Campers Agree That Experiencing This Phenomenon In The Woods Is Too Eerie For Comfort

Camping outdoors in lush forests is great for relaxation, re-energizing your mental health, and getting away from the hustle of the city. Imagine that you've picked out the best campsite at your campground, set up your tent, and are sitting around the campfire listening to the sounds of nature. Then out of nowhere, the sounds stop instantly. Not a peep can be heard. Campers are calling the moment a forest goes completely quiet too eerie for comfort. 

A seasoned camper knows how to prepare for bad weather outdoors, but nothing can prepare you for the creepy reasons why a forest may suddenly go whisper quiet in an instant. You may lie awake if total silence freaks you out, and if you're a person that tends to spook easily, this may be why wild camping excursions aren't for you.

According to a study polling 1,000 campers by The Camping and Caravanning Club, research shows that 56% of camping enthusiasts sleep better outdoors. This comes down to listening to nature's soothing sounds, such as wind rustling through trees, crickets chirping, or flowing water from a river nearby. When the forest suddenly goes silent and even bugs go quiet, what could it be?

On the r/hiking subreddit, Redditor u/RealitysNotReal asks "What does it mean when everything in the forest suddenly goes quiet?" Then follows up with "I've heard some really creepy stories about this, some say it's a spirit, some say that the scent of a predator will make insects and animals go quiet." Reddit users jumped in to share their spooky experiences while camping, and it seems like it happens more often than we may think.

Silence in the wilderness could very well be a signal. Is it a predator, a bad storm, something worse? It turns out, Redditor u/MoogProg has extensive experience with this. "Storm coming. Lived in the mountains for years, surrounded by forest. Birds were usually loud and active, until the air pressure dropped and they'd all find shelter before the thunderstorm hit." Another user weighed in saying "That's usually because of a hawk or other raptor. Birds and bugs are scared of a lot of things that aren't especially dangerous to humans." 

If you've ever heard a chipmunk in your backyard making a fast and continuous cheeping noise when you let your dog or cat outside, this acts as a natural alarm to let other animals know danger is lurking about, even if it's a seven pound chihuahua. The same goes for animals in the forest when they sense a predator is around, and they'll go completely silent as to not give away their location.  You know the saying "the calm before the storm?" Well this could quite possibly be true. Sudden changes in barometric pressures typically have been known to make a forest fall still and silent right before a storm.

While the sounds of nature have been scientifically proven to alter your brain into a more calm frame of mind, what can total silence do? Can it make you overthink? Give you anxiety? On the subreddit r/camping, Redditor u/Aurora1717 says it happened more than once. "Twice. Both times I've gotten the hell out of there. It made all the hair stand up on my body. Even thinking about it gives me the willies. I spend a lot of time in the woods, and grew up surrounded by woods. I rarely have felt unsafe, but something about the woods going quiet tickles the caveman fight or flight."

If you're in a situation where you feel uneasy, the most important thing to do is not panic. If the forest goes completely silent, there are some things you should do to feel safe and be safe. Make sure to stop, listen, and scan your surroundings, then make noise. Nobody knows the woods better than animals that live there, so it's best to make sure there isn't a lingering threat among the trees.

If you feel uneasy, like Redditor u/Learningstuff247 did, it's best to escape quickly. "Had this happen once while hiking with my dog. Got a weird feeling about it then heard someone call my dog's name from farther into the forest. Thought I was just hearing things but then it happened again and my dog reacted and started pulling that way. Decided to gtfo of there. As I was taking the last turn before I could see my car heard a bullet ZING past my head. Idk if the skin walkers are packing heat these days but never went back there."