Camp Haunt

By Dawn Vogel

Camp Fairmarsh, founded in 1883, has a long tradition of giving teenage girls a residential camp experience. Girls spend eight weeks swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, making arts and crafts, hiking, and more. They leave camp with experiences and friendships that last a lifetime.

But for the girls who came to Camp Fairmarsh in 2003, the camp had more in store. Read their letters home, their diary entries, newspaper articles, and other camp documentation that chronicle the bizarre occurrences that summer. Find out why Camp Fairmarsh is Camp Haunt.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DefCon One Publishing
• Release date: Sep 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005610869

Dawn Vogel

Dawn Vogel has been published as a short fiction author and an editor of both fiction and non-fiction. Her academic background is in history, so it’s not surprising that much of her fiction is set in earlier times. By day, she edits reports for historians and archaeologists. In her alleged spare time, she runs a craft business, helps edit Mad Scientist Journal, and tries to find time for writing. She lives in Seattle with her awesome husband (and fellow author), Jeremy Zimmerman, and their herd of cats.

Book preview

Camp Haunt

Dawn Vogel

Camp Haunt is copyright 2016-2017

Author's preferred edition is copyright 2022.

All rights reserved.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

An excerpt from the letter sent to campers, May 19, 2003

Official copy of the opening campfire story, from the Camp Fairmarsh files, as written in 1944

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, June 16, 2003

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to her parents, June 17, 2003

Letter from Alexis Blackwell to her family, June 17, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, June 17

Chapter 2

Incident report, June 19, 2003

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, June 19, 2003

Letter from Alexis Blackwell to her family, June 21, 2003

Nurse's report, June 21, 2003

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to Mallory Mallard Button, July 15, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, June 21

Article from the inaugural issue of the Camp Fairmarsh Weekly, June 23, 2003

Purchase requisition from Groundskeeper Grandma Scorpion, June 23, 2003

Excerpt from Thunder's weekly narrative report on Willow Unit, June 23, 2003

Chapter 3

Alexis Blackwell's dream journal, June 23, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, June 24

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to her parents, June 24, 2003

Letter from Jessika Yamaguchi to her parents, June 24, 2003

Nurse's report, June 26, 2003

Incident report, June 26, 2003

Discipline report, June 27, 2003

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, June 27, 2003

Alexis Blackwell's dream journal, June 27, 2003

Chapter 4

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, June 28

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to her parents, June 28, 2003

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, June 28, 1943

Purchase requisition from Counselor Dori, June 28, 2003

Nurse's report, June 30, 2003

Letter from Jessika Yamaguchi to her parents, July 1, 2003

Letter from Alexis Blackwell to her family, July 1, 2003

Maintenance report filed by Groundskeeper Grandma Scorpion, July 2, 2003

Open letter to all campers and staff at Camp Fairmarsh from Director Ace, July 2, 2003

Chapter 5

Article from the Camp Fairmarsh Weekly, July 7, 2003

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to her parents, July 8, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, July 8

Incident report, July 9, 2003

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, July 9, 2003

Purchase requisition from Quicksilver, July 9, 2003

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, July 11, 1973

Letter from Alexis Blackwell to her family, July 12, 2003

Excerpt from Morningstar's narrative report on Willow Unit, July 12, 2003

Chapter 6

Plan of events for the campout, submitted by Firebug, July 13, 2003

An undated campfire story found in the Camp Fairmarsh archives, told on the second night of the annual campout, July 14, 2003

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to Gretchen Bella Bianchi, July 15, 2003

Memo from Groundskeeper Grandma Scorpion to all counselors at Camp Fairmarsh, July 15, 2003

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, July 17, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, July 19

Alexis Blackwell's dream journal, July 19, 2003

Scene from Shadows of a Great City, notes by Jessika Yamaguchi, July 20, 2003

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, July 20, 1973

Chapter 7

Nurse's report, July 21, 2003

Alexis Blackwell's dream journal, July 21, 2003

Scene from Shadows of a Great City, written by Dori, July 21, 2003

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to Hailey Hailey's Comet O'Hare, July 22, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, July 22

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, July 22, 1943

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, July 22, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, July 22

Incident report, July 23, 2003

Chapter 8

Discipline report, July 24, 2003

Maintenance report filed by Groundskeeper Grandma Scorpion, July 24, 2003

Nurse's report, July 24, 2003

Jessika Yamaguchi's diary, July 25, 2003

Alexis Blackwell's dream journal, July 25, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, July 26

Letter from Brooke Cunningham to her parents, July 26, 2003

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, July 27, 1943

Announcement of auditions for Shadows of a Great City, July 27, 2003

Chapter 9

Letter from the Cunninghams to Director Ace, received via fax, July 31, 2003

Announcement of the cast for Shadows of a Great City, July 31, 2003

Work order request from Director Ace to Groundskeeper Grandma Scorpion, August 1, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, August 2

