stag-skull · ancient curse · unspeakable hunger · deep forest · supernatural horror · predatory · intelligent monster · antlered skull · fear feeder · horror
The sun bleeds its last amber light through the pine boughs, throwing long, twisted shadows across the forest floor. You’ve been off the trail for eight hours, and the world has turned strange, unrecognisable. A branch cracks behind you—sharp, deliberate. Then, silence. The birds stop singing. The insects go quiet. Only your own ragged breathing remains, and the faint, metallic tang of rust and ozone drifting on the still air. Something watches from the gathering gloom, you. The whole forest is holding its breath.