As promised, we returned to the house in Egg Harbor for a surveillance mission of the property. As you may know, back in February of 2004 there was a very incredible sighting that took place. We researched the sighting in March, and have kept in contact with the family ever since. Throughout these past months, the family has continued to experience strange events, though none as incredible as February's sighting. Frequently, there have been continual thumps on their roof, and other strange noises around the area. We wanted to follow up with the area and see if anything is still going on out there.

Once we had gathered up all the equipment, and after some conversation with the family on the updated events, we headed out deep into the woods at the edge of their property. This seems to be the area that is the source of whatever is lurking around the house. This area is so unbelievably creepy, I can't even begin to explain it in words. It was about 10:30pm when we headed in, so it was pitch black. The brush was so thick and tall that we had to go back to get our machete out of the car.

Once we had the machete, we were good to go. Charley starting blazing a trail for us through the woods. There were spiders everywhere, which was awful. We had to pause to pick the ticks off of our pant legs a few times, despite the disgusting amount of bug spray we were wearing. We didn't realize how far in we had gone until we turned to look back at the house - we could barely see the lights in the distance through the trees (and their yard is full of lights so that they can see at night).

We picked a spot deep in the woods and took up our surveillance positions. Once we were situated and ready, one by one we turned off the flashlights. After a few seconds, our eyes adjusted to the dark. Kevin was watching the area through the night vision goggles, while listening to the sounds through the microphone. It was so quiet out there, it was unbelievable. Shortly after our eyes adjusted, we noticed that a fog started to drift into the area, completing the eerie scene. It almost started to appear bright to us out there. We could hear everything - the leaves falling from the trees, the rain hitting each branch, even the sounds of our own breathing at times. It was so still and quiet. When we turned back to look towards the house, we noticed that the trees we had walked through seemed much darker than the area we were standing in.

We stayed out there for a very long time, and a little before we were ready to leave, we turned the lights back on. What a difference that made! The area had started to look as though it was open, and our eyes were giving us the ability to see some depth in the trees. Once we turned on the lights, it seemed like it was darker again and we were tightly surrounded by the trees. It was really deceiving.

Before we turned on the lights, we had heard two thumps off in the distance. It was unclear what made the thumps, but it didn't seem too close. It sounded like it was off in the distance to our left. We weren't able to locate the source of the noise, even when we turned the lights on, and we didn't hear any other noises out there.

We headed back to the house and talked with the family about the woods, their experiences, and just things in general. At this point, it was much later - probably around 1:30 or 2:00am. We were having a good time (they are a very nice and entertaining family), but as the night progressed, we figured we'd probably head out of there soon - didn't want to overstay our welcome.

Suddenly, we heard the thumps again. This time it came from the edge of the woods, behind where we had been standing and talking. We turned to find the source and hit the woods with all of our flashlights and Charley's spotlight. The family saw something as we were turning - both Laurie and her oldest daughter thought they saw something that might have been crouched at the edge of the woods. They both pointed frantically at the spot. As soon as we got the flashlight on that spot, it was gone. Unfortunately, everything happened so quickly that none of the Devil Hunters were lucky enough to see it, though we did hear the noises that caused us all to turn and look. The family only saw something for a brief moment, so it's hard to say for sure what might have been there. It could have been anything.

So what were our thoughts? That place is creepy beyond belief. You can just feel the eerieness in your bones out there. Though we unfortunately did not catch a glimpse of what might have been crouched at the edge of the woods, we did hear the original noise, so it's very possible that something was out there. At this point, though, it's virtually impossible to rule anything out.

So did we have a brush with the Jersey Devil, or a silent wildcat, or even something else? Is their home being watched constantly by something or someone out there in the woods? I wish we knew for sure. Instead we're left wondering if the two incidents (the thing at the woods last night and the creature on the roof in February) are connected, or two separate freaky events.

Well, that's our story for Hunt #32. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected]. Want to join us? Click here for the online application!