This was really fantastic! I can identify with you because I actually grew up not far from woods that had, let's say, a "blurry" history.
I was born and brought up in Smithfield, Rhode Island. My family had purchased a blot of land directly adjacent to a large wooded area that we simply referred to as "the back."
This area was actually marked by the local historical society and even had a cemetery with some of the stones dating back to the mid to late 1700's. It was actually the "Smith" family cemetery. More than likely these were people who were related to the folks that gave their name to the town.
In my early teens I decided to visit the local public library and do a little research. I found quite a bit of material and learned that in those woods there was once a settlement called Hanton City, and the main industry of this town was mining granite. In fact, much of the granite used to build early sidewalks and roads across the state came from this town.
I decided to further my research by doing some exploring. I found lots of remnants of an old settlement, such as cellar holes, open wells, rock walls, and even some old artifacts such as spoons, knives, lanterns, and even a couple of horseshoes.
Sounds quite normal so far, right? Well, here's where it gets creepy. At some point in the mid 1800's, the settlement just ceased to exist. There were reports of people visiting the settlement and finding the entire town dead, and many people completely missing.
There were several theories put out there in an effort to explain what happened. Some people claimed it was a plague. Others claimed they were attacked by Native Americans. Some say they were attacked by outlaws and robbed. Supposedly there was quite a bit of money and gold in the town as they had a very lucrative business.
Nobody really knows, but I can tell you that when you are up there a very eerie feeling comes over you. It's not really something that you can put into words, but it's like you are being watched. It just makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up!