A Father’s Weekend Camping Trip Becomes a Nightmare When His Son Disappears into the Dark Woods

 

My Son Drifted Away After the Divorce — But When I Took Him Camping, Something in the Woods Changed Everything

I hadn’t seen my son Caleb in over a month. Since the divorce, he lived hours away with my ex-wife Megan — and her new partner, Evan.

The visit started tense. Caleb barely spoke, and it felt like I was trying to connect with a stranger wearing my son’s face. I’d planned a camping trip hoping to bond, but everything felt off… forced.

Then, things got worse.

After an argument, Caleb stormed off into the woods. I thought he just needed space — until he didn’t come back. When I went looking, I heard something mimicking my voice. It sounded almost right… but not quite.

I found Caleb at the bottom of a gully, shaken and terrified. He said something had been chasing him — something pretending to be me.

That night, we heard it again. A deer — or what looked like one — moved in a way no animal should. We ran. We barely made it back to camp.

But something shifted in the fear and firelight. We finally talked. Really talked. Caleb admitted he felt lost — stuck between two lives. And I admitted I hadn’t been the dad he needed.

We might not have fixed everything, but we found our way back to each other in those dark woods.

And whatever was out there… it reminded me just how fiercely I love my son.