A Gap In The Trees



Most people now know  that I live down a small lane which leads out of the western edges of the village and down into a small shallowish valley.
The lane is bordered by steep hedgerows, which are gapped by five Bar gates leading into a succession of fields on either side.
In these fields are sheep, cattle and horses.
At the site of the last house in Trelawnyd, the lane turns sharply and narrows and at that corner you can gaze over the fields to a line of hawthorn, hedge dotted with trees and bramble in the near distance. That line of greenery is perhaps two hundred metres away and it is set against the sky which extends far over the sea
Towards one corner is a gap in the trees. That gap is illuminated by a bright grey sky today.
Last night, it was illuminated by a glowing night sky, which sometimes resembles the silhouettes seen in a Hollywood movie. 
It often reminds me of the countryside around Tara in Gone With The Wind.
Looking back up the lane into the village

Down the lane towards the fields

Last night the dogs and I with Albert in tow wandered down the lane in the dark.
The gateway into the field is a favourite wee spot and Mary often gazes out into the darkness in order to watch the flag white flickers from rabbit tails as they turn to run back to their burrows

It was perhaps eleven thirty when our group congregated at the gate.
And as I looked over to the gap in the trees I could clearly see a silhouette of a man standing still against the night sky.
The figure didn't move
There is no house or even a footpath at the gap, just a break in the vegetation leading to another field beyond.
But there was a figure of a man standing against the sky.
I suddenly felt rather vulnerable and exceedingly unnerved by the whole thing and moments later I was hurrying for home, hissing at Albert to follow.

84 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Did you see Jamie Lee Curtis running by, looking scared?

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    Replies
    1. Good one, John. Figured, given your background, you'd get the reference.

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  3. That's very spooky.

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    1. It is...I've not walked down the lane tonight

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  4. Now that is creepy!
    Add a Doberman to the pack :)
    Or it was just someone who needed a walk alone..

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  5. I zoomed your pic up John and to the right in the gap is a stump that looks remarkably person like, could it have been this catching your eye in the night sky? Hwyl Suz x

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    1. Sue,
      I zoomed the photo like you said and by the right tree you can see a person.
      parsnip

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    2. I looked too but the figure filled the gap more

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  6. Right out of a Hitchcock movie.

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  7. Sometimes it takes a minute or two to realize something feels threatening... That happened to me when i saw a UFO...Hugs! deb

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    1. The dogs and Albert never spotted anything

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  8. Barbara Anne2:33 pm

    Good to scurry back to your safe burrow, too, Mary, Winnie, and Albert in tow!

    Hugs!

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  9. Are you sure that it was a man? Some Germanic women can be quite masculine in their posture and gait.

    Just a thought 😂

    PS Shotgun licences are easily acquired in rural areas.

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    Replies
    1. Now you are scaring me

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    2. Rubbish. You are magnificently fearless, and the only thing that scared you is yourself x

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  10. holy crap!!! that scared me and i'm all the way over here.

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  11. Anonymous3:35 pm

    Very well written... and the pictures are a bonus. Halloween story, definitely.
    Cali G

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    1. There used to be a caravan in the field a while ago that was lived in by a local drinker....I wondered if he was back

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  13. Creepy. I'd have run home quicksticks x

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  14. It was probably just The Affable Despot having a piss.

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    1. He lives on the far side of town

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    2. Andrew8:42 pm

      However, "Man stands at edge of a field for a while" is not much of a story really, is it? I've done it myself many times, looking back at the view of our village lights, maybe taking a photo or two.

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    3. And you have walked into a field to stand where there is no view at 11.30 pm ?
      You freak! Xxx

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    4. Andrew11:21 pm

      There is always a view. Did you not read "looking back at the view of the village lights..."? A freak? Just a guy who likes going for a walk and pausing occasionally to look around and ponder.

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    5. This has got your dander up

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    6. Andrew10:57 pm

      Ach no, my dander is down. It takes more than an old Welsh drama queen to get it up.

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  15. For a man who is so very busy, you sure are having a good time.

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  16. This is often how women feel, day or night.
    Thanks for the tour. I would love to visit your village someday.

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    Replies
    1. Sad and very true unfortunately

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    2. Ain't that the truth Carolyn!

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  17. So you live within eyeshot of giant twat?

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  18. I am trying not to think about this John - even though I now live in a town I still remember being nervous living way out in the country,

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    1. It has only happened a couple of times here...once I saw something up the GOP a figure........another time was at the school at night

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    2. Andrew8:45 pm

      "Man takes a walk up a hill at night" is not much a story either, nor "Man walks past school". I take many late night walks, so must scare many people.

