An Hour of Terror in the Pine Barrens | New Jersey

0:00 You're listening to Big for Society, and I'm Jeremiah Byron. Tonight's account is from a woman who was just nine years old when she lived close to the New Jersey Pine Barons. What happened there wasn't just a quick glimpse or flash in the night. It's an encounter that would change how she felt about the woods forever. And this is the story of Star in the day that the Pine Barons came to her doorstep. So stay with us, all right, Big for Society. I've got the privilege of talking to Starr Today Stars a listener of the show, and we got connected Stars wanting to share some events that happened back in the nineteen nineties around the Pine Barons area of New Jersey. So welcome to the show.

0:42 Star. How are you doing today? I'm good. How are you doing great? Doing great? Always fun to talk to people about their encounters is a highlight of the day for sure. But you know, Star, I'm really curious to hear more about what happened during this time of your life when you had some experiences in an area of New Jersey that is really well known for bigfoot encounters over the years. I guess I could start by saying, like I had just moved into this new neighborhood. I was like nine, I think around nine or ten years old, and so this is like thirty years ago or more. And it was the house had backed up into the woods on a on a culd a sac and you know, so we really only had one neighbor that kind of neighbored us to the one side of our house.

1:35 You know, we really didn't see them. There was like a lot of trees in the way, so we really didn't even see our neighbors. We you know, kind of felt like we lived in the middle of the woods. Really. But yeah, so backed up to the pine barns, which I'm not sure if anybody is familiar with the New Jersey Pine barons. So I think it's like over. A million acres or a billion acres of like forest that's undeveloped for whatever reason. And I guess it's preserved. It was preserved, so you know, they just you know, did not develop it, and so it's you know, I grew up just pretty comfortable running around through the forest.

2:19 It was considered a safe, you know area. So my mom just kind of be like, Okay, well, if you're out with your friends, like just don't go too far, too deep into the. Forest kind of thing like. And so, you know, pretty much every day every other day in the summer, like we'd just be out there and we'd make up stories and you know, play whatever pretend games out there, and uh, you know, so we really. Weren't afraid of anything. And then like my older brothers are teenagers, so we'd go often off roading things like that with them as well. So you know, anyway, so. It's pretty pretty comfortable with being out there. And so one day I'm like nine or ten, I'm inside the house and we were getting ready to go to the pool in the backyard, which is the pool is like at the far edge of the backyard, like about a half acre.

3:12 Out and. So my mom's like, oh, you know, clean your room before you go out to the pool, like as most parents do, and I guess their kids in summer. And so I'm just like cleaning my room. My mom came in bringing some laundry in whatever, like hearing, you know, put away some laundry, and she kind of like looks up. It's just me and her. My sister I think was at a friend's house. And I think my sister doesn't even like believe us to this day. But my mom kind of like out of the corner of her eye as she's you know, bringing laundry into my room, just looks over and it's like like. Do you see that, Kelly, Like like is this Like she's like, is this some kind of the joke?

3:53 You know, she's kind of like frozen, and you know, in fear because she's just a stay at home mom. She'sn't you know, really encounter any kind of weird situations. So she's just like she was pretty frozen in her footsteps. Kelly, look at this. I'm like, Mom, like what, like what do you want me to look at? Like what? And then I look and I'm just like we're both kind of like frozen, Like our jaws are just like hitting, you know, hit the ground, and like, you know, we're just like is it an ape? Is it a bit? We're both like we have no idea like what we're looking at or like it doesn't look like any sort of animal and like, really did something escape from the zoo? Like but like but apes aren't that tall kind of thing, and you know, and it just kept I would say for a half hour an hour is like pacing in the backyard back and forth, kind of like by the pool area, and uh just was like it was standing upright on two legs, but it looked sort of ape like and and this is the far edge of our of our yard, and of course I wasn't about to go out in the yard and really get closer to whatever it was, so, you know, especially you know, they say if animals come in your yuard, it could mean they're sick or or something, right, so we really had no idea what were looking at. So after a while we were kind of we were frozen in fear, Like I just I don't remember ever feeling like really that afraid at any kind of animal sighting. So we finally

5:26 decided to call animal control and see, you know, they so they came out like inspected the yard in the woods and they were out there for a while and they didn't see anything. So it just kind of vanished and and that's it. And then we were like asking people around the area if anybody had seen anything. So that was basically it. And then just like around that time period, there was some strange things that had happened in my life as well. Like about a week before that, there. Was a few storm and a tree almost fell on me. After the day after the storm, I went to go to see why the pol pump wouldn't turn on. My dad was like at work normally, and my dad would do it, but I went to go check because I want to go.

