Fun Campfire Ghost Stories

John Bradshaw

Smashwords Edition

Copyright John Bradshaw

Discover other titles by John Bradshaw at
Smashwords.com

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

This book is available in print at most on
line retailers

Cover design by John Bradshaw

Cover photograph by Piotr Liqeza –
Fotolia.com

All rights reserved.

John Bradshaw’s website;
www.eaglewingsbradshaw.com

*****

Chapter 1 - Before we get started

Chapter 2 - Do you smell that?

Chapter 3 - The little ghost that was
afraid

Chapter 4 - The ride

Chapter 5 - The coffin

Chapter 6 - Prized possession

Chapter 7 - The little vampire bat

Chapter 8 - The dare

Chapter 9 - Directions

Chapter 10 - Jimmy’s summer job

Chapter 11 - Building maintenance

Chapter 12 - The cub scout

Chapter 13 - The long sales call

Chapter 14 - The viper

Chapter 15 - The full moon

Chapter 16 - Spell check

Chapter 17 - A boy’s best friend forever

Chapter 18 - Red sloppity lips

Chapter 19 - The fearless one

Chapter 20 - What Mark always wanted

Chapter 21 - The animal army

Chapter 22 - The luckiest man who did not
know it

Chapter 23 - Poor Rufus

Chapter 24 - The Nicren

Chapter 25 - The old lady

Chapter 26 - A few parting thoughts

About the author

*****

Ask just about any kid what they want to do
on a camping trip at night and they will tell you they want to hear
ghost stories. Can you think of anything that they pay attention to
in silence, as a group, longer than a good ghost story? The only
problem, especially for younger readers/listeners, is that most
scary stories end with a scary ending. This keeps their imagination
at an elevated level which is sure to cause sleepless nights for
themselves and maybe others.

Most of the stories in this book have
suspenseful, imagination filled story lines, but end in a funny,
some may say silly way. It has never failed that when the listener
has responded with the comment, “that was silly” at the end of a
story, they are always first to say yes to the question, would you
like to hear another? The stories generate excitement and
imagination however the pressure is relieved at the end of the
story making the overall experience a fun one.

These stories were designed for easy reading
or for recital through memorization. If you are reading the stories
to others, it is always best to pre-read the story so that you know
the content, where to pause for effect, where to change your voice
and where to incorporate movement or gestures to enhance the story
telling experience. If you plan on reciting from memorization,
don’t worry about getting every word correct. This is how stories
take on life and various forms, get personalized and become
folklore by their retelling through time. The major elements and
the flow of the story is the important part as the story heads to
its conclusion. Always remember your audience. Even some stories
with funny endings may still scare some younger folks which may
compromise their overall experience.

This collection of stories originated from
various verbal sources and some are totally original. They have
been accumulated in the mind over the years. Some of these stories
I heard as a cub scout, some as a camper and then as a counselor at
summer camp in North Carolina. Others I have heard in various
forms, from my three boys and their friends on outings and as I
preparing to write this book. This type of story telling is unique
in that the stories become modified, revised and added too over
time making them a tradition that gets passed down from generation
to generation. These stories are heard and then retold over and
over. The really good ones survive time and become a staple of
every camping trip, as important as a sleeping bag and a fire.

I had a lot of fun putting these together,
but my objective is for the young readers/listeners out there,
hearing these stories for the first time, to truly have an
enjoyable experience and decide that this book is a definite
keeper.

Now, is everyone ready for some campfire
stories?

Let’s get going.

*****

D
aniel and I had just
gotten into our tent when the rain got heavier. Luckily, we had
just finished hearing ghost stories around the fire minutes before.
This has been the best summer yet at camp! Daniel and I had become
best friends and I liked every one in our cabin. Our counselor,
Bob, was a college student and was a really good guy.

This was our first cabin overnight camping
trip. Even though our camping spot was just on the other side of
the lake, walking the path through the tall pine trees made you
feel like you were in the middle of nowhere. We had set up our
tents, laid out our sleeping bags and gathered wood for the fire.
Bob started the fire and in a short while we were roasting hot dogs
on sticks. The baked beans, potato chips and even the carrot sticks
tasted great. As a matter of fact, everything tastes great on a
camping trip. The best part about dinner was desert. Roasted
marshmallows put in between two graham crackers with a piece of
milk chocolate, fantastic smores. Bob won the baked bean and
marshmallow eating contest.

