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An Enduring Oral Tradition

Campfire Stories

In the Glow of the Campfire; Stories of ... (by Harvey, Albion Keith Parris)
Stories to Tell to Children : Fifty-One ... (by Bryant, Sara Cone)
Rawhide Rawlins Stories (by Russell, Charles M. (Charles Marion))
Tales of the Trail; Short Stories of Wes... (by Inman, Henry)
The Best Psychic Stories (by French, Joseph Lewis)
Fifty Missionary Stories (by Brain, Belle Marvel)
Stories to Tell to Children : Fifty-One ... (by Bryant, Sara Cone)
Cremation of Sam McGee, The (by Service, Robert W.)

The hot days and warm nights of summer lure adults and children to outdoor adventures. After a day spent hiking, trail riding, boating, or enjoying some other summer sport, people gather around the campfire to roast hotdogs and marshmallows and entertain themselves with improbable campfire stories. Ranging from scary tales to lessons in morality, the tradition of telling stories around a campfire goes back as far as humans have gathered around fire.

In an article published in Science magazine, Michael Balter refers to a study of evening campfire conversations held by the Ju’hoan people of Namibia and Botswana. The practice, he states, allows people “to unleash their imaginations and tell stories, rather than merely focus on mundane topics.”1 Scholars on the topic speculate that campfire stories reinforced social harmony and created a sense of community as well as entertained. This conclusion arose from the startlingly simple observation that “after work” conversation differs from “at work” dialogue.

In primitive conditions, the darkness of night prohibits many activities that are conducted during daylight hours. The enforced rest is conducive to other activities that don’t lend themselves to the work of acquiring sufficient food, clothing, and shelter to stay alive—especially in adverse conditions and climates.

Many of these stories reprise the oral tradition of legends, such as:

La Llorona (“The Weeping Woman”)
The Bear Lake Monster
The Cremation of Sam McGee (audio only)
How Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whale and the Elephant

1Balter, Michael. (September 22, 2014) “Ancient Campfires Led to the Rise of Storytelling” published by Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/09/ancient-campfires-led-rise-storytelling.

While modern adults may eschew telling stories around the campfire in favor of plopping down on the sofa in front of a television, storytelling remains ever-popular with children—especially those who aren’t glued to their electronic devices—and need not be reserved for gathering around the campfire. Several campfire stories can be found online through such sites as Ultimate Camp Resource, Boy Scout Trail, Camping with Us, RV Travel for Kids, and Cool Mom Picks, all resources used by savvy camp counselors to entertain their young campers when daytime activities conclude.

However, there’s no need to rummage through contemporary urban legends for great tales that your kids have likely and already heard on previous camping trips. Be original and check out In the Glow of the Campfire; Stories of the Woods by Albion Keith Parris Harvey for some of the old campfire tales that have been around for centuries and still send tingles down listeners’ spines.

Belle Marvel Brain’s book, Fifty Missionary Stories, relates anecdotes as told by missionaries. Most are short, entertaining tales purported to be true experiences. Another collection of classic horror stories to entertain yourselves and older children is The Best Psychic Stories by Joseph Lewis French. This compilation includes horror stories by such well-known authors as Jack London, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ambrose Bierce. Memorializing the oral tradition of the cowboy culture, Henry Inman wrote Tales of the Trail: Short Stories of Western Life, which incorporates campfire stories from Spanish and Native American traditions, and Charles M. Russell recorded the tales he heard around those cowboy campfires in Rawhide Rawlins Stories. For stories suitable for younger children and tips on how to tell stories to them, consult Stories to Tell Children: Fifty-One Stories with Some Suggestions for Telling by Sara Cone Bryant.

By Karen M. Smith