Campfire Ghost Stories

You won't find ghost stories on any camping list. But you must pack a couple. It's what makes camping so memorable, especially for the kids.

You know how in Little House on the Prairie, Pa would relax by the fire after a hard day's toil, put little Gracie on his lap, light his pipe, then starts telling stories? Families don't bond like that anymore.

So when you have driven 3 hours to your campsite, built a roaring fire, and relaxing with your family in the cool night sky, do not blow the opportunity! Have a ghost story ready to tell.

My favorite one is "Where is My Golden Arm?" This one is so old and has gone through so many variations, don't feel bad if you make it up as you go along. The basic idea is about a woman with a golden arm. She got her husband to promise to bury her beloved arm with her when she died. He did so. Then he fell on hard times or whatever variation you choose, and remembered the valuable treasure he buried. So he dug it up. Well, his dead wife's ghost came looking for it.

To hear an audio recording of "Where is My Golden A-a-a-r-R-M-M", drop by my blog post by clicking here: http://snipr.com/ghost1 . But really, any thing you make up along that story line is good enough.

Now, how you tell the story is as important as the story itself. Follow these story-telling tips for a memorable experience.

Campfire ghost story-telling tips

First, choose a dark night, preferably, with a wind howling softly in the background.
Sit around a crackling campfire.
Speak in a soft voice very slowly. This makes people pay attention as they strain to hear you.
As you reach the end of the story, gradually get louder.
Just before the punch line, PAUSE. This is critical for suspense.
Then finish with a bang or punch line. I have seen 3 very successful dramatic endings:
Jump up and pounce or point finger at a person in the audience.
Recruit another person in the audience (pre-story time) to make a loud scary noise.
Hold a flashlight under your face and move it (the flashlight) wildly as you scream at the top of your lungs. The audience will start screaming uncontrollably.

Screaming uncontrollably. That's how a ghost story should end.

By Myrtha C

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