//------------------------------// // Scary Campfire Stories To Tell In The Dark // Story: Camp Spike Everfree // by Phantom-Dragon //------------------------------// It was a crispy, clear starlit night, as the campers were gathering around a campfire, roasting marshmallow for s'mores, hot dogs, and making popcorns. Timber Spruce was holding a pot of dried corns, at the end of an iron pole, as he roasts them over the fire, much to his sister's disagreement. "Timber, that's too much corns!" Gloriosa scolded. "And you're holding them too close to the fire!" "Chillax, sister," Timber rolled his eyes. "I've been popping corns ever since opening day. I know what I'm doing." But Timber spoke too soon, when thousands of popcorns went flying from the fire, shooting in random directions, frightening every campers to take cover. "Whoa! Yikes! It's hot! Hit the deck!" Spike quickly fell out of his chair, as he scrambled to hold an empty bowl as an army helmet. Close by, Wallflower Blush had ducked behind a log. Juniper Montage jumped into Vignette Valencia's arms and the two girls fell to the ground. Kiwi Lollipop and Supernova Zap both hid themselves under an upturned canoe, to save themselves from the popcorns. Once the corns were done popping, everyone poked their heads from their hiding spots, to see Gloriosa Daisy, covered from head-to-toe, in popcorns, glaring at her brother. "I told you that there were too much corns," Gloriosa Daisy scowled. "Well, at least there's enough for everyone," Timber shrugged, as he got up and dusted himself of the popcorns. "SO! Who's up for popcorns?" He asks, holding up his iron pot, overflowing with popping popcorns. "As long as they don't shoot at us again, I'll have some," Spike said as he walked up to get himself a bowl of popcorns. "Ditto," Wallflower agreed. After all of the campers got their popcorns, they resumed roasting their marshmallows for s'mores, and hot dogs. Suddenly, a vibrating sound was heard. "What's that?" Juniper asked, worryingly. "Is that a wild animal?" "Don't worry girls," Timber reassured, as he holds up a wooden bat. "If it's a ferocious wild animal, then they've picked the wrong camp to mess with!" "...Actually, it's just Vignette's phone," Wallflower pointed to the said girl, who was busy typing in hashtags for her latest blog post. "Hashtag s'mores," Vignette Valencia typed in. "Uh huh...right, of course," Timber Spruce sets his wooden bat down, as he resumes the next camp activity. "So! Who's up for scary stories?" All of the campers immediately exchange random agreements and excitements, eager to share their own spooky stories, or hear what others have to share. "So, who wants to go first?" Timber asked. "Anyone?" There was a moment of silence as all of the campers exchanged looks, wondering who among them will tell the scariest story. Deciding not to waste another second, Timber handpicked the first storyteller. “Fine. Gloriosa!” He picked. “Ladies first.” “Why, thank you, brother,” Gloriosa cleared her throat. “It’s the story of…He Who Roams The Woods. The time, when Timber and I, were five. The place, here. There was once a camper, who is a boy. All the other boys in the camp picked on him, because he was smaller, and all the girls laughed and made fun of him, because of how different he was from all the other boys.” “Aw, poor guy,” Spike said, already sympathizing with the main protagonist of the story. “But, luckily, for him, there was a sweet girl, whom he loved more than life itself. To him, she was a goddess, a princess, his everything. He catered to her every whim. He brought her flowers. And he gave her his heart. He did everything he could to win her love and affection." "Did he?" Spike asked. "...That's the sad part of the story," Gloriosa frowned. "For it was not meant to be, you see. Because one day, he learned that the sweet girl was moving away, and that he may never see her again. He was so distraught that in his depression, he ran away from the camp, until he got lost in the woods." Gloriosa then ends the story, turning to look at the girls and smiled, "And to this day, he still roams the woods, searching for his lost love. And beware, because if he sees any of you, he just might consider taking you all away, to his woodland lair, where you will never be seen, or heard from again...” "Ooh, scary!" Supernova Zap shivered, holding Kiwi Lollipop close for comfort. "Taken into the woods, where I'll never be seen again, with no phone service?" Vignette Valencia exclaimed. "I'd rather be dead!" "Ha! That's nothing, because I've got an even scarier story," Juniper Montage scoffed. "Oh, then would you like to go next?" Gloriosa asked. "Don't mind if I do," Juniper blew on her marshmallow, before setting it on a graham cracker and chocolate bar. "It's called La Lechuza. Owl Witch. It's a story that my uncle told me, after his last trip to Mexico. The locals told him a story about a witch, who can turn herself from looking like an ordinary woman by day, but at night, she becomes a scary owl-like monster." "So, she's a shapeshifter then?" Spike asked, already getting creeped out by the description. "Like I was