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Campfire Macabre: Volume 2
The second volume in our flash/short horror anthology series. This time the themes are: My Last Trick ‘r Treat, Body Grotesquerie, We Were Getting High, Ominous Visitors From Deep Space, and Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes. Cover art and design by Luke Spooner.
Table of contents includes:
My Last Trick ‘r Treat
“Candy Corn Kid” Angela Sylvaine
“Blow Me a Kiss, Said the Jack o’Lantern” Scott Cole
“Knot House” Anthony J. Rapino
“9:03 PM” Jeff Provine
“Before I Let Go” K.S. Walker
“Last Halloween” S.H. Cooper
“Who Are You Supposed to Be?” Patrick Barb
“Welcome Back My Friend” JG Faherty
“This is Not a Haunted House” Tiffany Michelle Brown
“Mr. Sprinkles” LP Hernandez
Body Grotesquerie
“Siren” Zach Friday
“How To Love In An Apocalypse” Ai Jiang
“scratch ‘n sniff” Clay McLeod Chapman
“A Mother is a Kind of God” Eric LaRocca
“A Feast for One” Marisca Pichette
“The King of Rooms” Jessica Ann York
“The Claw’s Blessing” Eric Raglin
“Five Visitations” Joe Koch
“Penelope’s Body” Ali Seay
When We Were Getting High
“Of Bongs and Birds” Corey Farrenkopf
“Corkscrew” Chad Lutzke
“The Farmer’s Son” J.A.W. McCarthy
“No Sticks, Some Seeds” John Lynch
“Outbuilding” John Boden
“Out at the Old Trestle” Christi Nogle
“Trip Sideways” Tyler Jones
“We Are All Stars” Wile E. Young
Ominous Visitors From Deep Space
“Never Go in the Attic” Stephen Kozeniewski
“When an Alien Calls” Bev Vincent
“Funny Faces” Eric J. Guignard
“To Become” Eddie Generous
“Indrid Cold is Alive and Well” Tom Deady
“The Room” L. Marie Wood
“The Joining” Michael Harris Cohen
“Greenglow” Jonathan Duckworth
Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes
“The Heart of the Everglades” P. L. Watts
“Outside” Tim Waggoner
“Farm Hand” Joshua Marsella
“We are all lost” Die Booth
“Off the Beaten Path” Mark Allan Gunnells
“Catamount” Brennan LaFaro
“Danny Boy” Robert Ford
“Lakebottom Charlie” Laura Keating
Table of contents includes:
My Last Trick ‘r Treat
“Candy Corn Kid” Angela Sylvaine
“Blow Me a Kiss, Said the Jack o’Lantern” Scott Cole
“Knot House” Anthony J. Rapino
“9:03 PM” Jeff Provine
“Before I Let Go” K.S. Walker
“Last Halloween” S.H. Cooper
“Who Are You Supposed to Be?” Patrick Barb
“Welcome Back My Friend” JG Faherty
“This is Not a Haunted House” Tiffany Michelle Brown
“Mr. Sprinkles” LP Hernandez
Body Grotesquerie
“Siren” Zach Friday
“How To Love In An Apocalypse” Ai Jiang
“scratch ‘n sniff” Clay McLeod Chapman
“A Mother is a Kind of God” Eric LaRocca
“A Feast for One” Marisca Pichette
“The King of Rooms” Jessica Ann York
“The Claw’s Blessing” Eric Raglin
“Five Visitations” Joe Koch
“Penelope’s Body” Ali Seay
When We Were Getting High
“Of Bongs and Birds” Corey Farrenkopf
“Corkscrew” Chad Lutzke
“The Farmer’s Son” J.A.W. McCarthy
“No Sticks, Some Seeds” John Lynch
“Outbuilding” John Boden
“Out at the Old Trestle” Christi Nogle
“Trip Sideways” Tyler Jones
“We Are All Stars” Wile E. Young
Ominous Visitors From Deep Space
“Never Go in the Attic” Stephen Kozeniewski
“When an Alien Calls” Bev Vincent
“Funny Faces” Eric J. Guignard
“To Become” Eddie Generous
“Indrid Cold is Alive and Well” Tom Deady
“The Room” L. Marie Wood
“The Joining” Michael Harris Cohen
“Greenglow” Jonathan Duckworth
Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes
“The Heart of the Everglades” P. L. Watts
“Outside” Tim Waggoner
“Farm Hand” Joshua Marsella
“We are all lost” Die Booth
“Off the Beaten Path” Mark Allan Gunnells
“Catamount” Brennan LaFaro
“Danny Boy” Robert Ford
“Lakebottom Charlie” Laura Keating
- GenresHorrorAnthologies
226 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2022
About the author
John Brhel
18 books73 followersI'm the co-author of Tales From Valleyview Cemetery, Marvelry's Curiosity Shop, At The Cemetery Gates: Year One and Carol for a Haunted Man, Corpse Cold: New American Folklore, Her Mourning Portrait and Other Paranormal Oddities, Resurrection High , At The Cemetery Gates: Volume 2 and The Thrumming Stone with my long-time friend Joe Sullivan.
