Fun Campfire Ghost Stories (8 page)

It was a nice, peaceful evening much like
tonight, warm, quiet, but with fog beginning to roll in from the
south. Dad, Buster and I sat around the campfire and watched the
glowing embers and the flames of the fire take on a life of their
own. After a little while, I asked Dad if he knew any ghost
stories. He told a story about an escaped convict with a hook for a
hand and he also told another story about and army of rabid animals
that declared war on people. Both stories were really scary, but I
was brave since my Dad and Buster were there. It was getting late
and I started thinking about that chocolate cake Mom had packed.
Dad said I could have one piece, but I sneaked two pieces. While I
was at it, I found the chocolate bars so I threw a few of those in
my tent in case I got hungry later.

The moon was high in the sky and the air was
getting cooler as the fire died down and Dad said it was time to
get a good night’s sleep. Buster and I went into my tent and I slid
into my sleeping bag. Buster curled up next to me and went right to
sleep. I laid there for a few minutes listening to the squirrels
rustling the leaves outside and thinking about the stories Dad had
told. Suddenly, I remembered the bear I had seen and remembered a
camping rule---Never put food in your tent while out in the woods.
So I decided to eat the chocolate bars so that any bear that might
wander by would not want to come into the tent to get them.

In a matter of a few minutes I fell
asleep.

I was awakened by a loud screech! I listened
for a few minutes and I could hear all sorts of movement and noises
coming from outside the tent. I reached over to touch Buster, but
he was not there! I started to become afraid. I called out, “Dad.”
All of a sudden there was silence. Dad did not respond so I called
out again as loud as I could, “Daaad.” But there was no answer. I
took out my pocket knife opened the blade and crawled out of my
sleeping bag toward the tent entrance. Suddenly, the sounds of
squirrel chatter and rustling leaves started again.

I opened the flap of my tent and it was dark
outside. I reached over and grabbed my flashlight. I turned the
light on and flashed it around the camping area, but saw nothing. I
thought if only I could get to my Dad’s tent everything would be
ok.

I crawled out of my tent and, just as I stood
up, I heard a noise low to the ground in front of me. I turned my
light on and standing there were hundreds of squirrels. They stared
at me with their black beady eyes and their white sharp teeth
reflecting the light. They slowly circled around me. I was
petrified and could not move. I yelled, “Daaaad!…Buster!!!” Only
silence was the response. Then a voice said, “We have taken care of
them…now its time for us to take care of you.” The voice came from
the large reddish squirrel directly in front of me. As soon as he
said it the other squirrels started flicking their tails and
chattering loudly.

“What do you mean?” I said. The large reddish
squirrel said that this was their area and that we were the
invaders and had to be….eliminated.

Immediately, one of the squirrels ran up to
me and sunk its teeth into my leg. I quickly kicked it off while
another squirrel jumped for my neck. I ducked and the squirrel when
over my head and hit a tree. Another jumped and bit my arm before I
was able to turn and sink my pocket knife into it. As it fell to
the ground, I picked up a stick from the firewood pile and did my
best to fend off the attacking squirrels, but there was just too
many of them. They attacked from all sides and no matter how many I
struck, they just kept coming. I could see the squirrel leader
standing there watching me slowly ware down.

Soon I had little energy left. I was down to
my knees, which made it easier for the rabid squirrels to bite and
claw me. Finally, I fell down facing the stars when the big reddish
squirrel jumped on my chest, its teeth inches from my neck. It
said, “Now it is finished. We have our victory.”

I didn’t feel any pain. I could feel one
rabid squirrel licking the blood from my hand. It didn't feel too
bad. I was slipping away.

In the distance, I could hear my name.
Someone was calling me. The voice grew quickly louder. As I forced
my eyes open, I saw my Dad kneeling over me. “Son its time to get
up,” he said.

I sat up and looked around. I was in the
tent, it was morning and Buster was licking my hand.

I guess maybe I should have listened to Mom
and not eaten all that chocolate right before bed.

*****

O
nce there was a man
who lived in a beautiful home. He had everything but was never
happy. The man believed it was because he was unlucky.

One day he had enough and he went to a very
old and wise witch who lived in the swamp outside of town. The man
wanted to find out why he was not lucky. The old and wise witch
told him he must visit the oracle which was the source of all
knowledge and ask it that question. "Where do I find this oracle?"
The man asked. "Travel to the west until you reach the end of the
world and there you will find the oracle," said the old witch as
she stirred her cauldron.

So the man set off to find the oracle at the
end of the world and ask why he was not lucky. He walked for a day,
he walked for a week, he walked for a month and he even walked for
a year until he came to a clearing in the dark woods which was
surrounded by werewolves.

On one side of the clearing were these strong
and vicious looking werewolves. On the other side was a small,
scrawny, sickly looking werewolf. The man decided to walk towards
the scrawny werewolf. As he passed, the werewolf asked, "Where are
you going?" "I am going to visit the oracle and ask it why I have
no luck," answered the man.

