Campfire Ghost Story

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It was strange that it was burning, as the cabin was supposed to be empty. Orange, red and yellow heat, flickering alive with forgotten memories. Mesmerizing as I stood close by, the hypnotic flame of my life beside me. Although no one had been living in the cabin, the grass path had been cleared up to the front door. It had become a desolate place, full of sad memories, where the living didn't bother to visit anymore. But today, it looked lived-in, not the haunted ghost house from yesteryear that I nostalgically recalled. No, that's right, we were just kids then. If I remember correctly, it had all the modern facilities, apart from the long drop outside.

The last time we dropped in was ten years ago; we had booked our customary quiet retreat. And had driven up to Vancover and were heading into the wilderness. We would hike a trail near the Pacific Rim National Park. I am Sam, and my boyfriend of fifteen years is David. David and I live in New York city. We parked up in our familiar off-road vehicle bay. Visited the park office, to sign in the park visitors book. And set off to enjoy our tramp. Anyway, we had been walking for hours, on our usual trudge through the forest. It was enjoyable, but our backpacks were heavy. As per usual I was carrying too much stuff; my own fault I guess! I complained of sore shoulders to David, and to my relief, he understood; so we took frequent breaks. And after six hours of walking, with a few stops along the way, we finally arrived: exhausted. It was getting dark, and in the distance we could see an ambient glow from a candlelit window. Hypnotic. 'Dangerous,' I thought. Who would leave a candle burning in a wooden cabin window, with old curtains that could go up in flames at any second? Surely not a rational person. And why was it there, beckoning us forwards towards the final destination? As to whom would have left the burning candle, I am not sure. I questioned my safety?

"I booked it months ago, for two people," said David quietly. "It is supposed to be deserted.

My job was to open the door to air the cabin out, and turn on the heater for half an hour to warm up the front room before we slept inside, as it had not been used in months. We stood on the main path, looking towards the cabin. Annoyed, David stormed up to the front door, banging the door loudly with his fist.

"Fuck this," he said, throwing his pack on the ground. "Have you got the keys?"

I rumaged around in my bag for the keys, that I had collected from the tourist park office, at the beginning of the walk. The keys were where I had put them, inside the back pocket of my pack.

"Here," I said, handing the keys to David. "Chill-out, it might be the welcome party."

David pushed the door angrily. But to his surprise, the door swung open. He stormed inside the front room yelling.

"Is anyone in here," he yelled, no one answered. "It's freezing," David called out to me. "Come inside and join me."

David stormed over and blew out the candle. Then he stumbled around in the dark, looking for the light switch. And yelling for the culprit of the burning flame to come out - repeatedly.

"I think it is empty," I called out to David, sarcastically. "You're really on top of things," I called out.

"I understand what you mean," David said.

"I was being sarcastic, you can't see without that candle burning," I laughed.

"I think you mean, you're being ironic," said David.

Being a good girlfriend, I quickly rushed over and handed David a torch. After searching with him for twenty minutes through both rooms and exploring the basement, we realised that the cabin had no electricity. It was freezing we both shivered uncontrollably. But luckily, there was a fireplace and I had brought my portable lantern, and we both had torches. With plenty of wood stacked outside, we would be able to light a fire and relax on the couch, which had cushions and a soft rabbit fur blanket.

"I want to look at that candle," I said to David.

"It is where I left it," he said. "Over on the window ledge."

I walked over and looked fixedly, with my torch at the candle. It was a normal candle, white wax with a burn't wick. It obviously had'nt been burning very long as the wax had hardly dripped down the sides, and the wick was long. A small amount of black char showed on the wick end.

"It is new," I said. "Not been long burning."

"Thanks Nancy Drew," David said.

"Who do you think lit it," I said feeling scared.

"I don't know," said David, sighing.

I looked around the room, feeling shivers run down my spine.

"Someone has been here before us," I said, wide eyed.

"The pamphlet had said the cabin would be newly renovated. I booked electricity and a gas stove," said David. "Not an open fireplace; it looks perhistoric with the fur and weird furniture."

"It looks like the Germans haven't invented the stove yet," I said.

'"I have an uncanny feeling that this cabin is different, to the one we stayed in last time," David said.

"Best we make the most of it until the morning," I answered. "We can't leave as it is dark and dangerous, with the bears and wild cats roaming."

"Okay, we stay here. Let's just hope whoever lit that candle, dosen't come back," Daivd said.