I work full-time as a marketing/PR professional at Binghamton University. I enjoy writing, reading, watching movies, playing music, and spending time with my family.
I work full-time as a marketing/PR professional at Binghamton University. I enjoy writing, reading, watching movies, playing music, and spending time with my family.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 17, 2022
Anthology of scary stories that are on the shorter side, definitely suitable for reading aloud around the campfire as advertised in the title. Entertaining takes on classic horror tropes and a generous and diverse selection of tales. Some of them ended rather too abruptly for my tastes, as though they'd hit the word count limit and just stopped. Would love to see some of these expanded out into longer stories to give the clever ideas and terror a better chance for development but all in all an enjoyable read, especially if your attention span for reading isn't too great these days and you're looking for some bite-size horror.
November 14, 2025
3.25/5
Excellent read for the flash fiction horror lover in your life.
Excellent read for the flash fiction horror lover in your life.
June 26, 2026
I really enjoyed the first Campfire Macabre and can't believe I just found out there's a Volume 2. This one is just as fun as the first, although a bit shorter.
Highlights:
Scrach 'n Sniff by Clay Mcleod Chapman - Sense is supposed to be the scent with the strongers effect on memory. What if you could scratch 'n sniff your own skin for the scents that would take you back to happy memories? But what if each time you had to scratch a little more, dig a little deeper each time? Something beautiful becomes something horrifying.
Candy Corn Kid by Angela Sylvaine - A bullied child makes friends with a librarian and decides he wants her to be his new mom. Sweet right? But something bad might have happened to his previous mom (or moms?). Love the dark twist here.
Of Bongs and Birds by Corey Farrenkopf - Three stoners' straight edge buddy smokes some weed and gets surrounded by humingbirds and is just really not himself today. Something ominous is afoot! Loved it!
Corkscrew by Chad Lutzke - Anything by Chad Lutzke is a treat. I don't think weed generally makes you this stupid, but this was a fun, painful, cringe inducing, silly story. Possibly my favorite in the whole book.
The Heart of the Everglades by P.L. Watts - One of the best written stories in the anthology. I identified with the lonely little boy on the school field trip. He's like I was when I was that age; he just carries a sketch pad with him, whereas I always had a book.
This is Not a Haunted House by Tiffany Michelle Brown - Two friends stumble across a crime scene and mistake it for a Halloween display. Packs a big punch in just a few pages.
The Farmer's Son by J.A.W. McCarthy - Well that went in an unexpected direction. I don't want to tell you anything else; just read this one.
Trip Sideways by Tyler Jones - An excellent story about a song with an urban legend attached to it. Everytime it's played, one of the listeners will be killed by a hit and run driver in a red Jag. I love where this one goes.
Highlights:
Scrach 'n Sniff by Clay Mcleod Chapman - Sense is supposed to be the scent with the strongers effect on memory. What if you could scratch 'n sniff your own skin for the scents that would take you back to happy memories? But what if each time you had to scratch a little more, dig a little deeper each time? Something beautiful becomes something horrifying.
Candy Corn Kid by Angela Sylvaine - A bullied child makes friends with a librarian and decides he wants her to be his new mom. Sweet right? But something bad might have happened to his previous mom (or moms?). Love the dark twist here.
Of Bongs and Birds by Corey Farrenkopf - Three stoners' straight edge buddy smokes some weed and gets surrounded by humingbirds and is just really not himself today. Something ominous is afoot! Loved it!
Corkscrew by Chad Lutzke - Anything by Chad Lutzke is a treat. I don't think weed generally makes you this stupid, but this was a fun, painful, cringe inducing, silly story. Possibly my favorite in the whole book.
The Heart of the Everglades by P.L. Watts - One of the best written stories in the anthology. I identified with the lonely little boy on the school field trip. He's like I was when I was that age; he just carries a sketch pad with him, whereas I always had a book.
This is Not a Haunted House by Tiffany Michelle Brown - Two friends stumble across a crime scene and mistake it for a Halloween display. Packs a big punch in just a few pages.
The Farmer's Son by J.A.W. McCarthy - Well that went in an unexpected direction. I don't want to tell you anything else; just read this one.
Trip Sideways by Tyler Jones - An excellent story about a song with an urban legend attached to it. Everytime it's played, one of the listeners will be killed by a hit and run driver in a red Jag. I love where this one goes.
April 8, 2023
Great collection of short horror stories that are as the name implies—perfect for short reads around the proverbial campfire. There are over 40 authors included and the stories are organized around five themes: Trick-or-Treating, Body Horror, Malevolent Alien Visitors, Fields and Forests, When We Were Getting High. This is a follow up anthology to the first round (Campfire Macabre: Volume 1) and just as good as the first. I liked the themes of Trick-or-Treating and Aliens the most. Especially enjoyed the stories by Ai Jiang, Michael Harris Cohen, Eric J. Guignard, Christi Nogle, and Laura Keating.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews