Somewhere in the shadows of the rural parts of Maine, there was a strange likeliness who was stealing the most unusual things from people’s homes. Since the perpetrator always ran away, and nobody has ever laid eyes on him, there were doubts about it actually being a human who was to blame for these robberies. It went so far as to assume that a supernatural force or a demon was behind the deeds. The little people knew was that there was something committing these crimes, that they were afraid, and that the police were powerless. If the fact that a mysterious thing entered homes and took ludicrous items tickles your curiosity, then read on to find out who really stands behind this fantastic story.
Creeps Slowly
For some good 30 years, the locals at North Pond in Maine had been disturbed by strange noises in the night. Often, people would be shaken out of their sleep by that noise, but once the lights were on they couldn’t see a thing out of the ordinary. They knew that something had been creeping slowly through the darkness. It was not long before they noticed that some things were taken from their homes.
There was a person that could make out a silhouette in the darkness, but that was all. But what was this thing? A demon? What sort of creature? And why did it opt to roam the houses of the locals? The residents of North Pond were so scared by the events that a feeling of uneasiness went over them each time they were to go to sleep.
Very Peculiar Robber
While they didn’t know who was committing these crimes, they knew that they were downright weird. The thief wouldn’t steal anything of value that could be sold and earn them a quick buck, but things like books, magazines, junk food, jeans, winter jackets, heavy boots, small radios, and batteries. And, because of such peculiarities, the thief did acquire some rather interesting nicknames such as the “North Pond Hermit”, “Maine’s Loch Ness monster”, the “stealthy yeti”, “the Hungry Man”, and “the Mountain Man.”
There were a number of things that enabled that creeping shadow never to remain mysterious. Just some of those things were that the houses were robbed in the middle of the week when the owners were not there, and the houses were so far from one another that the neighbours couldn’t possible see the thief. It turned out to be quite a strange case for the police. They made their promise that they are going to catch the person who was targeting the houses. But was there any ill intent on the side of the robber?
Constantly Watched
An ominous feeling became something that regularly filled the lives of the residents of North Pond. “We always felt like he was watching us,” said the local in an interview with GQ in 2014. Various means for surveillance like cameras were put up, doors and windows were secured. But, somehow the thief went around all of those obstacles. There was no other solution than to include the police.
The police received calls every day, but they couldn’t do a thing about the whole situation. Years after, they decided to put an end to the story. Since the police were unable to tie a face to the crimes they just filed a report in which the thief was dubbed “Hermit Hermit.” How is it possible that no one had seen the face of the burglar over those 27 years? Could it be that there were some supernatural forces at work there?
Things Changed
Things took a turn when the thief decided to take their business to Pin Tree Summer Camp in the Spring of 2013. It was an ideal place for running burglaries – it was easy to go by unnoticed, there was a lot of food and supplies the lack of which would probably go by unnoticed.
But, what the thief did not know was that the police were one step ahead of them. What is more, the camp was under police Sergeant Terry Hughes management. Sergeant Hughes was precisely the man who coined the plan of the thief’s catch. The hunt was on.
Tracking Every Move
Sergeant Hughes installed a lot of things in order to catch the thief, and the fact that the camp was deep in the woods was not going to stop him. Every move of the man who was stealing was to be caught, and because of that cameras, military-grade motion sensor and industrial-grade floodlights were assembled in the areas that had items the mystery man would steal – especially in the areas with food.
Since the camp was already a target of the man’s food hunts, a motion sensor with a silent alarm was put in the kitchen. During his last visit the man stole many items, and among them was a spare key to the kitchen. This indicated that the thief will come back, and all that was left for Sergeant Hughes to do was to wait.
The Alarm Went Off
When the alarm that was installed in the back of the ice machine at the home of Sergeant Hughes went off on the night of April 4, 2013, the sergeant hurried to the sight. He knew there would be someone at the kitchen, but he never imagined that the one he would see at the house wouldn’t be a criminal with weapons or a desperate homeless person who craved food.
Instead of seeing a person he had expected, Hughes saw a middle-aged man who was not only clean but well dressed. His face was freshly and smoothly-shaven and he was a tad overweight. But who was he? The sergeant knew this was his time to shine.
Finally Caught
While the man was walking out of the dining hall, Sergeant Hughes blinded him using a flashlight. The man was carrying a bag filled with food, and Hughes a gun in his hand. Hughes issued the order to “get on the ground.” Oddly enough, the thief complied with the orders as they were issued. As the man did so, pieces of candy fell to the ground. Sergeant Hughes and a state trooper – Officer Diane Perkins-Vance who was already at the scene, handcuffed the man to a chair.
