There is a 215-acre park just 7.6 miles south of my home town that I have never visited until yesterday.

It's amazing I have never been to Sockum Ridge County Park, considering I have gone camping everywhere else in this county. I suppose the reason I never went there is because I thought of it only as the local drinking hangout for high school kids, and nothing more. When I was in high school I heard rumors of parties out there, but I didn't go.

I happened to find some stories online of people having supernatural experiences while visiting the park, particularly those who chose to camp overnight. Growing up here I never heard anything about the woods being haunted. But there were several accounts from people who who heard moaning, crying, and disembodied voices throughout the woods. Some claim to have seen a dark figure with glowing red eyes lurking among the gigantic tree trunks. Some accounts described a misty apparition that moved about in the woods, and even glided across the surface of the pond. Some people even claim to get an uneasy feeling of being watched by something malevolent. One account even stated that local law enforcement rarely patrols the park because of terrifying nighttime sightings and strange interference with their vehicle electronics.

On my visit yesterday, I can't say I felt uneasy or saw anything strange. The limbs on the oak trees do, however, seem to reach out toward the road as if to snare a passerby. But in general, I found it to be a very beautiful, relaxing place. It's a shame I haven't visited until now.

I hiked down the path to the pond to get some photos. The water was perfectly still. At least two of the stories I read about the park being haunted referred to this as the "dead pond". I'm not certain why it is called dead, but the water did have an unusually dark, murkiness to it, much like coffee. Typically ponds surrounded by woodlands are crystal clear from the natural filtration by tree roots and undergrowth.

Although I wanted to stay in the park after sunset to see if there is any truth to these claims of hauntings, I knew it was supper time and my wife didn't know where I was, so I decided to head home in my trusty rusty Ford Ranger, my faithful truck that has gotten me everywhere I've wanted to go for 14 years.

My conclusion is that the park isn't really haunted. I am somewhat of a skeptic when it comes to the supernatural. Some people have a natural fear of the woods and likely allow their imagination to run wild. I only want to go back with my wife and boys and let them experience the seclusion and tranquility of the park. Maybe some day I will go there and camp for the night, too. I will be sure to post about my future visits.