There Is Something In The Woods

[Venkmans on the case]

When my family and I were members of the National Trust we regularly visited properties across the South. One of our favourite parts of the visits were the walks that you could go on in the grounds or surrounding land. We particularly enjoyed woodland walks. At Arlington Court in North Devon in the 1990's we embarked on the longest walk available at this NT property after having lunch. I always used to wander ahead of my family a little way in the hope of spotting some wildlife.
On the day of this woodland walk it was a fine summer day at the beginning of August. I was following the route map provided by the NT and arrived at a junction of three paths in a small clearing in the woods. While I was standing in the clearing working out which path to take I realized that the birdsong had stopped and it was completely silent. I was also overcome with an intense feeling of dread. The silence was broken by my Mum, Dad and Sister catching me up. "Which path do we take then?" my sister asked. "Well, the route map says we have to take the middle path directly through the woods for the longest route but we can't go that way" I replied. "Why can't we go that way? Are they doing some work along there?" my Dad asked me. "No, that is not the reason." I replied. "We must not go that way. Don't you feel that too?" I asked my family. "Feel what?" my Mum asked. "Dread. Something doesn't feel right about that path. Look into the darkness down that path. Something is not right. I am not going along that path" I replied. "Listen to the woods. The birds have stopped singing" I added. My Family just laughed at me but I refused to walk along the middle path so we took another one back to the starting point. I felt anxious and on edge for the rest of the day until I went to bed. I still have no explanation of why I suddenly felt like I did at that particular location. It is a feeling that I never want to encounter again.

 

[Fanari_Lloyd]

Just came across sone ‘haunted’ woods in the south of Wilts. I was looking for one I‘d read about much closer to where I live but I can’t remember the name as it was years ago. However, this one has witches, roman soldiers and general eeriness.

Grovely Woods

Quote from article.

“Since I love to walk with my dogs and it’s pretty near where I live, I have visited Grovely many times. There is a definite sense of foreboding in these woods, especially when the gloaming descends. My friend and I walked through here one evening from a nearby village.

We managed to get a bit lost on the way but ended up on the Roman road. There were pockets of the wood where we felt someone or something was following behind us. It was definitely an eerie feeling.

I try to be pragmatic about possible paranormal activity. However, while walking, we both noticed how we’d be quite happy, enjoying the beauty of the place, when suddenly the bird song would cease. The feeling of being followed or watched would come over us, causing me to turn around several times. The hairs on the back of my neck would rise and we’d both find ourselves speeding up our pace.

Then, the feeling would disappear, the bird noises restarted and a sense of lightness would return. This happened a couple of times. Both my friend and I agreed we weren’t too keen on the place that late in the evening.

A psychic friend of ours, who doesn’t let others know of her gift, feels there is a sinister presence in pockets of the woods. She refuses to go up there anymore, despite living nearby.“

 

[Eyespy]

Grovely used to have an annual ceremony involving the gathering of oak boughs and chanting. I will have look over weekend and see if its still happening.

 

[Spudrick68]

I have been binge watching a series of the same name on Discovery plus. It features lots of men banging bits of wood on tree trunks, amongst other stuff.

 

[Eyespy]

https://wshc.org.uk/blog/item/oak-apple-day.html

I took part in one of the ceremonies as a youth. IIRC correctly the chant is " Grovely, Grovely and all Grovely" and you strike an Oak bough.

I've not been to the woods for a long time ,remember it as being quite dense and dark.

 

[Marwood]

Just came across sone ‘haunted’ woods in the south of Wilts. I was looking for one I‘d read about much closer to where I live but I can’t remember the name as it was years ago. However, this one has witches, roman soldiers and general eeriness.

Grovely Woods

Quote from article.

