Customer Reviews

The Campfire Collection: Spine-tingling Tales to Tell in the Dark

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Not a children's collection of scary stories, but a literate, sophisticated compendium of great writing by lovers of the outdoors. The natural world, which can be an awesome delight and terror is evident in these tales. Some relate events that mystify but we know have a reality like the Marfa Lights by Judith Brueske. Others, like Beryl Bainbridge's piece from The Birthday Boys about Robert Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole or The Snow-Shoers by George Steward about the Donner party are "you are there" pieces that terrify. The unifying element for these stories are the outdoors and terror. Another is their quality--wonderfully literate with the power to stretch and scare the reader.

This is exciting stuff. After seeing the Amazon reviews, I couldn't resist writing. Those who found it boring, need to bring a television or vcr on their camping trips. (Heavey in the backpack, eh?) Good storytelling puts the imagination of the listener to work. The wonderful, descriptive language of all these scary tales lets you do just that. This collection is what storytelling around the campfire at night under the stars should be about.

"The Campfire Collection" is a real tribute to the lost tradition of story telling. I remember camping with my dad when I was little, and always telling scary stories as we fell asleep. It is a fabulous collection and truly spine-tingling (and a sturdy enough to toss in your back-pack before you head into the woods).

This is not horror or gory mayhem so those campers seeking bloody thrills stay clear. This is a collection of beautifully written, scary STORIES about survival in the outdoors as well as the awesome mysteries of the natural world. Tension, drama, detailed settings, and realistic emotions will make the evenings around the campfire become as satisfying as the day's trek, or climb.

I was disappointed with this book. The title of it is very misleading. I was looking for a good collection of ghost stories, or at least something with a creepy tone. There are a few good stories, but none of them are "campfire" type stories at all. They are not remotely scary or fun to tell around the campfire! They are simply a collection of stories written about travelers in the outdoors and adventure stories. I will not be buying the other book in this collection.

I really don't see what either part of the title of this book has to do with any of the stories inside. These aren't scary stories you would tell sitting around a campfire while out in the wilderness. They don't have anything whatsoever to do with camping, serial killers, ghosts or anything that would either fit under the Spine-Tingling claims of the title or what you would picture would be in a campfire story collection. Most of these stories are set in the snow or ice, how many families or couples go camping in the snow or in Antarctica? Tales of historic explorers or pioneers in wagons and stuff like that is not what most what most people attracted by this title want to read about. What does a tidal wave in a seaside town have to do with camping? The only one that could be even remotely have something to do with the wilderness is the bear attack, although not of camper but of a scientist. Even that story stops before the attack does, obviously she survives because she's telling the story but some details of the rescue and aftermath would have been nice.

The only thing I can see that the title of this book must be referring to be would be that the pages of this book would be good to keep the campfire going to keep you warm for an extra few minutes. This book is an excellent example of great successful marketing, the title would sell a heap of copies no doubt, but it is not very ethical marketing to mislead and promise one thing then deliver something totally different to what that title promises. Hopefully this review will stop others being ripped off.

As an avid outdoor person who frequently backpacks and car camps I was very eager to purchase this book from all the "glowing" reviews. I waited for the perfect outing (solo backpacking) and the right moment (dead of night) to read the first instalment. To make a long story short, I almost fell asleep! I totally agree with the reviewer who stated that these stories would be embarassing to tell in front of others, in fear that they also might fall asleep.

Other than the well written article about a bear mauling, the other stories fall flat. Where is the famous "Monkey's Paw"? The only people who would find these stories remotely scary are tea tottlers or the ocassional camper who gets scared watching an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". If you really want to send chills down your spine bring a Stephen King novel or one of his novelette (Different Seasons) now that, would have you hearing bumps in the night!

This book was so droll. The adjectives describing this book were so off base. It was not spine-chilling.The only decent story in the book was about a bear attack. Why not just state that the book covers outings of misfortunes. What a waste of money and time. I was very disappointed.

Not a children's collection of scary stories, but a literate, sophisticated compendium of great writing by lovers of the outdoors. The natural world, which can be an awesome delight and terror is evident in these tales. Some relate events that mystify but we know have a reality like the Marfa Lights by Judith Brueske. Others, like Beryl Bainbridge's piece from The Birthday Boys about Robert Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole or The Snow-Shoers by George Steward about the Donner party are "you are there" pieces that terrify. The unifying element for these stories are the outdoors and terror. Another is their quality--wonderfully literate with the power to stretch and scare the reader.

On the front of this book it says "spine-tingling tales to tell in the dark". I guess it is spine tingling if you were frightened to read The Cat In The Hat!! I stuck with reading the book to the end thinking that surely there must be a scary story somewhere there. I was wrong. Just a waste of money and time for this book.