Letter from Alexis Blackwell to her family, August 2, 2003

Letter from Jessika Yamaguchi to her parents, August 2, 2003

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, August 3, 1913

Excerpt from Thunder's weekly narrative report on Willow Unit, August 4, 2003

Letter from Director Ace to the Cunninghams, August 4, 2003

Chapter 10

Letter from Alexis Blackwell to her family, August 5, 2003

Camp Fairmarsh Weekly newspaper clipping, August 5, 1943

Maintenance report filed by Groundskeeper Grandma Scorpion, August 5, 2003

Letter from Jessika Yamaguchi to her parents, August 5, 2003

Letter from Mary Jefferson to M, August 5

Purchase requisition from Counselor Dori, August 6, 2003

Open letter to all campers and staff at Camp Fairmarsh from Director Ace, August 7, 2003

Closing scene from Shadows of a Great City, performed August 8, 2003

Police report filed by Officer Evelyn Campbell, August 9, 2003

About the Author

Chapter 1

An excerpt from the letter sent to campers, May 19, 2003

Welcome to Camp Fairmarsh! We are excited to celebrate the camp's 120th anniversary this year, and we have many exciting activities planned for our campers: horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, archery, hikes, campouts, and plenty of s'mores! We also offer less outdoorsy activities, such as a drama production, a weekly newspaper, and lots of crafts to try out! In honor of the camp's 120th anniversary, we may even try out a few old-time activities, to see what life was like for Camp Fairmarsh's first campers!

We know eight weeks is a long time to be apart from your children, but we've learned over the years that the time will simply fly by! Every year, many of our campers wish they had even longer to enjoy the fun and excitement of Camp Fairmarsh!

In preparation for your camping experience, we want to remind all campers and parents of a few rules and regulations. This isn't the exciting part, but it is a necessary part of our great camp!

Important rules to keep in mind:

We always use the buddy system! No one goes anywhere alone!

Do not feed any animals without the direction of a counselor or other camp staff. Our wild animals spend ten months out of the year without campers and must not be allowed to come to rely on us for food. Our horses are on a normalized feeding schedule and should not be given any treats.

Fires are restricted to designated fire circles. No one--campers and counselors alike, and parents while dropping off or picking up your campers--is allowed to smoke on camp property!

Medications must be turned into the camp nurse. Any medications that may be necessary at unscheduled times (asthma inhalers, allergic reaction auto-injectors) may be carried by unit head counselors.

Life jackets must be worn at all times while on or near Lake Fairmarsh, and lifeguards must be on duty at the pool or lake while campers are present.

The boundaries of the camp are clearly marked with fencing. No campers or counselors are permitted to cross the camp boundaries, except in the case of an emergency.

Many of Camp Fairmarsh's buildings are very old, and some of them are undergoing rehabilitation for future use. Campers should not enter any buildings marked with a yellow warning sign on the door without a counselor or other member of camp staff.

What not to bring:

Cellular phones, Walkmans, or other electronic devices. You'll find nowhere to plug them in to recharge at Camp Fairmarsh!

Weapons of any sort. A standard camping pocketknife is allowed, but no larger knives will be permitted.

Food, snacks, candy, gum, or beverages. We don't want the raccoons to get your treats! Campers will be provided with adequate meals and snacks at designated times throughout the day. Gum is prohibited, as it poses a risk to wildlife.

Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and lighters. Any camper found in possession of any of these items will be sent home from camp without a refund.

Expensive or valuable jewelry or other items. We wouldn't want anything to get lost!

~

Official copy of the opening campfire story, from the Camp Fairmarsh files, as written in 1944

Camp Fairmarsh was built on a portion of the lands of an Indian tribe whose name has been lost to the mists of history. Some people say the land itself is haunted by the ghosts of those Indians, who died hundreds of years ago. Some even say those Indians are buried beneath our very feet!

The name of the camp comes from the conditions of the area near the lake when the camp was first founded. Bess Danaher Raddish, our founder, wrote in her diary this place is quite damp, but in the morning, when all is touched with dew, it is glorious. With the help of her husband, Anthony Raddish, she directed workmen to drain the marshy lands near the lake and create a place that has been cherished by campers for many years.

The camp opened in 1883, with Bess as its director, and only forty campers, the daughters of her friends and associates. Bess had been in ill health prior to founding the camp, but her doctors believed the country air would be good for her. Unfortunately, Bess only got to see a single year of campers at her beloved Camp Fairmarsh. Before the camp session had ended, she suffered a bout of pneumonia, and even with the care of many doctors, she died just after the session ended.

There are some stories that ascribe a more gruesome death to dear old Bess, but we know they could not be true. If all of the campers had disappeared during the course of that summer, or if the camp had burned down in a horrible fire, we would know--there would be records. Since nothing of the sort exists, we have to assume they are simply stories that were told to explain why Camp Fairmarsh lay dormant for a time.

But in 1885, after Anthony Raddish had mourned the loss of his beloved Bess, he threw himself into reestablishing Camp Fairmarsh, with the help of Bess's sister, Lucy. In time, Lucy became the second Mrs. Raddish, and she found herself director of the camp when it reopened to campers in 1886. In that year, we do know Camp Fairmarsh suffered a minor fire, when the cooking fire in one of the units grew out of hand. Fortunately,