Uwharrie Forest
The Uwharrie Forest covers over 50,000 acres in North Carolina. It is used for a variety of purposes including horse riding, camping and birdwatching with thousands of people visiting the park each week to get a breath of fresh air. Despite its beautiful scenery and calmly flowing rivers the forest has a dark side not all are aware of. During the daytime it is stunning and serene but at night time things aren’t quite the same.
History
The Uwharries and surrounding areas are thought to have been occupied by humans for ten thousand years. To this day many Native American artifacts such as arrowheads, campsite and pottery are found scattered throughout the area. In the late 1740’s European settlers started to make their way across the Uwharries looking for land to farm and game to hunt. Several small towns were formed and gold was found bringing prosperity to the area. Since becoming a national forest many different people have reported seeing a number of different strange phenomena in the forest.
Strange Phenomena
A park ranger named Mike Yates was doing security on the night shift at the park. Suddenly the area was filled with a dense grey fog. This was very unusual so he went outside to investigate. He got into his truck and reversed out when suddenly a formally dressed elderly woman appeared in his rearview mirror. He got out of the truck and asked her what she was doing noticing it was 3am and it is very strange for anyone to be in the park let alone an elderly lady. The lady said she was in the park to meet someone.
Confused, but wanting to be helpful Mike offered to take her to the park’s front gate. As they neared the gate, Mike was shocked to see an incredibly old car at the gate, almost impossibly old. The elderly lady exited his truck and entered what he assumed was her car. Being quite unsettled by the old lady and fearing for her safety travelling alone at night in such an old car Mike decided to follow her for a while. As he drove behind her, the road curved slightly and when Mike had emerged from the turn the other vehicle was gone without a trace.
The park has also been claimed to be home to not just spirits lost in time but also Bigfoot. Reports of screaming, damage to tents, stolen food, knocking sounds, and even huge footprints are commonly made to park rangers. In 2008, a man named Michael Greene had a number of strange experiences in the Uwharries. He initially heard heavy ominous breathing sounds just outside his tent. The next year Greene returned to the forest and heard something again while camping. This time, it was a rustling in the woods. He turned on a thermal imaging camera right before midnight and left his campsite for two hours. He came back and found he had recorded a tall bulky figure with long arms. He noticed it had stolen some toys and candy bars from the camp.
While being one of the smallest national parks in the US, Uwharrie is no doubt big in mystery.
