Scariest night I ever had was in Missouri, outside Mansfield. My son and I were traveling from Colorado to Maine, and we wanted to see the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum and their home. We arrived 10 minutes before closing unfortunately. I was determined to see it, so we found a campground, but it was late March and closed for the season. O called the number on the info board and they let us dry camp ( no water or bathroom). We set up camp and went to bed, intending to see the museum/house in the morning.
After a couple of hours, something woke us up. Something canine, maybe, stalked around the tent until dawn, growling. It was terrifying. For reasons I'm choosing not to share, my gun was in the car and my phone was dead. I had mace, a hammer and a tent for protection.
Sometimes you just don't know what's out there.