It's a hotspot for local ghosthunters and thrill-seekers, or even just the curious. Mount Misery is a place, even by name, that invokes a certain atmosphere. Over one hundred years ago, it was merely a route that citizens used to get to and fro from farming communities into more urban environments for trade and various purposes. It's steep hills and winding roads, surrounded by a thick, enclosing forest made it difficult for travelers. Hence, it was coined Mount Misery.

Today it is a small community of well-to-do homes, hidden away in the gaps of the thick. There are no street lights, the roads were never widened and are quite a tight squeeze. Legends go around of "Mary's Grave" , the "Lady in White", the "Hell Hound" and even the Men in Black. It has always been an attraction, bringing late-night tourists in to see if they can bump into any/or all of the urban myths.

My own experience begins on a summer night, approximately 10 PM. A friend and I had been interested in studying the paranormal for some time, and decided Mount Misery would be one of the first places to investigate. Our equipment? Two flashlights, two tape recorders and our very own five senses.

We made a right onto Sweet Hollow Road, and immediately the atmosphere changed. I had to hit the gas especially hard, climbing the first of many steep hills. Before us, the only thing visible was the immediate area, illuminated by headlights.

We winded through the tiny roads, going into the heart of the place. A few lefts and a few rights brought us to a dead end, but not just any dead end.

The car lights shined over a massive log used as a border to prevent cars from going further. Written on the log, perhaps intentionally, was "666". My friend and I looked at each other, silently confirming that this would be the first place to check out. I turned off the ignition, passed my friend a flashlight and left the car behind.

Unfortunately for us it had been raining. The summer was still young, and so the night was chilly. The thick clouds in the sky, however, reflected the suburban lights in hues of red, pink and gray, allowing us to see fairly well without flashlights.

Before us: Three paths. One to the right, one straight, and one to the left. We went straight.

First encounter: A massive fallen tree blocking our path. Another omen? Perhaps a coincidence. We crawled over the roots and continued.

It was at this point that my friend stopped short. He grabbed my shoulder to turn my attention back to the path ahead (I was looking through the trees to the left).

"I just saw something." He said.

"What?" I asked, wondering if it was just paranoia.

"I'm not sure. It leaped across the path and disappeared into the woods."

"What was it? An animal?"

"No. It wasn't." He stated, still seeming a bit shocked. "Maybe we should go back."

"We're doing fine. Let's keep going for a few more minutes." I responded, still unsure if my friend had really seen something.

We continued down the path until we reached a fire hydrant (for some strange reason it was to the right of the path. Perhaps the area was a road at one point.) Behind us the forest had closed in, leaving no visible trace of the car or the log. I suddenly felt like we were truly in a forest, a pale forest that seemed to stretch forever. Paranoia was obviously setting in.

"Well, let's stay here for a few minutes and see if anything happens." I told my friend, trying to be as calm as I could be.

"I don't know. This doesn't feel right."

"Just a few minutes."

We tried to have conversation, just to ease the tension. The chat was quickly halted, though, by an eerie "Ping!" ringing through the forest. We both glanced around, trying to figure out where it came from. It was as if it came out of the air. The fire hydrant? It wasn't (We later tried to replicate the noise on a return visit.)

My friend decided enough was enough and started to turn back, I quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind and catch the blunt of any encounter. At the same time, I felt unsatisfied. I witnessed nothing. There were no 'eerie vibes'. Just that sound, and that could have been anything.

My friend began to run at this point, saying, "Let's get out of here, I don't want to find out what that was!"

I followed close behind him. After a minute or two, the fallen tree was once again in sight.

It was then that I saw it.

Glancing back, I looked to the path. There it was. In the first few seconds that I saw it, it appeared to only be a black shadow, a black cloud of sorts, emerging from the sea of pale light. It stood out clearly from the rest of the forest.

But then it moved. It appeared to 'stretch' itself out and up, in a moment forming the figure of a tall man. A shadow man, with massive shoulders resembling wings folded back. It had a head, but I saw no eyes. It did not appear to have any legs.

And it also didn't just watch us leave. It began to head down the trail and an alarming fast rate. At this point, my stomach felt as if it had flipped over. It was chasing us!

After a few moments of shock, I teared my eyes away and ran up beside my friend, gasping out what I had just saw. We both ran even faster, daring over the tree and not turning back until we were leaping into the car. We left with haste, shocked and amazed at what had happened.

"What did you see?" He asked me as we were heading down a sound and busy road.

"A black figure with huge shoulders." I said.

" . . . Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Man. That's the same thing I saw leap across the trail."

The following moment was one of grave silence.