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    3. You have to BE there x

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    4. Andrew11:26 pm

      Or be a big silly scaredy cat. After all, maybe the people who scared you were scared by you. Is it really that unusual for people to enjoy walking around in the dark? Plenty folk do in my locale. After all, you were out in the dark. Maybe a guy standing still was looking for his dog? Or maybe he was just a guy standing still? Or of course a psychopath intent on attacking you, or a ghost, or an alien... but probably just a guy.

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  19. Things started out so peacefully and then bam, you scared us :)

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  20. The farmer, looking for a lost sheep? Or not...get a airedale terrier to protect you? Though the postman would probably never call again.

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  21. Definitely spooky. I would've done the same.

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  22. Heidi8:07 pm

    I zoomed in as Unknown and Parsnip did and I saw the stump that could be mistaken for a man.

    Perhaps if you walk down there again at night and have another look, you'll see the same effect. The chances of a man being stood there again at exactly the moment you're there again are extremely remote so if you saw him again you'd know it was a trick of the light.

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    1. Barbara Anne11:37 pm

      Perhaps go in the daytime and see what there is to see when it's not creepy dark. What about that idea?

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    2. That would be the logical thing to do. Check it out in broad daylight and next time you stroll at night ... carry a flashlight!

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    3. I've been back
      It was a guy

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  23. Maybe he saw and man with two dogs, muttering into the darkness.

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  24. The motionless figure sounds decidedly creepy. I think I would also have retreated in a hurry. Have you found out who it was?

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  25. I am sure you have walked in that area before, and if you had that creepy, hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of- the-neck feeling, and the scene ahead registered in your brain as being something weird or different, then there probably was something unusual there. Always trust that instinct! I am surprised none of your dogs smelled someone there, but maybe it was too far, or the wind was blowing the wrong way, or they were just distracted having fun on their walk.

    Three times in my life I have had that creeped out, let's get out of here feeling, where the hair on the back of my neck felt like it was standing up. Two of the times I never found out for sure that something had actually been going on. But the first time it happened, I was starting to go down into the basement of our apartment and finish varnishing a piece of furniture. As I opened that basement door, I suddenly got that weird scared feeling. It was overwhelming. I went back to our apartment and made my husband come down in the apartment basement with me. He didn't want to and was making fun of me, but I convinced him to go with me. At the bottom of the stairs he saw a broom stick leaning up against the wall and was doing his best loud American version of Kung Fu with that broom stick walloping the post in the basement along with his best Bruce Lee loud verbal effects.(We were both in our early twenties back then).

    I went across the basement to get the table I was working on, and as I glanced around, there was a very strange looking man crouching down, hiding in the shadows behind the furnace. I was so scared, I could barely croak out to my husband that there was a guy hiding behind the furnace. The stranger was keeping an eye on my faux Bruce Lee protector and the broom stick, as he mumbled something about looking for something he had left behind in the basement. The guy left as quickly as he could. I was so thankful that my husband had been goofing off so dramatically. I am sure that he scared the guy off. But what if I would have ignored my original creeped out feeling and would have gone down there by myself as I had been doing nightly for a week before that. I think something really bad would have happened to me.

    We moved from that apartment a few months later as soon as we could.

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  26. sounds unnerving. Have you checked the field in daylight to make sure nothing has been buried there recently?

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  27. Do the farmers have problems with lampers or coursers by you? And given the awful sheep rustlings & slaughter that has taken place elsewhere, were they lookout for something like that?

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    1. Good thought , the field is full. Of rabbits

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  28. Don't let them tease you, John. I can see the man, too.

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  29. OMG
    Your last paragraph gave me goosebumps! I was just watching a scary movie on Netflix and that freaked me out!

    XoXo

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  30. It does sound eerie I zoomed in as well and my minds eye sees a person, still better safe than sorry I would have dashed home as well, check it out in the daytime and let us know.

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  31. I think you saw a ghost - maybe the one that wanders the fields late at night searching. I do believe in ghosts as I've been around a few. They may scare you but they won't hurt you. If it was a real person the dogs would have reacted.

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  32. A lost dogger looking for lurve perhaps?

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  33. Could it have been a poacher? Either way, if it creeps you out you get out of there!

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  34. That’s downright creepy. So glad you have that vicious pack of dogs to protect you. Although even creepier that they didn’t notice the guy.

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  35. Maybe it was a nice man...

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  36. I wonder if he was after stealing the horses,cows or sheep- it does sound very suspicious to me - perhaps you could put a warning on your Village noticeboard x

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  37. This post hint 'alf generated a load of bollocks John.

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  38. You have a lovely house, in a lovely village. As for the man, maybe he was just enjoying the scenery:)

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  39. Oh darn... I live in the country with no neighbors and no dog, it's windy out and it 10:30 at night. Thanks John, looks like I will be up for a while.

    What was that noise? O.O

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  40. You should have run up to him and said"tip" you're on 🤣🤣

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  41. Glad I am catching up on your blog in the Sunday morning daylight and not late one night!

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