The man complied with everything and he was peaceful. That is when the state trooper and the sergeant noticed that the man had pale skin and old glasses. No ID was found in his possession and at the very beginning, he refused to answer questions. But, as time passed he shared his story.
27 Years In The Woods
The man needed a good two hours to start talking. When they asked him why he wouldn’t answer any of the questions he simply retorted “ashamed.” Finally, he gave out his name – Christopher Thomas Knight. The officers expected that the man would say that he lived in the woods, but they didn’t expect that the man wouldn’t know for how long.
Knight could only remember that the Chernobyl disaster happened before he began living in the woods. That would mean that the man lived therefrom 1986. But what pushed this man into living in the woods, and stealing food and odd things for survival? And how did he survive 27 years?
Introduction
Christopher Thomas Knight came to this world on December 7, 1965. He was born in Albion Maine. He described himself as a loner and claimed he was like that ever since he was born. His family also followed that pattern. Knight said – “I had good parents. We’re not emotionally bleeding all over each other. We’re not touchy-feely.
Stoicism is expected.” He had trouble communicating and relating to people because he didn’t understand them beyond the basic level. At a young age, Knight lived in his own world and did the things that mattered to him the most. But, no one expected that he would go off the grid completely.
Promising Student
Christopher Thomas Night was a talented student back in his school days. His grades were high; he even completed high school early! Still, he never made a single friend. Not even in Boston that was completely different from Maine in many aspects. His school of choice there was Sylvania Technical School in Waltham, Mass. His area of choice was electronics.
Then he fulfilled his dream of owning a car. It was a Subaru that came into his possession through a loan from his brother. He still has not paid off that loan. But nobody ever knew that he would disappear from the face of the earth as he did.
Loner
Christopher Thomas Knight was just a kid who had dark-hair and spectacles and wanted to go by unnoticed by everyone. In his family, he was the middle child and had one younger sister and four older brothers. As a kid, he went with his father on hunting trips. On those trips his family wouldn’t sleep in a tent but at the back of their father’s pick-up truck. His childhood was okay, nothing too sad or turbulent.
His family kept things to themselves, his brothers and he had some healthy rivalry between them, and his parents promoted art and knowledge. His family was not a wealthy one. The boys were made to discuss poems every night and to enjoy science and physics as well. In his twenties, Christopher Knight worked and lived near Boston. His job was at the security industry where he installed alarms in homes and cars. His job was a secure one and his life seemed to be in place.
Unexpected
Everything seemed to be in its place when it comes to Knight’s life. No one would have guessed that he would go off the grid. He probably never even thought that he would be capable of pulling it off either. On top of that, it seemed as if there was nothing that triggered this – not even a sudden move. His job was getting along nicely, and so was his life.
But it seems that it was all too much for Knight. He just made a decision to leave, he said no goodbyes. He didn’t turn in his resignation notice. He just disappeared like that. “I had no plans when I left, I wasn’t thinking of anything. I just did it,” he said for an interview.
Leaving Possessions Behind
Christopher Thomas Knight just sat in his car and drove southward while following the sun. It was a very hot summer day. He drove his car until his gas tank was empty and then continued on foot until his Subaru was unnoticeable from the distance. Even his keys were left on the dashboard.
He wanted to leave even that possession of his life behind. The only thing he did have with him was a tent and his backpack. It’s a mystery how he even managed to get through a week, not to mention 27 years. All of this happened on the spur of the moment, not because it was planned.
Can’t Be Guided By Instincts
Christopher had no survival skills nor did he even train anything to obtain them. So, it would be incredibly easy for him to get hurt, starve and die in those woods while pursuing his simplicity, silence, and solitude.
During his first two weeks, he relied only on his innate instincts; however, he soon discovered that he cannot only be led by his innate desires and he had to pursue a path of crime.
A Way Out
As Knight had no intention to meet people or relate to them he was set on one thing – to wonder about and be completely alone on his way to getting lost. He had no prior intention to spend his life in the woods. Even the hunting gear that he did have, he didn’t bring with him.
“Soon I lost track of where I was. I didn’t care… I was content in the choice I had made,” said Knight when asked about his first few days in the woods. His first few days were filled with a berry hunt. But was this the way he would lead the rest of his life?
