hear it again!
Hecate0 (4 stories) (418 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-12)
Jaderae, your description of this laugh is one of the best spine chilling, creepy reads I have had in a while. And I read stories here as well as murder mysteries (Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen). I think you experienced something that night. There are times when we "know" something is not right. I am guessing you are sensitive, although you may never have explored this. Many here have great stories...

Best to you.
Hecate 😊
TPA_Abhijeet (guest)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-12)
Jaderae:
Its written superbly, it was quite creepy.
I think, if you have a good imagination then your mind might have messed with you and you already specified that you were coming from a bar (Please don't get me wrong) as I have such experiences a few times.
Tweed (36 stories) (2529 posts)
+1
9 years ago (2015-07-12)
Jaderae,

Thank you for such a well told read, I felt as if I was there with you every step of the way.
I think this is one of those encounters where, even though there may be a slew of physical causes, there is just something about it, which can't be ignored. It's that gut feeling of being manipulated by some kind of intelligent entity. I find the Scandinavian link and the St Patrick's day coincidence incredibly intriguing. Not to mention the leprechaun toilet lol!
Zander (7 stories) (147 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-11)
This is superbly written. Thank you. I too had the same thought about the leprechaun or other folk creature or the like. Interesting about the Scandinavian link... There are areas in Ireland to this day where a proposed road expansion or build will be re-routed to avoid disturbing a 'faerie' tree or rock. In Ireland a faerie is not necessarily a 'wee' person [they can be quite tall and/or pass for human--usually quite lovely ones] and they can also be malevolent. They take such things seriously in Ireland to this day.
Dee-J (13 stories) (76 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-11)
Disregard the question I asked. My fault. I had forgotten that you stated in your last sentence that you had since moved.
Dee-J (13 stories) (76 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-07-11)
jaderae: You did a good job with the details in explaining everything from the events that happened to the layout of the areas you were walking in. You really put it all in perspective and I felt as if I was right there. Great story.

That sounded like a very creepy experience. I can only imagine how you were feeling at the time. Just throwing it out there though that sometimes animals are known to make eerie noises like that. I've had my share of those type of encounters and they scared the living hell out of me! Only to find out that an animal was behind it. Lol. However, your encounter could've been a legitimate entity. I know all to well that spirits do have their ways of making themselves known.

Have you walked in that same area at night since?

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