Young Writers Society

Author's note: Might edit later.

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While growing up one of the most important lessons we learn is that you should never head off too deep into the woods. Whether you are alone or with a friend, maybe even a group of people, you should always make sure you can find your way back. Even the boldest of travelers know better than to stray too far off the main path. Assuming there is a path provided. Not all forests in the world are friendly places, encouraging people to take a leisurely stroll through the tangled foliage. Things lurk in the forest, things you would never imagine possible, visions you wish would never appear, confusing you.

Getting lost in the forest is a very terrifying experience so sticking to the path provided is always recommended even in friendly places. Should you decide to go off the path and brave the darkness, you should always remember one thing: you are in fact vulnerable.

Nothing is as it seems, and an innocent act can turn vicious in a heartbeat if you play the wrong cards. And sometimes ignorance is the greatest downfall.

Such is the case of the story of the Woman in Red. The story of the Woman in Red began in a small town on the edge of a forest, located along Rocky Mountains, presumably somewhere in northern California, and is not quite known to be a horror story as it is more of a lesson. A typical and perhaps obvious lesson, but a lesson nonetheless. Because it has been passed down through generations and, like any old story, it has many different retellings and not everything matches up with the original. Some say the original was lost. It’s expected to happen when stories get passed down.

Most people know to be careful whenever they go hiking, however, on occasion there will be a group of people who do not take warnings seriously. Our story centers around one such group.

One night a group of four hikers decided to go on a hiking trip. The oldest man, we’ll call him Jim, and his younger brother, who we’ll call Andy, were both the kind of people who loved excitement. They were always looking for ways to test their limits and lived for challenges. Even if it inevitably ended in sibling rivalry they had fun, and a few of their friends liked the idea of camping in a place they were unfamiliar with. It was to be a week-long trip. Usually it was to see how long the others would last, but since they were all experienced campers they simply agreed to do it for fun and not as an endurance test.

They had all been warned about the Woman in Red before their departure. Each and every time, the two brothers had brushed it off, thinking it was just a story and nothing more. They were used to hearing crazy tales wherever they went. Some of their travels had taken them to some of the most haunted places in the world, and they have come back alive.

Eventually when everything is fine for a long time, that sense of safety goes to one’s head. They really should have listened.

Far off the beaten path, on their way toward a good place to set up camp for the night, they had come across an old woman, seemingly lost. They had been laughing and carrying on when she approached them. Having not seen anyone around for miles, their attention had been placed on her immediately.

“Excuse me, I seem to have gotten lost, could you help me find my way back?” She asked in a kind voice. She was dressed in a red gown that almost made her look like she had escaped from either a hospital or some nuthouse. That should have set off red flags immediately. If they were smart, they should have declined or ran. Not that running does any good when dealing with the Woman in Red.

“If you follow the trail, you should be able to make it back by sundown.” Said Andy in reply, which had not come as a surprise to the others, he has always been good with directions. Known for his smile and his charm back at home, and his brother was always jealous of that.

“Thank you kindly. Say, would you mind coming with me? It’s so lonely up here… I would love some company, and some protection.”

“Protection?” One of the men who had tagged along with them, let’s call him Bruce, snorted. “There’s nobody around but the woods and the path is pretty straightforward.” Bruce was probably the least friendly out of the group. He was always rough around the edges, the first to tell someone to ‘fuck off’, and certainly did not put up with bullshit of any kind.

The old woman looked at him with a slight frown of disappointment. “Now, is that any way to speak to an old woman? You men look tough. I’m but a fragile woman looking for someone to help me make my way back down the mountain.” She looked the group over again. “So, what do you say?”

The group looked to Jim. In times like this, when they didn’t really know what to do, they always looked to him for support. He was considered the leader figure of the group since he was always keeping a level head. Even his brother looked to him, but right now he was a bit of a loss. As much as he hated to admit it, he was hoping that someone else had a bright idea; he didn’t want to be the one to make the decision. They only had enough supplies for their small group and really couldn’t include another person. But they really couldn’t tell her to go away even though that option was speaking to him more. He looked to Bruce, who was standing with his arms crossed and lips pursed together slightly expecting him to say something.

Jim really hated being placed in these situations.

Running a hand over his face, Jim let out a sigh. “Alright,” he said, smiling warmly, “We’ll help you get back safe and sound.” He ignored the others, who stared at him in disbelief.

The old woman smiled. “Thank you kindly.” She placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder. “Would you be so kind as to carry me, too? I’m tired, you see. Hiking does a lot on these old bones.”

“Sure thing. Here, Rick, carry my bag so I can help this old woman, alright?”

