Customer Reviews

Campfire Tales, 2nd: Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggety Beasties (Campfire Books)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Do not be fooled by the luring cover of this book. I bought the book in a bookstore in Lake Placid, NY while on a vacation with my family thinking I could read the stories to my three children in the wilderness. What a mistake! This book contains numerous short stories, not about ghoulies, ghosties and long legged beasties as the cover suggests. It actually contains short stories about murder, mayhem, dismemberment, hostage taking, and child kidnapping. Not the sort of thing you would want to read to your children around a campfire. To wit: page 70 "Again, with the toe of his moccasin he touched the Cossack -- a grisly spectacle, no longer conscious -- yet in whose dismembered body the pain-racked life clung and was loath to go." Just awful. Page 175: "Finally the big man's strength won out, and John held the knife to the throat of the brave who had fought so hard. Without blinking so much as an eyelash, and with more strength than John knew he had left, he cut the Indian's throat so deeply that he severed the Indian's head from his body. John decided to keep the head as a totem." If you think you can read this stuff to your children than by all means do so, but you are better off letting them watch the nightly news for this sort of gruesome ... . I recommend making up your own stories and passing on this awful book.

It is an excellent book. Take it from an Eagle Scout that this is a must have book for scout leaders and parents that go camping with their kids. I liked this book because of it's easy storytelling style and helpful outlines at the end of each story that I could follow but tell the story like it was my own.

After reading Campfire Tales I knew I had to share this book with my three sons! We have gone on many camping trips over the years and there is nothing like telling a ghost story around the old campfire at the end of a busy day! I would recommend this book to any family that enjoys a ghostly tale!

A few years ago I read the first book by Dr. Forgey entitled Campfire Tales and just recently I read the second book of tales. Frankly, I absolutely loved both and I promise that if you enjoy a little good clean fun as much as I do you will feel the same way about this book as I do.
There is something engaging, almost enchanting in a campfire that just naturally seems to make it the perfect setting for a scary story. The night air, sounds of animals, and aura of a good fire just invites one to reflect. Howver, I did have a problem in that as much as I love a good story I simply couldn't tell one to save my life, actually I still can't. Nonetheless, for those of you like myself this book is perfect! In the first part of this book one can find an EXCEEDINGLY helpful list of tips in giving a story that will be sure to entertain. One concern may be the inclusion of graphic violence found in some stories. First of all, I can assure you that these stories are quite tame compared to what is prevalent on television today and furthermore (and this should be emphasized) each story has an outline at the end providing the necessary details. In other words you can include or exclude material that you may view as offensive and thus give a great story while still being comfortable with the material.
In conclusion, if you enjoy the outdoors and the atmosphere of a great campsite or just enjoy a good story you will love this book. This book will provide you with stories but more importantly it will help you have fun, which is what a camping trip is all about in the first place.

I consider myself kind of an old fashion person, I enjoy camping hiking and just enjoying the simple pleasures the world has to offer me and I believe nothing is better than sitting around a camp fire at night telling stories to your buddies, family, children, whoever and enjoying your surroundings...... or fear them, haha. well this book was the perfect tool for me to take advantage of, it is full of classic tales that can create fear, and make you laugh at the same time. It is the perfect side dish to smores and marshmallows, there is nothing that compares to good treats and good tales.... another review claimed this book to be filled with murder and unheard of acts and violence, I would like to point out that anyone who is over three years old and isn't afraid of winnie the pooh, would enjoy this book and consider it a valuable investment when planning their next trip to the deep dark woods.

Don't let the subtitle of this book, "Ghoulies, Ghosties, and Long-Leggety Beasties" mislead you. William Forgey's second collection of campfire stories is far better than such a nonsense phrase would suggest.

I liked "CAMPFIRE TALES..." even better than the first book, "CAMPFIRE STORIES..." which I rated 5 stars. This book doesn't have any of the cutesy joke stories in it.

My favorite from this volume is "Predator of Souls." Sounds a little Stephen King, doesn't it? Actually, it's a great Indian legend, and an easy-to-tell ghost story. Another highlight in this book is the author's version of Henry Kuttner's "The Graveyard Rats," which he titles "The Diamond Stickpin." Before you read "The Diamond Stickpin," Forgey presents the original "The Graveyard Rats." The purpose is to demonstrate how a storyteller may adapt a discovered horror tale for use in a campfire program.

Volume two retains the post-story plot outlines found in the first book, and expands on the storytelling advice previously shared. This book is a must-have companion to Forgey's earlier book, which together give you more than a year's worth of scary story material to give your youth group some campfires they'll remember. Just send the Cub Scouts to bed first!

-Byron C. Justice
author of Haunted Camps
and Violent Night