what's a “not deer”? It sounds scary but also really interesting 👀👀
It’s sort of like a folk legend around the Midwest, everyone’s got a story. Deer are very common, we see them all the time. But every once in a while you see a deer that’s just....not right. It’s eyes will look weird, it doesn’t move right, it’s just wrong. My go-to story isn’t nearly as terrifying as others I’ve heard, but here it goes-keep in mind this is 100% true.
This happened a couple years ago, when I was around 18. It was fall time and I was going for a walk through my grandmas woods by myself. This wasn’t uncommon, I grew up in the woods and know all the paths by heart, and it’d be pretty hard to get lost. Anyways, it’s later afternoon and I’m enjoying a peaceful stroll when all of the sudden the woods go silent. Anyone who’s familiar with the outdoors knows this isn’t good. The birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped rustling the leaves, everything was dead quiet. I’m a little spooked but keep walking, a little more aware of my surroundings. Not 5 minutes later I hear some leaves crunching, which in the quiet woods was incredibly loud. The land is private property but that doesn’t stop the occasional hunting enthusiast or one of the few neighbors that are allowed, so again I wasn’t too scared. I looked around and my eyes finally landed on a deer about 100 feet away from me, tucked in between the trees. I wave (because who doesn’t wave at deer), when it takes a couple steps towards me.
On instinct I flinch backwards, and it takes me a moment to figure out why the movement had freaked me out so much. The deers legs seemed off. It was as if the joints were bent the wrong way-then I realized something else. The deer hadn’t moved forwards, rather sideways, like it was side stepping but towards me. Mentally I’m thinking what the fuck is wrong with this deer but then it got worse. It took another couple side steps closer until it was only about 50 feet away. And that’s when I got the pit in my stomach. It’s eyes seemed sunken back into its head and it cocked its head to the side like I’ve never seen a deer do before or since. I’m standing there like a dumbfounded idiot, and then this thing opens it mouth and releases what sounded like a garbled human scream, as if someone was underwater and trying to scream for help. That was enough to finally jolt me into action and I took off in the opposite direction. I didn’t stop running until I got back to my grandmas house where I fell into hysterics. I didn’t tell my grandma or anyone else in my family cause I was sure they’d think I was crazy. It wasn’t until I told a friend that I realized what I’d seen. A “not deer.”
Sorry this was so long, I just felt like all the details were necessary. If anyone’s interested I recommend doing some research into the topic. It’s super creepy and interesting! And if anyone ever wants to hear another of the dozens of creepy woods stories I’ve got, lemme know