saying," Juniper continued. "She becomes a scary owl-like monster. She stands about 7 feet tall, with a large wingspan, of about 15 feet, with a face of a scary hag. And she flies around in the night, looking for her favorite preys." "M-M-Mice?" Supernova guessed. "Ew!" Kiwi groaned in disgust. "Nope," Juniper shook her head. "People! And she's not picky. She'll eat anyone, including me, or you!" Most of the campers all gulped in fear, as they turned to hold each other close for comfort. "So, when you go to sleep, tonight in your tent, beware, because they say when you hear an owl's hoot, then La Lechuza is close, and she's coming for you." As if on cue, an owl's hooting was heard. Hoo-hoo "AAAAAHHHH!!!" The campers screamed, falling out of their seats, spilling their popcorns on the ground, and throwing their s'mores, into several pieces, up in the air. "Ha ha ha! Gotcha!" Juniper laughed at her fellow campers. "That was horrifying!” Kiwi Lollipop screamed. “Not funny!” Supernova Zap added. “Oh, come on,” Juniper rolled her eyes. “That’s the whole point of these scary stories, right? Admit it, I got you all good!” Though they didn’t want to admit it, the campers swallowed their prides. “Yeah, you got us,” Spike nodded. “Nice work, kiddo,” Kiwi congratulated. “Uh…I’ve heard scarier…” Vignette commented. “Okay, you want scary?” Timber smirked. “Then I advised you all hug your closest friend, beside you. Because that’s how scary it is.” In response, the campers hugged each other close in anticipation. All, except for Spike. “Hmph, try me,” Spike scoffed, crossing his arms. “I think I’m ready for your Gaea Everfree ghost story.” “Oh, this is worse than Gaea Everfree, Spike,” Timber winked. “And if I were you, I’d start hugging your friend now.” “Just tell us the story.” “Okay. You asked for it,” Timber Spruce cleared his throat, as he begins to narrate. “It all happened, hundreds of years ago, on a night, like tonight. A group of campers were passing through the woods, looking to have a good time, and roasting s'mores, when a sudden rainstorm caught them out in the open." "And what happened to them?" Spike asked. "Did they at least set up their tents to get dry?" "They never got the chance to," Timber shook his head. "The wind stole their tents, right out of their hands. The only shelter they had left was a large abandoned, haunted mansion." "A haunted mansion?" Juniper asked, skeptically. "Your ears do not deceive you," Timber replied. "Anyway, many locals will tell you that the haunted mansion was a forbidden place, where not even the brave of hearts would dare venture. Those who did, they are never seen again. But those who were fortunate to have survived were never the same again. The horrors they've experienced within that mansion was...indescribable." "Yikes," Spike commented. "So...did they still go in?" Juniper asked. "Well, of course!" Timber shrugged. "It's not like they had a choice. It's either the mansion, or the rain. So that very night, the campers took shelter in the mansion. But it was the worst night they ever had." "Let me guess," Spike began. "Were they attacked by a vampire?" "Did a werewolf got them?" Supernova Zap asked. "Ooh! Were they possessed by a ghost?" Juniper joined in. "Who knows?" Timber shrugged. "But a local woodcutter said that he heard terrible sounds from the castle. Worse than a pig at a butcher shop. It lasted through the night, with the rainstorm. Then, by morning...they were gone." “Gone, how?” Wallflower asked, scared to know. “Nobody knows,” Timber shrugged. “Some say the campers were scared, that they ran off, into the next town. But others believed they never got the chance to run. The spirits of the mansion got them, in their sleep. Guess we’ll never know.” Knowing he was going to regret it, Spike still asked, “Where did this all happened?” “What?” Timber asked, feigning surprise. “Didn’t I tell you? It all happened right…HERE! On these very soils of the ground!” "What!" Spike exclaimed, as he exchanged looks between Wallflower and their fellow campers. "You're saying...the haunted mansion is...here?" He asked, with his fellow campers. "Yup," Timber confirmed eerily, before he yawned. "Welp, that's the scary story. Let's all get a good night sleep. Tomorrow is another new day for another Camp Everfree adventure." "Uh...y-y-y-yeah," Spike shuddered. "Let's..." Later that night, in the boys shower room, Spike was the last to brush his teeth, and change into his pajamas. But all the same, he can't stop thinking about the ghost stories he heard, earlier that night. Spike walked out the shower, and was greeted to a scary sight of Camp Everfree, cloaked under a sudden, dark, cloudy sky. The moon and stars have vanished, behind the clouds, and an eerie mist was rolling in. Spike swallowed a lump in his throat, as he cast frightful glances from the left, then to the right, keeping a look out for any signs of La Lechuza. Suddenly, he heard the sound of an owl hooting. Hoo-Hoo His teeth chattered, his hairs stood on end, and his eyes widened in fright, as he shuddered. He looked to the trees, to see a pair of round yellow eyes, that belonged to a normal owl. With