Peculiar Hermit
By definition, a hermit is a person who opts to live a secluded life, away from the outside world. The word may conjure up many different images. For some, it may be a crab that is in his spiralling shell and won’t come out, for some it is a picture of an older person who meditates somewhere in a cave and deals wise advice to strangers. Similarly, the reasons for the hermit lifestyle are various – some do it for religion, and others just enjoy the simplicity of such a life.
However, when it comes to Christopher Thomas, he was not a person who chose that lifestyle because of religion. He just wanted some peace and quiet away from human contact. Christopher had no obvious reason as to why he pursued the life of a hermit – it was simply something he did. And, despite being a hermit he did not beg for food or sell things in order to buy it.
Home Hunt
He just wanted to avoid other humans, and he was ready to do whatever necessary to do that. Even in avoiding other people, Christopher Tomas Knight needed a place he could call home.
While roaming the woods he tried out a few places before he made the decision on a spot where he could set up his things and where he could return to. But there were other things that he couldn’t escape from despite his efforts.
Food Hunts
It wasn’t long before it became obvious to Knight that the things he brought with him wouldn’t help him very much. Not when it came to food anyway. All of the edible plants he could collect in the woods would last him for the weekend, and he didn’t bring any tools with him to hunt fish. So, despite the size of the woods, there was not much to eat.
And this realization came to Knight during serious pangs of hunger. On his way to find food, he found a dead bird on the road. It was a chance to add a little bit of meat to his plant diet that was in need of new resources. He took the bird and ate it raw. But he had no idea of what he was capable.
Small Steps
When Knight noticed that he wouldn’t be able to live off the plants from the woods, he started taking things from people’s gardens. And, since he was so keen on avoiding people and any contact with them, he took special care not to be noticed.
Not only did he know not to barge in on people’s properties in the middle of the day but he also took very little form their gardens. He would take a cob of corn, or a tomato… Sometimes more vegetables, but never more than what could be blamed on a rabbit.
Shelter
Upon his decision to stay in the woods of Maine, Knight had to be practical and knew that he would need some kind of protection in the form of shelter, especially from the horrible Maine winters.
He did have his tent with him but he also knew that it would serve no purpose when it rained and the ground was muddy and malleable. That’s why he opted to spend one night in an empty cabin.
A Promise
Knight threw caution to the wind and spent the night in the cabin but it wasn’t at all relaxing and secure as he thought it might be. He spent the entire night in fear that the cabin’s true owner would come back.
Since he was untested and on the edge that someone would find him in the middle of the night in the darkness of the cabin he made a promise to himself never to sleep indoors. He didn’t even care about the harshness of conditions.
Trial And Error
From that point on, Knight was in desperate need to find the ideal place for him to settle in the woods. He tried various spots, from camp out by the river to those hidden under rocks but neither worked for him.
He even thought about living in unhabitable caves which would allow him to go unnoticed by the hikers, or that are just not approached because of a fear that a bear may run out of them but as chance would have it, he was about to find the perfect place.
Home Sweet Home
His new home was a place that Knight assumed no one would ever visit. It was unrelenting and cloying. There was a single road that led to it and beyond it were only rocks and dust. There were boulders which barred the sun and stopped it from casting its light. The only light was a few beams of light.
he only light was a few beams of light. Even the entrance to the area was hidden away – it couldn’t be seen by ordinary passers-by. He set up the tent as well. It was Knights new home and the beginning of a new life.
New Life
Knight set up his new home and got used to it. Sure, he needed to go past some damp earth and the conditions nature would throw at him, but that was something that didn’t happen all that often. Knight was resourceful, so he knew how to get water – he took snow and melted it.
Knight was resourceful, so he knew how to get water – he took snow and melted it. He put magazines on the floor of his tent to collect water. That’s why he was safe from thirst, but there was something else nature couldn’t really provide.
New Home
Christopher Thomas Knight’s home was something quite genius. It was in a clearing surrounded by boulders and their shadows. Knight lived among pieces of National Geographic Magazines. He used those pieces to cover the damp ground – they were something like a carpet.
He used those pieces to cover the damp ground – they were something like a carpet. But how did he get enough magazines in order to cover the ground like that? Now that was something for what he would need stealth and a cunning mind.
Blending In
Knight was so afraid that he would be found that he even took special care not to sneeze too loud. He reported that he didn’t want to be found and that that is why he was so careful not to leave footprints in the snow. Footprints of a human being would spark off worry and curiosity.
Which wasn’t the case with rabbit footprints, or raccoon footprints? But there was something Knight had in common with raccoons – he was able to enter homes and raid them without arousing any suspicion. You know..until one fateful night.
Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures
This story might not show it but Knight was a cautious man who was never too adventurous. Nor did he ever ask for more than the basic necessities needed for his survival.
But desperate times call for desperate measures – his hunger knawing at his tummy and his wits were losing him every day. He was really at brink of malnutrition and that’s why he ran the risk of facing another person.
The Arts Of Thievery
It is fairly obvious that with a career like his – in the area of security systems – he would know how to go by all of the security measures. But, he left nothing to chance. He studied the houses that he targeted carefully.
Knight made notes about when the locals came and left, how long did it approximately take them to come back. And only then when he was sure that no one would catch him, he’d worry about security cameras and deal with them.
Easy Targets
The cabins proved to be amazingly easy to steal from. Usually, they were left completely unsecured – windows opened, doors unlocked. Who would have thought that anyone other than a squirrel or a sparrow would enter the house in such a peaceful and withdrawn area?
His plan was simple. Go inside the house as if he were the owner and quickly collect things he needed to ensure his survival and go back- and well, that is exactly what he did. After grabbing a few things, as quietly as he came in, Knight went back to his home in the woods.
Smart Plans
Knight went into the cabins only during the week when the owners were away. And he really went out of his way not to leave any kind of a mess behind. He thought that no one would realize something was missing after a week’s time.
Knight played it smart and also took spare keys that he would use to later enter the premises without having to go to the trouble of “breaking into homes”. We are still confused, as to think of Knight as a thief or a desperate man trying to make the most of his situation.
Can I Borrow That
Knight was very careful not to compromise his stay at the woods. He also put back everything he borrowed exactly at the same place where he initially found it. At one point he took a canoe in order to get closer to the cabins across the water.
He was so meticulous with his statement that when he returned the canoe to the owners in such a condition that it looked as if nature was the one who took it, not a human – it was drenched in water and covered with foliage.
Food
Of course, Knight needed things for sustenance. And, when it came to lifting those he didn’t give it too much thought. Sometimes he needed a little and sometimes he needed a lot.
What really liked to take were sweets – chocolate bars, snack cakes and the like which would keep his body from wasting away in the cold conditions. He also liked sodas. His favourite was Mountain Dew. He always took that drink without giving it a second thought.
Other Supplies
Naturally, there were things that Knight needed and that had nothing to do with food. He needed things to maintain his shelter and keep himself warm. He took some tarp that he put over the boulders, and some blankets, nice jackets.
He also needed something to keep his mind sharp so he took books and magazines. His first choices were National Geographic, naturally. Knight loved nature and knew that he needed to learn more skills, every day to survive. One thing he definitely didn’t need to survive was ahem…Playboy.
Gentle Burglar
While he was stealing things he never thought about breaking windows or axing down doors. He showed great respect for the owner’s property.
Usually, he would take the door off its hinges and go into the cabin. When he was done he would reassemble them.
Careful Work
The owners of the cabins couldn’t really report any damage to their property other than a few scratches on the doors here or there or wood shavings. Knight broke no windows or locks. He left everything approximately as it was.
The level of discipline he showed while he broke into houses is beyond what most of us could remotely imagine. The legwork… the talent with locks, his ability to get in and out without being detected,” said Sergeant Terry Hughes.
Legacy
Knight is said to have done 1,000 burglaries over the time span of 27 years. Some people have given him the title of “biggest burglary cases in the history of Maine.”
But despite all the goods, our hermit needed to face some pretty serious weather conditions. The seasons in the woods didn’t arrive neatly or single-file. They were very sudden.
Summer
It was summer when Knight decided to live in the woods. Even with the views of the lake and the shimmery light this place was far from being a paradise.
There were suffocating sheaths of brambles and felled trees. The ground would sink once it actually rained. So, it was definitely not a summertime paradise. But, Knight could handle that. What was troublesome were the winters.
Winter
When it’s too cold outside, your best chance of survival is to just keep on moving. That is precisely what Knight did. His days would start at 2 AM, and end at 7:30 PM when he would doze off.
The winters were brutal and he feared to freeze to death. But, he couldn’t run the risk of coming into contact with humans, so starting fires was out of the question. Even his own sweat could turn into ice and be his end.
System Against The Cold
Apparently, Knight never let cold get to him. He would revel in the cold as it came over him. Sometimes the cold would be so rough that it would settle in his bones. But, Knight got out only with mild frostbites.
When it came to winter, there were a few campers around, so it was no big deal if he moved here or there. On the other hand, when it was summer it was a much bigger risk since there was a summer camp that was packed during the summer days.
