Camp Monsters

Spirit Lake

Episode Summary

You're supposed to be alone on the dark waters of Spirit Lake. But across the way you see the glow of a fire and hear strange sounds. Who or what could it be?

Episode Notes

You’re supposed to be alone out here in the dark waters of Spirit Lake— the ranger ensured you there was nobody else. So why is there a strange glow across the lake? What is it coming from? Tonight you’ll find out.

Welcome to Camp Monsters Summer Camp. Over the past few seasons of the show, we’ve gotten tons of suggestions on the monsters we should cover. We noticed that a lot of these take place at a summer camp. So we’ve collected the best of the stories you’ve sent — and researched a few of our own — to create our first series of legendary summer camp creatures. Hopefully you can take these episodes with you to summer camp or they’ll bring you back to when you were a camper, scared of what might be lurking outside of your cabin.

This year’s sponsor is YETI. Check out all of their amazing gear in store or at REI.com. 

Pack it up – Shop YETI Camp Coolers

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Episode Transcription

You’re supposed to be alone out here. The ranger at the nearest station said there was no one else out on this remote lake. But... maybe someone… maybe some other camper came up here without informing the ranger. Maybe… but it would make you feel better if the signs you’ve seen of them made more sense. If you could spot them during the day in another canoe, or hiking along some shoreline trail. By daylight the only things you’ve seen are the ashes of their campfires and those… strange marks you found around their camp. But every night you see their fire, with figures passing in front of it… and you hear those… strange sounds, all night long. And every night, they seem to be getting closer…

This is the Camp Monsters podcast.

No matter how dark the night…

No matter how fast you run…

No matter what is chasing you…

You’ll be safe, if only you can get to the campfire.

…but will you make it?

This episode takes place on a long canoe trip. And while our sponsor YETI doesn’t make canoes-- yet-- they make just about everything else you’ll need to make your trip more comfortable. Of course that starts with YETI coolers that can keep your food and beverages cold and fresh for days on end, but YETI also makes insulated cups, coozies, camp chairs, cargo carriers, clothing… and even some things that don’t start with the letter ‘c’, like tote bags and dog bowls. Check it all out at your local REI, or online at YETI.com. Thanks, YETI!

<>

Well! You all did fantastic on the first day out! It’s a hard pull, isn’t it? There’s no current in a lake like this, but that’s hard to believe after a few hours of paddling these canoes. It’s these mountains all around us-- they throw the scale off. They’re so massive they make you feel like you’re standing still, even when you’re making pretty good time. And according to the map, we’ve done well. I’d say about… ten miles from the logging road where we put in. We’re ahead of schedule. A few more days like this and we’ll get our fifty miles easy.

And how about the scenery on the paddle up? Snow-capped peaks sliding almost straight down into the water-- we’re lucky there’s this little ledge of shoreline for us to camp on. And the wildlife-- birds on the lake and bear and mountain goats up on the slopes above where the trees thin out. If we feel like stretching our legs early tomorrow there’s a little trail up the ridge behind us that gives an amazing view from the top. Tonight there’s barely a moon, and… I don’t think it’s peeked up over the mountains yet... no. So we’ll have to content ourselves with the stars. You’ll never see them more clear and bright. Our fire is the only light for twenty miles at least.

<>

Did you hear that? A pair of loons, calling to one another. We’re at the very southern edge of their range, so we’re lucky to hear them. Eerie sound isn’t it? Beautiful though. I hope we’ll hear it again. Hmm? Oh, I couldn’t tell what direction it was coming from. From off over the water somewhere. What? Over by what fire?

Well, I’ll… no, that can’t be a fire, it’s too faint… or… no, maybe you’re right. Huh. I can’t remember what’s over there, on that far side of the lake. I don’t think there’s many good spots for a camp over there. And when we checked in at the ranger station, she said our canoes would be the only things on the water. No motors allowed up here, and this late in the season all the other paddlers have packed it in. Did any of you see another canoe or kayak up here? Trailing behind us, maybe? You’d think we’d have spotted whoever it was. We must have been too tired from all that paddling to look behind us. Unless… well I didn’t see any trails on those steep slopes over there, but do you think somebody could have hiked in? Forget it-- there’s no use guessing about it tonight, we’ll just paddle over there tomorrow and say hello before we head up lake.

<>

There are those loons again. Hm. Bit of a cold sound, isn’t it? I think I’m going to turn in. I suggest you all follow before too long. Last one here be sure to douse the fire, ok?

