Senior kinesiology major
A generally creepy holiday, Halloween is always associated with the supernatural. It’s a time when people share ghost stories and attempt to scare the pants off their friends and family. Now it might seem as though monster stories are a thing of fantasy, but monsters exist in the real world as well. I personally lived through a monster-type story when I was younger.
Growing up in Montana, young kids are generally encouraged to go outside and enjoy the outdoors. Among my group of friends, this meant hiking in the surrounding mountains. One October night, my best friend and I decided it would be fun to hike up into the hills and camp out before the weather got truly terrible with the imminent arrival of winter. So we packed our bags and began hiking east into the mountains.
We hiked for about an hour and a half before finally finding a suitable campsite. We set up our tent, started a campfire and enjoyed good company and our evening snacks. Eventually, we decided to turn in for the night. I was just beginning to fall asleep when my friend turned to me and said, “Did you hear that?” I hadn’t heard anything, so I waited in silence. The sound of paws and sniffing became audible, and it was nearing our tent. Cautiously, I reached for our .22 rifle and listened for the approaching animals. It sounded as if they were everywhere, closing in from every direction.
As I sat there prepared to defend myself, one of the animals rubbed against the tent. I screamed and apparently frightened the creatures enough to send them away. I did not sleep much that night; I just waited for the animals to come back. Luckily, whatever was out there had decided not to mess with my friend and me. But I will never really be able to rest easy when camping ever again.
Ian Lacy is a senior kinesiology major. He can be reached at ilacydbk@gmail.com.
