Stalked

What if you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere but feel like you are being watched?

I live on a farm out in the country. Along with cows, I also have chickens, pigs, goats, a couple of horses, three dogs, and two cats. I am used to working with animals and I have come to recognize when they are feeling happy, sick, upset, and scared. I have my routine each morning and evening, and the animals are accustomed to it, always waiting patiently for me to let them out in the mornings and let them back in in the evenings. It is a routine I have followed without fail for years. Until the night that changed everything.

It was evening, about 6:00. I went outside as usual, just a bit later than normal because I had been ordering some new tools to replace my worn out ones. I opened the door to let the dogs come with me like I always did. They were always excited to get out for a few minutes, plus I was always glad for the company. This night, however, they were acting strange. They were whining and refused to come outside. I tried to coax them out, but they just whimpered and tucked their tails. I was confused and a little worried by their behavior, but then I remembered that the dogs were sometimes scared when storms were coming, and the forecast was calling for lots of clouds and rain over the next couple of days, so I brushed of their agitation. I walked out towards the chicken coop to make sure all of the chickens were safely inside and feed them. The chickens seemed to be upset about something too. The problem was, I couldn’t remember a time that they had been aggravated by rain before. Typically, the only time they would behave like that was if there was a predator nearby, such as a fox or a coyote. I looked all around the coop and all was clear; no foxes, no coyotes. I don’t know why, but for some reason I decided to look towards the woods at the far end of my farm. It made no sense, since it was so far away that even if there was a fox in the woods, there was no way the chickens should have been upset about it. But I looked anyway. Nothing. I turned back to feeding the chickens, becoming a bit concerned by their behavior, but not knowing what to do about it.

I walked to the pasture about 25 yards away and let the horses into the barn. They seemed much more eager than usual to get in. They were braying as well, and seemed to be running from something. The main thing that stood out to me was that they were looking in the general direction of the woods. I looked closely in that area, scanning the woods for anything unusual. At first a saw nothing. Then I saw a pale orb floating among the trees, weaving around them as it moved. I could feel my adrenaline immediately, and my pulse started to race. I tried to rationally explain what the orb was. Maybe it was a large moth reflecting moonlight, or maybe one of those swamp clouds that I had read about people seeing before and thinking was a ghost. As these thoughts were going through my mind, I kept watching the orb. I continued weaving between the trees, but then it suddenly vanished from sight. I stared into the woods for several more minutes, but saw nothing more. I turned back to putting the horses into the barn and feeding them. They were still extremely agitated, so I hurried to finish with them and check out the perimeter of the barn.

When I stepped outside the barn, I hurriedly walked around it, looking all over the place to make sure everything was ok. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but I started to get the feeling that I was being watched. I glanced towards the woods again and saw the orb once again. This time it seemed to be a little closer, and it appeared to hover in one spot. I grabbed my flashlight and swept the beam over the area I saw the orb. The orb was gone. Now I was starting to panic. I turned towards my house and started to jog in that direction, all the while scanning every direction around me. I caught a glimpse of something flash by on my left and turned quickly to look. This time the orb was much closer. Instead of being deep in the woods, it was near the edge of the woods and moving quite fast.

I started to sprint to my house and bounded up the steps to the door. As I opened the door and rushed inside, I decided to look into the woods one last time. I caught sight of the orb flashing behind the barn so fast that I barely even saw it. I threw myself inside and slammed the door, bolting it immediately. I sat down near a window and looked towards the barn. I saw the orb partially coming around the corner, and that’s when I realized that it wasn’t an orb. It was a head. A pale, faceless, featureless head. In the darkness I could just barely make out a tall, slender body. It was dressed in a black suit. That’s when I realized what it was. The Slenderman. I panicked and looked around for something, anything that I could use as a weapon. I grabbed the shotgun that I kept hanging over the chimney and turned back to the window. The Slenderman was gone. I fought back the panic that threatened to take over me. I looked out the front window, trying to locate him. As I was staring out the window, he appeared out of nowhere, only a mere 10 feet or so from the house. I stumbled backwards in fear and surprise, pointing the shotgun towards him. I knew that he was going to kill me if he managed to get inside. I scrambled backwards, trying to get myself into a defensible position. As a pulled myself to my knees, I glanced towards the window. He was gone again. I swept the shotgun around, frantically looking for the Slenderman. I heard a crash from the front door and turned. The door was smashed and ripped away. In its place stood the Slenderman. I screamed at it to leave, but it didn’t respond. Instead, it started to walk closer. I started to feel nauseous and weak. Slowly, I began backing away. As the Slenderman came closer I fired the shotgun right into his chest, but he didn’t even flinch. I screamed as he reached towards me with his long, slender hands. Then everything went black.

I awoke in my bed. Turning to my alarm clock, I saw that it read 9:37. I thought about what had happened and decided that it was a nothing more than an extremely vivid dream. That is, until I went outside to the barn. I was walking around, checking to make sure everything was ok when I had the urge to look towards the woods. It was pointless, obviously there was nothing but trees. But I turned anyway. What I saw made my blood run cold. There was the Slenderman, standing among the trees. Staring at me. Stalking me.

Author's Note

This is a story I was thinking about submitting for a Creepypasta contest, but wanted to see what kind of reaction/feedback I get on it first.