After nearly four years of getting to know the Guilford woods, I have come to find out that it is unlike any other. Although its history is unique, I have come to believe that this place is much more than just a historic landmark and a recreational retreat, but also a mysterious sanctuary of bizarre and unorthodox experiences. Here I will share a few strange and unusual encounters…
The Ghostly Albino Fawn
Starting at the beginning, as a freshman, I went through my first semester without a cellphone, and consequently spent my time in the woods. My first encounter with the white fawn happened when I was alone, sitting at the back entrance to the woods, and it suddenly ran right in front of me, towards the parking lot. I could have reached out and touched it, but I was too in shock to move. Since then, I had seen it a few more times, but when summer came and went, reports stated that the fawn had been killed by a trophy hunter, with photos to back up its mortality. However, just weeks after the claim, a friend and I sat on a grassy hill facing the lake one afternoon to watch the bats come out. Suddenly, my friend says to look, but don’t move too quickly, and as I sat up, clear-as-day, stood the white baby deer, less than 15 feet away, refusing to break eye-contact with the both of us. As it started walking again, we followed, and the 2nd photo above was taken. For months afterwards, the ghostly little deer made its rounds everyday at the same time, coming through the North Apartments, through the parking lot, and into the woods…
The Missing Dinosaur
My sophomore year, a friend and I took an evening walk around the lake. To our surprise, some acquaintances were making a ruckus from the other side, so we made our way towards their hollering. Their excitement had been over the discovery of a giant dead alligator snapping turtle that had been hooked, strung up, and left to rot. My friend and I agreed on coming back to bury the prehistoric animal that night after hiding the nearly 50 lb monster. We met with a third friend and set out at midnight with only a shovel head-that’s right, no full-shovel, just a shovel head. After digging for hours, we finally felt confident that the hole was large enough, and placed the body inside and buried it. We disguised the grave and placed a large quartz rock on top so that we could come back a year later to obtain the shell, skull, and claws. For an entire year, we told no one and repeatedly checked to see if it had been disturbed without a problem. However, when the day came to unearth the creature, ready with actual shovels this time, there was nothing to be found. We dug for hours..days..in every direction..with absolutely no trace of the giant turtle. Sometimes the thought of it still haunts me when I look at the hole- now big enough for several human bodies- and I wonder if the woods either fully absorbed one of its inhabitants or resurrected it…
**Expect a part 2!**