The man named Rick, the final member of the small group, and the one who supposedly made this story known gave Jim a wary look but said nothing. He took Jim’s bag and threw it over his shoulder with the rest of his gear.

“I know a shortcut.” The old woman pointed towards an area of the forest where the sun, now beginning to set, shone upon it in a way that gave the trees an orange glow. “If you follow this path it will take us right into town within a few hours. People don’t usually travel along that way, so it’s overgrown, but if you brave it you’ll have something to brag about.”

The group wanted to protest but Jim, seemingly under some sort of spell, just followed the old woman’s words of guidance. They walked for hours. Keeping track of time seemed impossible; the yellow-orange glow over the forest seemed to remain no matter how far they walked. There was no sign of the town the old woman had spoken of either. Panic began to settle in but everyone was too afraid to get Jim’s attention. He seemed too immersed in whatever the old woman kept whispering into his ear; it sounded like some chant. Then, the next thing the group knew, the old woman told everyone to stop. They had come to the heart of the forest where the glow was brightest, and a strange and indescribable noise could be heard that left ringing in their ears.

Jim fell to his knees and the old woman climbed off of him. As she turned to face the group, her once beautiful, though elderly, face had been replaced with a hideous mask. Eyes that glowed a sinister yellow much like the glow of the forest, peered at them with a petrifying gaze. Her hands turned into claws. The hair that fell down in front of her face looked like tree bark that had been stripped from the trees. All three men were too terrified to move anywhere.

Their fear made her laugh.

They all watched in terror, unable to move, as she placed a hand on top of Jim’s head and squeezed hard. There was a loud‘pop’sound, like squashing a watermelon. Blood splattered from his crushed skull and his lifeless body fell forward.

The group took a step back, Rick even whimpered and turned away, then threw up. He has always been the weakest of their little group.

With a hiss, the old woman came after Bruce, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him into the air. She opened her mouth to reveal pointed teeth that looked like a demon’s; it would make sense if she truly was something demonic. The old woman began to dig her claws into Bruce’s neck. Blood dripped down her hand while she dug her thumb deeper into his windpipe. As soon as he began to make gurgling noises, Andy ran to his aid, but was powerless against her.

He grabbed her arm and she tossed him back like a ragdoll. Andy flew through the air, and then slammed against a tree. There was a loud ‘snap’ that told Rick, the only one unscathed, that Andy’s back was broken from the impact. He tried not to let out a scream ad Bruce let out one final yell. There was one final attempt to pry the woman off of him, his shaking hands weakly pulling at the woman’s fingers, and then his hand fell to his side.

Before he suffered the same fate as the rest of the group, Rick had quickly turned and ran as fast as he could, leaving his dead friends behind. The only thing running through his mind was his own safety. He could hear the woman coming behind him, and, determined to get out of here as quickly as possible, did not slow down for a second. The more he wan, the more everything started looking the same and that orange glow, which appeared to be spreading and getting brighter, was starting to give him a headache. He felt like he was going to throw up again.

Eventually he came to a path on the mountain and followed it, all the way back to the camp site that it had led to.

Now that was odd. He really didn’t think there were any other camp sites around. The people at the site looked at him like they had just seen a ghost. The father of the family aimed his hunting rifle at him. He had thought the man was going to blow his head off right then and there.

Rick immediately put his hands up and said, “Don’t shoot!”

“Fucking Christ, you nearly gave us a heart attack. You lost?”

“Something like that.” He briefly retold everything that happened. The family looked at each other and then to him, then to each other again. Biting down on his lower lip, he wondered if they would even believe him.

“Looks like you’ve run into the Woman in Red, friend.” The father, who had introduced himself as Sam, chuckled. “Everyone knows to steer clear of those old paths.”

“Who?”

“You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of the Woman in Red?”

“No, sorry, I haven’t.”

“The story is that she was killed by her husband, who didn’t want to take care of her anymore. He took her out into the middle of the forest, broke her arms and legs, and just left her to die.” The son said, grinning. His younger brother hugged his pillow closer to him.

Sam frowned at his son. “That’s enough Danny.” Looking back to Rick, he said, “What compelled you to go that far out?”

Rick hadn’t revealed too much after that. He really wasn’t sure what had been going through his friend’s mind at the time and honestly didn’t really want to try to figure it out.

He stayed at the camp for the night, trying to get the images out of his mind.

In the days that passed, Rick was plagued by nightmares of the Woman in Red and decided to retire from hiking. A few years later that camping ground was closed down after a few more sightings of the Woman in Red were made public. Some say, on certain nights, they can still see an old woman dressed in red, sitting on one of the old paths, crying out for help.