We're about half a mile from Grovely woods and it does have it's spooky moments.
When we moved here 11 years ago I discovered the stories about the ghostly poacher and the four sisters. My first walk up to Grovely was a weekday lunchtime in the summer, nobody about just me. There was a breeze and the noise it created through the leaves on the trees was quite loud and that was a little weird to me. I'm no stranger to woods and forests but the atmosphere that day was quite unwelcoming.
Since then I've got used to it and cycled about up there and got lost, heard strange music and just generally enjoyed the place...there was one time I was cycling along the Roman road and could see a figure walking towards my direction some distance away, I saw this figure for a minute or so. I must've looked away for a few seconds and looked for the person again but they were gone... probably a simple explanation but felt spooky at the time.
Great place to visit for a walk or cycle, love that fact that people leave offerings at one of the four sisters (the gnarly trees that apparently grew from where the sisters were buried )

 

[Paul_Exeter]

When my family and I were members of the National Trust we regularly visited properties across the South. One of our favourite parts of the visits were the walks that you could go on in the grounds or surrounding land. We particularly enjoyed woodland walks. At Arlington Court in North Devon in the 1990's we embarked on the longest walk available at this NT property after having lunch. I always used to wander ahead of my family a little way in the hope of spotting some wildlife.
On the day of this woodland walk it was a fine summer day at the beginning of August. I was following the route map provided by the NT and arrived at a junction of three paths in a small clearing in the woods. While I was standing in the clearing working out which path to take I realized that the birdsong had stopped and it was completely silent. I was also overcome with an intense feeling of dread. The silence was broken by my Mum, Dad and Sister catching me up. "Which path do we take then?" my sister asked. "Well, the route map says we have to take the middle path directly through the woods for the longest route but we can't go that way" I replied. "Why can't we go that way? Are they doing some work along there?" my Dad asked me. "No, that is not the reason." I replied. "We must not go that way. Don't you feel that too?" I asked my family. "Feel what?" my Mum asked. "Dread. Something doesn't feel right about that path. Look into the darkness down that path. Something is not right. I am not going along that path" I replied. "Listen to the woods. The birds have stopped singing" I added. My Family just laughed at me but I refused to walk along the middle path so we took another one back to the starting point. I felt anxious and on edge for the rest of the day until I went to bed. I still have no explanation of why I suddenly felt like I did at that particular location. It is a feeling that I never want to encounter again.

Found an Arlington Court woods ghost sighting on another forum:

"I was out on a walk with my wife and three young children last summer. This is at the old lake which is on the 1.5 mile circular walk away from the house. I was looking at the children when I momentarily glanced away towards the lake. I then in a split second saw a young woman, early 20s with blonde hair wearing a long pale blue dress looking out over the lake. Then she was gone. I looked back towards my wife who had a strange, surprised expression on her face. I said "wow, did you see that?" To which she replied "yes"."

Full story here:

https://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=23446

 

[Venkmans on the case]

Found an Arlington Court woods ghost sighting on another forum:

"I was out on a walk with my wife and three young children last summer. This is at the old lake which is on the 1.5 mile circular walk away from the house. I was looking at the children when I momentarily glanced away towards the lake. I then in a split second saw a young woman, early 20s with blonde hair wearing a long pale blue dress looking out over the lake. Then she was gone. I looked back towards my wife who had a strange, surprised expression on her face. I said "wow, did you see that?" To which she replied "yes"."

Full story here:

https://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=23446

Great find. Definitely something about the place that made me feel uneasy.

 

[Venkmans on the case]

" I will have to add my experience of visiting the Conygar tower in Dunster in the 1990's to the forum."

I hinted at this following experience briefly in the big cat thread a while ago but due to a number of reasons including a recent health scare I did not get around to writing about the visit my family made to the Conygar tower in the woods of Dunster....

Well here it is. I have always felt a little awkward about talking about this experience as my family all felt rather uncomfortable when it happened.

