Scary Campfire Story

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

Jen passed by the cabin every day on her evening walk with her dog, Nobo. She had always wondered if the stories about the cabin were true, or if they were simply village folk lore.

The story had been shared in hushed tones hundreds of times by the villagers over the years and only ever on one night. Never ever was the story told on any other night of the year, for it was rumoured that it would bring “it” back to the village.

Apparently some 100 years earlier, a small number of teenage girls were fooling around with a Ouija board in the graveyard, tricking and frightening each other and giggling stupidly. They had never used a Ouija board before. Usually, they just went to the graveyard at night-time to tell silly ghost stories and scare each other senseless, pretending that they were part of a coven. But that night Veronica said that she had a surprise for them and unveiled the board.

“One should never fool around with a Ouija board my mother said,” whispered Priscilla, her dark hair in a fashionable straight bob to her chin. She had received the invitation from Veronica to attend their graveyard jaunt earlier that day.

Priscilla, although quite pretty, was not popular amongst her peers. Probably because she was so bookish, her mother would say. And so, she leapt at the opportunity to get to know these girls better outside of school...even if it did mean attending the graveyard at nighttime. She shivered at the autumn chill. “It’s a bit creepy here, girls. I think I should like to go home.”

“I think I should like to go home,” mimicked Veronica nastily. “Go home if you want. We don’t need you.”

“Are you sure?” Priscilla asked. It seemed too easy to leave the circle and she was expecting Veronica to make more of a fuss.

“Go,” Veronica ordered, not looking at Priscilla.

“Well, thank you,” Priscilla said slowly, still expecting Veronica to change her mind or mete out some form of punishment for abandoning the circle. “Good night girls. See you at school on Monday.” Priscilla turned away to pick her way through the gravestones, when she heard Veronica scream “GET HERRRRRRR!”

And all of a sudden, Priscilla was grabbed by the waist from behind and thrown to the ground with a mighty ferocity beyond what she felt these girls were capable of. She fell awkwardly and hit her head on the corner of a child’s gravestone, knocking her out.

The girls stared at Priscilla’s still body and were all in a lather. “Oh my god, Veronica. She’s dead!” Alice cried as they rolled Priscilla over onto her back and a stream of maroon liquid dripped from Priscilla’s hair line.

The girls panicked and left their things, including the Ouija board and ran out the gates of the graveyard, stopping briefly to hatch a plan through tear-streaked faces. They agreed not to tell anyone what had happened but before dawn they would sneak out and return to the graveyard to move Priscilla’s body and conceal her in a shallow grave. Veronica would bring the shovel.

The sky was doing strange things – a weird electrical storm like never before surged up and whipped the dead leaves that had fallen onto the ground into a frenzy.

The opaque shape of a body floated through a portal that had formed above the Ouija board and poured itself into Priscilla’s slack body. Priscilla had appeared to the girls to be dead, but despite the nasty knock to her head, she had simply been rendered unconscious. A lightening bolt streaked across the sky and branched into hundreds of little streams of light. And just like that, the entity entered her body and Priscilla’s eyes shot open.

Priscilla arose from the ground, clutching at her head and resting against a gravestone. Thunder rumbled in the sky above and she stumbled, dazed, before too long finding herself lost in the nearby woods. The night was dark – the moon hidden behind thick, dark, sticky clouds and the only light illuminating her way were the unpredictable flashes of lightning across the nightscape.

The cabin where the newlyweds Eleanor and Richard had mysteriously disappeared 6 months prior, appeared before her as a welcome place to rest for the night until she could get her bearings in the morning.

Priscilla had a raging headache from the knock to her head and felt a bit nauseous, but knew that perhaps a little water may help her to feel a bit better. She was tired and frightened but mustered up her last remaining shred of courage to open the door to the cabin and step inside.

It was pitch black inside. She couldn’t see her nose before her face and walked into the corner of a table or bench – she couldn’t tell which. She cried out in pain and rubbed her hip whilst feeling around on the wooden top with her other hand in the dark. Amongst the rat droppings and dead moths, her hand grasped what felt like an elaborate candlestick and a candle. Her heart leapt at this find and she prayed that she would find some matchsticks nearby. In a moment she located a book of matches. Her fingers ran over the matchsticks, and she counted that there were 5 left. She struck a match against the rough paper and lit the candle.

Priscilla took a breath as she surveyed her surroundings and the candle itself. It had strange carvings both on the candle and on the candleholder.

“Odd,” she thought to herself and swept the candle around the room, with her hand shielding the flame. A thick layer of dust was on every surface and the air was musty.

