@Ulalume Thank you! That was a good read.
@Naughty_Felid I guess he was 17. I was just trying to explain my mindset before the sighting. It was a weird thing for him to do, but whatever. He didn't assault us. He was probably just a weird lonely kid. I didn't like him or dislike him.
There weren't any legends in the area that I had heard of, but we were in a boarding school, not part of town life, so who knows?
@henry I wouldn't be able to place it on a map, but if I were there I could probably retrace my route. We were in the hills above the town and I ran back to school through the forest, not the main road because I didn't want to get caught for drinking. I may have veered around but there was only one route and I didn't get lost.
I don't think the older boy had anything to do with the sighting beyond making me a little nervous and perhaps in that nervousness making me more receptive to seeing the stick man.
It wasn't called Idyllwild School. The school is still there but it has a different name from the one I attended.
I spent an hour reading about black stick men last night after making the post here, and I remembered more of the incident. I think I may have figured it out.
They weren't like a child's drawing of stick men. They were elegantly shaped and their heads were more oval than circular, and their heads were not oversized. They looked to be about my height, which would have been about 5.5 at the time.
They weren't aware of my physical presence of that I'm sure, because when I stopped for a moment, they stopped, and one of the stepped ahead of the others and looked around. They don't have eyes, so looking around probably isn't the most accurate way to describe it. I think they sensed my energy, and when I stopped running, they lost track of it.
I was a in a drunken overly emotional state, running through a forest. I'm sure I was giving off a lot of energy.
I thought they were devils because my mind couldn't comprehend what I was seeing, but they weren't giving off an evil vibe at all.
Also, when I got back to school, I didn't tell anyone what I had seen. I wasn't scared of being disbelieved. It just didn't seem relevant. If I were scared of them as an evil presence, I think I would have mentioned it someone.
So, I have two theories:
1: I was a child and scared. My mind played a trick on me. The only problem with this theory is that I think I would have other bizarre experiences in my life, and I haven't had any. I've heard weird noises at night, but that's about it. And most likely, everyone on Earth has heard weird noises at night. It's not a unique or interesting experience.
2: They're protective forest spirits. Their shape is simple and possibly triggered by emotional or sleepy minds. I would imagine they're not visible otherwise, or else there would be a mountain of sightings.
I read one story last night where the writer claimed that stick figure had come into their home and tickled them. I think that's silly.