The Aftermath
After his arrest Knight pleaded guilty for 13 charges of theft and burglary. This happened on October 28, 2013, in Kennebec County Superior Court. He received a sentence of seven months that he served. As it seems, most of the sentence he served while in custody.
But, in order not to be imprisoned for seven years, he had to meet the judge each Monday, find a job, and start taking some sort of classes. He also needed to pay $1,500 to his victims, and attend a program for those struggling with mental health problems. He was to stay away from alcohol and had 3 years of probation.
The Judge
It can be said that the judge was mild when it came to this case. Nancy Mills, the person who took on the case, though that Knight was not capable of harming anybody and that the probability of him committing another crime was very low.
That’s why he got a much milder sentence than other people who were charged on 13 whole counts of burglary and theft. Many thought that jail was no place for him. He was given only a few months and a huge fine. Judge Mills thought that something good may ensue after all this. But was this enough to change his mind and for our hermit to go back to civilization?
The Return
After Knight did his time, he was very committed to fulfilling what he promised in court. He met judge Mills each Monday and abstained from alcohol. This would be unimaginable to his younger self who put his wishes and himself above everything else.
The progress this man has made is amazing. He put his life back on track and reunited with his family. As he was in prison the family relationships became better. And, despite the fact that Knight abandoned his family, his brother offered him a job. Knight took the job. How long will this change last?
As For The Family
When Knight disappeared no one really thought that he would be gone for so long. His parents didn’t even see the point of submitting a report that he was missing. They thought that he would return when ready. In their minds, he went off to have a little adventure of his own.
But, they never suspected the length that this adventure would have. Even when it was obvious that he wasn’t coming back, they believed that he was alive and well. They were not wrong.
The Impact of Solitude
When someone is alone for so long they usually dwell in silence. All they have is the voices in their own heads and when the voices are supposed to be externalized it does not come as easy.
Knight only spoke to someone on very rare occasions. At one point in time, he said a low “hi” to a hiker. So, it comes as no surprise that conversation didn’t come easy to Knight and it was quite a challenge to pick up.
His Voice Was Heard
Someone really took interest in Knight’s one-of-a-kind story and gave him the chance to be heard. This someone is Michael Finkel, an American journalist who decided to pen a novel about the stranger than fiction life of Knight.
The book that he wrote inspired by Knight’s story is titled The Stranger in the Woods. In order to write it, Finkel visited Knight in jail and conversed with him for one hour. This took place nine times.
Apologies
In many interviews after his arrest Knight said that he is not proud of what he had done. That he is sorry for the pain and harm he had caused, and that he does not pride himself on being a good burglar.
He had a few words about the hermit lifestyle as well. Often Knight would be compared to Henry David Thoreau, who is famous for his book “Walden” that was released in 1854. Knight was not a huge fan of Thoreau, but he did see the similarities.
Henry David Thoreau
In his book, Thoreau went to live alone at Walden Pond in Massachusetts. Even so, Knight believed that the reasons for seclusion were different when it came to him and Thoreau and we agree.
It seemed to Knight that Thoreau went onto nature to show off what he was capable of, not to feel the nature, whereas Knight had personal reasons that made him want to be alone. But what was he thinking of all of those years?
Solitude
It is commonly known that artists, poets, and dreamers adore solitude. Solitude gives them a sense of purpose and grandeur. In the words of William Wordsworth from the poem “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud” – “They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude.” But for Knight, it wasn’t all so inspirational.
“Solitude bestows an increase in something valuable,” he said. “I can’t dismiss that idea. Solitude increased my perception. But here’s the tricky thing: when I applied my increased perception to myself, I lost my identity. There was no audience, no one to perform for. There was no need to define me. I became irrelevant.”
Knight About Knight
Knight said that he never kept a mirror around him. The only time he would see his reflection was in the water or when he was passing by a window. He didn’t need to see himself in order to know himself. He knew who he was, and he was content with himself. “I was never lonely,” Knight said. “If you like solitude, you are never alone.”
That is the only way that he could deal with himself without getting depressed or lonely. Not many people base their sense of self this way but see themselves through the actions of others. Knights identity was completely another thing.
Identity
“My desires dropped away. I didn’t long for anything. I didn’t even have a name. To put it romantically, I was completely free.” During his time in the woods, he started forgetting his name.
He was everything that surrounded him – earth, boulder, lake, sky, shadows. He wasn’t Hungry Man, Mountain Man, Hermit Hermit, nor was he Christopher. He was simply nature and a shadow.