The Campfire Curse

"Who wants to go first?" Jamal asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly as the group of friends settled around the crackling campfire. They had just pitched their tents in the secluded forest clearing, surrounded by towering pines and the inky blackness of night.  

"Ooh, I've got one!" Zoey piped up, her pigtails swinging as she leaned forward excitedly. "This is an old legend about a witch who lives deep in these very woods."

The others exchanged wary looks, but nodded for Zoey to continue. She took a dramatic pause, letting the snapping of the fire fill the silence.

"Legend has it, many years ago, an evil witch stalked these lands. With her tangled hair, crooked nose, and bony fingers, she was a terrifying sight to encounter. The witch hated children more than anything and lured them deep into the forest, never to be seen again."

Malik shuddered. "How did she lure them?"

"By leaving a trail of mouth-watering gingerbread crumbs, of course," Zoey said, her voice taking on a spooky lilt. "The scent would draw the curious children from miles around. They'd follow the sugary trail, stuffing the crumbs greedily into their mouths until..." She paused again for maximum effect. "Until they ended up at the witch's candy cottage, constructed entirely of gingerbread, chocolate, and other sweet treats!"

"No way, a whole candy house?" Alexis's eyes went wide, despite herself. The others were equally enthralled.

Zoey nodded sagely. "That's right. But by the time the children realized their mistake, it was too late. The witch threw them in her oven and baked them into gingerSNAPS!" 

She grabbed Alexis suddenly, making the others gasp. They all shrieked with a mixture of fear and laughter as Zoey lurched towards the fire, pretending to toss Alexis inside. Alexis squealed and batted her friend away frantically.

"The legend says," Zoey continued once they'd calmed down a bit, "that the witch still haunts these woods to this very day. So be careful following any stray crumbs you may find lying about... unless you want to end up as the witches' next baking experiment!"

She cackled menacingly, wiggling her fingers at them. The group collapsed into nervous giggles again.

"Okay, okay, you got me!" Malik admitted once the laughter died down a little. "My turn to really freak you guys out."

He stoked the fire, making the flames leap higher and cast dancing shadows across their faces. Taking a deep breath, he launched into his scary story.

"I first heard this story from my grandmother before she passed away a few years ago. She used to tell it to me and my siblings as a warning to never wander too far from home..."

The night seemed to grow eerily still, as if the forest itself was holding its breath to listen. Malik's low, serious tone made the tale even more chilling.

"There's an abandoned cabin not far from here," he began, his eyes glinting orange in the firelight. "The floors are rotted, the shutters are torn from the window frames, and the roof looks ready to cave in at any moment. It's been that way for over a hundred years, ever since the unfortunate Thomas family lived there."

"What happened to them?" Alexis wanted to know, hugging her knees tightly.

Malik shook his head grimly. "No one knows for sure. But the story goes that one winter night, during a brutal blizzard, the daughter went missing without a trace. The parents searched high and low, but she was never seen or heard from again. It was like she had... vanished into thin air."

He looked around at their rapt faces, his own expression one of utmost seriousness.

"That spring, when the snows finally melted, the mom and dad made a gruesome discovery. There, lying in the half-frozen creek not twenty feet from their front door, was the daughter's lifeless body. Her skin was a ghastly blue, her eyes still wide with terror..."

Several of the friends shivered involuntarily. The fire's crackle and pop seemed to echo Malik's eerie words. 

"They never did figure out what happened to her. The most popular theory is that she accidentally wandered outside during the blizzard... and froze to death just steps from safety and warmth. To this day, her anguished spirit is said to haunt that run-down old cabin, bitterly mourning her tragic end and warning others to stay far away. Anyone who strays too close can hear her mournful wails piercing the night air... just before they meet an icy fate themselves..."

Malik trailed off, leaving them to ponder the disturbing story and imagine the woeful ghost girl for themselves. No one spoke for a long moment.

"Well," Zeke said at last in a hushed tone, "I'm definitely not wandering off alone tonight! In fact, maybe we should just pack up and-"

His words were cut off by a long, drawn-out wail that seemed to issue from the depths of the shadowy woods surrounding them. A collective scream of terror rose from the group as they clutched each other in fright. The wail Rose and fell in a haunting, mournful crescendo, raising the hairs on the back of their necks.

"Wh-what was that?!" cried Alexis, her voice trembling.

"I don't know," Jamal said through chattering teeth. "But I didn't make that noise!"

"Me neither!" Zoey's eyes were wide and fearful beneath her tousled pigtails. "M-Maybe a coyote or something?"

The piercing wail rang through the frigid night air again, much closer this time. The friends scrambled to their feet, clutching each other in blind terror. It sounded just like...

"Oh no..." breathed Malik, the color draining from his face. "Please tell me that's not-"

He wasn't able to finish his thought. At that moment, a strange shape lurched out of the shadowy tree line and into the dimly lit clearing. The group froze in shock and horror.

It was the unmistakable silhouette of a young girl - or what had once been a young girl. Her stringy hair hung in lank strands over her deathly pale bluish face. Scraps of tattered clothing clung to her withered frame. But it was her eyes that made their hearts stop in their chests... wide, glassy, and completely devoid of life. Yet they seemed to bore straight into each of them, full of accusation and torment.

"The frozen girl..." Jamal's voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. "From your story..."

As if in answer, the wretched apparition unleashed another bone-chilling cry that reverberated through the clearing. She started towards them with halting, shambling footsteps, arms outstretched beseechingly.  

The terrified group turned and ran blindly through the black maze of trees, screaming and stumbling over gnarled roots and rocks. Behind them, the ghostly wails seemed to chase them through the forest, growing louder and more vengeful until the sound threatened to splinter their skulls. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of their panicked flight, the trees gave way to reveal the welcoming lights of the small visitor's center in the distance. Zeke fumbled with shaking hands to pull the door open and they piled gratefully inside, choking back hysterical sobs.

The cheery park ranger on duty stood up in surprise, her brows knitting with concern. "What on earth...?"

But the breathless kids could only point wordlessly back the way they had come, too overwhelmed with fear and shock to speak. Through the windows, a pale, wraith-like figure could be seen lingering just outside the tree line, staring at them with hollow, sorrowful eyes. The lonely specter unleashed one more mournful cry, as if beckoning to them...

Then she was gone, fading back into the blackness of the forest as if she had never been there at all.