6:16 I usually would go swimming every day. And I went to go look at it, and the tree just my mother came out and screamed just as the tree so I moved. She's like, Kelly, move, you know, she's screaming from the across the yard. And I moved, and then the second I moved, the tree fell a few inches from my head on this giant, old pine tree. I guess it was, you know, some really massive, massive trees were back there, and so I had like just gotten out of a way. It was kind of like a near death experience, I would say. And that had happened. And then another night, I was up at like nine or ten o'clock and I was playing piano and I just remember feeling like I should go look outside, and I went to the front door and I looked up in the sky and there was sort of like these light streaks going across the sky, and you know, my family didn't really talk about any strange things like that.

7:24 They're more military and. Conservatives, so I just kind of was just like, oh, you know, it's probably just my you know, imagination or whatever. But now that I hear all the all the stories now when I listened to the stories on the podcast, that it like makes me wonder because it kind of connects all of these different types of things that happened, and you know, I wonder what sort of connection it could any of it could have been. So those are just some of the some of the other occurrences that I well, and I did kind of feel like at night, I felt that there was like something sort of watching me, you know, like my windows in my room kind of faced to the woods, and you know, I did feel that sense of something you know, out there that I think some people say they feel. But I just was always kind of told to like kind of like suck things up and move on and kind of that kind of attitude. So I kind of just dismissed it. And you know, it was very artistic. So I channeled a lot of things into being creative and into my art, you know, to this day, thirty forty years later, I'm still pretty creative even my job that I work full time, and you know, I work in the arts. So so

8:54 I just kind of like, I never really talked about any of these like sort of I guess would be considered paranormal situations. But I guess I just channeled it more into the art art field, the creativity aspect of trying to understand things in the world around us. I guess that don't really make any sense. So, you know, that's it. Some some things I think maybe there just is no answer, no answer for I guess, but but I was just you know, curious coming on here to see if anybody else had stories from the pine barrens and things like that, because you know, or even around that time period, if there was. So that's pretty much pretty much is.

9:46 Thanks for having me, Yes. If I ask you a few questions? Yeah, sure, cool? Cool? So this is was it early nineties that this would have happened. Gosh, I'm like forty two, so whatever, take the age nine to forty two, so I guess whatever thirty three years ago, Yeah. Yeah around there, all right, all right, cool, So that gives us kind of maybe a more focused view of what part of the nineties in the area of the Pine Bearings in New Jersey. So when you said you would feel like something was watching you a lot, and I'm just curious in the room that you would feel that were they're coverings on the windows?

10:39 Well, you know, it was considered a safe area in that time period. We lived in a nice neighborhood and. You know, if you only saw trees in your yard, you wouldn't really you wouldn't really think of, you know, covering too. You know, there might have been a curtain, but it might it wasn't like a blackout curtain or something, you know what I mean. You know, we didn't you know, if you don't really have a neighbor that can see it, and you don't really you know. And I'm on the second floor, so I'm not you know, Yeah, I don't think. I don't think my windows recovered very often. I mean maybe occasionally, but and not.

11:21 I don't ask that to be weird, but I do ask it because it's a pattern that I have found in talking to individuals. Usually it's females around this age where they would feel like they're being watched and then they would see like a face in the window. Usually there would not be like something would be able to see through through the window and not really covered up. So I was just more getting that for a data point for myself. Now, you had a really long time to take to see this, as it was pacing for thirty to sixty minutes back by the pool. What you saw, were you able to to notice any details if there was if it was covered with hair, if it was not covered with hair in certain parts, any things like that.

12:11 Yeah, I mean from what I could say, it was mostly hair and like a dark brown and I couldn't really see the face, you know, And I remember like also the sort of blurry kind of like some people say, looks the blurry. Or fuzzy or I don't know whatever. Yeah, maybe because. Of the hair. But it was our yard was actually quite big, and it was at the far edge, you know, of the yard, and there was also there was a fence around the pool because people in that neighborhood put fences around their pool for safety reasons, so it was behind the fence. But it was tall, so like I was like, oh, there's no way, like an ape is that tall?

