Ghostly Campfire Stories of Western Canada

by Barbara Smith

Hair-raising tales of ghosts, spirits, and unexplained phenomena set across Western Canada. Praise for Campfire Stories of Western Canada:

"Smith's spooky tales are perfect for warm summer nights spent around the campfire. Her latest book of ghost stories focuses solely on Western Canada and is a wonderful fit for families looking for fun and spooky tales to tell under the stars."--Quirk MagazineIn this delightful companion to the bestselling Campfire Stories of Western Canada, Barbara Smith scours the spookiest corners of local folklore from Vancouver Island to the Canadian Rockies to the vast plains of the Prairies to bring readers a brand-new collection of ghost stories. Combining truth, legend, and a healthy dose of suspense, Smith weaves together over thirty bone-chilling tales perfectly suited for reading aloud on family camping trips or quiet nights at home. Suitable for ages eight to eighty-eight, this frighteningly fun collection reveals the supernatural side of Western Canada.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Barbara Smith is a Canadian author celebrated for her captivating collections of ghost stories steeped in folklore, history, and national identity. Since leaving her job as a school secretary in 1988, she has published numerous books exploring Canada’s most enduring supernatural legends. Her passion for the paranormal was sparked as a child in Toronto and grew into a lifelong pursuit, fueled by a background in social history and mystery. With titles like Great Canadian Ghost Stories and Great Canadian Campfire Stories, Smith shares eerie tales from coast to coast, entertaining readers while preserving Canada's rich storytelling tradition.

Reviews

[Alan Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable collection of stories.

[Maryna Ponomaryova]

Використовувала цю книгу для практики читання в голос. Звичайні оповідання про привидів, нічого особливого.

[Adarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing spooked me in here :(

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this silly little book of spooky stories while camping near Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island with one of my best friends. The stories are juvenile but still so fun to read. 10/10 recommend to read while camping.

[Lee Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as terrible as I was led to believe it was going to be... Sure, the stories are all very short, but that helped them flow better for me. I was never bored or annoyed during any of the stories, and the writing was really good. I think that's where most people's negative reviews of this collection come from... The fact that most of the stories are only 2 or 3 pages long (with the exception of a couple that are 5 and one that is 8 pages long). Overall I thought the collection was good. It did however lack something (probably the fact that it is billed as 'ghostly' campfire stories and there really wasn't an heir of ghostliness or spectral haunting about it) and that combined with the extremely short nature of the stories made me give it a 3 out of 5 stars

[Joshua Shockley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable collection of ghost stories! It gave me a similar feeling to reading the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books, so I loved that. A few of them fell a little flat, but the highs were very high! Several of them I would say fall into some of my favorite short ghost stories. Maybe my biggest "complaint" would be that there wasn't a lot of Western Canadian history or local folklore built in, which was what I was hoping for, personally. What was there, I loved, but several of the stories are just fictional or adapted ghost stories that are built into the Western Canada setting, so that was a little less fun for me. Overall, I really enjoyed it and was glad to read it during this year's Halloweek!

[libs :p · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Read for spookathon 2019*

I actually kind of liked this book. There were some stories that I really liked, like Unreal Estate Agent and The Thing In Your Closet.

This is a really fun book to read with family (nothing is too scary, so it would be suitable to read with little kids).

However, I really preferred the shorter stories (three pages) to the longer ones (six plus pages) because I didn't really care that much when they were longer as it is normally just lots of setting things up.

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, Smith's collection is not scary. The stories are simple and rely upon the same old twists in each and every tale. There are no surprises here.

That said, the stories are presented in a way that makes them easy to memorize so that they can be told and retold and shared with others.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really enjoyable tales in this anthology. However, a few felt unfished, like the ending felt like it "dropped off" and had no conclusion (which, I guess is to be expected from ghost tales?).

Overall, I thought it was a good introduction to ghost stories in general, and didn't feel too localised so as not to get the gist/vibes (I'm English, and got it on a trip to Canada)

[Rayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

We picked up this book while on vacation in Canada. The stories aren't very scary but they are great for sharing with kids for bedtime and some of them are true!

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of typical stories - not much that's new to the genre. A good, quick, reference and refresher for someone who needs to build a catalogue, but not much for someone who wants a good scare.

[Ted Cartier · Rating 5 out of 5]

GHood fun to read.

[Carl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lame, not ghostly at all. Good potential, but no spooks.

[Sierra Sykora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it because I read it w my bestie Meg on our trip to the island this summer and it will always bring me good mems

[Atenea · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really liked the stories! They are interesting, some funny! I think they are a great way to spend an evening by yourself or while you are around a camp fire!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/10 for the experience