GHOST STORY – I ain’t afraid of no ghost!

Dawn, over at lingeringvisions is looking for a few ghost stories for a campfire jamboree she’s going to be attending.  The stories need to be for youngsters, ages 6 – 10.  Now I’m no big deal writer but I thought I’d take a crack at it. Here’s my contribution to Dawn’s creepy sleep over.  Have fun, Dawn.

The photo is hers.  Not mine.  I haven’t been camping in about 13 years.  So credit where credit is due.

And now, bring on the ghosts!

Jesse lifted himself off the ground and walked away from the campfire and the weird ghost stories that were being told. He didn’t believe in ghosts and he certainly wasn’t being frightened. He walked to where the woods met the campground and let his eyes follow the trunk of the tallest tree to where millions of stars dotted the night sky.
As he dropped his gaze and tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness in front of him, Jesse spotted what he thought was a dim light. He squinted and blinked, trying to focus as the object moved toward him. Thinking the darkness was playing tricks on him, he scrunched his eyes tightly. A slight gasp slipped from his lips when he reopen them and saw the young girl standing before him. He thought he could almost see the woods behind her through her pale ghostly shape.
“How creepy,” he thought. Then whispered, “Are you a (gulp) ghost? There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
The little girl held her hand out to Jesse beckoning him to follow. She didn’t smile or blink or speak. She just waited patiently for Jesse to make his move.
Not wanting to appear scared, but hoping that someone had followed him to the tree line, Jesse turned toward the campsite but he had wandered too far.
When he turned back, Jesse could see the girl walking, no almost floating, deeper into the woods.
“Hey!” he called taking one step further into the darkness. “Hey. Wait up.”
The figure continued, getting further and further away. Suddenly, she stopped and Jesse could swear she disappeared. He took two more steps into the woods when, out of nowhere, a very bright light glowed where the girl had been standing.
A voice rang softly in the distance.
“Help me.” The voice called. “Please help…”
The sound faded and the light went out.
Without thinking about his own safety, Jesse ran deep into the woods. When he reached the spot where he thought the light had been, Jesse came to a stop. He paused to listen but there was only an eerie silence. No girl. No cries for help. Deciding he had imagined it all, Jesse turned to head back to camp. Just then he heard a blood curdling scream and he knew he hadn’t imagined it at all. The sound was coming from him! Jesse knew that what he saw would make him a believer.
The next night, sitting around the campfire, Jesse told his story. Even though he knew no one would believe him.

I hope I didn’t scare you too much.  Click on the campfire and you can get to Dawn’s blog.  She’s got an awful lot of great photos to share.

And if you have a creepy story that would go good with a campfire, I’m sure she’d appreciate the contribution.