12:58 You know what I mean? Like it was probably i'd say at least six foot tall because I had them, because I could take an eyeball measurement from the size of the fence and being able to see it, you know, a few feet over the fence. So gotcha, gotcha If that. Makes any sense, Like we didn't really have a fence around our yard, but we only had a fence around the pool. Part of the yard. Totally makes sense. Yeah, yeah, you said it was walking back and forth on two legs. Did you notice that it had a certain type of posture as it was walking, or a certain way of walking. Yeah, I was like kind. Of slouched and like swinging the arms and like we kind of were like is it a man in like a furry suit? It was like kind of you know, it was like we're like my mom like, actually, I think called my brothers, like my my older brothers are like living away and like other they were grown up and like you know at that point and living on their own, and my mom's like calling them and like did you just prank up us?

14:01 You know, They're just like what, like what are you talking about? You know, so they it was definitely not a prime you know, she thought like honestly. Though, it was like them or their friends or something. Because my brothers were like in their twenties at that time, you know, so they're kind of like in that age that might do a silly. Prank, but you know exactly, that might put on a on a costume, yeah, and try to prank their parents. Absolutely did you were you able to go back in that area afterwards and see if there are any tracks or anything on the ground. I think we might have. I I was actually kind of scared.

14:41 I really didn't even go in my pool for a few weeks after that. But I mean I think my mom or like the animal control might have I don't. I don't really recall anything. You know. I was still kind of a kid, so I don't I think I was. If I was a teenager that happened, I probably would have been more astute to, you know, go look for. Tracks or something, but you know, I kind of so unfortunately. Yeah, no, I mean that makes sense that time of your life, you know, you're just kind of freaked out. I mean, it makes total sense. Yeah, it was just more freaked out, and like I just remember, like my sister didn't see it happen, and like she kind of still went swimming in the pool and she was like, come on, Like I was like, no, I'm good. Like I'm just gonna say I'm going to stay inside and like read a book today, you know.

15:34 And it's funny because I did kind of become more into playing the piano and art and things after that because I kind of like more freaked out to be outside and hang out with my friends. Honestly, they would kind of my friends would come over and end up hanging out with my little sister because I was like kind of spooked out by. The whole thing. Oh wow, So you know, ironically, I mean, really this didn't just wreak you out, but it kind of changed the course of your life in a way. It might have, you know, now that I'm really thinking about it, it's very well could have been part of it. Yeah, that's intense. When you said that you were looking up in the sky and you saw light streaks, is that meaning that you're seeing things flying around or what exactly?

16:24 Yeah? Yeah, I saw literally like quick flashes going the sky. And then I had kind of believed a little bit in fairy and folklore as a kid and superstition, and I thought oh, I'm seeing fairies, and I, you know, would make paintings at fairies and things. And my mother, if I would have said something like that, would would have said it was demons. That would have been my mother's explanations. So I really didn't like her explanation. She always would go to a dark place, So I really didn't open up too much more about anything, if at all, because you know, she always would take things and go to a really dark place with everything and just saying like, oh, it's always Satan, it's always demons. But I kind of was more the whimsical and like folklore explanation, uh, you know things. And but now when I hear about people seeing aliens and lights and flashing like you know, then maybe I think maybe that's what I was seeing.

17:26 There could have been a. Portal there very well could have been. And it's strange that I'd be, like playing piano really calm. My mother said that I was always very oddly calm as a child, like very odd, like like I was born and like she just like she said, she never had to discipline me or you know, like some kids you might have to say if you behave at church, and I'll give you a lollipop or something, you know, and she just said that I always just did whatever I was told. The first time I get, you know, things like that, she said, it was just very strang I always had like a strange you know. She's like, you never really acted out or anything as a little kid.

