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The original was posted on /r/truescarystories by /u/LisaMRoig on 2025-05-21 20:51:13+00:00.

So this is a story my dad told me that happened to him when he was 17, and honestly it still creeps me out. He grew up in Plattekill, NY, and their house was this old two-story place that my grandpa built way out in the woods. Like, no neighbors for miles, just trees everywhere. If you’ve ever been upstate you know how isolated it can get.

Anyway, one night everyone else went to the city and left my dad home alone. It was just him, a .22 shotgun, and their German shepherd Prince, who was police trained and supposedly fearless. The land the house was on was already known for weird stuff—people said there was paranormal activity and even some Native American remains somewhere on the property.

So this one night, there’s a crazy thunderstorm. Upstate NY storms are no joke—like, the whole house shakes and the woods get pitch black. My dad’s just chilling, probably reading or listening to the radio, when out of nowhere, someone starts banging on the front door. Not just knocking, but pounding, like they’re desperate or pissed off.

Here’s the thing—there’s literally nobody around for miles, and the driveway is long and muddy. No way someone just wandered up there, especially in a storm. As soon as the banging starts, Prince, the big tough police dog, freaks out and bolts up the stairs, actually peeing himself on the way up. My dad grabs the shotgun and follows him, and they end up barricaded in a bedroom on the second floor, with Prince hiding under the bed shaking.

My dad’s sitting there thinking it could be a bear, but what bear knocks like that? And what if it could somehow get upstairs and break through the French doors? The pounding keeps going, mixed with thunder and wind, and my dad’s just sitting there in the dark, shotgun ready, heart pounding.

Eventually, the banging just stops. The storm dies down, and there’s just this creepy silence. In the morning, my dad goes downstairs and checks the door—nothing’s broken, but there are these muddy prints on the porch. He said they were too big and weird to be human, but not really animal either. To this day, he has no idea what was out there, but he swears he’s never seen Prince so scared before or since.

So yeah, if you ever end up alone in a house in the woods during a thunderstorm and someone starts banging on the door… maybe just stay upstairs.