Y'all are the only ones I can share this with.

I started a new file so I could try and do as much as I can with Arthur since I kinda rushed through my first playthrough. I had just done the first Fence mission with Hosea and figured I'd ride south to the bayou on the train at Emerald Ranch.

Once I got into the bayou, I jumped off the train and landed unceremoniously on the ground. As Arthur dusted himself off, I got a good look around. Only a few alligators nearby, none too close. I whistle for my horse.

... nothing. I left him at Emerald Ranch. Great. To fully immerse myself, I went first person and turned off my mini-map. Eventually, I come across the giant snake and the abandoned town of Pleasance. Creepy stuff. The graves all indicate a lot of murder.

I wander away from Pleasance and turn on eagle eye to search for any gators. To my surprise, there's a horse just standing there in a clearing. He has a saddle on and isn't afraid of me. Weird. I take the horse and have no Honor hit. Also weird.

I ride a bit further and as it gets dark, I find a small fishing village. The buildings are abandoned and there's only a man fishing with his Chesapeake Bay Retriever. I pet the pup and move on down a muddy path.

As I round a bend, I see a weird sight. There's a crashed wagon with what looks like a bird perched on top. I go into eagle eye and a red bird flashes back at me. For whatever reason, I couldn't study it so I shot the bird.

In the dark, I ride forward to investigate the wagon. As I get close I can make out a decomposing horse. The bird was a vulture. Suddenly, a high pitched scream and I am bucked off my horse. The horse goes sprinting into the bayou. I can only describe the scream as sounding like the Hurley bird from Lost.

I had taken a shine to this horse so I went searching for him. I could just make out his silhouette in eagle eye so I walk toward him. He sprints away again. Something has got him spooked. It's gotten darker and hazier so I'm pretty spooked myself.

Eventually, the horse leads me to a road. As I'm walking from the woods to the road, out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadowy figure dart behind a tree. I am terrified. I stop, get out my revolver, and aim it at the tree.

From behind ANOTHER tree, a figure lunges at me with a knife. I am able to step backwards and fire two shots downing them. I quickly aim back at the other tree, but no one is there. Arthur says to himself "what the hell..."

The shots spooked my horse again and he's run down the road and into the woods. He's standing in the middle of a clearing. I walk into the clearing when another figure lunges at me from behind a tree. This time there's four of them.

I dispatch the lunger and make short work of the three other shooters. Night Folk.

As I get back on my horse, Arthur says to him "you're okay, boy. They're gone. No one's going to hurt you now". (Was this event scripted???)

As the sun comes up, I ride back to the road and I'm near Pleasance again. I take the road north to a nearby stable. I stable the horse, move my saddle to him, and name him Roanoke.

I'm in bed now writing this and absolutely terrified of the dark.