The Eerie Forest

There is a pervasive element of
mood, one of dark gloom in that
forest interior. Without, a clear sky
and the brilliance of a mid-afternoon
summer sky, but within as though
the silent brooding of an arcane menace
hovers nearby slipping from tree trunk
to tree trunk, observing the presence
of unaware but oddly perturbed
hikers whose visceral reaction
to the landscape of a strangely
primitive-appearing forest arrests
their notice briefly, exiting their
consciousness in a shrug. Underfoot,
the forest floor is damp and foetid, the
ambient atmosphere thick with the
drama of suspense, though nothing
untoward occurs. The presence of
huge old hulking maples and pines
scarred by time and the elements
hint at mysteries while the understory
of giant ferns reflects a primitive past.
Nothing stirs, no sound but the
breathing of a pair of hikers who have
lost their bearings, concerned and
exhausted, half convinced they have
ventured into the past. Grey clouds 
of mosquitoes rising from a swamp
surround them, enveloping them in
a fog of confusion. The forest is unmoved,
it had not, after all, invited their presence.