True TAIWAN Horror story

Honestly, this was a foolish move. Anyone who’s climbed mountains knows that if you’re in danger, staying put is the best option—unless, of course, you’re desperate for water or something. So, to the hunters, their behavior was utterly baffling. Still, baffling or not, they pressed on with the search.

Remember how I mentioned that, due to the agreement, everyone had to retreat dozens of kilometers? That included all the tribal settlements back then. Why do I bring this up? Because, following their tracking skills, the hunters arrived at an abandoned tribal village. (This ties into the next geomenticer story.)

Though it was heavily weathered and decayed, you could still make out the wooden and thatched architectural style from back in the day. At the center of the village stood a totem representing the tribe’s spirit, still upright despite being covered in moss and vines.

They also found traces of a campfire here, confirming they were on the right track.

Since it was nearing dusk when they made this discovery, they decided to camp outside for the night and continue the search the next day. That evening, after dinner, they kept the fire going and took turns keeping watch to guard against any sudden incidents.

You probably know that shadows cast by a regular lamp are steady, unlike the flickering effect of a fire. The middle-aged hunter, while on watch, stared at the shifting shadows created by the flames. The firelight happened to illuminate the totem. The shadow of that upright totem twisted slightly in the distant glow, which was a bit eerie.

Suddenly, the middle-aged hunter noticed an indistinct shadow moving faintly inside one of the abandoned houses…

At first, he thought it was just the fire’s effect, but upon closer inspection, something seemed off. He switched on his flashlight and shone it over there.

He wasn’t sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he was certain of one thing: when he swept the flashlight beam across, something quickly darted back into the house.

He grabbed his hunting rifle and was about to head over to investigate when——

Out of nowhere, he got whacked on the head with a stick. Turning around, he saw it was the older hunter, who had emerged from the tent holding a probing stick.

Old: “Idiot, what are you doing wandering away from the fire?”

Mid: “Nothing, old man, I just saw something in the village.”

Old: “What kind of nonsense? Did you see the dogs react at all?”

The middle-aged hunter glanced back and saw the three hunting dogs staring at him getting hit, showing no reaction to whatever was in the village.

Old: “Alright, alright, go sleep. I’ll take watch so I don’t end up having to look for you on top of those two.”

Mid: “Pfft, don’t jinx me, old man.”

Though he still had doubts about what he saw in the village, the dogs hadn’t reacted, and the older hunter insisted on taking over. So, the middle-aged hunter crawled into the tent to sleep, leaving the older one on watch.

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The next morning, they resumed their search for clues. They noticed something odd: normally, if you’re lost, staying put or retracing your steps is the best choice. Yet these two kept heading deeper into the forest.

Ignoring how strange this behavior was, the deeper area they entered was a region their ancestors had warned them to avoid unless necessary. But since it was modern times, and they saw it as a good deed to help, the hunters boldly pressed on.

What they didn’t expect was the eerie silence that enveloped the entire forest…

This silence brought an intangible pressure. Both hunters gripped their rifles tightly and moved slowly, while even the three dogs stayed quiet, pacing cautiously around their masters.

That day, they found more items likely belonging to the missing men—cash, sunglasses. Just as they were puzzling over how these things ended up scattered around, the dogs seemed to pick up the scent of the missing pair. After barking twice, they started heading in a specific direction.

The hunters were thrilled—having the dogs pick up a scent made their search so much easier.

Following the dogs, they heard the sound of flowing water and spotted broken branches and footprints. Suddenly, the dogs stopped at the edge of a ravine.

Mid: “Holy crap, did these two idiots climb down the ravine?”

It seemed the missing men had risked descending the ravine in a desperate bid for survival.

Like the missing two, the hunters hadn’t brought climbing gear, so they didn’t dare follow. Instead, they took another route toward the ravine’s base. By the time they reached the bottom, it was dusk again. Their pace was slow, but they weren’t without results.

At the base of the ravine, they found more signs of a campfire. But this time, things got really strange.

The campsite showed that the missing men hadn’t finished their food, and there were even more scattered items. It looked like something had happened mid-meal, forcing them to flee into the night…

Since it was getting dark, and despite being near a water source, the hunters decided to camp farther away from this eerie spot, given the missing men’s bizarre circumstances.

That night, naturally, they took turns keeping watch again.

Once more, it was the middle-aged hunter who noticed something odd. Beyond the reach of the campfire’s light, shadows seemed to dart around. This time, he reacted quickly, shining his flashlight toward them.

Again, he saw something dart behind a tree, but this time, it seemed to leave something fluttering behind it…

Swallowing hard, the middle-aged hunter grabbed his rifle, steadied the flashlight, and was about to creep over to investigate when——

A sharp pain hit his head. Another whack.

Mid: “Damn it, old man, what the hell?”

Old: “You hunt all day, but beware you don’t become the prey yourself. Don’t you get that you shouldn’t wander off?”

Mid: “You didn’t have to hit me! What if you knock me stupid?”

Old: “Don’t worry, you can’t get much dumber.”

At that moment, the older hunter kept staring at the tree and said, “No one’s sleeping tonight. We’ll stay with the dogs and watch the fire.”

The middle-aged hunter glanced over and realized the three dogs were huddled between them, timidly staring at the tree illuminated by the flashlight.

Startled, he looked back at the tree just as the flashlight went out.