<>

Shh! Huh, sorry… don’t know what there is to be quiet about. Just feels that way this morning, you know? I’ve never seen water so clear and still-- when we put the canoes in I swore I could look straight down a hundred feet to the pebbles at the bottom, and looking out across the water it was so still the reflection looked like another world, standing on its head below us. And so quiet… every animal on this lake must be nocturnal. They were sure keeping up a racket last night-- waking me up with their calls and rustling in the bushes-- but now, listen:… not a sound. Not a sound. Like the whole world is sleeping or… dead… or waiting for something. No, I didn’t sleep well either. My arms are sore.

About where did that fire show up last night? Just there, in that little grove of pine trees, right? Yeah… I think I can still see a little smoke rising… or is that mist? Hate to think they’re the kind who don’t smother their fire when they go to bed. Funny, I don’t see any canoes or anything drawn up near there, do you?

Look out! <> Careful now! You other canoes stay clear, stay back!  It’s a snag, dead wood under the water: careful it doesn’t tip us over. Let’s back paddle… slowly, gently… Look down under the water there: all those things, like naked white arms reaching up toward us? It’s a drowned forest. This is a man-made lake, after all: a huge reservoir. These valleys were all steep mountain forests a hundred years ago. Some of the trees are still down there, lifting their dead limbs to bleach in the sun. Kind of frightening to look at, with the water so clear. And they’ll tip a canoe in a flash, if we’re not careful. That’s why we usually keep out in the middle of the lake whenever we can. Alright, let’s back paddle a bit more and we’ll try to pick our way through this. Tough place to get to shore, if these other campers are traveling by water…

<>

Hello! Hello there! Good morning!… Hm, nothing. Suppose they struck camp and got on the water before us? Must have been really early-- I gave up trying to sleep around first light, and I’ve been watching the lake ever since. I didn’t see a soul.

<>

Here we are. Tie off on these old stumps, nice and firm. And look, there are tracks on the bank here, like someone… hmm… well I’m not quite sure what these are signs of. Something was doing a lot of something down here. Running back and forth at the water’s edge? What do you make of it? Animal, or…? Yeah, hard to say. The mud holds the impressions just fine, but what made them… Hoof or paw or… I’ve never seen anything quite like that. Maybe something slipping in the mud, smearing the prints…

Let’s move up into the trees a bit. <> That’s definitely smoke rising over there, smell it? Yeah, it’s almost hard to smell the smoke, with that other stink masking it. No, that’s more than any smell we would have stirred up in the mud. There’s something large rotting around here somewhere. Sometimes an avalanche will kill a moose or bear or something in the winter, carry them down to the base of the slope here and then all summer they stink up the area. Heck of a place to make camp. Woof: put your bandanna over your nose if you want.

Unh-- and it’s so steep all through here. I wouldn’t camp here unless I had to. It’s even steeper back there where the trees end. I don’t see a sign of anything but game trails. They must have come by water, I can’t imagine anyone hiking down these scree slopes just to camp here. Where would they come from, anyway? There’s nothing on this side of the lake but mountains.

Well, here’s the fire. Not much of a fire, no wonder it looked so faint last night. Still, they should have put it all the way out before they left. <> Phewf! Seems like I kicked up more of that nasty smell, kicking the dirt over the fire. Must just seem stronger when the smell of the smoke is gone. Hey! HEY! Stay out of the trees! Let’s… let’s all just stay where we can see each other, alright? No sense wandering off where we have to spend half the morning looking for someone.

What?  What about the trees? Blood? Where? Let me see… <> Ha!, no, that isn’t blood, it’s sap: that’s the tree bleeding. It’s been blazed here, you see, someone has taken a hatchet or… well, maybe some animal has taken its claws and hacked a chunk of the bark away. Huh… fresh, too: the sap is still fairly pouring out. And… funny thing, look: look at the other trees. They’re all like this, every last one in this stand seems to be blazed, right down to that little sapling over there. Must have been… must have been the campers over here who did this. 

What? No. No, I think that’s just an optical illusion, I don’t think all the trees are blazed in the direction of where our camp was last night. You’re imagining things-- why would they do that? …Then again, why would they do any of this? Anyway, they must have done this blazing before we pulled in yesterday evening-- we would have heard them otherwise, if they’d been hammering into all the trees like this.

