9 Scary Campfire Stories To Tell at Night This Summer

Looking for a story that will spook your friends at the next camping trip? You’ve come to the right place.

If you think you’ve heard every creepy story there is, think again. We have rounded up all the best original scary campfire stories that people have shared on Reddit. Some claim to be real while others are the spookiest stories people can come up with, but all of them will have you at the edge of your seat.

1. An Unexpected Roommate

Moving into a college dorm for the first time is always a little nerve-wracking, but for Candy-Horrorh3lp, it became scary for different reasons.

One night, “Candy” came home to her empty dorm room. While this was normal because her roommate usually works overnight, for some reason this night felt different. She brushed off the feeling and fell asleep for a little while. Shortly after, she woke up to her roommate’s red LED lights being on, and she assumed that she had gotten back from her shift.

Being on the bottom bunk, Candy pushed her feet up onto her roommate’s mattress to jostle her, like she always does. However, not only was it much heavier than usual, but there were unfamiliar moans coming from the top bunk. That’s when Candy realized it was still too early for her roommate to be back from work, and she began wondering if she was really alone in that room.

dead end sign — Photo Credit: Mike Erskine / Unsplash

Blackcat1206 and his cousin were 10 years old when they were playing on a street outside of their aunt’s house with their friends. This was a popular lane for children to play on, especially on a hot summer day. At the end of the lane, there was a dead-end that everyone called “dead-end alley.” There was also an abandoned house there, with lots of dark rumors that were eventually deemed to be true.

One day when they heard a baby crying from the dead-end alley, one of the cousin’s friends decided to go investigate. While he never revealed what he saw, it was obvious it was something he would never forget. This story will definitely spook people at a campfire, and have you all guessing what he was exposed to.

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3. Unforgettable Breathing

This is a narrated story by Alekz89, recalling an incident that happened while he was a junior in high school. While he was going to sleep late one night, he noticed his older brother’s snoring coming from the other room. This was something that he was used to, so he didn’t think much of it.

However, he remembered that his brother wasn’t in town that weekend, which caused him to panic. The breathing that he heard and the figure that he saw is something that he still thinks about to this day. This is an awesome scary story to tell around a campfire because nobody will dare to snore that night.

4. Grandma Knows Best

Anuacyl was driving home one foggy night when her phone call with her husband got disconnected. There weren’t really any other cars around her, and so when she passed an old lady who was trying to hitchhike, she picked her up. This woman asked to be referred to as Grandma, and she was talking about how she has been looking for an escape from this road. The entire ride was spent by Grandma lecturing her on the fact that she needs to focus on the road or they would never make it out.

After a series of events, the old lady and all of the fog suddenly disappeared. Did she dream the whole thing? Did the old lady make it out? Sit around the campfire and try to figure out what really happened on the spooky road that night.

pool table black and white creepy — Photo Credit: Pen Tsai / Unsplash

Grijns_Official and his family of three decided to get a new pool table for their house, and ended up buying one which was previously owned by someone who had passed away. After their first night of enjoying the game together, the family went to bed. The Reddit user woke up to the sound of pool being played again, and figured maybe his dad had someone over.

However, after hearing his dad’s snores and seeing his brother asleep, he realized that couldn’t be the case. He spent the next week pretending that the laughs and the thuds he heard at night were just his brother and his dad. Was it all in his head? Were they really alone? You and your friends around the campfire can discuss this spooky pool table story and decide if you would join in the game downstairs.

6. Nightmares at the Lake

Phoxay Boi shared a traumatizing story of what happened at the lake seven years ago to him, Sam, and his brother, Rick. Considering this involves two brothers on a camping trip, this would be the perfect scary story to tell around the campfire!

While choosing a spot to set up camp for the night, Rick began joking about how he wanted to swim in the dirty lake. Sam didn’t think it was funny, but ended up having a nightmare about it that night. Little did he know, his nightmare would come true the next day. Read the story of how Rick recalls the end of Sam’s life that day, and why nobody believes that he’s telling the truth.

7. Light Up Shoes

Remember how cool we thought light up shoes were? (Especially ones with lightning bolt designs and colored lights.) However, have you ever seen a pair walk on their own? Pinheadcreepypasta shared his experience of what happened when he bought his son a pair for starting first grade.

During the first night in their new house, he started seeing the blue light from the shoes shine in random places. He knew his son wasn’t playing with them, so he was confused by this situation. At night, he heard the shoes running down the hall with nobody occupying them. Every morning, he wakes up to the shoes next to his bed, regardless of whether or not they were there the night before.

Obviously he is uncomfortable by this, but he chooses to keep it to himself. This is a great scary story to share around a campfire because it shows how quickly something so innocent can become something so creepy.

creepy tree trunk — Photo Credit: Eilis Garvey / Unsplash

This is a story of how a simple game of hide and seek went terribly wrong. Nowherealone explains how he watched his own twin brother, David, lose his life by hiding in a decaying tree trunk.

After realizing he can no longer hear anything while he and his twin were hiding, he realizes that something is wrong. Before he knew it, a creature came out of nowhere and was shoving David into its jaws. The narrator tried to do everything he could to help, but he was gone within a blink of an eye. He completely expected it to be his turn next, but his father pulls him out and asks where David is hiding. This is a great scary story to tell around a campfire because everyone can debate whether the creature that took his brother was real.

9. Caleb's Sister

CLearyMcCarthy wrote a story of a woman whose five-year-old son, Caleb, sees his sister Abby at night. However, Caleb does not have a sister and she has trouble understanding exactly what Caleb is talking about. While this story is on the longer side, it has the perfect plot twist ending that will throw everyone at the campfire for a loop.

Keep Reading: 13 More True Ghost Stories to Read in the Dark