18:12 I did as a older kid. But anyway, but you know, she always said that. And then so I was sitting there, I'm like nine, I'm playing piano. I was advanced. I would be playing like classical music and I'd just be sitting there and doing that for hours, kind of in a meditative state. And that's when I would get this inclination to go look outside, you know. And I would look outside and I'd be like, hmm, that's interesting. It kind of like rub my eyes and think, oh, it's probably like sleep in my. Eyes, you know, kind of fing you know, or or it's a fairy you know. Maybe. So it kind of just like I said, I didn't really open up too much to my people around me because I was like, they're gonna just think I'm like totally nuts.

18:58 Was there? Then? As you grew older, it's something that happened to you that that made you realize Okay, it's it's okay to open up about this stuff now. Yeah, I mean definitely, It's funny like over the years, like in the last twenty years or so, I mean I've had I've run into like coworkers and things like that that I've like mentioned stories about this, and I'm kind of like, hmmm, like that's interesting. You know, I've always and I'll always like listen to them and I keep an open mind. And then I kind of like just over the years kind of have been and then I kind of after a while, I started thinking like, oh, you know, things like that have happened to me before too, and like I don't I didn't like really think of it at first, you know, because it was so far far back, you know, in my childhood. So you know, definitely like more to what needs ce I, you know, And I mean, I don't know if you want me to include the story there was like this old couple like literally living in the woods.

20:02 I don't know if you want me to go into that story. Yeah, yeah, I didn't know if you want me to. I was like, how, I don't know how far deep you want to go down the rabbit hole? But yeah, so so we would always go hiking, like I said, every day, Like we would just go out into my backyard. My mom would just be like, well, don't go food too far out, like, don't go too far out. I'm with like a group of girls, and some of us would sort of dare the other go further or whatever, you know, And so we go out maybe a mile back, you know, I don't you know, I really couldn't be sure, but we were definitely going further than what my mother probably would have wanted. And so there was like sounds like a story like Hansel and Gretel. So there was like literally just like an old house. It didn't really match the houses in our neighborhood that were probably built in the eighties or nineties or whatever, and this house was probably you know, the eighteen hundreds or whatever. You know, I really couldn't say for sure, but for sure, you know, one hundred years or more older than the houses in my neighborhood. So further out in the woods, and we were like there was vines growing on it, and so we like we're like, oh, it's a haunted house, you know, and we're just giggling and having a chuckle and messing with each other, you know, because we didn't see a driveway and everything was overgrown. The yard was kind of

21:33 overgrown looking, and you know, we're thinking, there's no way, like why would somebody live all the way out in the middle of the woods. You know, it seems so inconvenient. So you know, we just kind of go out, and every time we'd go out, we'd probably get a little closer. We'd throw a rock at it. You know, see if the ghost would come out, kind of thing, because we literally just assumed it was. It looked like an abandoned house, you know, so we're thinking, like you know, like kids will throw a stick, you know, and then run and like see if the demon comes. Out or whatever it was. You know, we just make up pretend stories, like kids don't really do anymore, right, And so one day we're out there and it was probably two or three of my friends are with me, and this, you know, we saw somebody, like we saw the door open or whatever.

22:27 So like, no way. We're like practically like you know, poop in our pants or whatever. We're like, there's no way there's somebody coming out, you know, coming out of this house. Because here we had like been messing around for a while and thinking like, there's got it. There's nobody there. There's got to be nobody. There, And so we go back and tell my dad, and my dad happened to. Be home that day. He was usually at work, but we finally he must have had a day off finally and he was home and he goes, you guys are like, there's nobody. There's nobody who lives out in the woods. And we're like no, because there was like four of us like telling them, so it was only me saying it.

23:07 He probably wouldn't even believed it, but it's literally like four of us kids all saying it, and we're like, no, there's definitely somebody there, Like the door opened, there's like somebody living in our woods behind our house. And he's like, that's not even like you know, property where somebody could live, like that's owned by such and such or whatever. You know, I don't know, like why would somebody live out there on that land. So it's really really strange. So he goes out and he hikes back out there with us and he knocks on the door and we're like we're like hiding in the woods. We're like we're not going closer, you know, because we're thinking like a freaking like a devil or some murderer is going to open the door.

23:49 We don't you know, we don't know. Like like this is really freaky, and this like sweet old man opens the door, like eighty something years old and his like sister, he lives with his sister there, and they're old. They're really old. And they said they had escaped Germany during the war, so that's all, you know. And then my dad like goes in and like talks to them because he's like whatever, you know, having a whole chat with them and like just to make sure they're okay. He's like, do you guys need groceries? Like are you okay? Because they were older, so he was like worried about them, you know. He's like, how how do you guys like live out here?

