I heard the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story. If you know Camp Wanaka you know the Larch Cabin. If you know the Larch Cabin then you have heard of the mysterious haunting occurring there. It was at Camp Wanaka that I too had heard the story of the night where the so called “ghosts” came out to play…but from the story I heard, I knew there was more too it. There was more going on in between the lines then most people settled for. But me being as daring as I am, I hunted for an explanation to that night I had heard about. I was a very brave twelve year old boy and I wasn’t about to stop until I found the answers I was looking for.
Today was finally the first day of Camp Wanaka and my friend Adam and I could not be more excited. All I could see in front of me as we drove up was the huge sign that read WELCOME TO CAMP WANAKA. Once we reached camp, Adam and I jumped out of the minivan onto a worn out gravel road.
“Ahh the sweet smell of mystery” Adam said while he shot me a wink.
“Now boys you know the rules! Always stick together, listen to your counselors and follow all the rules.” My mom lectured to us.
“Mom we know. We aren’t little kids anymore” I said back annoyed.
“I know. I trust you two. Goodbye and see you in a week!”
Once our moms finally leave and Adam and I find our cabin and meet our counselors we begin to unpack and map out a plan on how we are going to see the ghosts in the Larch Cabin. The rest of the boys in our cabin leave to go play kickball with other campers so now is the perfect time to figure out what we are going to do without anyone listening.
“I say the first thing we do is hear the ghost story from the real sources themselves” Adam says.
The kids we are looking for aren’t just any ordinary kids; they are the kids that stayed in the Larch Cabin last year on the night of the haunting. We are sure they will give us the answers we need.
We set off walking on the trail to the rock climbing wall, where to our excitement, find two of the “cabin kids”. One of them is almost six feet tall and stands leaning against the rock wall sucking on a soda. The other is surrounded by a group of girls on the other side. Adam and I both give each other an anxious look. I know exactly what he’s thinking because I am thinking the same thing too. These boys are intimidating eighth graders and it might be harder to get a story out of them then we thought. I slowly walk up to the one leaning against the rock wall.
“Hi, um, my names Nate and me and my friend Adam were wondering if we could ask you and your friend over there a question.” I manage to stammer out.
“Hey Johnny” The tall one calls over to his friend. “These dweebs said they need to ask us a question.”
“Oh do they now Tony?” Johnny smirks and struts over to the rock climbing wall, followed by a trail of squirrely girls. Tony. I think in my head. Yes! Tony’s the one from the story I heard; he’s the one who upset the ghosts in the first place. I now look at Tony in complete and utter shock. Now this guy is a living legend. Tony catches me staring and gives me a wink that leaves me with an unsettling feeling.
“What can we help you with today?’ Johnny asks. Adam steps forward acting all high and mighty.
“Yes, we are wondering if you guys can tell us what really happened last year at the Larch Cabin.” The two boy’s faces go completely blank. Tony turns pale white, turns to the girls he was with and asks them to leave. Johnny won’t take his eyes off Tony as if he’s about to explode into a million pieces.
“Don’t ever bring up that night in front of him ever again.” Johnny threatens to us.
“I’m sorry!” I say. “We just need to know the truth because we want to go there but we want the full story first.” Tony looks up at Johnny dumbfounded. He gets up and walks straight over to us.
“You want the truth? Okay here’s the truth. There are ghosts in that cabin and if you try hard enough you can anger the ghosts enough for them to start haunting. There are three ways to attract them. First light a candle and place it in the middle of the room, second turn off all the lights and third open all the windows. Good luck to you.” Tony says to us in a hushed tone. The two boys get up without speaking and walk away.


This ghost story just became a lot more interesting. Now that Adam and I know how to attract the ghosts we can find out for ourselves if they actually exist. Adam and I decide that tonight will be the perfect night to sneak out to the Larch Cabin. The lunch bell rings and we break out into a sprint towards the cafeteria. Tracking down a ghost story can work up quite an appetite.The rest of the day is mapped out by the counselors who force me, Adam and the rest of our cabin into team building exercises. All I can think about is tonight and to be completely honest I am starting to get really nervous. I never really thought about what would happen if ghosts actually do come. What if I never see the daylight tomorrow!? By the time we get back to the cabin it’s almost dark. Adam and I look at each other and I give him a nod. It’s time to put our plan into action.
“I don’t feel so good” Adam groans while holding his stomach. I’ve always envied his amazing talent of lying.
“What’s going on? Maybe you should go down to the nurses office.” Our counselor says.
“I’ll take him!” I blurt out probably a little too abruptly because Adam gives me a look.
“Okay. Be back as soon as possible though.” Adam half limps to the door and I follow holding him up to support him. Once we get out of the cabin we break into the fastest sprint of our lives.

