There's something strange in the woods of
Maine. It's bipedal, walks upright like a human being, and is occasionally heard
to mumble strange vocalizations far, far away from all civilization. Even stranger
still, the creature has an appetite for peanut butter and has been known to break into remote
cabins to steal bread to compliment its favorite snack with. It's never harmed anyone, but
local residents still live in terror of it. But that's no bigfoot, it's fugitive
Christopher Knight, who fled his home in Massachusetts in 1986 and spent almost thirty
years living completely alone in the woods. The tale of the white phantom, the North Pond
Hermit, would only come to light in 2013. On a fateful night in April of 2013, Knight sneaks
towards the site of a summer camp he's become accustomed to stealing from. He moves silent as
a ghost, every square inch of his woods memorized after 27 years living in the wild. He's careful
to step where he knows he'll leave no tracks, and as he slinks up onto the sleeping
summer camp, he's as silent as a ghost. He uses a screwdriver to force open
the door of the camp's dining hall, knowing that he'd be able to score a few
pounds of food from the freezer. The camp staff had taken to locking the freezer after
his numerous raids over the year, but Knight had discovered a key to the padlock and stolen that on
a previous raid. Now the missing food left campers scratching their heads, seemingly disappearing
out of a still-locked freezer all on its own. This was something he'd been doing for
years, Knight has the routine down pat and uses his expert woodsman skills to move
completely unheard by the sleeping campers. But in the 27 years Knight had spent living in the
wild, he'd failed to understand how technology had evolved. Completely unaware, Knight sets off
a motion detector installed by Game Warden Sergeant Terry Hughes, who'd become obsessed
with catching the phantom thief for years. Hughes sneaks down to the camp and calls
the local Sheriff's office for backup, then surprises Knight as he exits the camp
dining hall, bag full of stolen food and candies. Soon he was in handcuffs and in
the back of a sheriff's vehicle, but still Knight refused to answer any
questions. Finally, he began to speak, admitting that he remained silent at first out of
shame for what he'd done. As he spoke though it became clear that it took effort, almost as if he
was struggling to remember how to properly speak. This was after all only the third human
interaction he'd had in almost thirty years. Months before this a son and father duo had
stumbled across his camp, and they had exchanged only a few words with the two fishermen agreeing
to keep quiet about the hermit, who simply wished to be left alone. Years before that he'd come
across a hiker and simply nodded, and said “hi”. In thirty years, Christopher
Knight had spoken less words with another human being than you use
to order your food at a restaurant. The officers asked Knight how long he'd
been in the woods, but Knight was confused. He had long ago stopped keeping track
of the passage of time, and he simply asked when the chernobyl nuclear disaster
had occurred. That was the year he had taken to living in the woods, 1986.
Knight had never seen a cell phone, never heard of the internet, and blessedly,
had no clue what a 'Kardashian' was. Seeking to avoid being discovered, Knight
had set up a secret camp amongst some large boulders in a strand of trees, then taken
the time to carefully camouflage the area. He went so far as to not light cooking
fires, eating his food raw or using a small propane stove when available, and slept
during the day, moving about only at night. Living in the wild however was not easy for
Knight, especially in the notorious Maine winters. In order to survive, Knight had committed
something like 1,000 burglaries, breaking into homes and cabins- but he only did it when
he was sure nobody was around, and he never stole anything of value. He only took food, propane
tanks, clothing, and most importantly: books to read. Hundreds of them, which were his only
companions during his lonely three decades alone. A background check showed that Knight
had no previous criminal record, but he was the only suspect in something close
to 1,000 burglaries reported over the 27 years that he lived in the woods. He was arrested
and transferred to a jail in the state capital, where he slept in a bed for the first
time in almost thirty years. His arrest was quickly made public, drawing stunned
disbelief from many in the local community. These people had been reporting strange events
for decades, some turning to the paranormal for answers. Flashlights would mysteriously
be missing their brand new batteries, food disappeared from fridges, and brand new
propane tanks on cooking grills would, at dawn, be replaced with old, empty tanks. Eventually, stories began to take shape and
give the mysterious thief an identity: the North Pond Hermit. Hundreds of people had their
own stories to tell, all reporting mysterious thefts or break-ins. Each story was largely the
same- nothing of any real value was ever taken, only cold weather clothing, batteries, food,
occasionally even tools. At a homeowner's meeting in 2002 one man said how when he was
10 years old all his Halloween candy had been stolen. Many refused to believe that someone
was actually committing all these robberies, and even when Knight was captured they refused
to accept the story as true- but it was. Knight was charged with multiple counts of
burglary, but ultimately was given only a 7 month sentence. He expressed deep regret over
his stealing, but had found it a necessary evil in order to survive in one of the worst winter
areas of the entire country. After his sentencing, even the prosecution agreed that a harsher
sentence would have simply been cruel. While in prison, Knight's condition seemed to
deteriorate. Out in the wilds he'd taken cold sponge baths and carefully groomed his hair in
order to avoid suspicion if spotted by hikers or campers. But while in jail, he'd simply let his
beard grow wild and unkempt. The noise of all the other inmates and the general filthiness of the
prison grated at Knight, who was used to unspoiled nature and complete solitude. He attempted to
strike up conversations with other inmates, but he was so far behind the times that he simply
couldn't relate. Movies, books, tv shows- he had absolutely nothing in common, a man totally out of
time, and it showed even in the way that he spoke. One inmate said that he spoke “like a book”,
and after that Knight simply stopped speaking. During that time Knight struck up a friendship
with a reporter for GQ magazine, and the two exchanged frequent letters. In those letters
Knight revealed more details of his time spent in the wilds, like how he tried to stockpile supplies
for the winter months in order to avoid leaving footprints in the snow for others to discover. He
also spoke of the times he almost died- which were frequent during the bitterly cold Maine winters.
In order to cope with not enough food or too much cold, he would turn to meditation. He also
expressed deep regret over his many burglaries. Knight also talked about his survival strategies.
In spring and summer he'd do his best to fatten up, eating as many calories as possible and
imbibing any alcohol he could steal. Much like a hungry bear, his goal was to fatten up for the
hard winters, and he stepped up his burglaries from April to September. Once the snows began to
fall however, he holed up in his hidden campsite, determined not to leave and give away
his presence with fresh bootprints. Winter in Maine can be tough, and there were many
times he feared he'd die from starvation or cold. Meditation helped, as did his many
stolen books which helped keep his mind off the pain of an empty belly or
the freezing cold. As soon as the birds returned however and their songs filled the
woods, he knew that summer was on its way. After his imprisonment, Knight paid
$2,000 in restitution to the victims that could be identified- many of them by Knight
himself. He was also reunited with his family, and secured a job working with one of his
brothers. His two brothers had kept his mother's spirits alive ever since his disappearance
from his Massachusetts home by telling her that he was likely out west somewhere,
and never once hinted that he may be dead. When he originally disappeared the desperate
family hadn't reported him missing, but had hired a private investigator
to try and find him. Knight however had driven his car up to the deep woods
in Maine, then simply left it parked at the end of a trail with the keys on
the dash, and walked into the forest. But why did Christopher Knight become a hermit
for 27 years? When asked, he himself admitted that he didn't know. When he found his original
campsite back in 1986, he said that he simply felt like this was the first place where he felt
at ease, and could give no more reason than that. Now go check out Russian Family Who Had Never Seen
Another Human, or click this other video instead!
