Morbid

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Listener Tales 111: Camping Tales

Explore episode Jun 25, 2026
History
Ghost on the Appalachian Trail: Invisible Footsteps at the Shelter

Listener Tales 111: Camping Tales · Jun 25, 2026 History

Twenty days into her solo Appalachian Trail hike, listener Katie heard heavy footsteps approaching her shelter from multiple directions — but when she stepped outside with bear spray raised, nobody was there. She called a hostel sobbing, was picked up by a maintenance driver who calmly explained that the trail runs through Native lands with known angry spirits, and discovered her protection crystal had shattered. She went back and finished the trail anyway.

8m 25s

Where this was said

Tale 5 — How Ghosts Turned My Appalachian Trail Hike Into a Sprint

At 1:18:30 · chapter starts 1:17:00

Katie describes the scariest night of her life: 20 days into a solo hike of the Appalachian Trail in the off-season, alone in a large rectangular shelter, she begins hearing heavy footsteps approaching from multiple directions that stop before anyone appears. She presses her face against the hammock's bug net to see outside, but sees no one. The sound of what she can only describe as a baseball bat being dragged along the wooden siding of the shelter sends her into tears. She steps outside with bear spray raised and calls out — finding nobody. She texts her father her location in case something happens, calls multiple hostels in a panic, and eventually reaches a resort that sends a maintenance man to collect her at a road. In the truck, the driver calmly tells her the trail runs through Native lands and she had encountered angry spirits. Back at the resort, she discovers a protection crystal given to her by a friend has broken — her witchy friends later tell her it absorbed too much negative energy. Despite nearly ending her trip, Katie returns to the trail and completes all 2,083.5 miles in 30 days, hiking through the Smoky Mountains and listening to Morbid podcast throughout.

Sports
Katie Finishes the Appalachian Trail After a Ghost Encounter

Listener Tales 111: Camping Tales · Jun 25, 2026 Sports

Despite being driven from her shelter by invisible footsteps and paranormal activity, Katie refused to quit the Appalachian Trail. She completed the entire 2,083.5-mile trail in 30 days, listening to Morbid podcast for significant portions of the journey. She hiked through the Smoky Mountains and says she learned more about herself in those 30 days than in 22 years of life.

3 min

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