We run straight into the camps general store and purchase one candle, a box of matches, two flashlights and two candy bars just in case we get hungry. Then we begin the walk up to the Larch Cabin. The creepiest part is that the cabin is located deep into the woods, alone and isolated from the rest of the camp. By the time Adam and I reach the cabin it is completely dark and we can’t see a thing. My heart is already pounding just by the eeriness of the place. We turn on our flashlights to lead the way. The cabin is made of old wood that is broken and torn in some places. The porch steps creak with every step I take and I can hear the wind hollowing much louder than usual. The flashlight starts to slip out of my sweaty hands when I shine it at the old rickety door. Adam makes the first move by opening the front door. It swings open almost as if it did all on its own. Adam and I look at each other and I can see the fear written plainly across his face. Together we take our first steps into the cabin.
Adam and I walk to the center of the room, sit down and start to roll out our sleeping bags and other things we brought.
“Well this is cozy” Adam snickers, breaking the thick wall of silence. I grin back at him.
“Up for a game of cards before we play around with a few ghosts?” I ask. We play a few games of cards just to settle our nerves a little bit. After our third game we both glance at the candle.
“Let the games begin!!!” Adam belts out. I laugh and take the matches out.
“Tony said that we first need to light the candle, then turn off all the lights and last open up all the windows. Since the lights are already off, I’ll go open the windows while you light the candle” I say as I get up. Once the candle is lit and the windows are open, Adam and I don’t know what else to do but sit and wait. I can feel myself getting tired so I lay my head down on my sleeping bag.
BANG. The sound of the door slamming shut wakes me and Adam up from our doze.
“Did that door just shut all by itself?” Adams voice quivers.
“Mhmm.” I mutter out. This is it. Adam and I stand up and I can tell he is just as afraid as I am. All of a sudden a huge gust of wind comes out of no where and knocks us right back onto our backs. I begin to see this green glow forming on the other side of the room.
“What is that?” Adam cries. I can’t find any words to respond with. The green glow slowly forms into the shape of a human. I assume that this is the ghost that Tony was talking about. I start to scream when I realize who this ghost is. A green hologram version of Tony starts heading towards us.
“It’s Tony!? What the heck is going on! We have got to get out of here” I scream with tears starting to run down my face. How can Tony be the ghost. Adam and I start to bolt for the door only to find that it won’t open. Of course it won’t open.
“Not so fast little boys” I stop in my tracks and turn around to face the ghost. “You won’t be leaving here anytime soon.” I am paralyzed with fear and I can’t even find the strength to scream.
“What do you want from us? Why are you haunting this cabin?” Adam asks shakily. The ghost floats over to him and strokes him on the head. I can see Adam shaking with fear just like I am.
“You see back when I was a kid, I too used to come to this camp. I stayed in this cabin. Except one summer, I never went home. I died of a cabin fire right where you two boys are standing” I feel like I am going to throw up everywhere.
“Ever since my death, I have spent my time haunting this cabin and all of the little boys like yourselves just for a good time. AHHHHHHH” The ghost screams and comes straight for Adam and I. We both fall to the ground and curl up in little balls to protect ourselves but all of a sudden I start to smell something. The smell of burning wood. I look up suddenly to see the entire cabin on fire. “Adam GET UP!” I cry. The ghost is no where to be found. Adam and I run straight for the door because luckily the fire hasn’t reached it yet. We push and pull on the door until finally it breaks open. We dash right out of the cabin as fast as our feet can take us. I look back for a split second to see the Larch Cabin engulfed in flames. Adam and I don’t stop running until we reach our cabin. It feels like we have been running for hours on end and it must be at least two in the morning. Without another word, Adam and I got straight up to our bunks.

I awake a few hours later to Adam hitting me in the head with his pillow.
“Hey cut it out!” I whisper. I look at the clock; 5:45 and everyone else in the cabin is still sleeping. Adam beckons me to follow him outside.
“I’m still trying to make sense of what happened last night and how we even made it out alive” Adam says.
“I’m just wondering why the ghost looked like Tony. I wonder if he had anything to do with it?” Then all of a sudden it hits me. Tony had a brother that died here at camp a few years ago but no one knew the real story until now. The first breakfast bell rings.
“I think the best thing we can do is just carry on with the rest of the week. I can’t wait until we get back so we can rub it in all of our friends faces that we actually saw a real ghost!” Adam says.
“Ya true that.” I reply. We knuckle punch and start walking towards the cafeteria for breakfast.