Origin: Maine

Legend has it that in Black Hollow, Maine, the towering pine forest is haunted by the spirit of a vengeful mother whose cries echo through the night, luring travelers to their doom.

In 1904, a reclusive woman named Agnes Calloway lived on the outskirts of Black Hollow. She was known for her strange behavior and fiery temper, often muttering about curses and warnings to anyone who approached her. Tragedy struck when her young son, Henry, wandered into the forest and never returned. Search parties combed the area, but all they found was a tattered red scarf near the edge of a deep ravine. Devastated, Agnes blamed the townsfolk for ignoring her warnings about the forest's "hungry" nature. One fateful night, her cabin burned to the ground, and her charred body was discovered clutching Henry’s favorite toy. Witnesses claimed they heard her wails above the crackling flames. Since then, locals reported hearing agonized cries in the forest, and those who ventured in were either never seen again or returned gibbering about shadowy figures and whispers in the trees.

“I was camping near Black Hollow last summer,” said Adam Harper, a seasoned hiker. “I heard this piercing cry—like someone was dying. Then I saw her: a woman in black, her eyes hollow, pointing at me. I ran, but I felt her following me, whispering my name.”

To this day, the wails of Agnes Calloway are said to haunt Black Hollow. Locals advise never entering the woods after dark—because she’s still searching for her lost son.