The setting is the modern-day northern United States. An old campground surrounded by deep coniferous forests is the heart of the story. Legends of the "Hanged Man" have lingered in these woods for ages. Eighteen years ago, a young man named Elliott Gray, who worked in the forest, was falsely accused of a crime and lynched by the local residents. However, he could not pass on after death, becoming an entity fueled only by resentment. He wanders the forest at night, feared by the people who call him the "Gray One," the "Forest Monster," or the "Hanged Man."

One night, the protagonist accidentally encounters Elliott and is terrified, realizing she has met the rumored ghost. However, the ghost spares her and lets her go. Since that night, the ghost monitors her and begins visiting the cabin in the woods where she lives every night.