TAPE ARCHIVE #002 – "THE BONE TREE" (ALT. TO "DON'T GO TO BLACK HOLLOW –A Warning from Someone..." )

I’ve debated writing this for a long time. It’s been over a year since the events I’m about to describe, and I still have trouble processing what happened. But I need to get this out there because what we encountered in Black Hollow isn’t something you can just ignore, or even forget.
This isn’t some ghost story or urban legend—this is real. And if you’re reading this, I’m begging you to heed my warning. Please, for the love of everything that’s still human in you, stay away from Black Hollow.

It all started like any other camping trip...
I’m Matt Carson, 25 years old. I’m usually the one behind the camera. I’m the guy who plans the trips, makes the jokes, and, apparently, gets everyone into trouble. We’d been talking about doing something off-the-beaten-path for a while—something that wasn’t just the usual hiking trails. I’d heard about Black Hollow National Park from a few locals during a road trip, and something about it seemed... different. They had their warnings, sure, but those are just part of the whole "wild place" charm, right?
I convinced my friends—Erin, Cody, and Vanessa—to come with me. Erin’s always up for anything wild, Cody was just looking for an excuse to take his new camping gear out for a spin, and Vanessa... well, Vanessa wasn’t convinced. I could tell right away something was off with her, but it didn’t stop her from coming along.
The plan was simple: hike the Black Hollow trail, camp for a night, and then head out the next morning. Three miles. That was it. But looking back, I can see now that I should’ve taken Vanessa’s feelings more seriously.
We arrived early, around noon. The sun was too bright, and the parking lot was mostly empty, save for an old, rusted sign that read “BLACK HOLLOW TRAIL – 3.2 MILES.” The moment we stepped out of the car, something felt wrong. The air was thick, too still. And the forest? Completely silent. I tried to brush it off, thinking it was just the heat. But Vanessa, she couldn’t stop staring at the woods, like she was waiting for something to emerge from the shadows.
I started recording, like I always do. "Alright, we’re rolling. Day one of the big camping trip," I said, grinning at the camera.
Erin, ever the jokester, flipped me off and said, “Hi, losers!”
Cody was messing with his backpack, looking like he was getting everything prepared for a trek that I didn’t think was going to be as difficult as it ended up being. Vanessa? She barely acknowledged me, just muttering, “Feels off,” under her breath.
I laughed it off. “What, the haunted woods giving you bad vibes already?”
But she wasn’t laughing. She just kept staring at the trees, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
I should’ve listened.

The Discovery – When Everything Went Wrong
We hiked for about an hour before things started to get weird. The deeper we went, the quieter it got. No birds. No wind. No nothing. The trees crowded in on us like they were trying to close us off from the world. Then, we stumbled across something... something that should have made us turn around right then and there.
I was recording, like I always do, when I saw it. A tree. But not just any tree. It was wrong. The bark was twisted, gnarled, like it had grown to envelop something... or someone. And then I saw the bones.
Human bones. Bone-white femurs sticking out of the branches. A skull lodged halfway in the trunk. Finger bones that looked like they’d been twisted into place—no way a human could’ve done that.
Erin was the first to speak. “What the actual fuck?”
I couldn’t even respond. I kept the camera rolling, trying to process it. I knew there had to be an explanation. “This is some kind of art thing, right?” I said, half-laughing, though I knew it didn’t make sense. “Like a sculpture or something?”
But Vanessa... she stepped forward. Her hand reached out like it was drawn to the bones.
I don’t know what made me keep recording. Maybe I didn’t believe what I was seeing, or maybe I didn’t want to believe it. But then, as Vanessa hovered her hand over a femur, the camera flickered—just for a second. A glitch. And then came the sound. A snap, but not like a bone breaking. It was like the bone was snapping in reverse, pulling back into place.
That was the first moment I felt the terror.
And that was when the tape skipped.

Nightfall – Everything Went to Hell
It was already evening by the time we made camp. I didn’t want to admit it, but I had the feeling we shouldn’t have stayed. The whole day felt like it was closing in on us, like something was waiting. The fire we built didn’t do much to keep the shadows back. The trees... they seemed to stretch further with every minute we spent in that place.
Cody, who was usually the brave one, spoke first: “We shouldn’t have stayed.” His voice was low, uncharacteristically serious.
I tried to laugh it off, “Where else were we supposed to go? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
But it wasn’t funny. Not when Vanessa spoke up.
“It’s watching us.”
She said it so quietly, so matter-of-factly. It felt like a punch to the gut. I tried to brush it off, but something was off. The way the air changed. The way the fire flickered. The way the trees didn’t move. There wasn’t even a breeze.
Then I heard it. A creaking noise, like wood bending under weight. Or worse... like something moving in the branches above us.
I didn’t say anything, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t alone.

Missing – The Bone Tree Grows
The camera started shaking again, jerking wildly as I filmed the empty space around the fire. My voice was panicked. “Where the fuck is Cody?”
Erin was crying now, her voice raw. “He was right here. He was RIGHT HERE.”
But he wasn’t. And that’s when I saw it—the Bone Tree. It wasn’t the same as it had been earlier. There was something new now. A fresh branch. It didn’t belong. It was raw, white, still wet. And that’s when I saw it—the skull. Another femur. Something else, hanging like the others, twisted into the bark.
And then it started.
The whispering. Low, layered voices, overlapping each other, speaking words that didn’t make sense. The tape distorted, but I swear I heard them.
“More. More. More.”
It was like they were demanding something from us. The Bone Tree wasn’t just there anymore. It was... hungry.
The tape cut right there.

The Last Entry – A Face in the Dark
The last entry... that’s when I knew. When the camera came back on, I was filming from the tent. The tent we’d set up to escape the madness. But we weren’t escaping anything.
“Erin’s gone,” I whispered into the camera, trying to keep my voice steady. “Vanessa... she won’t talk. She’s just staring at the tree.”
I don’t know how long I sat there, listening to the crackle of the dying fire. But it was the sound that broke me. The sound of dragging. Slow. Deliberate. Like something was pulling itself across the ground, towards us.
The tent shook. The camera glitched again. And then, the whispering came back. Louder. “You should have never stayed.”
And then... the zipper. The entrance to the tent unzipped on its own. The screen flickered, distorted. And then, there it was. A face. But not a human face.
It was twisted, bark-covered, hollow eyes where a human’s should’ve been. It grinned at me. The teeth were too white, too perfect, too clean. It was familiar. I don’t know why, but it was.
The camera hit the ground. A loud snap—like a branch breaking.
And then... nothing.

I don’t know what happened to Vanessa. I don’t know what happened to Cody. The tape was corrupted, and there’s no more footage. The authorities didn’t believe me. They thought it was just some messed-up prank. But I know what I saw. And I can’t forget it. I don’t want anyone else to go through what we went through.
If you’re reading this, stay the hell away from Black Hollow. Whatever’s there, it’s not something you want to mess with. Please.
You’ve been warned.