Together we lit a fire from the stacked wood against the side of the house, and used the kindling that had previously been split. We had all the usual camping equipment. So we heated some soup in a packet, using the boiled water from the kitchen, and the bread I had packed. We ate, enjoying our simple meal. Exhausted from the six hour walk, we found the main bedroom, cleaned our teeth, and went to sleep. At midnight, the chiming mantel clock sounded in the front room, waking me. I got up to pour myself a glass of water. It was freezing in the front room, and I shivered. My bare feet were on the wooden floor boards, and I was in my light nighty dress. It was drafty in the kitchen, so I pulled the window closed and sat by the embers in the fireplace for warmth. Remembering why I was here; I looked for relief for my thirst. A bucket in the kitchen had four cups hanging from it, and using the wooden ladle, I filled a cup with drinking water, and sat down at the small kitchen table. I hoped the water was boiled, as I had heard some bad stories about the drinking water.

The cooking room looked more like an abattoire than a kitchen, with hooks for dead animals on the rafters (ancient cross beems), and dried herbs hanging in bunches. It looked clean enough though. With no fridge or modern conviences, I gasped. This place is not for the faint hearted I thought. Suddendly, I discerned a ghostly presence, as something brushed up against my leg. It gave me such a fright, that I jumped half an inch. Looking down, I noticed a small animal: a racoon, which frightened by my presence, climbed the rafters and crept upwards towards the loft. I presumed, it was nesting with babies. 'Thank goodness for racoons,' I thought. After drinking my water I felt weary. So it was back to bed to sleep, with David who was in deep slumber. I had a restless night however, full of subliminal messages, ghostly visions and I felt on the threshold of conscience awareness. Like someone was watching me, from beyond the grave. David woke first. I dressed, following him to appreciate a heated pot of black tea on the open fire. Adding a spray of hood wipped cream perfected the cuppa.

"Wow, this place is ancient," Daivd said. "And it has nine bedrooms and a large antiquated attic space."

After breakfast, we headed outside to have a look around. There was a large vegetable garden and plenty of wood fuel.

"This place is eerie," I said to David. "Look at the graveyard around the back."

Fifteen graves could be counted, and each had headstones with the names Vespucci or Mullins, and strange bells hung below each grave.

"Those bells are to do with being buried alive," I whispered to David.

There were strange symbols inscribed in the stone, the same symbols I had seen on the clock on the mantelpiece, and also above the front doorway. A triskele. I remembered my grandfather showing me this ancient symbol, when I was a child. We walked slowly back to the front door. However, upon hearing a soft cry which sounded like a child around the side of the house, we stopped and listened. Then apprehensively followed the noise, finding a little girl of about six years of age crying.

"What is wrong," I asked her. She did not answer. But, instead, she skipped down the narrow open doorway that led under the house. We followed her cautiously, walking down the twelve steps to the cellar. Inside the cellar was a smaller room with children's toys in it, and there were symbols and markings on the floor; some of them were ancient similar to the ones on the graves out back. The child could not be found, she had disappeared into the shadows. But on the ground, I found a child's toy, a teddy bear. I picked it up. It was rotten. Carefully, I carried the toy upstairs, placing it on the kitchen table. Then on entering the front room, I heard sobbing coming from the bedroom. Abruptly there was a knock at the door, David answered, and I followed him after checking the bedroom which was empty of the sobbing child. Standing at the door were six people, all in fancy dress from a period of the sixteenth century. They looked fierce, and I was frightened. They held muskets and axes in their hands, and what looked like dead animals were tied to carrying pole. They became aggressive on seeing us and forcibly pushed us into the kitchen, tying us up to the wooden chairs. They had an angry countenance, and their phizog was fearful. I smelt a strange smell of blood-thirsty vegence and ghostly rebellion. From out of nowhere, three women and four children with dirty faces arrived shortly after; two were holding children's hands, and one of the women was with child.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered to David, frightened of the people standing before me.

"We need to escape immediately," whispered David.

The gathered people were speaking in Middle English, with strange accents, from a time before I was born. The hunters gruffly went outside with two of the women, to gut, skin, and clean the dead animals. We were left with the large woman and her children. The woman placed her baby into the bassinet. The little girl we had seen earlier sat with the three older children, close to the open fire. Until she spied her toy, she stood up walked to the kitchen table, ignoring our presence and clumsily lifted the teddy bear from the table-top where I had placed it. Then she sat down on the couch in the living room with the other children, mother, and baby. Upon the mother's return to the kitchen, she scowled at us, saying: "Edsihd feorsode babilon cristendom."