In the corner of the room stood a dusty armchair with a mirror perched behind it. And standing before the armchair was the most odious being that Priscilla had ever laid her eyes on. Its eyes were beady and sunken-in and its lips were large and fleshy, blood red. Its skin looked bumpy – almost reptilian and it was hairless. It had a rounded belly but quite thin arms and legs. She could smell it from where she was standing, and it smelt of a combination of rotting flesh and sewerage. It was holding a strange candle also and she felt drawn to move closer to it. As she moved, it moved, and she realized that she was looking at herself in the mirror.

Priscilla opened her fleshy mouth and screamed. The sound that came from her mouth was the foulest screech – like fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard and a chainsaw all at once. She put the candle on the windowsill and ran from the cabin and to the nearby lake. The clouds were no longer obstructing the moon and its light was bright and guiding her to the water’s edge. She stumbled on the rocky shore and again in the shallows.

When she’d waded in deep enough, she threw herself into the dark, murky waters and breathed the cold water into her lungs. As she sank to the bottom of the lake, she felt a release and then all was still and silent. The large ripples that her body made when she strode into the lake water slowly subsided, and the lake became calm and quiet yet again. An owl hooted a sad farewell.

Priscilla’s body was located 2 days later, bobbing along the shoreline by 3 young boys who had gone fishing.

*****************************************

The window to the cabin was a sash type and it suddenly slid upwards, which startled Jen and Nobo. Nobo released a low growl and started barking. Although the sudden movement of the window caught her by surprise, she shushed Nobo and kept her eyes trained on the window.

A moment passed and then another. There seemed to be no further activity and she wondered whether she should go and investigate. At that moment, the door to the cabin swung open and a mini zephyr swirled leaves up into the air and into the shape of a woman. Flesh and bones began to materialize forming a shapely body and long dirty blonde hair sprung from the scalp. Within the space of a heartbeat, a naked woman stood before Jen. However, Jen could tell from the woman’s soulless eyes that she was anything but human.

The woman stretched her hand upwards towards the sky and a pink cashmere sweater began to weave itself around her arms and torso. Dark blue denim jeans and white platform sneakers clothed the lower half of her body. A gold puffer jacket shielded her from the cold and her nails were perfectly manicured in a muted shade of shell pink. A small white leather handbag with a gold chain strap fit lazily over her shoulder.

The woman with the soulless eyes stared through Jen and a misty black fog descended upon her. Jen felt heavy and wooly headed. She felt momentarily disorientated as it appeared that she was looking back at herself, but instead, from the vantage point of where the woman had been standing. Jen realized that the woman had curated herself to be an exact image of Jen.

Jen was rooted to the ground, unable to move. Nobo was barking ferociously at the imposter and watched in disbelief as Jen started to twist and transform into a gnarled tree.

The woman pointed her manicured finger at Nobo to silence him. “Quiet Nobo, it’s me,” she said in Jen’s voice. Nobo stood back, growled, and began pacing with his ears pinned back against his head. “Come on Nobo, you silly dog. It’s me. Let’s go to town and get some food, I’m starving,” the woman said to the dog.

Nobo whined and followed after the woman as she wound her way back down the path towards the village. Nobo stopped from time to time to first sniff at a dead sparrow and then a pile of leaves with something decaying inside of it.

“Jen” made it into town just after the sun had descended past the horizon and she tied Nobo’s lead to a bike rack outside of the small general store. She stroked Nobo’s silky head and said “Be a good boy. Mummy will be back soon with a treat for you and dinner for me.”

Jen traversed the frozen food section where there was a very small selection of ready-made meals. She was trying to decide between Spaghetti Bolognese or a Chicken Satay when Brent sidled up beside her and greeted her with “Hey Jen.”

Jen closed the freezer door, holding the packet of Spaghetti Bolognese loosely in her hand. She smiled at Brent and cocked her head to the side. She reached out her free hand and stroked Brent’s arm. “Well, hello there. It’s nice to see you again.”

Brent looked surprised, raked his hand through his hair and said “Really?”

Jen looked at him expectantly. He cleared his throat and shuffled his weight onto his other foot. He wedged his hands into his pockets in order to try to appear more casual. “Well, ah, it’s just that what you said the last time that I saw you… kind of made me think that maybe I’m not your favourite person. I um, wanted to apologise for what happened- “

Jen hadn’t removed her gaze from him this entire time and squeezed his arm as a gesture to silence him. “Oh, forget about that. Don’t worry about it.” She paused and purred “Would you like to join me for dinner? Frozen meal, though I’m afraid. I’m fixing up the cabin in the woods and haven’t had time to do any proper food shopping. I thought perhaps we could head out there as I’m dying to show off what I’ve done to the place.”

