One of the best camping activities without any doubt is storytelling. If you have ever spent a night in the woods with friends then you are, by all means, familiar with that warm feeling when, in the attempt to escape cold and dark, people encircle fire and start telling stories.
By the way, we highly recommend bringing some snacks. Usually, the stories that are told are scary and related to local legends bond for the area in which you are camping. But as time passes, the spooky remakes of fairy tales become more and more popular.
Below you will read about a few of the best ways to avoid the cliche of urban legends and give your friends the creeps they deserve.
Camp Storytelling – Spooky Remake of Fairy Tales
We all know what happened to Little Prince. He was bit by a snake so he could depart from his body and reach his home planet so he could reunite with his beloved flower. But when camping, that story can be modified. Instead of departing, his soul could remain trapped and doomed to roam this world for eternity.
Or, you could say that upon his return on the home planet, he arrived in the heart of terror for his world was not what it used to be. However, sometimes when you are tired after a long day of walk it can be hard to be imaginative. It is why the original versions of brother Grimm fairy tales are a perfect choice.
Brother Grimm Original Fairy Tales
The original versions of brother Grimm fairy tales are dark and brutal. For example, Cinderella is far different than it is the case in the Disney cartoons we all watched. When the glass shoes arrived in both sisters cut their feet. The mother persuaded them to do so because the one that becomes a princess will never have to walk again.
It is only when the blood starts pouring out of the shoe that the prince acknowledges it is a fraud and goes back to check for other ladies in the house. After cinderella’s foot proves to be the perfect fit the sisters get what they deserve.
Heavenly doves come and gouge their eyes with their beaks. And there is no glass shoe actually. In the original version of Cinderella, the shoes are made from squirrel fur.
Greek Mythology – Kronos
The most brutal and ferocious stories come from Greek mythology. The story of Kronos, the child eater is without any doubt, one of the darkest stories of them all. And it is very suitable for camping if the sky is clear. This is due to the fact that it can start with pointing a finger in the direction of Saturn.
The planet looks like a bright star and is very popular in astrology but holds some dark history. Saturn is the Roman version of Greek titan Kronos.
And Kronos was born to father Uranus the ruler of the universe and mother Gaia. Uranus was killing some of Gaia’s kids which enraged the mother who gave Kronos a sickle that the son used to castrate his father.
He threw his father’s testicles into the sea. The foam appeared and from the foam, Afrodita was born. But Kronos was also the one to eat his kids.
After dealing with his father Kronos and his sister Rhea ruled as king and queen. The time period of Kronos’s rule was called the golden age. It is because there were no rules and states ass all the living people did only the right things.
However, after hearing that he was destined to be overthrown by his children, Kronos started eating his kids. When Zeus came to this world Rhea tricked Kronos and gave him a swaddling stone instead of a god-infant.
When Zeus grew up, as it was foretold, he was the one to kill his father and become the new ruler of the earth. In addition, Zeus made Kronos vomit both the stone and all five kids he ate before him.
Conspiracy Theories
Another ever-lasting topic that can be used to evade the cliche of urban legends is conspiracy theories. From infant eaters to plans for mass murdering of humanity, you name it. And each and every one of these theories has multiple versions. One of the most popular ones is the Golden Billion conspiracy theory.
The Illuminati plan to kill 5 billion people so one billion can remain. Rich will elevate to the level of gods and live in beautiful cities above the earth while to poor will live trapped in the little cities with big walls that will prevent them from escape.
They will work to survive and fuel the needs of the wealthy ones but they will also be used for harvesting organs and so on and so forth…
Arrival Of The Beast
The arrival of the antichrist is kind of a classic. And literally, every century has its own apocalyptic prediction about the arrival of the beast. One of the most popular is related to the number 666 and the new Lucifer that will be born on the far east, wield supernatural powers, and bring seven years of peace before the world descends into complete darkness…
Halloween Special
If you are by chance camping on Halloween then you must tell a story of Stingy Jack. It is an old Irish folk tale about the man who managed to trick the devil himself. Stingy Jack was a drunkard with incredible deception abilities and was capable of talking his way out of anything.
It is how he never paid a bill for his beverages in taverns he visited. When the word of malevolent soul reached the devil he came from the underworld to collect it. When he confronted the drunkard Jack asked for the last wish to drink one more bear.
However, after finishing, he said he would like to pay at least once but didn’t have any money. The devil turned himself into a coin which Jack put in his pocket with a crucifix. The devil was unable to change his form and remained trapped. He had to forget he will leave Jack alone for the next ten years.
But time passed and in a decade the Devil appeared again. This time Jack asked to eat his last apple from the three but said he could not climb due to his old age and spine problems. The devil climbed but while he was picking the apple Jack encircled the tree with crucifixes and the devil was trapped once again.
This time the prince of darkness had to promise he was going to leave Jack for good and never pull him to hell. And so it was.
When Jack died he went to the gates of heaven but Saint Peter didn’t want to let him in. Having nowhere else to go he went to hell. But the devil couldn’t break his word and let him in.
Yet he felt pity for Jack and gave him the little ember so he could light his way in the between world. To preserve the ember Jack carved the top of the turnip he had in his pocket. It is how the custom of carving turnips that were later switched for pumpkins came to be.
