Anthology for weekendwritein

Campfire Tales

                "Three hundred years ago witches were runnin' rampant round these parts. Folks from the city and nearby towns began puttin' a stop to those evil doers by hangin' em in the town square. People today still believe most of them witches ran off into the woods or might've even changed their appearance with magic so they wouldn't be found. All but one that is, Maggie.

"Maggie stood her ground against those city folk and swore that nobody would ever force her off her lands or she'd curse any person that dared try. Most of them city folk were too scared to go after her.

"But one night, a few brave men snuck onto Maggie's land with torches. They kept quiet as mice as they got closer to Maggie's cottage. When they had surrounded her house they waited for each man to be ready. Then the signal was given and they all lit their torches to set the house on fire.

"Maggie stood just inside where she could see all three men. With a loud boomin' voice she cursed all three that they would die the same as her and that their souls would never rest! The three brave men watched as the witch burned. To this day, if you go out to Old Lady Bluff at midnight you can still hear her wails of agony."

"Wow, cool story Mr. Robertson. Is it real?" a boy asked from across the fire pit.

"Yes it's real. Heard it myself not too far from this very spot when I was a bit older than you," Mr. Robertson replied.

"What happened to the men that killed her?" another boy asked.

"Well, all three men died in very peculiar ways but they had two things in common they did."

"What were they?" a few boys belted out together.

Mr. Robertson looked to each of the Cub Scouts before speaking making sure he had their full attention, "First thing is that they all died by fire. Two died from accidental explosions at the lumber mill and the third fella landed face first in his own fireplace. But the strangest thing of all was that the day before they died each one swore they could hear ole Witch Maggie cackling."

He took another look at all the young boys staring at him from across the fire pit before continuing, "Rumor has it that if you hear ole Witch Maggie cackling that you too will burn to death."

Suddenly something large crashed through the bushes screeching at the top of its lungs. The boys that were once hypnotized by the story now had the look of fear in their eyes as they jumped and ran away.

The only thing that stopped the boys from running all the way home was a new sound of laughter. Mr. Robertson and two older boy scouts were bent over laughing at their expense. Gradually they stopped laughing though as they recognized something else coming from the dark woods, Maggie cackling at her newest intruders.