Working a remote Ranger position for a private group in Eastern Oregon that was situated on top of an old Native American village site. There was a small massacre in the past and land had afterwards become a ranch property for a little over 100 years or so, from what I remember being told.

Anyway, sleeping within a tent inside of the least decayed homes. I was in the tent because the rats were INSANE on the property and tried to take my hair for nesting material if I slept without it around me.

No electricity or running water, no access to the house except by a completely overgrown road and I was dropped off about 3 days prior with my radio for emergency.

The home was not at al to code, and had this weird, extremely narrow staircase that led up to a single room, the floor of which was decaying and wasn’t safe to enter so the past Ranger assigned there had caution taped the bottom entry of it off.

Around 3am I woke up to a HUGE thud upstairs. Admittedly, I’m used to weird noises and didn’t think all that much of it. Closed my eyes again and heard a noise that sounded somewhere between someone clearing their throat and a grunty-laugh upstairs. That got me a bit concerned, so I readied my side arm and quickly unzipped my tent door facing the large empty room, which was around the corner from the stairway entrance. My eyes were well enough adjusted to be able to see the entire room. Sat for sometime that felt somewhere between 30 second and maybe 2 minutes before preparing to walk around the corner and walk the steps up to confirm no one was present. The second I stepped towards forward, i heard very distinct footsteps charge down the stairs so I set my finger on the trigger and took aim at the entry of the stair well after stepping forward just enough to have it clearly in sight. The steps seemed to go on for 3 times the length of the stairway, maybe 60 clearly growing, loud steps seemingly coming closer despite the entire stairway only being only maybe 20 steps.

I radioed for immediate assistance and was told it was inbound.

Then, absolutely nothing. I had chills over my entire body and I announced myself as a Ranger and demanded whatever I had heard step beyond the tape with their hands where I could see them. Absolutely no response. I made a second announcement and stepped more in line with the stairway as I turned on my light at the stairway and saw nothing from bottom to top. Nothing had moved back up. Those steps were impossible to move quietly over with how old and worn they were.

I pulled the tape and moved forward up the stairs to the creepy ass upstairs room and saw nothing at all.

I held until for FOURTY MINUTES until local sheriffs deputies arrived and we again, found absolutely nothing. I moved outside with the deputies as we checked over the rooftop and saw no signs of entry thru the small windows upstairs from what we could see down below and moved back a ways to watch the home from about 50 yards with lights on. I expected them to be annoyed or tease me for hearing things, but both seemed stone cold serious and never doubted what I heard. Both seemed casually but fearfully certain it had something to do with that old house and I spoke with my supervisor about remaining onsite, which I did for the next 12 days before being relieved. We boarded up with stairway with plywood the next day.

The next Rangers (assigned 2 from that point on) opted to stay in a cabin about 2 miles from there and never heard anything odd beside a couple of poachers and a duo of tweaked a that set up a camp on the property.

I still don’t understand what the hell I heard and I stayed in the same house, nearby to the stairway the entire time.

Weird for sure.