On our annual summer holidays to North Devon and Somerset we always looked in interest at the tower poking out from the woods near Dunster Castle. I would often ask my Dad what the tower was for as we passed by on the West Somerset Railway steam hauled trains or along the main road through Dunster. My Dad didn't know what it was but he did say that one day we would go and investigate it.
On the day that we decided to explore Dunster in the early 1990's it was a gloomy August day. We eventually found a way up to the Tower through the surrounding woods. There was a wooden fence around the tower but a section of it was pushed down with a well worn path going over the section of fence lying on the ground. My Dad led the way to the centre of the imposing tower which was hollow. While we stood inside the tower all was quiet and we enjoyed this moment of calm. Then shortly afterwards we could hear a number of different sounds in the distance; Gunshots and what sounded like metal clanging and scraping together and men shouting.
"What the hell is that?" I asked. "Must be a shoot on somewhere" my Dad replied. "I think we should be going now" my Mum added looking rather worried. "We shouldn't be up here" she said as she walked off in a hurry with my sister. My Dad and I followed swiftly behind. Later, on the journey back to our B & B I said to my Dad it sounded like we had heard a battle in full swing. He said that perhaps there was a battle re-enactment going on at Dunster Castle. We looked into this but couldn't find any information about any events on at the time of our visit.

Some time later I found a report about an incident that occurred in the 1950's when people visiting the tower heard the sound of marching and they also left in a hurry. This didn't make me feel any better about the experience my family had at the Conygar tower!

Has anyone else had any unusual experiences in Dunster I wonder?

 

[Floyd]

" I will have to add my experience of visiting the Conygar tower in Dunster in the 1990's to the forum."

I hinted at this following experience briefly in the big cat thread a while ago but due to a number of reasons including a recent health scare I did not get around to writing about the visit my family made to the Conygar tower in the woods of Dunster....

Well here it is. I have always felt a little awkward about talking about this experience as my family all felt rather uncomfortable when it happened.

On our annual summer holidays to North Devon and Somerset we always looked in interest at the tower poking out from the woods near Dunster Castle. I would often ask my Dad what the tower was for as we passed by on the West Somerset Railway steam hauled trains or along the main road through Dunster. My Dad didn't know what it was but he did say that one day we would go and investigate it.
On the day that we decided to explore Dunster in the early 1990's it was a gloomy August day. We eventually found a way up to the Tower through the surrounding woods. There was a wooden fence around the tower but a section of it was pushed down with a well worn path going over the section of fence lying on the ground. My Dad led the way to the centre of the imposing tower which was hollow. While we stood inside the tower all was quiet and we enjoyed this moment of calm. Then shortly afterwards we could hear a number of different sounds in the distance; Gunshots and what sounded like metal clanging and scraping together and men shouting.
"What the hell is that?" I asked. "Must be a shoot on somewhere" my Dad replied. "I think we should be going now" my Mum added looking rather worried. "We shouldn't be up here" she said as she walked off in a hurry with my sister. My Dad and I followed swiftly behind. Later, on the journey back to our B & B I said to my Dad it sounded like we had heard a battle in full swing. He said that perhaps there was a battle re-enactment going on at Dunster Castle. We looked into this but couldn't find any information about any events on at the time of our visit.

Some time later I found a report about an incident that occurred in the 1950's when people visiting the tower heard the sound of marching and they also left in a hurry. This didn't make me feel any better about the experience my family had at the Conygar tower!

Has anyone else had any unusual experiences in Dunster I wonder?

Anything to do with the nearby camp I wonder?

 

[Paul_Exeter]

" I will have to add my experience of visiting the Conygar tower in Dunster in the 1990's to the forum."

I hinted at this following experience briefly in the big cat thread a while ago but due to a number of reasons including a recent health scare I did not get around to writing about the visit my family made to the Conygar tower in the woods of Dunster....

Well here it is. I have always felt a little awkward about talking about this experience as my family all felt rather uncomfortable when it happened.

