Campfire Stories

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Ranked #107 in Entertainment, #2,475 overall

Tales to put a stitch in your side or make the hair on your neck stand on end! A good story told around the campfire has got to be one of life's most unsung pleasures.

Autumn has arrived and the fields are empty. At night when a cold wind gathers the leaves, nary a bat will be found to flitter above when the globes of light created by campfires are cast. Gather everyone around.

It's time to tell campfire stories!!!!!

A Brief Introduction 

A hand picked collection of campfire stories collected from a few of the dustier corners of the web.

If you decide you want to tell stories, well I think that makes you someone special! All I can say on the subject is: practice, practice, practice. Never become discouraged. Search out and investigate other storytellers to become a better storyteller yourself. Any story you take the time to tell around the campfire will be time well spent.

Reading around a campfire can also be a great family tradition. Not only might you improve reading skills but you may also overcome any hesitancy of public speaking in a controlled environment. Mostly it's fun!

Have you ever heard of an overabundance of storytellers?

Hints on How to Tell Stories 

To be a good storyteller practice is needed but to be really good you put all of your heart into it. This is a fib you want your listeners to believe, so act like it. Take several minutes (or hours, lol) and listen to the pro storytellers. Tone, delivery, cadence and inflection are a good part of the tale being told. What you aren't seeing is also important: hand gestures, arms flapping and silly faces. What your body says is an unspoken language that can make or break your tale.

I've gathered a small group of web resources that might help bring out that storyteller in you. The information ranges in depth from one page to entire collections of articles.

Many sites stream audio and a few offer podcasts or downloads. Richard Martin has an excellent website where you can listen to an accomplished storyteller. You can try using storyteller websites as a place to train yourself. If you want to get serious look for workshops and classes to attend at nearby community colleges.

No time to learn a story? Don't sweat it. Practically all of the collected stories are easily printed to be read aloud around a dancing campfire.

You'll have a great time...
The Storytelling FAQ
Maintained by Tim Sheppard. I found this at Richard Martin's old website. Check his new one Tell a Tale and hover over resources for more help. From across the pond, a fully loaded FAQ page! Includes phone numbers - feel free to ring them up - just remember the time diff!
Aaron Shepard's Tell a Story
A short guide to story telling for those brand new to this entertaining campfire tradition. Only five pages long, sink your teeth in! Many of his stories are linked to below.

Yet more help from Aaron here.
The Campfire Stories Handbook - Story Telling
More tips on story telling gathered by The NetWoods Virtual Campsite, Steve Tobin, Campmaster. Steve put together many good stories and topped it off with tips. I can't link directly to the area in the page so you'll have to scroll down a bit more than halfway. A lot of work I know, but worth it.
Wenzel Story Telling Tips
Honest to goodness, Wenzel has a page on how to tell stories. Short, sweet and to the point you get an outline to work with - you noodle the rest!
Storyteller.net - Articles
A group of articles, mostly about storytelling but a little of this-n-that too. There is information here for all levels of storytellers, be ye a novice or accomplished.

Lens of the Day 


Awarded Lens of the Day on 6/20/06.

Thanks Sahadeva & Everyone!

Glow Sticks 

Look out! Flying glow sticks!

Didn't I mention glow sticks are a ton of fun? Forget about paying $2.75 at the campground office or a $0.99 for one at the giant box store. You and your kids will be the most popular folks on the campgrounds in the evening, at least until the glow sticks run out!

GlowGranny does a pretty good job on price and you don't have to order tons of product. Free shipping is always nice. Check them out.

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Campfire Stories Guestbook 

Whatsa matter, you blurbless?

Drop a note and say Hi!

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  • Reply
    anaturalphenomenon anaturalphenomenon Jun 21, 2009 @ 5:55 am
    This is such a wonderful resource for parents! Thank you so much for a great Lens!
  • Reply
    dustytoes dustytoes Apr 14, 2009 @ 5:31 pm
    I really don't like scary stories any more, but what a great idea for a lens! Sitting around a fire is fun, no matter what you do.
  • Reply
    mderbyshire mderbyshire Mar 24, 2009 @ 11:01 am
    Good lens! There is much to be said for relaxing around a real campfire with some good company and interesting stories to tell or listen to. It is certainly most atmospheric!

    Unfortunately, thanks to government nonsense, traditional campfires are now banned in many places when out camping (though I can obviously see the need for this in particularly hot and dry climates). This is a real shame, because I find using them for cooking is much more of a delight than using a stove (and obviously more cost efficient!). That said, check out my own lens on choosing a camping stove for times when building a campfire isn't an option.

    Take care.
  • Reply
    M_S_Beltran M_S_Beltran Nov 6, 2008 @ 8:58 am
    Cool lens! My family loves camping, and since we live in FL near some awesome beach camping sites we tend to take little excursions all winter... I am going to put this lens to good use. Nice job.
  • Reply
    Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Oct 14, 2008 @ 4:45 am
    Every summer we enjoy telling ghost stories by the campfire. Each year the tales get longer and more embellished. Thank you for posting so many new ghostly story starters. It will make for a terrifyingly great time on our next camping trip.
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Campfire Extras 

Some say essentials

At the end of this lens are some cool products like color flame crystals. It does exactly like it sounds, adding blues and greens to the reds and golds that occur naturally. Here's an example:

flame crystals 1


Brilliant blues and purples were seen in the fire's heart after the main display was over. If you want to add some razzle-dazzle or heck, just wanna have some fun, toss some of this into the flames. If you're like me you might just empty the whole thing in one night!

