Helping campers since 2011

Short Campfire Stories
For Kids

Delight the youngest members of your camping group with these short campfire stories for kids.

They are just (barely) scary enough to be exciting, but not scary enough to keep your children awake at bedtime.

Ending the day around the campfire is a wonderful camping tradition. You can toast marshmallows, talk about your day, play games and sing songs - and tell stories.

What makes good short campfire stories for kids?

Any story can be a campfire story - but many people like a campfire story to be scary.

But what if you have small children, or sensitive older children who would be upset by a really scary story?

You can skip the scary stories completely, of course - or you can tell one of these not-very-scary short campfire stories for kids.

The first two tales are “jump stories”. The idea is to make your listeners jump with surprise at the end of the tale. There is nothing horrifying or nasty in these stories - just a startling surprise that is exciting for little ones.

By modifying your tone of voice, you can make these stories more or less scary.

The second two stories are not 'jump stories', they are more mysterious, curious, and comforting for little ones.

Tentsile Connect 2-Person Tree Tent

These tree tents are perfect for a unique camping experience. Super lightweight and portable!

Click here for availability and best price!

Short Campfire Stories For Kids

Short Campfire Stories For Kids #1
In A Dark Dark Room

This is a classic campfire story for kids.

This simple little tale is a favorite of many small children.

Make your voice mysterious. Stretch out the suspense. Say the last two words suddenly and loudly. Your listeners will jump!

The story

In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house.

And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room.

And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard.

And in the dark, dark cupboard there was a dark, dark shelf.

And on the dark, dark shelf there was a dark, dark box.

And in the dark, dark box there was a ghost!

Was that a bit too tame for your kids? If you'd like scarier campfire stories for kids, try these short campfire ghost stories. They are a bit scarier, but not too much!

Or, for the grown-ups, take a look at our page about scary campfire stories for adults.

Short Campfire Stories For Kids #2

The Teeny Tiny Woman

Little children love the silliness of this teeny tiny story!

Use a mysterious voice to say the words "Give me my bone".

Be sure to use a teeny tiny squeaky voice to speak the last two words - and say them quickly and abruptly so that your listeners jump.

The story

Once upon a time there was a teeny tiny woman. She lived in a teeny tiny house at the edge of a teeny tiny woods.

One day the teeny tiny woman decided to go for a teeny tiny walk.

Teeny Tiny House

She put her teeny tiny basket over her teeny tiny arm and started out. She went out her teeny tiny door, down her teeny tiny sidewalk, out her teeny tiny gate and along the teeny tiny path.

Soon she came to a teeny tiny graveyard. She decided to go in and look at the teeny tiny gravestones.

On top of one of the teeny tiny gravestones was a teeny tiny bone.

“I am going to take that teeny tiny bone home with me,” said the teeny tiny woman. “I will use it to make a teeny tiny pot of soup for my teeny tiny supper.”

The teeny tiny woman picked up the teeny tiny bone and put it in her teeny tiny basket.

She left the teeny tiny graveyard and headed back up the teeny tiny path to her teeny tiny house.

She went in the teeny tiny gate and up the teeny tiny sidewalk and in her teeny tiny door.

She was a teeny tiny bit tired, so she decided to take a teeny tiny nap. She went into her teeny tiny bedroom and put the teeny tiny bone in her teeny tiny cupboard. Then she lay down on her teeny tiny bed.

She was just dropping off to sleep when she heard from the teeny tiny cupboard a teeny tiny voice saying, “Give me my bone!”

The teeny tiny woman was a teeny tiny bit frightened, so she hid her teeny tiny head under her teeny tiny covers.

But then she heard the teeny tiny voice again - and this time it was a teeny tiny bit louder: “Give me my bone!”

The teeny tiny woman was a teeny tiny bit more frightened, so she hid her head under her teeny tiny pillow.

And then she heard the teeny tiny voice again. This time it was a teeny tiny bit louder: “Give me my bone!”

The teeny tiny woman was a teeny tiny bit more frightened. She stuck her head out of the covers, and said in her loudest teeny tiny voice, “TAKE IT!”

Short Campfire Stories For Kids #3

The Lost Lantern

It was a still, warm night at the campsite. The fire had burned down to glowing embers, and the children were sitting close together, listening to the soft sounds of the forest.

An owl called from high in the trees.

A branch creaked somewhere in the dark.

Then one of the children noticed a light.

“Look,” she whispered. “Over there.”

Just beyond the trees, a small lantern was glowing.

It was not a bright light, and it did not shine like a flashlight. It was a soft, golden glow, drifting slowly between the trunks.

The children stared.

“Maybe someone dropped it,” said one.

“Maybe it belongs to a camper,” said another.

Curious, they stood up and followed it.

But every time they got a little closer, the lantern moved farther away, just out of reach, always leading them along the path.

It never rushed.

It never vanished.

It simply waited, glowing quietly in the dark.

At last, the lantern stopped beside a small wooden shelter tucked away near the edge of the woods. Inside was an old bench, a tin mug, and a sign that read:

'For tired travelers. Rest here awhile.'

The children looked at one another.

“Maybe it was guiding us,” said the youngest one.

Just then, the lantern gave one soft flicker, as if it were answering.

Then it rose gently into the air, drifted back through the trees, and disappeared.

The children walked back to camp feeling calm and safe.

And from then on, whenever they saw a little light in the forest, they wondered if it might be the lost lantern, showing the way home.

Short Campfire Stories For Kids #4

The Singing Stone

One evening, as the campers sat around the fire, they heard a sound that was very strange.

It was not a bird.

It was not the wind.

It was a soft humming noise, like someone singing very quietly.

The children looked at one another.

“Do you hear that?” asked one.

They all nodded.

The sound seemed to come from just beyond the fire ring, near a pile of smooth gray rocks.

The campers stood up and walked over carefully. They searched between the stones, under the benches, and around the firewood.

At last, the youngest child picked up a round stone from the ground.

The humming stopped.

Everyone leaned closer.

The stone was smooth and pale, with tiny lines running across it like silver threads.

The Singing Stone

When the child held it near the wind, a soft, musical sound came from it again.

“Oooh,” said one camper. “It sings.”

The others took turns holding it up.

Each time the breeze passed over the stone, it made the quietest humming note, almost like a lullaby.

The campers smiled.

“It’s not spooky,” said one.

“It’s lovely,” said another.

Later, they found out that the stone had likely been worn smooth by water and wind over many years, and that its shape helped make the strange little sound.

But the children did not mind the explanation.

They still liked to believe the forest had placed the stone there on purpose.

When the fire died down and the stars came out, they set the singing stone beside the logs.

And for the rest of the night, whenever the wind blew, it hummed softly like a forest song.

We like these short campfire stories for kids!

For some slightly more 'goosebumps' kid's stories about ghosts, take a look at our page on short campfire ghost stories!

And for scary stories for grown-ups check our slightly more scary page here.

Don't forget to sing around the campfire, too! Here are some easy campfire songs.

For just about everything else you'll need to know about your camping vacation, visit The Camping Family home page.