Katharina Buczek
“The whole thing felt so off. I hid behind this massive tree right next to the field. We had flashlights, but you had to turn them off in order to hide. So, I was sitting in pitch dark, and the only thing I could really see was the field next to me.”
“One second, you could hear crickets and owls and frogs. Then, it went super quiet. And about five minutes into waiting to be found, it began to smell like literal sewage. Like feces and rotten meat were mixed into a blender.”
“So, I stood up and looked for my cousin– turning on my flashlight. I remember gagging as I walked because it smelled so bad.”
“As I walked, though, there were not any noises or anything that scared me. I just felt like something was following me. So naturally, nine-year-old me started crying, running, and calling out for help.”
“My cousin found me, and we were yelling for the other kids to come back to the house because we were done playing. But no one responded. So, we went into the house to grab the adults to tell everyone to come inside.”
“We grabbed my dad, and he came outside and yelled for everyone to come inside. There was no rustling or even a response. So, my dad grabbed his flashlight and went out and helped us look.”
“Eventually, all of the adults came out to look because we had no idea where the kids were. Everyone started panicking, and my dad pulled out his truck and deer spotlight to see if we could find them along the trail.”
“We stayed out looking for them for about five hours, and finally, we found the first kid. Nothing happened to him, but he would have had to take a car to wander out that far into the woods. It was literally miles.”
“Same with the other kids that we began to find my morning. Each kid had the same story– they heard our voices calling from the farthest side of the woods, opposite to where our house was, and they were trying to get away from the smell.”
“Now, on Thanksgiving, we always talk about it. And even thinking about the smell now makes me gag.”
