the campfire tale

The campfire glowed with red, red light as we sat around in our circle.  Sophy was there with the lantern at her head, telling scary stories of the lost and the dead.

"And when she leaned over, she fell into the well.  Now where her soul wanders no tongue can tell."

"I know where she is," little Tanya piped up, "She haunts the old mansion on the hill.  The man who built it years ago went belly up, but his son is living there still.  The maid's ghost haunts their halls and water drips down the walls and her spirit never gets its fill."

"Fill of what?"

"Their fear, of course, since they'll never, ever feel remorse for her unfortunate end."

"But someday the son will die.  What will she do then?"

"Find someone else to haunt, I guess," and Tanya shrugged and sighed.

"Oh, come on," scoffed Henry, "You girls are taking us all for a ride.  Everyone knows there are no ghosts, no aliens, none at all.  No Bigfoot, no unicorns, no witches or mediums gazing at crystal balls."

"Well then, Henry," Sophy growled, "Maybe you'd like to go up to the mansion and look around.  Then you can let us know if the walls are dry and the lights are on and all is as it should be."

"I don't want to bother the old man's son, but don't think your ghost stories scare me."

"Just go and look in a couple of windows, you don't have to knock on the door."

So Henry agreed and off he went and was gone for an hour or more.  We stayed at the fire and laughed and joked and made our sticky s'mores.  Henry returned after some time, hair all sweaty and face all gray.  We started when he came into our view, and then we waited for what he would say.  He stared at Sophy for minutes it seemed and not a word he said.  And then he muttered, "I just hope I don't dream," and shuffled off to bed.  Confusion fell upon us all and nobody knew what to do.  Then footsteps were heard to echo in the woods and we all jumped up as quick as we could, and we saw a white lady in a black hood, who chilled us through and through.  The hood was black and her dress was white and her eyes were red as flame, and her hair was long and dripping wet, and Sophy asked her name.

"My name don't matter!" she snapped at us and showed her greenish teeth, "I jes' came to say, you all stay away from the big house, or I'll give ya's grief!  Don't nobody need to be pokin' around, not no priest, no po-lice, no thief!  Them haunts is my home and I sez you stay out!"  We all backed away when she started to shout, but Sophy just couldn't help asking about the curse and the wealth that was there.  "Ain't none o' yer business!" the white lady roared, and she vanished like smoke in the air.

All we could do was put out the fire and go to sleep for the night.  But nobody slept; we couldn't help letting our minds wander till it got light.  When the sun rose, we pounced on Henry, but our efforts were all in vain.  He refused to give any clue about what he saw, just swearing he'd never go again.  Not even Sophy could work up the guts to go to the mansion and see what was there, for Henry's fright was contagious, though the ghost that we met, all clad in white and soaking wet, with eyes that burned like twin sunsets, wasn't so scary, just the rudest thing anywhere.