You can save a bundle on glow sticks. Want to be the most popular person on the campground? Bring a bag of these! Kids of all ages love glow sticks, so when you get asked how they work here is an easy explanation.

Scouting Campfire Stories 

Support your local Scouts!

A collection of web resources from the Scouts and dedicated Scouting supporters. Appropriate ages are sometimes indicated, usually by Scout rank. :)
A Genius This and That
This is a fun short story but you'll need a larger group to enjoy this story completely - I'd say at least 15 participants. This will go rather quickly and should come in under 10 minutes. Sure to bring smiles all around the fire from young and old.
Sneakers
A funny or scary ghost story from the Scouts. In a PDF format. Not too long and of course age appropriate, say thanks to the Scouts!
Audience Participation
Here is a collection of Audience Participation Stories for your use.
Funny Stories for Kids - short clean kid-oriented
From the Scouts!
The MacScouter -- Online Stories
The MacScouter is the one stop online place for all things about Scouting. Here I've linked to their table of contents in the stories subsection. A truly wonderful site!
Cub Scout and Boy Scout Stories
There are a ton of great stories here but they aren't hyperlinked. You'll have to cruise through, copy, paste and print to get what you want. All age appropriate material for youngsters.

World Stories 

Stories and legends from across the globe.

The Boy Who Drew Cats
A tale from Japan, retold by Aaron Shepard.
Children of Lir
From Storyteller.net an Irish tale.

Funny Campfire Story Websites 

Listed for your perusal are the websites stories are picked from. These sites might have just a few stories or be repositories for dozens of tales. As good a place to start as any if you are looking for more material.
Aaron's Indexes ~ Genre
More from Aaron's indexes. Here a direct link to his Tall Tales.
Tall Tales
Another section of American Folklore featuring Tall tales with many, many stories.
Legends of Paul Bunyan
The name really says it all doesn't it? A collection of stories featuring Paul and his adventures.
Tall Tales and Campfire Stories
Tall Tales and Campfire Stories. This could also be filed under the Scouts section. Here is a collection of tall tales and campfire stories suitable for telling to a group of young people.

Websites for Funny Campfire Stories Deuce 

Some of the websites the stories are drawn from

Feel free to explore!
Chuck Larkin -- Bluegrass Storyteller
This site contains a list of long stories in a variety of genres. If you think you are a good storyteller, here are some tales to test your mettle. Don't fret though, it also includes a nice selection of short tall tales too! Most enjoyable! This is in a .pdf format.
Funny Campfire Stories
From the site: "These campfire stories are either funny from start to finish, or appear to be scary but finish with a silly ending. Some are just plain corny, and that's okay, too!"

Native American Story Websites 

Tales from the First Nation

Native American myths
A collection of folklore from Native Americans. Another section from the American Folklore site.
Native American Lore Index
Here are links to a hundred and fifty stories of Native American Indian Lore.
Bear Stories
Eleven fairly short stories featuring many of the animals in Native American lore.
The Campfire Stories Handbook - Indian Legends
A collection of 8 Indian Legends, including: Why The Chipmunk Has Black Stripes; Chipmunk and Bear; How Dogs Came To The Indians; How Fire Came To The Six Nations; Tail Of Fire; The First Moccasins; Why The Mouse Is So Silky and Why The Opossum's Tail Is Bare.

These stories are of varying length and difficulty, but all fun with a lesson.

Gathered by The NetWoods Virtual Campsite, Steve Tobin, Campmaster.
The Campfire Stories Handbook - Indian Legends II
Includes the legends of: Rabbit Shoots The Sun; Spirit Animal; The Indian & The Snake; Why The Weasel Is Nervous; The Great Flood; The Origin Of The Winds; Rabbit And The Moon Man; Honeyed Words Can't Sweeten Evil; The Great Father Mosquito; The Eskimo Indian And His Fox Wife; The Loon; The Raven; The Hunting of the Great Bear;The Hungry Fox and the Boastful Suitor.

Again, many, many good tales.

Gathered by The NetWoods Virtual Campsite, Steve Tobin, Campmaster.

Campfire Pyrotechnics 

Enjoy a product that adds a little razzle dazzle to a fun evening around the campfire.

Fellow lensmaster All Things Michigan submitted a great idea: "Another cool thing to add to your campfire for the kiddies enjoyment - toss in a handful of granulated sugar and watch it spark and crackle. It's a miniature spark show." I'm going to find a link or two for more homemade fun like this.

The science behind this - the products contain a compound (copper sulfate) and something to suspend it in. Metals and other elements radiate a different frequency of light when burned. From Wiki here is a list of colors and elements. Neat huh?

Crystal Color Fire Sticks & Cones

Crystal Color Fire Sticks & Cones

Anyone that's been around one of our campfires will recall the absolutely stunning blues and greens these color cones and sticks brought out. Designed to be time released.1 point

SEYMOUR MFG CO INC #30-525 Color Flame Crystals

SEYMOUR MFG CO INC #30-525 Color Flame Crystals

Make sure your fire is nice-n-hot. Pour a goodly amount into the fire and watch the show. Expect a brief encore when you turn your logs.1 point

Seymour #30-991 Color Cone Box

Seymour #30-991 Color Cone Box

Color Cone Box, Attractive Box With Over 30 Pine Cones, Chemically Treated To Give Off An Array Of Blues & Greens When Added To Fire.1 point

by Jimi

A lens bringing tales to stand hairs on end or stitch your sides with laughter!

 

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