The drive to Squirrel Hills seemed like a short one. As we went down the road passing forests, hills, valleys and creeks, I spotted all sorts of wildlife from the car window. I saw deer in the valley and a bear by the creek---this was going to be the best trip ever!
We pulled into the camping area at Squirrel Hills and parked at our spot. There was hardly anybody else there. Dad said that it was the off season, so we might even have the whole place to ourselves that night.
We set up our tents, gathered firewood and laid out our sleeping bags. I had never seen so many squirrels in one place before. They were running all over, chasing each other and making all sorts of chatter while flicking their tales. They seemed either excited or agitated that we were there. Buster sure that a great time chasing them around.
As the sun started to set behind the tree covered hills, Dad started a fire and we prepared the dinner that Mom packed for us. “Nothing better than hotdogs and hamburgers cooked over an open fire,” Dad said.
I ate more than I think I have ever eaten before. I thought that I would never have to eat again. Dad said, “Ready for desert? Mom has packed us a chocolate cake and some marshmallows and chocolate bars.” I told Dad that I was too full and could not eat another thing.
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.
*****
Chapter 22 - The luckiest man who did not know it
Once 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 a
sk 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.
*****
Chapter 23 - Poor Rufus
Rufus 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.”
About nightfall Rufus headed inside the old house. He looked around at the dusty cobwebs, rats scampering across the floor and broken furniture and thought, this was almost like home just a little nicer. This was going to be the easiest money he ever made.
Rufus climbed the creaky stairs and found a bedroom where he planned to spend the night. He put his shotgun down next to the bed and shook the sheets on the bed to get all the bugs and extra dust off. He took his boots off and slid under the covers. He blew out the candle that lit the room and laid there for a few minutes counting that easy money one dollar at a time in his head. He got up to about three hundred and forty eight when he finally fell asleep.
It was about two in the morning when a noise woke Rufus up. He heard a creaking in the old house and the sound of something rustling on the floor. Rufus yelled out, “Nobody is going to cheat me out of my five hundred dollars!”
The moonlight barely lit the room through the cracks in the boarded up windows. Suddenly, Rufus heard another creeek and a rustling sound down at the end of his bed. He slowly looked down to the foot of the bed and there, staring at him, was a set of white ghostly eyes. Rufus was startled, but then remembered the shotgun at the side of his bed. He slowly reached to the side of the bed while the ghostly eyes seemed to follow his movement. He grabbed the gun and pointed it at the white ghostly eyes still staring at him from the foot of the bed. As he pulled the hammer back he said, “You ain’t going to cheat me out of my five hundred dollars.” He pulled the trigger and boom the gun went off.
The council members and the developer, along with some other town folks, heard the noise and rushed into the old mansion to see if Rufus needed help.
Later that night, Rufus was in a hospital bed complaining about his being cheated out of the five hundred dollars. A lady, passing in the corridor outside, asked the nurse what had happened to the poor man. The nurse answered, “He will be fine. He just blew is two big toes clean off with his own shotgun.”
*****
Chapter 24 - The Nicren
There is a parallel dimension that is like ours, but also different. This dimension is called Htrae (which is earth in reverse). Htrae has a lot of real creatures that we consider in our dimension to be imaginary. Every once and a while, usually in an isolated spot like this, the two dimensions of Earth and Htrae intersect and a passageway is available between the two dimensions. Usually the opening is brief and nothing goes through the passage, but sometimes the dimension gateway is open longer and occasionally people, animals, birds and insects from our dimension pass through to Htrae. Likewise, sometimes things from Htrae pass through to our earth. This is why sometimes you hear stories of monsters, unicorns, ghouls, witches and all sorts of strange creatures having been spotted in our dimension.
Jennie and Lori had passed through one of these openings by accident a couple of days before. They were best friends heading out on a camping trip on a bright sunny Saturday. They were hiking a trail that they had hiked several times before and planned on staying a couple of nights in the woods. As they were heading down the trail the wind came up fast and then a bright flash of light. All of a sudden, Jennie and Lori found themselves on the same trail, but it was different. The plants were strange and there were two suns in the sky. The girls knew something had happened to them, but they had no idea what it was.
After a short distance down the trail, Jennie spotted a strange looking house across the field. It was almost rounded, like a half dome, made of wood and stone. The girls thought that they would stop there and try to find out where they were and what ha
d happened to them.
The door to the house was short, only coming up to chin level on the girls. They knocked on the door. They heard the door unlock from the inside and then slowly open. Standing in the doorway was a little elf. He had long hair and a kind looking face with a big smile. He looked at the girls with an expression that seemed to say, I know who you are. The girls started to tell the little man what had happened to them when, in the middle of the story, he interrupted and finished it for them. He explained that this was not the first time that some disoriented strangers had came down the trail and he knew that they had come through a doorway, a doorway that they could not go back through.
The girls looked at each other with a concerned look when in the distance came the sound of the most terrifying howl they had ever heard. Lori looked at the little elf and asked what that noise was. The little elf said that it was the howl of the Nicren. “The Nicren,” he said, “are the most terrifying creatures in Htrae. They are very big, very strong, very fast, very ugly and eat any type of meat.” The elf pointed to a nearby hill and said that on the other side of the hill was a valley of large trees and on the other side of the valley was another hill. These monsters lived in the valley woods. He continued, “There are two types of these monsters, one was called the Grizzle and the other type was known as the Grazzle and their both equally mean.”
The girls asked the elf how they could get home. The elf said, “Well there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a passageway opens one day after the passageway you came through closes. The bad news is that the passageway is on the other side of the valley of tall trees…where the Nicren hunt.”
The girls got exact directions to the location of the other passageway and then asked the elf if he could tell them how to get around the Nicren. The little elf told the girls that there were some small bells that could help them, but they could find the bells and how to use them over at the building on the hill where the town hardware was sold. The girls thanked the little elf and headed toward the building on the hill.
Fun Campfire Ghost Stories Page 5
