THOUGHTS ON
In its early days, a “campfire story” did not always refer to a tale of the supernatural or macabre. The term, itself, could as easily apply to any story spun at the light of the campfire. Some stories were of buried treasure, others of big snakes, and more still may be heard of hunting or fishing exploits.
However, a particular favorite in days gone by were of feats perform during war, as told by soldiers themselves, in an encampment as a means to pass the time. In times of peace, such occasions were often organized by fraternal organizations, such as Grand Army of the Republic, and arranged in the format of a story swapping contest for veterans. But every trade had its tales. Wherever a camp had sprung and a light was lit rest assured a story would not be far at hand.
Nevertheless, at no time, were ghost stories wholly absence from campfire festivities. Prospectors of the old west were apt to tell haunting tales within the vastness of the uncharted wilderness, and Native American peoples told chilling tales long before they ever set foot in the country. As to why tales of the otherworldly would become so intrinsically linked with an open fire is somewhat of a mystery. Still, it is not difficult to imagine how the shapes and shadows in the darkened wilderness might lead one to “seeing things.” Perhaps, it was merely a case of misidentified noises and hidden forms moving about the forest night that lent to the subject of ghosts being brought up again and again.
No matter, what its origins, the supernatural has become irreversibly embedded in our memories of long moonlit nights and the sight of glowing embers disappearing into to the air.