a sigh of relief, Spike left the shower room, in safety, beginning his scary trek, back to the tent he and Wallflower were sharing. He hadn't gone very far, when he heard the sound of footsteps, behind him. Spike was too scared to look, for fear that it could be the specter of He Who Roams The Woods. Teeth chattering, Spike squeaked, "Who's there?" No reply. He tried again, but in a louder, yet shaking, voice, "Wh-Who-Who's there?" He turned around and looked. In the darkness, barely illuminated by the lights of the camp, he could barely see the outline shape of a tall creature, with jagged horns sprouting from the side of its head. The first thing Spike thought of was that it could be a Wendigo – a fiendish creature of Native American Folklore, and Stephen King's novel, Pet Sematary, that is described as a walking skeleton, sometimes with antlers like those of a stag. He trembled as he backed away from the figure, as it stepped closer, walking into the light. Upon entering the light, the creature is revealed to be nothing more than a stag. Spike breathed a sigh of relief, turning around to walk away from the stag, as it bent down to graze on the grasses. Eventually, he arrived back in the tent he and Wallflower Blush were sharing, to find the girl was already asleep. He walked over to his bed, pulled the cover up and tucked himself in, and fell asleep. But no sooner than he did, he had a horrible nightmare. In his dream, Spike found himself in a dark mansion, with very little to no lightings. "Hello?" Spike called, his voice echoing throughout the desolate halls of the building. The eerie atmosphere, combined with his loneliness, and the uncertainty of what could be lurking in the darkness, were enough to drive Spike's anxiety to the edge. Spike took a deep breath, to compose himself, before he started to search around the mansion, looking for the way out. He hadn't gotten very far, when the old grandfather clock in the room, suddenly rang twelve, announcing the witching hour. Before long, the sound of ghost whisperings were heard, all around him. Then, as if to take the nightmare fuel up a notch, something dripped down from the ceiling and hits Spike on the hand. Holding it up in the dimly lit light, Spike touched the droplet that had splashed on him, to see that it was colored red. Blood red. Blood! Finally, he looked up and his eyes widened at the horror that stared back at him, with flaming red eyes. Dropping down from the ceiling, shaking the floor that nearly knocked him off his feet, Spike was horrified to find himself, standing face-to-face of a tall, fiendish owl-like monster. La Lechuza. In appearance, the owl-like monster was just as Juniper had described. About 7 feet tall, with a wingspan of 15-feet, and the face of a hag. "Uh...hola?" Spike greeted the owl witch. In response, the owl witch cracked a wicked smile, to reveal her mouth was aligned with razor sharp teeth, drenched in blood. She let out a bloodcurdling screech, before lurching forward, snapping her jaws at Spike, who quickly turned tail and run. "AH!" Spike ran for his life, running blindly in the dark halls, desperate to escape from Lechuza. "Please, leave me alone!" Spike screamed. "Hey! You're an owl lady. Any chance you're familiar with Eda Clawthorne?" In response, Lechuza let out another screech as she slashed her claws at Spike, who barely dodged the attack, behind a sofa. "I guess you're not an Owl House fan then..." Spike kept on running, with Lechuza taking flight and following close behind him. "Help, help! Someone! HELP!!!" Spike screamed, desperately trying to open up some doors, and windows, but to no avail. Eventually, he turned around, to see that Lechuza was gone. "Phew, lost her," Spike smiled, only to realize he spoke too soon. "AH!" Lechuza was above him, and snapped her jaws at him. "AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Spike screamed, shooting up from his bed, sweating up a storm, and panting heavily from the nightmare. "Oh...just a...dream..." He panted, composing himself. “Spike?” A voice moaned, to which Spike turned to see Wallflower Blush, turning over in her bed, on the other side of the tent. "What's going on?" "N-N-Nothing," Spike replied. "Just a...bad dream. Sorry if I woke you up." "That's okay..." Wallflower yawned, rolling herself back to sleep. At least, until she felt a nudge on her shoulder, "Huh, what?" She looked up to see a frighten Spike standing over her. "Spike?" "Hey, Wallflower?" Spike blushed. "It's kinda silly, but...would it be okay if I sleep next to you? Maybe just for the night?" "Huh? Oh sure," Wallflower replied, half-asleep. "Thanks," With that, Spike got in bed and slept next to his tent-mate. Though a little awkward, at first, Spike eventually got himself adjusted and didn't overthink too much on the situation, as he fell asleep, beside the girl. It reminded me of when he was younger, whenever he was too scared to go to sleep, he would sometimes sleep in the protective arms of his sister, Twilight Sparkle, or their mother, Twilight Velvet. How safe he felt, to be held close to their beating hearts, and their arms wrapped around him.