Brent looked at her suspiciously. Jen was acting weird. This was not like her at all. She usually barely registered his presence and in fact the last time she saw him, she elbowed him hard in the ribs after she had misheard what he said, thinking he’d been quite crude.

“What do you mean you’re fixing up the cabin in the woods? I didn’t know it belonged to anyone. I thought it was abandoned.” Brent felt uneasy. He took a step back. Jen was trying to get him to look into her face, but instead Brent looked down at his watch.

“Um, I just came over to apologise for the misunderstanding the other day. I’d like to do dinner, but maybe some other time. I have some other stuff to do tonight.” Brent tried to furnish his steadiest smile, waved without properly looking at her and walked away, the soles of his shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor. She stood and stared at a packet of frozen puff pastry with such ferocity that the shrink wrap began to melt.

Drake, a confident young buck who was popular with the ladies in his office sauntered up and placed his large hands on her shoulders. Normal Jen would have been irritated with this blatant show of familiarity, but this woman was not normal Jen. He took her ease at his touch as a window of opportunity.

“I hear that you’re looking for a dinner companion,” Drake said to her reflection in the freezer window. He had placed his shopping basket on the floor. A packet of condoms was placed prominently on top of a tub of ice-cream.

Jen composed herself after the earlier rejection and smiled at Drake – all teeth. She clicked her tongue as if to indicate she was considering his invitation.

“That I am.” Jen said and turned to face him. Because he had been standing directly behind her with his hands on her shoulders, when she turned to face him, her body was tantalizingly close to his.

“I was just saying to Brent that I’m fixing up the cabin in the woods. You know – the dumpy one everyone thinks is abandoned? My Uncle George left it to me,” she lied. She stepped to the side to put some physical distance between them. His aftershave was a cheap pharmacy brand and although not offensive, was unpleasant at such close proximity.

“I never told anyone because I really didn’t want all of the eligible bachelors in town chasing me only because of that prime piece of real estate.” She laughed ruefully as the cabin was over 100 years old and was slowly being returned to nature. It was really quite beyond repair.

“I’ve been staying up there the past few weeks while I’ve been fixing it up. And it gets a bit lonely to be honest with just me and Nobo kicking around. It would be nice to have some company. What do you say?”

Drake couldn’t believe his luck. He had lost count of how many times he’d struck out with Jen. He was persistent though and clearly, he thought to himself, persistence pays off.

As if she was reading his mind she said “Drake, I know that in the past I’ve not really been all that nice to you. But you’ve always been really nice to me and well, despite everything, you keep trying and I feel like maybe I should give you a chance.”

Drake smiled a smile like the wolf who caught the sheep. Drake actually wasn’t a very nice person at all. He was tall and handsome, with floppy hair and a dimple in his chin. He routinely took advantage of his looks at every opportunity, leaving a string of broken hearts in his wake. Jen would be the ultimate notch on his belt and would forever give him bragging rights at the pub. Every guy in town had tried to win Jen over, but she was happily single after a failed engagement to a guy who had blown in and out of town.

“It does sound pretty lonely up there… and I’ll bet it gets a bit scary for you after dark in the woods. I know how women get in the dark by themselves. I can protect you.” Drake sniggered.

“I don’t mind the dark much. I have a candle in the windowsill and nice warm fireplace. You’ll be surprised at how the cabin looks now,” Jen said, irritated by his chauvinism and glad that she had settled on Drake and not Brent.

They headed outside to untether Nobo and make their way out of town on foot up to the cabin in the woods. Drake had an irritating habit of swinging his plastic shopping bag by his side so that it crackled noisily. Nobo wasn’t all that enamoured with Drake, but he didn’t bark or growl. He did, however, walk behind Drake, keeping an eye on him like a sentry man.

As they approached the cabin, using the torch on Drake’s mobile phone to light their path, Drake slowed down, put his hands on his hips and ventured “Huh. I don’t remember that tree being there.”

Jen said “That old thing? It’s always been in there. Come on, follow me.”

Jen bounced up the wooden steps to the porch and opened the rotting cabin door. Noticing Drake’s reaction to the external appearance of the cabin, Jen said “Yeah I know, the outside needs some work, but wait until you see inside. It looks really pretty.”

Drake drew in his breath as he stepped inside of the cabin. From the exterior it looked like a mess, but Jen had clearly been hard at work on the inside. It was warm and inviting and styled in a country chic aesthetic. Fresh flowers were in a glass vase on the windowsill, next to a strange, tapered candle which didn’t match the rest of the candles at all.

