Run Little Red

Campfire Ghost Story

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The occupant inside shuffled around, gathered their supplies, and prepared everything for their return the following night. Most people would have avoided settling in the area as the winters were known to be brutal, making starvation to death a likely possibility as there were hardly any animals to hunt or plants to gather. But not for the occupant inside, for they were a skilled hunter. And their preferred prey was abundant in the area. With everything set, the hunter left the cabin to head into the wood where they had last seen spotted their game and waited. It was time for the hunt.

Deeper within the woods, at the bottom of a hill, there sat a small cabin surrounded by wildflowers. In the cabin lived a grandmother and her granddaughter, who she adored. On the girl's birthday, the grandmother gifted the little girl a beautiful hooded red cloak. The little girl loved it so much that she never took it off, even when it was bedtime. Thus the grandmother dubbed her Little Red. Little Red loved to go outside, where she played in the pretty flowers. She would even pick some flowers and give them to her grandmother, who would use them to make the delirious jams. Everyone loved her grandmother's jams. Whenever Little Red and her grandmother brought them to the village's market, they would sell out within hours and come home with plenty of supplies for the coming winter.

Their cabin was a reasonable distance from the village. Little Red would sing songs to pass the time as they traveled. When Little Red and her grandmother arrived at the village, they would greet the villagers with smiles and waves. And because Little Red was such a well-behaved girl, the villagers loved her and often gave her presents, such as toys, candies, or even tiny flowers she could pin to her cloak. Because of this, a sweet scent always followed her wherever she went. Little Red's grandmother often received many compliments because of Little Red as they worked at their shop. When Little Red and her grandmother finished selling for the week, they would gather their things, say goodbye to the villagers, and head home. Little Red always sang as they went.

They came every week during the summertime but not in winter. The heavy snowfall would block the trail from their home to the village. The snow would not thaw until winter's end, but Little Red's singing could be heard as she and her grandmother walked on the trail into the village with baskets full of jam as soon as it did. That was until an especially fierce winter hit the area. It was so cold that most of the animals, crops and even some people in the area had died off. The villagers that survived the harsh winter were grateful when spring came. They soon grew to worry as Little Red, and her grandmother had not shown up like usual. It wasn't till a day later that Little Red came walking into the village, but her grandmother was nowhere to be seen. And she wasn't singing.

"Where is your grandmother, Little Red?" asked one of the villagers.

Little Red kept her head down with her hands tightening on the basket. The hood of her cloak covered everything on her face but her mouth. In a low voice, she spoke. "Granny got sick this winter, so she sent me here to sell our jams."

"Aw, what a sweet and obedient child." The villagers were hurt to hear of Little Red's misfortunes. So along with buying all her surplus of jams, they also gave her any extra supplies they could spare. Little Red was so happy at the village's kindness that she left the village skipping. As she thought about meals she could make with her grandmother, Little Red didn't notice the Huntsman standing on the trail until she ran into him.

"Whoa, little one, where is it that you are in such a hurry to get to?" He asked in a deep voice holding his hunting ax over his shoulder and a broad smile on his face.

Saying nothing, Little Red observed the mountain of a man standing before her. Normally she wouldn't speak to strangers as her grandmother had warned her about this but seeing the kind look in his eyes, she decided it would be okay this time.