On our annual summer holidays to North Devon and Somerset we always looked in interest at the tower poking out from the woods near Dunster Castle. I would often ask my Dad what the tower was for as we passed by on the West Somerset Railway steam hauled trains or along the main road through Dunster. My Dad didn't know what it was but he did say that one day we would go and investigate it.
On the day that we decided to explore Dunster in the early 1990's it was a gloomy August day. We eventually found a way up to the Tower through the surrounding woods. There was a wooden fence around the tower but a section of it was pushed down with a well worn path going over the section of fence lying on the ground. My Dad led the way to the centre of the imposing tower which was hollow. While we stood inside the tower all was quiet and we enjoyed this moment of calm. Then shortly afterwards we could hear a number of different sounds in the distance; Gunshots and what sounded like metal clanging and scraping together and men shouting.
"What the hell is that?" I asked. "Must be a shoot on somewhere" my Dad replied. "I think we should be going now" my Mum added looking rather worried. "We shouldn't be up here" she said as she walked off in a hurry with my sister. My Dad and I followed swiftly behind. Later, on the journey back to our B & B I said to my Dad it sounded like we had heard a battle in full swing. He said that perhaps there was a battle re-enactment going on at Dunster Castle. We looked into this but couldn't find any information about any events on at the time of our visit.

Some time later I found a report about an incident that occurred in the 1950's when people visiting the tower heard the sound of marching and they also left in a hurry. This didn't make me feel any better about the experience my family had at the Conygar tower!

Has anyone else had any unusual experiences in Dunster I wonder?

Thanks for posting...!

I know that Stibbs Cross near Torrington in North Devon also has had reports of Civil War battle sounds coming from the site of a battle there.

Have you ever researched the sound of the muskets used in the Civil War?

https://royalarmouries.org/learning/learning-resources/english-civil-wars/

If so, is that the sound you heard?

 

[SimonBurchell]

I think the tower is further north:

It also looks like a folly:

Photo by John Lord (CC BY-SA 2.0) from Wikimedia Commons

I do wonder if there was a Civil War battle at the castle.

 

[SimonBurchell]

From Wikipedia:

When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, George's eldest son Thomas supported Parliament; William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford and Parliamentarian commander in Devon and Somerset, ordered him to strengthen the garrison at Dunster. The local Royalist commander William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, attacked the castle in 1642 but was repulsed by the garrison, led by Thomas' wife Jane. In early 1643, the war in the south-west turned in favour of the King, and on 7 June 1643 the Royalists assaulted the castle again and Luttrell switched sides. Colonel Wyndham was appointed Royalist governor, and the future Charles II stayed at the castle in May 1645.

During 1645 the Royalist military cause largely collapsed, and Colonel Robert Blake led a Parliamentarian force against Dunster in October. In November, Blake established his artillery in the village and began digging mines beneath the castle walls. Dunster was briefly relieved in February 1646 but the siege resumed, and by April the Royalist position was untenable; Wyndham negotiated an honourable surrender and a Parliamentarian garrison installed. After the end of the Second English Civil War in 1649, Parliament decided to deliberately destroy, or slight, the defences of castles in key Royalist areas, including the south-west.

Thomas Luttrell had died in February 1644 and his son George Luttrell convinced the authorities to destroy only the medieval defensive walls, rather than the entire castle, leaving Dunster damaged from the recent siege but still habitable; the walls were demolished over 12 days in August 1650 by a team of 300 workmen. The only parts of the medieval walls to survive were the Great Gatehouse and the bases of the two towers in the Lower Ward. George Luttrell died without children, and Dunster Castle passed to his brother Francis, who survived the political turmoil of the Commonwealth prior to the 1660 Stuart Restoration.

It does seem likely that the tower, almost certainly a later folly, was built from stone taken from the castle walls.

 

[Trevp666]

almost certainly a later folly

Confirmed.
Built in 1775.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conygar_Tower

 

[Venkmans on the case]

Thanks for posting...!

I know that Stibbs Cross near Torrington in North Devon also has had reports of Civil War battle sounds coming from the site of a battle there.

Have you ever researched the sound of the muskets used in the Civil War?

https://royalarmouries.org/learning/learning-resources/english-civil-wars/

If so, is that the sound you heard?

