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Friday, September 23, 2022

'Hello?' Unexplained Voice Follows Cyclist Through Dark Woods

A cyclist riding through a local British woods experiences an unexplained incident. Was this a hallucination, a glitch, or a disembodied voice from the darkness? Very bizarre account.

The following account was recently forwarded to me:

"Ok, here's an unusual thing that happened to me last week (mid-September 2022), but it's kind of borderline. I've been commuting to work by e-bike for a month and a half since I got my new bike, ten miles in, ten miles out. The trail starts in my local wood, Chopwell Woods, Gateshead, along an old straight railway track which was long ago blocked off with huge rocks to stop twokkers burning out cars in there. I travel along that, down to a gate barring traffic beyond which is the wood's only car park, down a hill, up a hill, down a hill again, and out onto the main road. I join the Derwent walk a little while later, so most of the rest of the way is woodland and out-of-the-way places. The nights are coming in now, and I finish at 7.30pm usually, so I'm quite used to doing most of the journey in the dark under the trees, bats flitting alongside me, owls hooting, and the occasional deer leaping across the road. I also get quite a few dog walkers, other cyclists, adventurous groups of teenagers, etc out in the dark, though for the most part they have lights or torches, and I have strong lights and backups in case they run flat. I've never known them to be particularly chatty. I listen to a Bluetooth speaker clipped to my left shoulder to pass the time, radio, audiobooks, music, etc, and I keep a spare identical speaker in a pocket on my right leg, switched off, in case the main one runs out.

So, after a busy Saturday, I'm almost home, having reached my local wood at about 8.35pm. I climb the short but steep hill at the entrance to save battery power, and also because it's a blind turn and you get cars coming out even late on, then I mount my bike and start down the hill with just my lights to see by. It's pitch dark beyond my lights, and in my left ear, my speaker is telling me about British History. I get to the bottom of the hill at speed and am zooming up the next one when British History goes off mid-sentence. A moment later from my right leg pocket I hear a man's voice saying 'Hello? Hello?' I instantly realise it is a phone call that has somehow routed itself through my spare speaker, which should be turned off. There's a switch on it you have to hold down for a second or two to switch it on, maybe it has pressed up against something else in my pocket, and again to answer the call, though I didn't hear the ringtone? Simultaneously I am reaching the top of the hill, and the headlights of a Land Rover are blazing into my eyes like something from an X-Files episode. It's parked up on the grit turnoff I need to take, and I slow to a stop wondering what it's doing there, but a moment later it pulls away and off the way I came, leaving me room to pull up to the gate I need to go around. I pause for a moment, realise the caller has ended the call, switch my left shoulder speaker off and on again and resume playing my history audio. Phone calls can wait, I'm a bit spooked, and I just want to get up onto the old railway path and along out of the woods.

Off I go, and I'm zooming along towards the exit, which I still can't see, which will take me out into the fields above the town. There's no one around, and only my bike light to see by. From somewhere on my right side, from among the trees and the dark, comes a voice. 'Hello?' I'd swear it's the same voice from the phone call, but it's not coming from my spare speaker, but from somewhere out in the dark to my right.

My left speaker is still talking British History in my ear, so it's not my phone. I don't turn to look, I don't stop, I speed up, and I get out of the woods as quick as I can and out into the darkened fields and the lights of town. The stretch of path I'd been traveling along has one inlet path on the right-hand side, which leads up to the golf course and a farm, but I don't think I was passing it at the time. So let's say I was, someone was coming down that way, and just says 'Hello?' at a passing cyclist? Or someone is standing in the trees, in the dark, and just saying 'Hello?' I'd swear it was the same voice.

When I got home I checked, and a number I didn't know had called me at that time. I haven't rung it. So maybe I hallucinated? Can't say I've ever done that before, and the memory feels real and solid. I've been through far more traumatic and frightening things without such weird effects. I was a little spooked, but I'm used to being a little spooked, cycling in the dark through woods I know very well. I can't say it makes any sense." DT

NOTE: Was this a hallucination, a glitch, or a disembodied voice from the darkness? Weird account. Lon

Have you had a sighting or encounter?
Contact me by email - Thanks. Lon

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In this episode of Phantoms & Monsters Radio, we present an 'Obscure Cryptid Roundtable' discussion. The guests include Dean Bertram, Ron Murphy, & Jason McLean. I hope to see you in the chat. Please Like, subscribe, and comment.
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Dean Bertram (PhD) is a freelance writer, filmmaker, and film festival director based in Sydney, Australia. He is the co-founder of A Night of Horror International Film Festival.

Dean has written for a range of publications including The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, People Magazine, 3D World, and Fortean Times. He founded A Night of Horror International Film Festival, along with Lisa Mitchell and Grant Bertram in 2006. Bertram and Mitchell remain the festival's directors.
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Ron Murphy, 'The Crypto Guru,' has been investigating the stuff of nightmares for over 30 years. He has delved deeply into the shadows to shed light on the things that go bump in the night and meticulously researched the historical and psychological context of myths and legends from around the world. Ron seeks to uncover the archetypal precedent for the monsters that haunt our collective thoughts.
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Witness to a living pterosaur author, illustrator, and Biblical paranormal researcher, Jason McLean has authored and illustrated numerous books, including 'How UFOs & Bigfoot Prove the Bible is True' and 'Metroplex Monsters.' He can be found weekly on the SIRUpapers and Tex’s Front Porch channels on YouTube where he discusses cryptozoology, ufology, forbidden archaeology, and the paranormal.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, & SHARE - THANKS!

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We are asking the worldwide public to come forward with your sightings & encounters. Contact us by email - Thanks. Lon

Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.

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