After dinner we had to clean up and put the
garbage up in a tree so animals would not get into it at night. The
sun had gone down and it was getting dark so Bob told us to brush
our teeth and get ready for ghost stories. I could not wait. I
loved a good ghost story. It was like your entire world is wrapped
up in the story for as long as it lasts. Fun, Fun, Fun…

We gathered around the campfire, its wavy
yellowish light danced off the faces of my cabin mates. Bob threw a
couple of more logs on the fire as red embers floated up into the
night sky and disappeared. He sat down on a short log turned on
end, facing us. The first story that Bob told was about a giant
purple gorilla. It was a great story with a great ending and we
wanted more. Bob’s next story was about a little ghost that was
afraid and then the story of a hunted house. It was getting late
and you know... there is no sleeping late on a camping trip, so Bob
said he had one more story before it was time to sack out.

Bob’s last story was about a huge hairy
monster known as Big Foot that roamed these woods. It was half man,
half ape that did not like anybody coming into its woods. It moved
around mostly at night and had a terrible smell like you’ve never
smelled before. This creature stood ten feet tall, strong enough to
tear up trees, had long fangs and claws, and did I mention, smelled
terrible? The fire was burning down to a pile of glowing embers and
darkness was advancing further into our campsite as Bob continued.
Last summer, he said, two campers disappeared, believed taken by
Big Foot because they went outside their tent after lights out.
Their fate to terrible to think about! Bob ended the story and said
that he was going to bed because his stomach was upset from eating
all those hotdogs, beans and marshmallows. He told all of us to hit
the hay and would see us in the morning. The timing was great
because it had just started to sprinkle rain.

Anyway, Daniel and I zipped up our sleeping
bags and laid there looking at the inside top of our tent. We
talked quietly for a few minutes about the stories we had just
heard and how they did not scare us. Sleep soon overcame us.
Suddenly, I was awakened by a snapping wood sound. I laid there
listening. I could tell the rain had stopped and there was just
silence and darkness. Then I heard what sounded like somebody or
something walking through the campsite. I reached over and shook
Daniel until he woke up. He asked what time it was and I said that
I had no idea. I told Daniel about what I had heard and we both
laid there motionless, straining to hear something, but hoping not
to. The silence was broken by the sharp crack of another piece of
wood. It had to be something heavy to make that large a snap, I
thought. Daniel and I decided that if we could only get over to
Bob’s tent we would be ok. Daniel and I unzipped our sleeping bags
and opened the front flap of our tent. It was really dark and we
could not see or hear anything so we moved slowly towards Bob’s
tent. When we got to Bob’s tent we found that the zipper to the
front flap was stuck and would not open. We heard the rustling of
bushes behind us. We had forgotten our flashlights so all we could
do is turn and meet our fate. We could see the bushes moving. It
looked like something big was stripping the leaves off. At that
moment we were overcome by a horrendous smell. Then, for a moment,
there was silence but the horrible smell lingered. Daniel and I
looked at each other and, at that moment, remembered the Big Foot
ghost story. Sounds of footsteps were heading our way. The
footsteps were coming from the bushes. They were getting closer and
closer, almost upon us when we yelled “Boobbb!!” Suddenly, a bright
light shown in our faces that made us close our eyes. Then a voice
said, “What are you guys doing out of your tent?” To our relief,
Daniel and I realized that it was Bob’s voice in front of us, but
why was he outside his tent walking around making noises in the
bushes? Bob explained that eating all those beans, hotdogs and
marshmallows the night before had upset his stomach and he was
finally able to use the bathroom

*****

I
n an old rundown
deserted house on the edge of town lived a family of ghosts. The
Mommy and Daddy ghosts would go out every night and haunt and scare
the people in town and those passing through town. You know, that
most ghosts have jobs similar to this one.

The little ghost did not like to go out at
night, even with the Mommy and Daddy ghosts, because he was afraid
of the dark and all the screaming that people did when he was
around.