Thanks for the info regarding Stibbs Cross. Never heard about that before.
We visited Torrington a couple of times IIRC. We did explore quite a bit of North Devon in my Dad's 1968 Morris Minor Traveller which was an interesting experience as it didn't like some of the Devon hills! We certainly clocked up some miles in that car. On one very long day out (in August 1993 I think) we ventured into South Devon to travel behind the Flying Scotsman on the Paignton and Dartmouth railway only to find out it was broken, awaiting repairs in the yard. On the return journey back to the Farm B&B in Parracombe we got lost in the fog on Dartmoor and ended up somehow going in circles around the moor. At first it was amusing but after a while we started to get worried. Finally we found our way off the moor in the dark and back to North Devon reaching the B&B after 10.30pm. The people who ran the B&B also had become rather worried about us.

Regarding the gunfire sounds they were a very similar sound to that musket.

 

[kesavaross]

Wikipedia entry for Conygar Tower. Interesting stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conygar_Tower

The Conygar Tower in Dunster, Somerset, England was built in 1775 and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.[1]

It is a circular, 3 storey folly tower built of red sandstone, situated on a hill overlooking the village. It was commissioned by Henry Luttrell and designed by Richard Phelps and stands about 18 metres (59 ft) high so that it can be seen from Dunster Castle on the opposite hillside. There is no evidence that it ever had floors or a roof.[2]

The name Conygar comes from two medieval words Coney meaning rabbit and Garth meaning garden, indicating that it was once a warren where rabbits were bred for food.

In 1997 a survey carried out by The Crown Estate identified cracks in the walls which were repaired in 2000

 

[Sid]

Wikipedia entry for Conygar Tower. Interesting stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conygar_Tower

The Conygar Tower in Dunster, Somerset, England was built in 1775 and has been designated as a Grade II listed building.[1]

It is a circular, 3 storey folly tower built of red sandstone, situated on a hill overlooking the village. It was commissioned by Henry Luttrell and designed by Richard Phelps and stands about 18 metres (59 ft) high so that it can be seen from Dunster Castle on the opposite hillside. There is no evidence that it ever had floors or a roof.[2]

The name Conygar comes from two medieval words Coney meaning rabbit and Garth meaning garden, indicating that it was once a warren where rabbits were bred for food.

In 1997 a survey carried out by The Crown Estate identified cracks in the walls which were repaired in 2000

Also this. . . https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/coney-coney-island

 

[Trevp666]

Wikipedia entry for Conygar Tower. Interesting stuff.

You must have me on 'ignore' cos otherwise you'd have seen that I posted that this morning mate.

 

[charliebrown]

There is a real danger in our woods that has spread in from the U.S. western plains.

Coyotes are spreading across the U.S. and does seem to be slowing down.

People’s pets and unkept garbage seem to be easy food for this spread of coyotes.

 

[Robin]

" I will have to add my experience of visiting the Conygar tower in Dunster in the 1990's to the forum."

I hinted at this following experience briefly in the big cat thread a while ago but due to a number of reasons including a recent health scare I did not get around to writing about the visit my family made to the Conygar tower in the woods of Dunster....

Well here it is. I have always felt a little awkward about talking about this experience as my family all felt rather uncomfortable when it happened.

On our annual summer holidays to North Devon and Somerset we always looked in interest at the tower poking out from the woods near Dunster Castle. I would often ask my Dad what the tower was for as we passed by on the West Somerset Railway steam hauled trains or along the main road through Dunster. My Dad didn't know what it was but he did say that one day we would go and investigate it.
On the day that we decided to explore Dunster in the early 1990's it was a gloomy August day. We eventually found a way up to the Tower through the surrounding woods. There was a wooden fence around the tower but a section of it was pushed down with a well worn path going over the section of fence lying on the ground. My Dad led the way to the centre of the imposing tower which was hollow. While we stood inside the tower all was quiet and we enjoyed this moment of calm. Then shortly afterwards we could hear a number of different sounds in the distance; Gunshots and what sounded like metal clanging and scraping together and men shouting.
"What the hell is that?" I asked. "Must be a shoot on somewhere" my Dad replied. "I think we should be going now" my Mum added looking rather worried. "We shouldn't be up here" she said as she walked off in a hurry with my sister. My Dad and I followed swiftly behind. Later, on the journey back to our B & B I said to my Dad it sounded like we had heard a battle in full swing. He said that perhaps there was a battle re-enactment going on at Dunster Castle. We looked into this but couldn't find any information about any events on at the time of our visit.

