As a child, child, I felt there was something very special about the nights of the full moon.

For two days before and two days after the night of peak fullness, the natural world is a glow with the blue silver illumination that has fascinated mankind for thousands of years.

In the days when superstition ruled the mind of man,

our ancestors assigned great powers to this other worldly light and the unfailing cycle of the blue white

orb which produced it. Because we have a weakness not shared by the predators of the night, we naturally fear the things that come out to hunt in the darkness.

Human beings have eyesight that evolved for daylight activity, not for seeing the details hidden in the shadows

of a forest after the sun goes down. Therefore we have an innate fear of the darkness and the beast that inhabit it.

There are those among us who seem to lack this fear, at least they give the appearance

of not being afraid. Those are individuals who will have the opportunity to see what I have

seen. Only recently have I developed a deeply felt, well, I started to say respect, let's call it what it is.

It's fear.

That's right, I now fear the things that I know to be out there in the dark.

We've all heard the stories of werewolves and their remarkable abilities and characteristics.

At least the ones that Hollywood has bestowed upon these terrifying creatures of legend.

I will now tell you about my experiences with the things and the dark.

These are my only encounters with what I believe to be one of these

nocturnal beasts. I pray they are my last encounters. It was early spring and the nights on Lookout Mountain in Alabama

were cool enough to be uncomfortable without a jacket. It was a kind of night that you can see your breath as you exhale.

I owned a four-wheeler and I frequently rode the south ridge of Lookout Mountain.

I especially enjoyed riding trails into thousands of acres of

woods near my home on the nights of the full moon. The silver light shining

through the trees on the narrow winding roads and trails is usually

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