This experience happened to me 17 years ago (give or take), and here I am, still telling the story of Virgin Run.
Podcast Plug
If you haven't already checked out our episode that covers events such as this, head on over to The Lunita Podcast and give S2E2: Exploring the Supernatural a listen. Remember to subscribe to the Podcast, leave us a review if you like the show, and give us a follow on Instagram for updates and conversations with the community.
The When and Where
When I was younger, 16 years old, in the Fall 0f 2003, I had an experience that changed/shaped my life forever.
I was at Virgin Run, a lake in Southwestern Pennsylvania, fishing with two friends of mine, JT and BS. Those two fell asleep earlier than I did, and I continued fishing because I didn’t know what else to do with myself. I was awake, had a six-pack of beer left, and it was a beautifully clear night.
At about midnight, a strange fog rolled over the lake.. an eerie feeling for a young person such as myself, but I was a little drunk, and I had some weed left in the pipe, so confidence ran through the veins. I hit the weed, relaxed, smoked a cigarette and continued to drink what beer was left.
The Strange Man
As I pulled on my cigarette, sat my beer down, and relaxed into the chair, I noticed a figure coming out of the fog on my right; it was a man… no flashlight, no gear, and no sign of where he my have come from.
I stared in his direction, as I’m sure most would, and he continued toward me. As he approached, our eyes locked. He walked, for what seemed an eternity, the distance between myself and him.
He passed in the patch of grass directly behind me, between the tarp my friends slept on and the chair I was sitting in while fishing.
Doing exactly as any other human being would do, I continued to watch him as he walked past… he continued to watch me as well.
He passed, twisting his head in my direction to keep eye contact every step of the way.
He continued off into the fog on my left, and he disappeared. I didn’t think much of it.. stranger in the woods… foggy night.. no one within sight or sound other than the two teens passed out on the tarp in the grass behind me.. I was an effing teenager! What was I supposed to think?!
I lit another cigarette, tossed the line out, swigged the beer, and looked upward; the sky beckoned me.
The Shooting Star
Obviously confused by the night up to this point, I attempted to shake it off, as most teens would. I looked into the sky, pondering life’s mysteries and the odd arrangement of events that led me to this point... this moment.
Suddenly, across the dark sky, from the right, came a shooting star.
“How Lucky am I?” I thought to myself, seeing the star as a sign of good fortune and beauty.
Before I could comprehend the true nature, or even the mathematical distance of this object, the “star” halted to a stop, mid-air, jolted to the right, back to the left, and shot off into outer space with a streak that left me stunned.
Before I could blink, a piercing pain shot through the bone of my left eye socket.
Awake
I burst with fury from the ground, pulling my fist toward the sky, and released the weight of my anger into the tarp, burying whatever had struck me as quickly and ferociously as I could.
I pummeled what I believed was a scorpion to death with my bare fists… What lie under the tarp had stung my eye so furiously that I could not have empathy for its existence.
As I pulled the tarp up, afraid of what still may be alive underneath, I realized that the only thing I managed to smash was the tarp into dirt… there was no creature… no scorpion... nothing.
A sudden panic flooded over me -- a panic that seemed timeless… a panic that consumed my entirety… a panic that has frightened me to this day.
I twisted, eyes bolting from side to side, attempting to catch whatever light I could, whatever images/shapes may be out there in the darkness.
What just happened? How did I get on the tarp? When did I fall asleep? What was that light? What did I see? Did I see ANYTHING?
The thoughts just kept running, and there didn't seem to be an answer to any of them.
Fear
I sat lakeside, on the tarp with two sleeping humans, rocking back and forth with my legs cradled into my arms. What time was it?
I looked at my phone: 4:30 am.
Four hours of my life had disappeared in a flash with no evidence except a terrifying feeling and an increasingly painful lump on the side of my eye.
I choked on my own breath.
I held back tears.
Physically, I was locked in place, unable to even bring myself to grab the bodies next to me or utter a sound loud enough to wake the two teens mere inches away.
I stayed locked in a pose of child-like terror for the next three hours, holding my knees to my chest and rocking back and forth.
Gone, Never to Return...
As the sun rose, the eyes of the two teens, seemingly unaffected by the horrors of the night, opened, and their arms stretched wide, as if coming out of a peaceful slumber.
I bolted up, finally able to use my limbs after hours of immobilization, and I gathered my items without a word spoken.
I can’t imagine that there wasn’t some sort of curiosity and confusion, possibly even fear, from the other two, but the only thing on my mind at the time was to get the F*** out of there.
I attempted to avoid eye contact with the two, packing everything quickly and uncharacteristically jamming what I could into my bag before damn-near sprinting to my car. I said my goodbyes, barely, and I hopped into the car. I took off -- frightened, confused, and in pain.
Subsequent Events Concerning My Left Eye
Over the course of the next day, my left eye, the eye that had been "stung", swelled to the size of a golf ball; the odd thing about it was that it did not bruise, and it did not bring with it any pain, internally or to the touch.
Just as quickly as it swelled, the swelling decreased. It was as if nothing had ever occurred. It was as if I had dreamt the entire incident... but I didn't. I had two people that confirmed that I was at the lake that night; that I had acted strangely the next morning.
Over the years, I've spoken with quite a few people within the spiritual community, the extra-terrestrial community, the psychedelic community... I've practiced meditation, undergone hypnotherapy and regression, experienced altered states of consciousness using plant medicines, and always, some way or another, my left eye is a point of focus.
I don't know the significance, symbology, physiological reasoning, or anything else behind the left eye, and to this day, I have more questions than answers regarding my experience on that foggy October night, but I know something happened, and I feel obligated to continue my journey toward the truth.
Ridicule and a Message
In the weeks following this occurrence, I was compelled to create a presentation on abductions by Extra-terrestrial Beings; although I created what I thought was a fairly reasonable argument for the existence of such beings, I was mocked and ridiculed by my teacher and fellow students for being “stupid” and a liar. My teacher basically accused me of fabricating a story because she believed I wasn't competent enough to talk on any other subject.
Well, to that I say, my lived experiences may have frightened your small mind, but just because you can't handle the existence of a world larger than your perspective doesn't mean I am less than you.
A message to those that continue to write off what they have not personally experienced:
People's lived experiences do not exist to contradict your own. I suggest you relieve yourself of your burden of superiority and open your eyes to the possibility that there are some experiences that you may never live, and that's alright; some of those you should be grateful for never having to experience.
This is only a piece of the full story, and I plan on sharing more. I HAVE returned to Virgin Run since then, and it was an entirely different eerie story in itself.
It's my hope that by sharing, we can begin to break some of the stigma of these experiences and grow as a community.
A few other experiences you may be interested in:
I'd also like to take a second to share "Invasion on Chestnut Ridge", a documentary covering weird and supernatural happenings in Southwestern Pennsylvania (literally minutes from where Lunita co-creator, Justin, grew up)
If you have any questions or experiences YOU would like to share, reach out to us on our Instagram or email us at Lunita@Lunita.nyc. We would love to hear from you.
Wishing you all health, happiness, and love.