Some time later I found a report about an incident that occurred in the 1950's when people visiting the tower heard the sound of marching and they also left in a hurry. This didn't make me feel any better about the experience my family had at the Conygar tower!

Has anyone else had any unusual experiences in Dunster I wonder?

The incident in the 1950s is in the book Ghosts over Britain (1977), by Peter moss, under the heading The Spectral Army. The story goes that in July 1951, a nurse and her friend (an accountant) - who were on holiday staying at the Luttrell Arms Hotel in Dunster - had walked up Conygar Hill to check out the tower. On reaching the tower they both noticed that there was a chill in the air and an unnatural drop in the light levels had occured (despite it being a hot sunny summer day). They felt a deep sense of unease and then they heard (coming from the direction of the north side of the hill) 'the faint but unmistakable sound of a large group of people marching towards them':

They were horrified, for they both knew that even if there had been no undergrowth or trees on the slope it was far too steep for anyone to walk up at that speed, and in any case, the steps drumming in rhythm seemed to coming along a horizontal path at their own level. In the ladies minds there was no doubt that an invisible, phantom army was approaching, and as the beating steps came nearer and nearer, the wind seemed to increase until the trees on the hillside swayed. At the same time the gloom thickened, and then, just when what must have been the front rank of the spectral troops was almost level, the women's nerves broke.

They then ran away back down the hill as fast as they could and when the emerged back on the road, it was a bright sunny day again and there were no sounds of marching feet.

I did live in Dunster for a while and we often used to walk around in the evenings but didn't have any unusual experiences unfortunately. I also used to frequent Dartington Hall in my youth having grown up nearby, and looking back I'm surprised that neither me or my mates ever had any paranormal sightings there (if it's as haunted as it's supposed to be) since we were often in the gardens till late at night after having had a pint of two outside the White Hart.

 

[Seasidepagan]

The incident in the 1950s is in the book Ghosts over Britain (1977), by Peter moss, under the heading The Spectral Army. The story goes that in July 1951, a nurse and her friend (an accountant) - who were on holiday staying at the Luttrell Arms Hotel in Dunster - had walked up Conygar Hill to check out the tower. On reaching the tower they both noticed that there was a chill in the air and an unnatural drop in the light levels had occured (despite it being a hot sunny summer day). They felt a deep sense of unease and then they heard (coming from the direction of the north side of the hill) 'the faint but unmistakable sound of a large group of people marching towards them':



They then ran away back down the hill as fast as they could and when the emerged back on the road, it was a bright sunny day again and there were no sounds of marching feet.

I did live in Dunster for a while and we often used to walk around in the evenings but didn't have any unusual experiences unfortunately. I also used to frequent Dartington Hall in my youth having grown up nearby, and looking back I'm surprised that neither me or my mates ever had any paranormal sightings there (if it's as haunted as it's supposed to be) since we were often in the gardens till late at night after having had a pint of two outside the White Hart.

I am lucky enough to have the book ‘ghosts over Britain’ Peter Moss which was my mums but I have now inherited. My first introduction to spooky things. Great book!

 

[kesavaross]

You must have me on 'ignore' cos otherwise you'd have seen that I posted that this morning mate.

How odd. I don't remember seeing or reading your posting at all.

I didn't know there was an ignore button.

 

[Trevp666]

I was only kidding cos of course you haven't 'ignored' me.
I expect some do.
But anyways - look, there it is.

 

[Patrick30]

Around here there’s too many verifiable dangers in the woods to worry about the paranormal stuff.
Poisonous snakes, bears, cougars, scorpions, wild hogs, gators, bad weather, an accident, getting lost, getting mistaken for a deer and getting shot by a hunter, just a few off the top of my head.
That said we still have our local stories and legends. There‘s Indian Tomb Hollow, where Creeks and Chickasaw’s fought a deadly battle and the dead were tossed into a sinkhole. Don’t go there after dark lest you hear the cries of the dying braves. Or the site of Aunt Jenny Johnson’s shack, who went on a legendary killing spree after her son was forced/drafted into the Confederate Army and didn’t survive the war.

