Imagine you’re driving down a desolate country road late one night, nothing on your mind other than getting home and relaxing after a long day; when you see something horrifying and inexplicable standing alongside the road. As you pass by you see a bloody figure of a man staring blankly ahead. Seeing this disturbing figure is just the start and within seconds things take a terrifying turn. This is a bizarre story, like something out of a horror film. It would make a great plot line, especially for the fact that it really happened.
It all took place on the night of July 31, 2021 around 11:00 near Black River in Curry County, North Carolina when a young man, known only as “T” in documents, related that he was driving in from Florida to visit family, headed down NC210. Black River branches off the Cape Fear River in the southwestern part of North Carolina. The area Caller T was driving through is known for desolate tree lined country roads and stretches of murky swamps. Nearby lies the Moores Creek National Battlefield, a park that commemorates the 1776 victory of a group of patriots over loyalists at Moore’s Creek. Other the years the battlefield has been the site of numerous stories of ghosts and other paranormal events. Officers have responded to numerous calls from people hearing noises coming from the battlefield and seeing things there that they could not explain. Pender county is also known for a history of unexplained phenomenon and sightings of bizarre beings, including one particularly frightening one known as “The Rake.”
In an interview for Carolina Case Files, T stated it was a pitch black moonless night without a star visible. He had just started going around the long winding curve that is right before Black River near Moore’s Battlefield and was about a third of the way through the curve when he thought he saw something along the road. When he looked again, he saw what he believed to be a man, around 30 years old or so, standing in the ditch on the left side of the highway. Even more shocking was that the man was wearing a ragged and bloody Civil War uniform and his head was wrapped in a bloody bandage. T immediately called 911 because the man appeared to need immediate medical attention.
This would have been enough to spook anyone, and it certainly did for T; but the incident quickly turned personal. While on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, he heard a loud “thud” and eerie scratching on the hood of his truck. Then the truck jolted downward as if something heavy landed on it. Puzzled, he turned his truck bed lights on to see what happened and what he saw totally freaked him out. Through the cab window, he could see a face peering back at him. But this was no normal face. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. What looked at him was skull-like and ghostly white. Utterly terrified, he screamed into the phone, “That is not human, that is not human!”According to T, it had large deeply sunken eyes and no nose or ears that he could make out. His mind raced; trying to think of what to do. Alone in the middle of nowhere with nothing in which to defend himself except for his woodcutting ax, he felt defenseless. .
T said he had been traveling around 55-60 miles an hour at the time. When he saw the face in the window, he stomped on the gas pedal for a few seconds, then slammed on the brakes, going from 80 mph down to 35 in seconds. With this, the long skinny form flipped over the truck and rolled onto the highway. Swerving back into his lane, he floored it. As he did, the thing got up. After he drove past it, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw it run into the woods. He said it was about seven feet tall with bizarrely long limbs. Still shaking, he sped down the highway towards Johnson’s Corner and didn’t stop until he got to the gas station at the 421 intersection.
He pulled into the parking lot and waited in his truck for the state troopers to come, petrified with fear that the thing might have followed him. When troopers arrived, they took his report and inspected his truck. They noted that there were scratches on the top of the truck, which corroborated the scratching sound heard. T described them as ripping scrapes, as if it was trying to hold onto the cab with its nails. He then led them to where he thought he saw the bloody man but unfortunately wasn’t sure of the exact spot. They were quite skeptical of his story at the time. Once highway patrol got to Johnson’s Corner, they took over the investigation as a traffic incident. An emergency medical team as well as Fish and Wildlife personnel also arrived to investigate. Fish and Wildlife flew a drone over the area in search of the alleged injured man but nothing was found. Notably, Sheriff Alan Cutler, who was also interviewed by Carolina Case Files, stated that based on how long it would have taken T to get to Johnson’s Corner matched his description of events. However, as for what it was that jumped into T’s truck; the official report concluded that it was most likely a turkey, although not everyone was convinced of that determination. It’s doubtful that T is convinced of that.
Even if you take his account at face value, this case raises more questions than answers. For starters who or what did he see standing on the side of the road? Was there really a bloodied man on the side of the road or his imagination playing tricks on him; brought on by long hours on the road? If the man was really there, what happened to him? If not, was it the tortured soul of a long deceased Civil War soldier? Either way, this part of the story has never been fully addressed. Then there’s the obvious question: What was it that jumped into Caller T’s truck that night? He obviously experienced SOMETHING frightening.
The 911 tape is real. I listened to it several times. The terror in his voice is truly chilling. The loud thump and the scratching are clearly audible, then a mechanical sound possibly from when he hit the brakes. However, I also noted that his extreme fear seemed to abate almost immediately after saying the thing rolled off into the road, at which point he spoke to the dispatcher in a calm, even voice. This seemed a bit unusual to me.