Jen poked holes in the top of the plastic film covering the Bolognese and popped it into the microwave. She set it going according to the heating instructions on the packet and poured them a generous glass of red wine. She leaned against the table, thrusting her breasts out and shaking off her puffer jacket. A large fire was crackling in the fireplace.

“It’s warm in here,” she said, taking a large gulp of wine and smiling at Drake.

Drake followed suit, and shook off his jacket, gulping down half the glass of wine in 3 large mouthfuls.

“Want a top up?” Jen asked him, not waiting for his answer.

“Gee Jen, I don’t know what is up with you, but you sure are different,” Drake said, scratching his neck.

Jen stopped smiling. “Different how?” The demon woman was concerned that she was blowing her cover.

“Well, I’ve never known you to drink,” Drake said, starting to get nervous, which was very un-Drake-like. He held his palms up in the air and said, “I am not complaining.” Drake made to move in for a kiss, but Jen turned her head at the sound of the microwave beeping.

“Oh, I see.” Her coquettish smile returned. “There’s plenty of time for that after dinner, Drake.”

“Sure, great,” Drake said and drank more of his wine.

After dinner, Jen plopped herself down on the new couch. For a moment, Drake thought he saw a plume of blue/grey dust rise up from the couch, and the room turn cold, dark, and draughty like it was pre renovation, with only that weird candle in the window. But only for a moment and then it returned back to the warm and inviting love haven that Jen had created.

Drake sat beside Jen on the couch. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner. If you like, I’d be happy to provide you with dessert?”

Jen raised an eyebrow and he whipped out the defrosted caramel slice from behind his back and waggled his eyebrows in some lame cartoonish attempt at being funny.

“Oh, I think I’d prefer something else,” Jen said aggressively and lunged towards him. Drake’s mouth fell open in surprise. Jen’s lips fell onto his and her hand grabbed at the fabric of his designer shirt at his chest to pull him even closer into a deeper kiss. He allowed himself to be pulled in closer and grabbed her breast.

The air in the room shifted almost imperceptibly, but enough to send a shiver up Drake’s spine. And then he saw what Jen was. The beady eyes and fleshy lips. The odious stench.

Suddenly, Drake’s eyes bulged out of his head as Jen’s tongue snaked its way down the back of his throat, blocking his airway. At the same time, her nails became tallonous and broke through the skin and bone over his chest with an audible slurp and crack. She growled gutturally and ripped out his beating heart, watching it pump ferociously in her hand until it slowed to a complete stop. Jen surveyed his heart and noticed that for such a tall man, it was really quite small and hard, as if it were a physical representation of how he never allowed love to touch his heart when alive. His body by this time had slumped forward and she threw his heart over her shoulder where it landed on the floor with a soft thud.

Next, she broke apart his chest, stripping out his ribs. She fashioned his ribs into a ghoulish harp, summoning her demon dogs with its song. The dogs fought over the tiny morsel of muscle which was Drake’s heart.

“Enough!” she commanded and turned to look at the two ghastly canines. “There is enough for the both of you. No fighting. And just where are your manners? Sharing is caring, remember?” They bowed their head and then sat upright, awaiting her permission to find something to feast on.

Opening the zipper of Drake’s pants, she really couldn’t understand the fuss he caused around town. Unimpressed with his package, she ripped it from his body and threw it across the room to her grateful demon dogs. She gouged out Drake’s eyes and put one on her index finger and one on her middle finger and pointed them at her dogs and said “Remember, I’m watching you two.” The dogs politely chomped away at Drake’s bits. But it was a short meal, and they were still hungry. She flicked his eyes from her fingertips into their open mouths.

Jen then ripped his left arm off at the shoulder and fashioned it into a crude back scratcher. “Ahhhhhh,” she said as she scratched at the sweet spot between her shoulder blades.

Jen sliced open Drake’s abdomen with a sharp claw, pulling his intestines out from his body and draped them around her body like a guts pashmina. She then snapped his right arm off below the elbow and sucked out the marrow from his bones.

As promised, she provided a treat to Nobo, throwing him a bone. She feasted on Drake’s flesh and when she was sated, as quickly as she had appeared, she dematerialized into a zephyr of leaves, to rest for another 100 years until she was summoned again. Her demon dogs disappeared with her and only Nobo remained with a bloody ulna hanging from his mouth.

The room grew cold, dark, and draughty with only that weird candle burning in the window.

By Kelly Devanny