 

[Kate In The Desert]

Poisonous snakes, bears, cougars, scorpions, wild hogs, gators, bad weather, an accident, getting lost, getting mistaken for a deer and getting shot by a hunter, just a few off the top of my head.

Not exactly encouragement to go camping there. Of course, losing one's life to any of these non-paranormal dangers could be the start of a new local story/legend.

 

[bugmum]

Around here there’s too many verifiable dangers in the woods to worry about the paranormal stuff.
Poisonous snakes, bears, cougars, scorpions, wild hogs, gators, bad weather, an accident, getting lost, getting mistaken for a deer and getting shot by a hunter, just a few off the top of my head.

Not Central London, then.

 

[Patrick30]

Not exactly encouragement to go camping there. Of course, losing one's life to any of these non-paranormal dangers could be the start of a new local story/legend.

Lol, theres no reason to be terrified or never go camping. I’ve hunted, backpacked, and camped all my life. These are just things you need to be aware of depending on the specific location and local environment.
Poisonous snakes- are a potential danger even in your back yard, tread with caution.
Bears-rare close to home but travel 100 mi and black bears can be something you need to know how to take precautions with.
Cougars- I was kinda exaggeratin. Big cats are just a just a folk tale locally, super extremely rare. More of an issue in Lower Alabama, S Georgia, and esp deep woods of Florida, but still extremely rare and they generally avoid humans.
Scorpions-just be careful moving rocks or old fallen wood, and pitching your tent. Shake you boots out befor pulling them on in morning. I’ve come across plenty but never been stung. I’ve heard it’s very painful.
I forgot to mention wasps, hornets, etc. not just in the woods tho, Watch out.
Wild hogs/boars-a big problem and very agressive. If you see one there’s usually a bunch So get the hell away.
Weather, accidents, orientation-just use common sense and be prepared.
Alligators-specific to ponds, swamps, creeks, rivers, etc. They usually won’t bother you but don’t mess with em.
Hunting accidents-Know what’s in season and be aware. Wear some bright hunter orange and avoid hiking at peak times like opening day of deer season, dawn or dusk.

 

[Sid]

Lol, theres no reason to be terrified or never go camping. I’ve hunted, backpacked, and camped all my life. These are just things you need to be aware of depending on the specific location and local environment.
Poisonous snakes- are a potential danger even in your back yard, tread with caution.
Bears-rare close to home but travel 100 mi and black bears can be something you need to know how to take precautions with.
Cougars- I was kinda exaggeratin. Big cats are just a just a folk tale locally, super extremely rare. More of an issue in Lower Alabama, S Georgia, and esp deep woods of Florida, but still extremely rare and they generally avoid humans.
Scorpions-just be careful moving rocks or old fallen wood, and pitching your tent. Shake you boots out befor pulling them on in morning. I’ve come across plenty but never been stung. I’ve heard it’s very painful.
I forgot to mention wasps, hornets, etc. not just in the woods tho, Watch out.
Wild hogs/boars-a big problem and very agressive. If you see one there’s usually a bunch So get the hell away.
Weather, accidents, orientation-just use common sense and be prepared.
Alligators-specific to ponds, swamps, creeks, rivers, etc. They usually won’t bother you but don’t mess with em.
Hunting accidents-Know what’s in season and be aware. Wear some bright hunter orange and avoid hiking at peak times like opening day of deer season, dawn or dusk.

There's no reason not to go camping. . . """B'B'BUT!"""

 

[Trevp666]

The most dangerous thing you're likely to encounter on a camping trip here are other campers dogs.
Oh and maybe wasps if you spill something icky.

 

[Sid]

The most dangerous thing you're likely to encounter on a camping trip here are other campers dogs.
Oh and maybe wasps if you spill something icky.

Midges! Cow's that suddenly go mad and stampede! People! Ticks! Old unseen shafts! Rock falls! Lightning! Dodgy food! Accidentally electrocuting yourself when tinkering with electrics! etc.