This story has garnered a lot of media attention recently, inviting a lot of speculation and theories as to what T experienced on that deserted highway in 2021. Those of the paranormalist persuasion believe that T may have had a close encounter with the terrifying entity known as a “Rake, ” based on his description. While many people have never heard of this horrific creature, within paranormal circles, there aren’t too many things that provoke as much fright and speculation as the Rake. While the true origins are not certain, whether from ancient folklore or other legends; modern stories of this terrifying creature began circulating around the internet in 2005 when alleged sightings began to surface. Like T’s description, the Rake has been described as an extremely gaunt humanoid being with abnormally long arms and legs, deathly pale skin and very large sunken eyes, standing around six to eight feet tall. Another disturbing aspect of the Rake is that it can suddenly appear as if out of nowhere in the dark of night. This seems to be the case with T’s encounter. People who have claimed to have encountered the Rake say it is extremely agile and moves with uncanny speed. While these descriptions vary somewhat, its basic characteristics remain consistent overall, as does its effect on witnesses. Typically, anyone who claims to have encountered it was overcome with fear and dread. Some claimed to have woken up at night to see the Rake in their bedroom watching them; others say they had caught glimpses of it outside their homes at night, lurking in the shadows.
One of the most interesting aspects of this case is the 911 recording: The blood-curdling scream, the scratching sounds which were later confirmed by scratches on the truck, as well as the timeline of events; offers some objective evidence that something really happened out there. Even so, we still have to take T’s word for what he actually witnessed that night. From an investigator’s viewpoint, that is difficult when little is known about his credibility, as he wishes to remain anonymous. Certainly in listening to his interview, he does sound sincere. It is also notable that it doesn’t appear that he wants fame. In fact, he continues to be reluctant to talk about his encounter at all. As he related in his Carolina Case Files interview, he didn’t know what he saw that night, but knows he never wants to see it again. To this day he refuses to drive that route at night. One can hardly blame him.
Skeptics have dismissed reports like T’s as hoaxes, delusions, or misidentification of animals, but to those who claim to have encountered one, the fear and its effects are absolutely real. The horror of encountering something so totally unexplainable and malevolent reportedly had a profound impact on witnesses. Many reported suffering from insomnia, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorders after their encounters.
These encounters have been investigated for a number of years now but unfortunately no conclusions have been made in these alleged Rake encounters. If it does really exist, some paranormalists suggest it could be a supernatural or interdimensional being, cryptid or perhaps even an alien entity. We may never know what T encountered that night on Highway 210. But whatever it was, it’s possible that it is still out there, terrifying unsuspecting people like T who dare to venture into the dark. So the next time you’re driving down a lonely, deserted highway in the middle of the night, keep your wits about you. For those shadows you see that may be something other than the trees; it may be The Rake. Watching, waiting…for you.
Thank you for watching the Muskegon Channel. See you next time on Paranormal Muskegon.
Have a paranormal story you would like to hear, share or know someone has had a paranormal experience, unusual ability, or other inexplicable involvement with the unknown, contact me at mariehelena777@gmail.com or on facebook: www.facebook.com/paranormalmuskegon.
To read more about some of Muskegon’s haunted history; check out my book: Haunted Muskegon – Arcadia Publishing or Haunted Newaygo County also through Arcadia Publishing for more local Michigan ghost stories.
Sources:
Leigh, Heather. “Paranormal 101: Unveiling the enigma: The rake.” Exploration paranormal, website. April 8, 2024. https://explorationparanormal.wordpress.com/2024/04/08/paranormal-101-unveiling-the-enigma-the-rake/ Accessed July 11, 2026.
Carolina Case Files podcast.“Video: Real 911 audio-dispatch call logs reveal CLASS A rake encounter in North Carolina.” The confessionals podcast, website. Video. 2026.
https://www.theconfessionalspodcast.com/the-blog/2025/9/26/video-real-911-audio-dispatch-call-logs-reveal-class-a-rake-encounter-in-north-carolina Accessed July 11, 2026.
Black River. Wikipedia. Page edited July 14, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_River_(North_Carolina)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_River_(North_Carolina) Accessed July 7, 2026.
Moore’s Creek National Battlefield. Wikipedia. Page edited July 6, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moores_Creek_National_Battlefield
Shaffer, Josh. “NC sheriff: Scary 911 call with man screaming ‘that’s not human’ really happened. The news & observer, website. Originally published October 27th, 2025, updated on October 31, 2025, 9:03 a.m. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article312620866.html Accessed July 6, 2026.
Ravenwood, Juniper. “Exploring the mystery of Highway 210’s phantom creature. Shadow frequency podcast website. September 27, 2025.
https://www.shadowfrequencypodcast.com/blog/exploring-the-mystery-of-highway-210s-phantom-creature/ Accessed July 7, 2026.