"Interesting, if you find it can you please
ask it why I am not as strong and as vicious as my brothers," asked
the werewolf. "Of course," the man answered as he walked off.

He walked for a day, he walked for a week, he
walked for a month, he even walked for a year until he got to a
beautiful forest. The trees were vast and stretched far up into the
sky, but in a small clearing was a short, leafless tree with
spindly branches. As the man walked by, the little tree called out,
"Excuse me where are you going?" "I am going to the end of the
world to visit the oracle and ask it why I have no luck."

"Fascinating, if you find the oracle can you
ask it why I am not as tall and strong as my brothers," the tree
asked. "Of course," answered the man as he walked off.

He walked for a day, he walked for a week, he
walked for a month, and he even walked for a year until he came to
a small pink house. Surrounding this cute house was a beautiful
garden filled with bright flowers with vibrant colors. As the man
was about to pass the house the most beautiful woman the man had
ever seen came onto the front porch. The beautiful woman invited
the man in for dinner. The man agreed and shortly he enjoyed a
wonderful feast cooked to perfection by the beautiful woman. As
they ate, the man told his story and at the end the woman asked,
"If you find the oracle can you ask it why I am so lonely?"

"Of course I can," answered the man. After
dinner the man said his farewells to the beautiful woman and
continued his journey to the west.

He walked for a day, he walked for a week, he
walked for a month, he even walked for a year until finally he
reached the end of the world. There, glowing on a column of pure
gold was the oracle. The man called out, "Excuse me. I have
traveled a long way and endured many hardships to get here. Please
tell me why I have no luck." The oracle started to glow brighter
and brighter suddenly a voice said, "You have all the luck you
need. It is all around you, you just don't notice it. Be more aware
of your surroundings and you can find your luck."

The man pondered the answer that the oracle
had given him when he remembered the other questions that he had
promised to ask the oracle. Just as he was about to ask, the oracle
started to glow brighter and brighter and then a voice said, "There
is no need to ask the questions. I already know what they are, for
I know everything." The oracle than proceeded to answer all the
questions that the man had promised to ask. The man thanked the
oracle and then began his long journey home.

He walked for a day, he walked for a week, he
walked for a month, he walked for a year when he arrived at the
cute little pink house and knocked on the door. The beautiful woman
was overjoyed to see him and after they enjoyed another fabulous
meal, the man told the beautiful woman that the oracle had an
answer for her.

"The oracle told me why you are so lonely. It
said you must get married." "Of course. Why didn’t I think of that,
it makes sense. Will you marry me?" The beautiful woman asked the
man.

"I am sorry,” the man said. “I can not marry
you because I must find my luck first. But, the first nice man I
see, I will send back to you." With that he gave his farewells and
continued heading east towards home.

He walked for a day, he walked for a week, he
walked for a month, and he walked for a year until he reached the
beautiful forest. The man saw the small tree and told it what the
oracle said, "The reason you are small and have no leaves is
because buried beneath your roots is a chest full of gold. It is
blocking your roots from receiving the nutrients you need to grow
tall." "Of course, that makes sense. Please, some workmen left
shovels over there. If you dig up the chest, you can keep the gold
inside," said the little tree.

"I am sorry, I can not dig up the gold now
because I must find my luck first. But the first strong man I see,
I will send back to help you," the man said as he continued his
journey home.

He walked for a day, he walked for a week, he
walked for a month, and he even walked for a year until he reached
the clearing in the dark woods where the werewolves lived. The
scrawny werewolf walked up to the man and asked if he had gotten an
answer to his question from the oracle. The man told the werewolf
the whole story of his journey and then told him what the oracle
said. "The reason you are small and scrawny is because you do not
eat enough. You must eat the first big stupid piece of meat you
see."

The werewolf thought that this made total
sense and so he did.

*****

R
ufus lived in a dirt
floor shack on the outskirts of town. He never had a job and never
wanted one. He was the town derelict. He had dropped out of school
in the sixth grade, had lost most of his teeth, his cloths were
always dirty and he was always on the lookout for an easy
dollar.

One day, a developer came to town who wanted
to buy the old Duncan Mansion. The mansion had been vacant for
sometime and people said it was haunted. The town council did not
want to approve the sale if the house was truly haunted. So the
developer proposed that if someone from town stayed in the old
mansion all night long than that would prove that the mansion was
not haunted and he would then be able to buy the old place. The
town council agreed to this plan.

The developer posted flyers and ran an ad in
the town paper offering five hundred dollars to anyone who would
stay overnight in the old Duncan Mansion. Rufus was the only person
to apply for the job. He did not believe the house was haunted, but
he did believe that this was an easy way to make five hundred
dollars and he wanted it.

On Saturday afternoon the town council, Rufus
and the developer meet outside the old mansion. Rufus had his old
double barrel shotgun with him. The developer asked Rufus if he had
the shotgun for protection. Rufus said, “Naw…I brought this here
shotgun in case anybody tries to cheat me out of my five hundred
dollars.”