It was an ancient dialect, something in middle english I think. Then she walked to the sink to scrub pototoes. I sighed, what a mess we were in, I pulled at the tight ropes that were cutting into my wrist skin and ankles. And now I was crying, as I was in pain. The woman returned with dirty gags, which she placed in our mouths, preventing us from conversing.

I started to cry, and she slapped me hard on the face. It stung. I looked at David, who was trying to free himself, but it was no use. The woman tightened his shackles, covering his head with an old black sack, and then placed a smaller bag over the live chicken on the kitchen benchtop. She forced my head around to watch as she proceeded to cut the head of the live bird. And wack it was beheaded and the head thrown into the bucket on the floor. She hung the chicken over the bucket to catch the dripping blood. I was terrified that this could be our demise. And I could not breathe, or cry out, as the gag was too tight. I tried to relax. As the four large men loudly stomped inside, placing their muskets down. They started shouting at us in loud voices, and one of the men thumped himself down on the table. They stood around us, shouting accusatory accusations. Only I could see the people in the room, as David had his head covered. Then they dragged us to another corner of the living room, throwing us roughly against the wall. We ended up sitting facing each other.

The woman resumed her cooking, and the savage men headed to the fireside. It seemed like hours that we sat in terror. Then they forcefully untied us, and pushed us roughly down into the basement cellar. Where we were chained to the supporting beam. David was kicked in the stomach by one of the men, and I was roughly pushed to the ground. A vile of 'The Devils Breath,' liquid was forced down our throats, then out cold. And there we stayed for two, three, maybe four days without food or water. On the fifth day, the little girl walked over to me smiling. The chains were loosened, as the little girl handed me her toy teddy bear. Then she disappeared into the depths of the darkened room. I lifted the sack from David's head, removing the gag and unchaining him. David and I sat in silence for a few moments, while we recovered from the shock of the experience. We had survived. We hugged each other for a few moments. But they could return at any second, and chain us up again. Scared I panicked.

"We need to find the little girl," I said. "Come on," I said. "Come with me, outside."

I ran to the twelve steps with the teddy-bear in my hand. David followed, as I walked upwards, heading towards the back of the house. The graveyard was to the left, past the vegetable garden. There I searched for the little girl's grave. Upon finding it, I placed the teddy bear against the headstone.

"I am sorry to have disturbed you," I said, to the little girl's grave, holding David's hand. "We hope the return of your bear will bring you peace."

"We should leave!" I said to David, walking towards the house to pack up our stuff as fast as we could.

"We need to leave this cabin as we found it," David said, rushing to pack.

"Look at this book," I said, to David turning the page. "It is the answer to the words the woman in the kitchen used. Edsihd feorsode babilon cristendom; awareness, looking go beyond the world, the christian world."

"Whatever that means," I said closing the book.

The book closed, I placed it down on the table. It was time to leave. Without hesitation, we were on the forest track again. And after a short walk, only an hour we arrived at a new cabin. We used the keys and opened the door to a modern, all-convenience hut. It was beautiful inside, freshly painted with modern light fittings and new furniture.

"This is the right cabin, it has power," said Daivd turning on the light, it fits the leaflet.

"Look," I said, a welcome card.

To David and Sam, it read, We hope you enjoy your stay at Redwoods, respect our newly renovated cabins. Please have a great stay. Do not feed the bears. Love from the team at Redwoods.

"Look out Marsha!" Jane said, "or you will burn the mashmellows."

"Let me finish telling the ghost story," Sam said bravely.

"Redwoods was a dream," said Sam. "The water was bottled, and there was all the whiteware necessary to have an easy stay."

Sam finished telling her ghost story. Just then a white barn owl flew past, hooting into the quiet summer night. There was a rustling of night critters in the surrounding forest, and the warmth of the summer breeze was intoxicating. After eating three packets of marshmellows, each backpacker staying in the cabins, threw pinecones onto the open campfire, sending sparks into the darkening summer sky. It was time to leave the warmth of the fireside and the stars that twinkled above iridescently. We shivered as we headed back towards the nine-bedroom cabin, past the neat stack of firewood and towards the antiquated open fireplace. Towards the log-cabin without electricity or home comforts. That's when I thought I heard it, a child's sobbing coming from around the back of the house. A sobbing and moaning, like the child had lost something.

"David," I said. "Did you hear that? I thought I heard a child's cry."

We rushed around to the back of the cabin, only to see two freshly dug graves amongst the fifteen. Then all went quiet as we looked towards the cabin. The same candle was lit burning in the window. But, it was the little girl standing with the match box in her hand smiling at me, that really frightened my circumstance.

"Do you think I should have left that teddy bear where I picked it up?" I cried out to David.

The end.