Heard all the fictional campfire stories? How about some scary true tales...

The telling of supernatural tales is a long-held, cherished tradition among campers. As they sit around a crackling fire in the dark of night, chilling stories are told of vengeful ghosts and threatening monsters. But these stories, told and retold year after year, are just that - stories.

Yet unexplained things sometimes really do occur out there in the woods at night.

Here are some true tales of the paranormal reported by campers. Ghosts, strange creatures, UFOs and mysterious phantoms - encounters that are sure to creep back to mind the next time you're camping.

WHITE MOUNTAINS CREATURE

K.H. was camping at a National Forest campground in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. On night, after his wife and daughter had falled asleep, he was sitting by the fire when he heard a noise...

• This was different than the usual bear grunt. It was more like someone sneaking in the trees. I immediately grabbed the flashlight. What I saw haunts me even now. I saw a being in the trees. It was naked. It looked gray. And this sounds crazy, but it looked like a person, but not really. It was hunched down, very muscular and its legs were backward, like a bird's. Then it quickly turned and bounded off down the hill. I couldn't even follow it with my light. We left the next day. We went back to the same campground this year. Back to the same site. Again, I stayed up late poking the fire and reading. It was maybe one or two in the morning when I heard a noise. I shined the light in that direction. That same creature, being, whatever, was there. It looked exactly the same as I'd remembered from last year. It just sat there, crouched at the small tree line that separates the campsites. I slowly walked toward it. I tried not to make any threatening moves or gestures. I got to within 20 feet when it just jumped backward and disappeared. It looked like it might be five to six feet high if it stood up. It was definitely gray. It had human features, but more leathery. And its face was very wide. Its eyes were so big, and, even though they reflected light, they still looked black, like two intensely black marbles. Its legs were very muscular, but turned backward. I know what I saw. It was real. - Kevnh

PHANTOM CAMPERS

Nightraven and friend Todd were camping at a cabin in the Upper Peninsula Of Michigan. They were waiting for other friends to arrive when they had an unexplained experience...

• At about 9:30 p.m., it was getting dark, and we were beginning to worry about Randy and Tommy. Only a few moments later, we saw car lights at the front of the cabin. We were in the middle of nowhere, so it had to be them. We heard the car doors open, heard Randy and Tommy as plain as day. I yelled. "We're on the deck." The car doors closed, we heard footsteps rounding the corner... and at the point that someone would have rounded the corner... it was silent. I looked at Todd. He was looking at me. It was quiet. I yelled, "Hey, Randy. Hey, Tommy." We got up and walked around front, and... nothing. No car, no people, no sound. Ninety minutes later, the phone rang. It was Todd's mother calling to inform us that at 9:30 that evening, a fatal traffic accident involving Randy and Tommy took place 30 miles from the cabin. It's almost as if they just wanted to keep our tradition alive. - Nightraven

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