Garry R. Kennedy

Every year for about the last fifteen years our Sunday school class in the summer goes camping together in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  We stay at a private campground owned by Camp Edison at Shaver Lake, which is at an elevation of 5,627 feet.    The area is known to have some Black Bears around so it is strongly suggested that you don’t leave any food out at night.  Once when I was a child camping in that area a Black Bear did come near our campground but my father chased it away by banging some metal trashcan lids together.

Camp Edison is only about an hour drive from our cities of Fresno and Clovis, which are located in the San Joaquin Valley of California.  We take mobile homes, tent trailers, and regular tents to sleep in.  We arrive on a Friday night and leave on Sunday afternoon.  We have had up to a hundred people join us on these trips, but there are also hundreds of other campers surrounding us.  This particular year I think we only had around 40 people in our group.  The men join together to cook breakfast and dinner, plus wash all the dishes.  Naturally the women love this idea.  The trips are a nice get away from the city for some good fellowship, worship, and to be close to God’s creation.  In addition, I took along some notes and other material to work on my first novel “The Jesus Tree Ornaments” which I was in the process of writing at that time.  However, something happened one night to two of us, which brought us close to some kind of creature or entity we couldn’t explain away, even to this day.

My wife and I were sharing our campsite with two single women, Kelley and Mary.  Kelley works for the local community college and Mary is a school teacher.  The campsite was large and it was easy to pitch two tents on it.  We had a large single room tent and the women had a smaller tent.  A picnic table and the campfire separated our tent from theirs with a distance of about 40 feet.  Our campsite was down a slope with other campsites slightly above us about 100 feet away and none further down the slope.  If you have ever stayed in the mountains at night you know how dark and quiet it can get.  Noises carry very long distances and in the dark you can’t be certain where they are coming from.

Nothing was out of the ordinary when we went to bed that night.  Inside our tent my wife and I slept in our own sleeping bags.  I was above the ground on a cot and my wife was sleeping on a mattress.  We both went to sleep and I remember waking up in the middle of the night.  I think it was somewhere around 3 am.  It was cold, very still, and quiet.  Then in the distance I heard what sounded like wolves or coyotes barking.  It made me think that perhaps they were chasing something.  It didn’t really bother me as I have heard them before in the mountains.  What happened next however did bother me, a lot!

The loudest blood-curdling scream that I have ever heard shattered the still night air.  It was very high-pitched and only changed its tone one time.  I think it lasted at least 30 seconds and sounded like it was just outside of our tent.  In shock, I just laid still hoping that whatever it was wasn’t going to attack us.  I was determined not to move but at the same time I couldn’t believe that my wife had not been woken up by the noise.  She was breathing normally and was obviously not affected by the noise.  Then it happened again, a scream just as loud and long as the first one, and still my wife kept sleeping.  I thought about waking her up but was afraid that she might be afraid and make noise attracting whatever was outside our tent to our presence.  But, what was it?  It didn’t sound human at all nor did it sound like a bear, mountain loin or any animal that I have heard before.  And what about the other campers in the area, surely everyone else had to have heard it, yet I heard no people outside our tent talking.  Then it screamed again just as loud, long, and terrifying as the other two times, and still my wife slept soundly.  These weren’t just average screams, they were all extremely loud, frightening, and sounded like they were meant to create panic to anyone near.  They were like nothing I have ever heard before or since.  I couldn’t understand how anyone within a mile could not hear them.  I spent the rest of the night praying and trying to remain still and quiet in our tent.  I only came out cautiously when daylight first started to brighten up the campsite area.

When I came out of the tent I noticed a friend of ours was already up at his campsite.  I walked up and asked him if he had heard the screaming last night and he said no.  I then proceeded over to the main campsite to start the morning coffee for breakfast and to ask some of our people if they had heard the screams last night.  No one had heard anything.  I went back to the tent and my wife was now awake so I asked her if she had heard anything at all last night.  She also had heard nothing. I was dumbfounded…how could this be?

I went back up to the main campsite to help with breakfast and to ask if any new arrivals for breakfast had heard anything last night.  None of them had heard anything either.  It was shortly after I had questioned just about everyone when Mary came walking up to us.

“Did anyone hear the screaming sound last night?” she asked.  My ears perked up and my heart quickened when I heard her question.  I quickly asked her exactly what she had heard.  The following words are from Mary to me based upon the event, which happened to us several years ago.

“I was sleeping when all of a sudden in the middle of the night this terrifying loud screaming noise woke me up.  Whatever it was it sounded very near to our tents.  It was a long high-pitched scream like nothing I have ever heard before.  It didn’t sound human nor like a wild animal.  My tent-mate Kelley seemed to be sleeping normally and it was weird to me that the screaming did not instantly wake her up.  Then it happened again two more times which really freaked me out.  Kelley was still sleeping soundly through it all.  I was now totally awake when I heard whatever it was taking quick intake of breaths as it started clawing and scratching on the bottom outside of our tent.  From the sounds it made from around the tent it sounded like a two-legged entity and not a four-legged animal.  Then it stopped, and next I heard what sounded like a person walking around the tent three times.  I assumed it was Garry and was very glad that he was out there in the dark checking on whatever it was, however I said nothing to him.  I was most concerned about a family just up to the hill from us where a lot of children were sleeping outside.  Soon no more sounds were coming from outside our tent and I remained awake in the tent until daylight.  I was too excited and shook up to go back to sleep.  When I did get up Kelley and I checked around the tent for foot or animal prints and found nothing.  I asked Garry if he had come to our tent in the night and he informed me that he hadn’t.  He was the only other person who heard the same screams that I heard.  To this day I have no explanation as to why the others did not hear what we heard. ”   Mary Whent

My wife and I have returned several more times to Camp Edison and spent the night there at other campsites and nothing out of the ordinary has happened to us.  I still ask myself what did happen that night and what was it?  It could have been an animal that I am unfamiliar with, but why did no one else but Mary and I hear it?  I cannot tell you how loud it was, but pretend you’re sound asleep in your bedroom at night and someone was to walk in and scream at the top of their lungs.  It was that loud.  Don’t you think that would wake you up?   I will never be certain in this life as to what it was, but personally I believe it was an entity from Hell sent to scare me.  It did, but it did not stop me from writing my book “The Jesus Tree Ornaments”.

“Yes, Thomas.  You see, God has always had a purpose.  He sent His only son to earth to redeem mankind.”

“Then Christmas truly is about peace on earth and goodwill toward all men,” answered Thomas.

“No, Thomas…Jesus is about peace on earth and goodwill toward all men.  Christmas, if you choose to celebrate it, should be about Jesus, God’s gift to all of mankind.”

“If I choose to celebrate it?  Isn’t there a command or something requiring a celebration?” asked Thomas.

“No, it is a choice.  You have free will to do as you choose.  Complete freedom.”

The Jesus Tree Ornaments, A Father’s Offering, Chapter 12, page 197.

Shortly after the crashing dishes episodes at my residence my daughter Laura moved out into an apartment.  (See posting “The Crashing Dishes” for more information).  Because of the crashing dishes and what she shared with me about her experiences below, I took some oil and while praying in the Holy Spirit I walked from room to room putting oil on the door frames and windows of my house, requesting protection from God from any unholy spirits that may be operating in it.  I did go over to Laura’s apartment and prayed with her for protection there too, however I did not use any oil or go from room to room, this was a mistake.  Laura and her friend Jennifer wrote the following words.  On the last paragraph I interviewed Sean who was at the time Laura’s boyfriend, but is now her husband.

Less than a year later after the crashing dishes I moved into an apartment with two friends.  Jennifer, one of my roommates at the time, told me that she felt like something was following me.  She said that she got an uneasy feeling when we hung out.  I too felt as if I was constantly being watched and closely followed by an unwanted and indescribable thing.

One morning Jennifer came out of her room and looked very concerned.  She then shared with me that she had had an encounter with what she described as a beast.  She had woken in the middle of the night to a large, black, hairy creature with long nails and red eyes glaring at her.  It was seated at the foot of her bed.  Jennifer was at the apartment by herself that night.  She shared with me that she closed her eyes tightly and began to pray.  She was too scared to open her eyes.

I decided not to tell my boyfriend, now husband, about Jennifer’s encounter because we had just started dating and I didn’t want to weird him out.  Six months later my boyfriend and I were standing next to his truck in his gravel driveway.  It was dark when Sean had begun to act slightly alarmed.  He insisted that I go inside during the middle of our conversation.  I sensed urgency in his voice.  I was in the house no longer than 30 seconds before he joined me.  Not wanting to scare me, he tried to cover up his concern.  I questioned his odd behavior and he hold me that he saw a large, black, hairy creature with long nails and red eyes, about 8 or 9 feet tall, running straight toward me from the field.  I had not yet told him about Jennifer’s encounter nor had I described the creature to him.  It appeared to me that both my best friend and my boyfriend had seen what I had been sensing all this time.  I have yet to ever see this creature myself.

Laura.

Shortly out of high school I moved into an apartment with my cousin, and my friend Laura.  Since we could only afford a two-bedroom place, I shared a room with my cousin.  We lived in the apartment for a total of 3 months.

While living in the apartment I encountered a paranormal creature on two occasions.  The first time I was home alone and had walked into my room.  Before I could switch on the light my attention was drawn to a gargoyle like creature.  It was sitting on my cousin’s bed.  It was very large and muscular with an animal like build to it.  The eyes on the creature were red and he had long fingernails and two large horns on its head.  We looked at each other and then it turned its head away from me.  I decided to get out of the apartment and didn’t come back until my roommates were home.

The second encounter occurred on a late Saturday night.  Once again my roommates were not home.  I had gone to bed early because I wasn’t feeling well.  When I woke up in the middle of the night the same creature was sitting at the end of my bed.  It was staring down at me with its red eyes.  I closed my eyes shut as hard as I could and began to pray.  I didn’t open my eyes again until the morning, when light was present.

While living in the apartment several other odd things happened.  The neighbor below us constantly complained that we were making loud noises and vacuuming in the middle of the night.  These claims were not true.  We also heard noises coming from the apartment on the other side of us, such as muffled talking and bumping into walls.  Shortly before we moved out, a couple started to move into that same apartment.  It had been vacant the entire time.

I shared with my roommate Laura that I often got an eerie feeling when she was around, like something was in the room with us.  It was as if her presence was being followed by an evil essence.  I no longer feel this way when I am around her now, 6 years later.

Jennifer.

It was one year into my relationship with Laura when I witnessed something that I couldn’t explain at all.  Laura was, and is still a very spiritual person while at the time I didn’t consider myself a very good Christian at all.  I believed in God, but I was very angry at Him for the loss of my father at a young age.

Laura and I were having a conversation outside my mother’s house in the country one night next to my truck on the north side of the house, when I noticed something moving fast out of the corner of my eyes. There was open acreage behind the house and a storage shed off to the left side about 200 feet away from us.   The area was slightly lit up by the back porch light and some surrounding homes.  Moving very rapidly, I saw a dark hairy shadow that appeared as a silhouette of something I have never witnessed before.  I have been hunting hundreds of times and what was closing in on us sent fear into my heart.  I didn’t know what it was but I felt it was coming after Laura, who had her back to it.  It was very tall and charging towards us on two legs.  The head of the creature reminded me of something primal with its head in a slumped over position, with a short but full neck.  But what struck fear into me the most were its red eyes.  They were not that bright but reminded me of burning coals in a dying fire.  I told Laura to go into the house immediately and when she did I looked back at the creature that was closing the distance between us.  When it was only 30 to 40 feet from me it just disappeared.  Since that night I have never seen the creature again nor do I care to.

Sean.

“But Remember Moses and what happened when some of his people tried to worship another god of their own creation.  The Father is slow to anger, but He is also a jealous god.  He wants all your love and worship.  He does not care to share His glory or His good works with nonexistent deities.  God is real, Thomas, not make-believe.  Surely you can understand His reasoning, for you yourself are a father.”

“What do you mean ‘because I am a father’?” asked Thomas.

“Do you deprive your child of the knowledge of the love that you have to offer him?  God wants you to know how much He loves you.  Don’t you want your child to know how much you love him?  Why would you want to deny him the truth?  It is essential to his well-being.  Children need to know that their parents make sacrifices for them out of their love for them.  Not only when they are good, but even when they are bad.

The Jesus Tree Ornaments, A Father’s Offering, Chapter 12, pages 196-197.