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The Winged Man Behind The Blackberry Bushes

 

So, this is going to sound totally crazy, but this still haunts me to this day, and I just had to share. Because of the events that I'm about to share, my parents sold our house and moved us into the city, and we were never allowed outside after dark.

I was about 6 when my family moved into this old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere in Indiana. For context, there was an old barn that was falling apart, several cornfields, some crab apple trees, mulberry trees, blackberry and raspberry bushes, and there was a gun club just across the street that only ever had people around on Sundays. There was a bit of woods beyond the blackberry bushes, and the nearest neighbors was a classmate of mine about a mile down the road. We also had a pretty big yard that was in full view of almost every window in the house, and, as long as we never went past the dirt patch between the yard and the barn or past the trees or bushes, we were able to play wherever we wanted in the yard.

It was early summer, and I was outside playing by myself. At some point in time, I got hungry and decided to snack on some blackberries (this was permitted by my parents as long as we made sure the berries were ripe). I was in the middle of collecting a handful of berries when I noticed I wasn't alone. There was what looked like a man with a wide brimmed hat and a trench coat standing towards the back of the blackberry bushes. He was smiling at me and kept waving for me to come to him, and I grew very confused. Like I said, the nearest neighbors outside the gun club were about a mile down the road, so lost visitors wasn't exactly something that happened regularly. I tried asking him different questions about who he was and what he was doing there, but I only got the wave indicating he wanted me to approach, and I kept hearing this strange wheezing noise.

From what I understand, my mom happened to look out the kitchen window and saw me standing by the blackberry bushes, talking to someone. Now, I was a very active kid with an even more active imagination at the time, so I was always playing by myself and talking to "imaginary" people, so it wouldn't have struck her as strange behavior at first. However, when she noticed that I was standing there longer than I would if I was playing a game, she came out to investigate and asked me what I was doing. I immediately pointed to the man in the bushes, and I watched the color drain from my mom's face.

She immediately ordered me to go inside and get my dad. After hearing the fear in her voice, I sensed something was wrong, and I ran to the house as I was afraid she was hurt (she was pregnant at the time with one of my little sisters). As I ran, I heard my mom scream, and something massive burst through the bushes. I don't know why or how, but something told me not to look up or back, so I lowered my gaze towards the ground. That's when I saw it... The shadow of what looked like a man with bat shaped wings.

From here, everything gets fuzzy, but I remember people coming over to the house to ask me questions about the man and what had happened, and my sisters and I were forced to sleep in the living room until my parents finally sold the house later that winter.

I had almost forgotten everything until I was 18 and discovered the movie Jeepers Creepers. Watching both movies, I was reminded of the man I had seen at the back of the bushes and was about to write it off as my imagination when my mom came up and asked me what I thought about the movies. I told her they were scary and reminded me of the man back at the farmhouse, and I could see the color drain from her face. She immediately told me that I was to never bring it up again, but now really curious.

Is there really a creature like the Creeper? What kept it from scooping me up as a kid? Why was my mom so afraid if it was nothing but my imagination? Maybe someone here has answers or some kind of explanation...

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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, BrokenDreamer, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

goblinkwain (1 stories) (15 posts)
+2
2 years ago (2022-10-22)
Pretty great story, and very well told. Thanks for sharing, and happy halloween!
The_Lost_Voyage_11 (8 stories) (252 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2022-10-22)
Hello BrokenDreamer, great story, thanks for sharing, perfect for this time of year!

I assume from what you said that your mother has never spoken about what she encountered in the bushes that day? Her reaction when you pointed out the man and the fact that she screamed as something or someone burst from the bushes indicates that she encountered something, but did she see exactly what you saw? What about your dad? You were sent to fetch him and obviously he sold the house with your mother later that year, but has he ever said anything about that day? How did the people that showed up at the house find out about the incident if your mom didn't want to talk about it? Did anyone else in the area ever mention seeing anything similar? Do you have any information on the history of the property or area?

I'm not doubting the authenticity of your story, on the contrary I find it fascinating, but need more information before I could really render an opinion on what occurred.

Ironically before I got to the end of your story, at the point you mentioned seeing the shadow with bat wings, that was my first thought as well, the creature called the Creeper in the Jeeper's Creeper's movies, prior to reading that you saw those movies later in life.

Is there such a being as "the Creeper"? Perhaps, something like it, but the exact fictional character I doubt it. Usually though just as legends and rumors have some basis in fact, some very creative people in Hollywood could draw their inspiration from such stories. The Native Americans believe in shapeshifters, for some it's part of their culture, and there are stories on this very site about them. I believe it's the Philippines, that also have legends/stories about shapeshifters, both consist of a cross between man and beast. There were the stories for years on the Jersey Devil in NJ and there were many sightings, although the description varied somewhat.

The character known as the Creeper in the movies, the origin or exact nature of this being was never made known, but it was hinted at in the films and by it's creator that it may have once been human and fell under some kind of curse. The 4th movie was supposed to reveal all, but whether that ever happens remains to be seen. As to what you saw, ghosts have been know to alter their appearance, but since it interacted physically with it's environment by bursting through the bushes, it may have been something more.

It seems that if it was some sort of shapeshifter, or being in the category of the Jersey Devil (something more than a ghost) then more people in the area surely would have reported encounters. If it was some sort of spirit/ghost bound to the property though, then the reports would only have been localized to the home and land.

I'm not sure if this has helped, but I would be curious for sure on what more you can tell us about the event, and if there were others by other people in the area. Good Luck!
Rajine (14 stories) (882 posts)
+2
2 years ago (2022-10-19)
Hi BrokenDreamer

The way you described your old house is like the perfect setting for a horror movie, I'm not sure what it was that you and your mom experienced but if I'd been through that I'd also be gone without a second thought, given your mom's reaction, she's clearly spooked out about it after all these years, but only she will be able to shed more light on that day.
Pelatiah (4 stories) (75 posts)
+3
2 years ago (2022-10-18)
Now that you're grown, will your mom talk about it?
The fact that she saw & was out there when you ran is a good thing. I'm assuming she was ok after?

Pretty compelling, but then you were only 6!

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