Have you ever been out in the woods and suddenly felt like maybe someone, or something, was watching you?
Well, that’s what Duffy Springfield and her boyfriend experienced. They were left feeling downright terrified after noticing a strange detail in photos taken at the top of a mountain in Panther, West Virginia.
When they got to the top, like most hikers, they snapped a few photos to capture the beautiful view and celebrate their climb. What they didn’t expect was to spot something eerie in the background, near a structure in the distance.
Talking about her hike, which happened back in March, Springfield shared that she saw what looked like a ‘hand’ when she finally developed her photos.
Speaking to Newsweek, she said: “I like to do film photography, and my boyfriend and I were making a scrapbook of all the developed photos I took.”
“I just kinda saw it—I’m not really sure how I even noticed it since it’s such a small detail.”
“We both agreed it was weird and thought it even looked a little like a hand. Honestly, we were pretty excited when we saw it because of all the cryptids said to lurk in the West Virginian mountains.”
“Even if it’s not actually a hand, it’s a fun story to have.”
For those who might not know, cryptids are creatures of legend that people claim to have seen but can’t be scientifically proven to exist.
Some of the more famous cryptids include Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and yetis. West Virginia supposedly has its own share of these mysterious creatures.
This list includes the Mothman, a winged creature with glowing red eyes; the Flatwoods Monster, a tall figure with a red face and green body; and Snarly Yow, a dog-like beast with glowing eyes. Spooky stuff.
Eager to get more opinions on what she saw, Springfield posted on Reddit, saying: “My boyfriend and I aren’t really sure what to think.”
“We went to a state park in West Virginia during off season, according to the park ranger (and the conditions of the hiking trails) we were the only ones there for the week and had been the first there in a while.”
“I took this pic at the top of the mountain. Behind the pillar should have been nothing, a drop off to the woods below. Are we bugging? That really looks like a hand.”
Someone on Reddit asked her how big the structure was that it seemed to be “holding onto.” She responded that it was around 4 feet tall.
One person chimed in, saying: “Could be fungus but yeah that really looks like a hand.”
Another added a suggestion: “Go back, it’s the only way to be sure. It’d bother you for the rest of your life otherwise.”
Of course, in any classic horror story, the person who wants to go back to investigate is usually the one who ends up in trouble first!