24:29 You know? And they're like, oh, we eat the berries and things. So there's like a lot of berry I guess wild berries that grow around there. So that's what they said they do. So I don't know, they said they they're just living out there, like totally fine. It's wild because you said escape Germany from the war, which what that's like forties, right, I guess I would guess that's what they're talking about. And if they're in there, if they're in their eighties, and that was in the nineties, I guess. So yeah, I guess if you do the math right, then I guess they would have left after like World War two, when the fall of Germany or whatever. You know.

25:16 Oh man, they could in their thirties and then they've just been in the woods for years and years and years. Yeah, it's so fascinating. So then I did go back. So I went back, because when did I go back, Maybe ten or fifteen years ago. I did hike back to the woods, and I said, you got to see this house in the middle of the woods. I'm sure the people are passed away now, but I went to go back and because they would have been like one hundred and twenty years old at this point or something, right, So I went back and it's gone and there's just like a housing development where that where that house once was.

25:56 And I was like, oh man, like that was oh you know, so I did. I did finally, like you know, I think I've might have been in my thirties, you know, And I finally was like you got. To come Mike out in the woods. You won't believe what's out here. And then like literally it was just like freaking houses there, like you know, some crappy so some somebody, somebody's house is now on top of that weird house where these people I. Don't know, you know what I mean, Like it's weird. Somebody's now living in like one of you know those developments where all the houses look the same. Oh yeah, and they have no idea, they have no and they have no idea.

26:38 They're just like on some of this weird house. Mm hmmm. They're probably having like weird stuff happened in the house. They don't know why. They have no idea. I don't know what the real story, and there's got to be a real story whatever, the real story is behind that. But like, well, never, we're never gonna. Know that, you know, anyway, unless someone knows and puts it in the comments. Maybe someone does know, but maybe somebody does now that would be awesome. But yeah, I mean, oh my god, start thank you so much for reaching out to share what you've experienced near the Pine barrens.

27:19 I'm sure there'll be you know, lots of people that are able to put things they've experienced in the comments as well. There's usually tons of activity around the area. The Pine Barans was just about one point one million acres. It's it's massive. But yeah, I just want to make sure you that you were able to share everything that you wanted to share on the show today. Yeah, I think so. Thank you so much. Yeah, that was all my little, my weird paranormal experiences in the pine barrens. So I will keep you guys posted if anything else happens, but. Not to you know anyway, fantastic.

27:59 Yeah, thanks having mind and hopefully nothing else happens, but if it does, you know who to talk to and have a great rest of your day. Star, I appreciate it. Okay, all right, thank you you too. All right, bye. Just wanted to say thank you for listening to this episode of The Big Society podcast. Star story is one of those rare encounters that sticks with you not just because of how long it lasted, but because of how close it came to the safety of her home. It's a huge thanks to Star for sharing her memories from that summer day in the Pine Barons of New Jersey. For reminding us that sometimes the while doesn't wait for you to go looking for it, it comes to you. If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to us on YouTube, hit the bell icons you don't miss any new episodes, and share this one with a friend who's in the Bigfoot.

28:45 The Pine Barons are just a good old fashioned mystery. If you're listening to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, make sure you're following the show there, and if you'd be willing to leave us a five star positive review, it really helps more listeners find us. Thank you or someone you know us had a big Foot encounter, especially New Jersey or the Pine Barrens or anywhere in the world. I'd love to hear from you, so please send me an email at Bigfoot Society at gmail dot com and let's talk. If you haven't gotten the chance to see it yet, we do have a brand new membership community if you'd like to support the podcast and also get such benefits as members only episodes, ad free early release episodes, in a way to chat with others that are into Bigfoot as much as you are. We watch a movie together once a month, and we also to a zoom hangout as well. A lot of good stuff gets talked about in those that are not shared publicly, so check it out www dot Bigfoot Society podcast dot com and click on the members login area and we'll see on the inside. So thanks again for following the Big Fuz Society.

29:52 Until next time, keep your eyes open and trust your gut and never stop asking what else might be out there, and see you in the woods.