What lies in the woods? The Nature Center here at Pace University offers a wooded area that students can explore, with a hiking trail split into many different paths. However, if you have ever gone off-trail, you will notice just how large the wooded area truly is. Recently, a bizarre discovery was made far into the trees.
From the picture, it seems to be 4 wooden beams creating an arch shape, with a deer skull pinned to the top of it. There are multiple strings hanging down from it with various bottle caps attached to them. Dylan Paczkowski, a Sophomore Environmental Science major, was the one who came across the strange structure.
“We had an assignment to go into the woods here on campus and put up trail cameras to keep track of the wildlife”, Paczkowski said. “I’ve been on the trails back there a few times and never noticed anything strange. The spot where we had to put the first camera was all the way in the back, close to the highway and not very close to any of the trails used by people. It was just down the slope from where we put up out first camera. I had no idea what it was and I thought it was creepy. I took a picture of it so I could ask around to see if anyone knew what it was, but nobody even knew it existed. If anyone’s got theories, I’d love to hear them.”
There are a varying number of conclusions people can draw. The first thing that might come to mind is that it could be a part of some hazing activity done by a Greek Life Organization on campus. However, after asking around, no one has claimed it to be theirs and were instead surprised to see it. Tara Moloney is a member of Phi Sigma Sigma’s E-board and had this to say about the discovery.
“That is in no way related to Greek life on campus. It’s funny that people think it is to be honest.”
Another conclusion you could draw is that it was made by the film students here on campus as a prop for a scary movie they are creating. This would not be the first time this happened. Years ago, a wooden structure was made next to the trail referencing The Blair Witch Project, a found footage film about film students who get lost in the woods while creating a documentary about a local murderer. Film students at Pace had recreated it to use for a student film they made and released to the public. However, no film student has come forward about the deer skull structure being their creation, and no student film has been released involving it. While the Blair Witch structure was built directly next to the trail, easily visible to students walking on it, this structure was built deep into the woods, far from the public eye.
Could it just be something spooky to celebrate the Halloween season? That is possible, but we currently have no way of knowing when this was created. It could have been recent, but it also could have been months, or even years ago.
This discovery has puzzled many people on campus, among them being Jacob Reiter, the Nature Center Manager.
“To be honest with you, I have no clue what it might be for. It could be indicative of some trail usage by non-Pace folks, or just something that Pace students decided to put up. Truly I’m not really sure, and I’ll continue to look into it.”
For now, the Pace Community is in the dark as to what this creation is, and what purpose it serves. If anyone has any information, feel free to reach out. It could be harmless, sure, but we do not know that for sure. If you have any theories, we would love to hear them. For now, it is a mystery, and time will tell if it will ever be solved.