Fire-Side Reads: Short Stories for Camping Nights
Stories built for lantern light, quiet woods, and small groups around a fire.
Words by Michele Underwood
Sitting beside the fire under a sky full of stars — the perfect time for a short story.
Not every camping trip needs a manual, a survival book, or 300 pages of epic adventure. Sometimes, you just want a short story you can read next to the fire. Something you can share with whoever’s sitting nearby.
These are great short reads that people in your group are sure to enjoy while sitting by the campfire in the middle of the woods at night.
Campfire-Friendly Spooky Anthologies
Creepy Campfire Stories:
Spine-Chilling Tales to Scare and Share
Good for campers who:
want a proper ghost-story vibe
like reading aloud with dramatic pauses
enjoy spooky atmosphere, not gore
Why it works outside:
The stories are short and built for sharing. They land harder when trees surround you.
Campfire Stories:
Tales from America’s National Parks
Good for campers who:
like stories rooted in real locations
road trip or visit parks often
want lighter suspense without horror
Why it works outside:
You can read a story in a park and feel like it could be part of its history.
Scary + Silly (Family + Mixed-Age Groups)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Short, strange, and memorable. These work anywhere — tents, picnic tables, or fire rings — and they’re fun when different people take turns reading. The artwork is infamous, but you can tone it down depending on who’s listening.
Good for campers who:
have older kids or teens
enjoy campy horror without heavy fright
like quick, punchy stories
Why it works outside:
Short stories let everyone participate without losing attention around the fire.
Campfire Stories for Kids (Ghost, Witch, and Goblin Tales)
A lighter collection that keeps things spooky without nightmares. Plenty of short stories that hit the “fun creepy” mood, especially for younger campers or early-night reading.
Good for campers who:
have kids who want ghost stories
prefer humor mixed with suspense
want stories that won’t ruin bedtime
Why it works outside:
Kids love it when the woods add little noises in the background.
Atmospheric Outdoor Fiction
Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
These stories aren’t jump-scare horror. They’re strange, eerie, and often take you somewhere unexpected. Perfect for late-night reading when you’re winding down and listening to the night settle.
Good for campers who:
want something more literary
like quiet weirdness, not gore
want a break from ghost stories
Why it works outdoors:
The mood fits quiet nights — strange but not dark enough to ruin sleep.
Storytelling Belongs Outside
Camping slows everything down — cooking, talking, evenings. Short stories fit into that pace. You don’t rush them, and you don’t need to go deep into a novel to enjoy them.
They’re stories shared in the woods at night.
Michele Underwood writes Overland Girl, where she shares gear she uses on real trips—from the Northwoods of Wisconsin to the Ozarks. She values quality and craftsmanship in everything she buys, from outdoor gear to everyday clothes and furniture. Her choices may seem expensive to some, but she believes in buying less and buying better. Longevity matters, both in function and in style. Her couch is five years old and still sold at Design Within Reach—that’s the kind of timelessness she looks for.
For this book series, some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means she may earn a small commission if you buy through them. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it helps support her work. She only recommends gear and books she’d feel good bringing on her own trips.
