HAUNTED CAMPS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES

My long-awaited book of campfire ghost stories officially launches today! All of the details are on the website, http://www.hauntedcamps.com/.

Okay, I know there are plenty of ghost story books out there. But that’s the point—lots of folks like ghost stories. Many of these books have been in print a long time. There are books of classic ghost stories, books of true ghost stories, books of ghost stories for your kids. There are even two other sets of books of ghost stories marketed to Boy Scouts.

So where does HAUNTED CAMPS fit in?

First, send the Cub Scouts to bed before telling a chilling tale from this book. The stories are truly scary, intended for people above the age of 13. One of the Scout campfire book series, which I’ll review in another post, is geared to young children. The teenage crowd wouldn’t even think it was funny, let alone scary. The other series, those by William Forgey, has a few good stories in it, but also has stories teenagers today would laugh at. The stories in HAUNTED CAMPS, while not as edgy as Stephen King tales (no vulgar or explicit content), will turn the ho-hum campfire into a spellbinding night of terror! But not to worry… (usually) everything is back to normal when daylight comes.

HAUNTED CAMPS includes two little-known classic tales: “The Lost Trail To Dead Oak Crossing” and “The Purple Bishop,” which I recreated from memory. Several of the stories relate to local Scout camps: Lost Pines (“Fire Across the Lake”), and Camp Urland (“The Ballad of Timothy Squirrel”). Texas’ State Parks become haunted in “Vernal Pools” and “Black Stain.” Two of the stories—“The Hole” and “Just Like Being There”--are modern.

I have encountered two of the ghosts myself: the stealthly specter known as “The Purple Bishop” and the wandering “Ghost Car” which appears in lots of places.

I can’t wait to see what your reaction to HAUNTED CAMPS will be.