<>

I said stay out of the woods! Stay where we can see each other! Who’s gone back there in the brush? Onetwothreefourfivesixseven… oh… well, not one of us. Just an animal, maybe. Hello?!… <> Well, no sense hanging around in this stink. We’ve put the stranger’s fire out for them and… and seen what they’ve done to the trees.  I don’t know what it means… I don’t think it means anything.  Just some stranger being destructive.  Now it’s high time we got back on the lake and started paddling. Let’s head back to the canoes. Everybody stay together.

<>

Hey. Hey hey hey Hey Hey HEY! <> <> I’ve got it! I’ve got it! Saved this canoe, just as it was drifting off! Who tied this one up? OK… no, it’s alright, just… just be a little more careful next time. Hate to have to leave a few of us on the shore here while the rest go looking for a lost canoe. There’s no current in the lake but this wind will push a drifting canoe in a hurry. Whew! This mountain air has a chill to it this time of year… At least it does now that I’m soaking wet. No, no: don’t worry about a fire, just let me change clothes and I’ll be alright. The paddling will warm me up.  Especially if this breeze keeps blowing-- we’ll be heading right into it.

<>

Phew! Oh-oooh. I don’t know about you, but I’m beat! You all did great, though-- eight miles into that wind? And barely any light left to set up camp, by the time we got here. But we got it all together, got camp set up and a good dinner in us-- amazing what a change that makes, huh? Now let’s <> douse this fire and “retire now to our tents and to our dreams...” We’ve earned it-- we’ll all sleep well tonight. <> Sing on, loons! Every animal in these woods could start singing opera and it wouldn’t wake me from the sleep I’m about to take.

<>

OK, quiet everybody. These tent walls are thin, remember? How do any of you have enough energy left to horse around? Go to sleep.

<>

It’s just the loons, everyone! Quiet down.

<>

Is that someone going to the bathroom or trying to play a prank? <> Playing a prank, huh? Well now we’ve heard you, sneaking through the bushes, so the joke’s over: so go to bed.

<>

That’s it. <> I’m coming out, and whoever I find out here is going to get to do all the breakfast dishes by themselves tomorrow. <> Come on out, I’ve got the flashlight on you, and I can track you by the bushes moving. You’re not scaring anyone… <> Who is that? <> Who is that?! Who-- AAAH!

<>

What was that? What was that? It had to be... It must have been…It was… just a deer, everybody!… Just a deer… You saw it to? In the flashlight, when it ran out of the brush? A deer, right? A big stag?... No, no it couldn’t have been a wolf, didn’t you see the horns?... Yes, I saw its face, but… it must have just been the way the light was hitting it that made its teeth look like that… And a lot of animals have red eyes when you’re shining a strong light on them... No, no, no, no, no: that’s impossible… I know!  I know what it looked like, but… deer, wolf, whatever: there’s no wild animal that runs on just two legs. It must have had four. It must have had four! Stop it! Everyone, just-- just stop it! We’re not making anything better by imagining things. You’ll think you see all kinds of stuff in a sudden situation like that. 

Look, it startled me right back onto my tent, flattened the whole thing. Somebody help me get this back up, and… and let’s build another fire, if we have enough wood for it. And if it makes everyone feel better, I’ll stay up for a little while. And then I’ll wake somebody else up and we’ll… we’ll take it in turns to sort of… keep watch. OK? Whatever it was, it’s not likely to run through the camp again, but…

<< SOUND OF THE LOONS AGAIN, NOT FAR OFF>>

...but I wish those loons would quiet down. Alright, get that fire going and everyone… everyone try to go to sleep. We’ve got a long night ahead of us, and a long day tomorrow, and we need rest…

<>

<> Light. Finally. Agh. At least we have some birds this morning. That’s a friendly sound. <> Huh. No one’s up yet-- fire is almost out. I thought that whole “keeping watch” thing would get old after a few hours. I could barely keep my own eyes open after the adrenaline wore off. Better get this fire built back up again in time for breakfast. <>

Good morning! Hey, good morning! I see everyone managed to fall asleep, even after last night’s excitement. No, that’s good. We’ll all need the rest. Who took the last watch? Well, when my watch was over I woke you, and who did you wake? Ok, and then who did you wake? You woke Jim; alright. And Jim… well, Jim must still be sleeping. Looks like all the rest of us are up now-- did Jim pass the watch off to anyone? Did he wake any of you up? Ah well: let’s not give him a hard time. I’m sure he tried to wake one of us up to take over for him, but <> we were all so bone-tired he probably couldn’t rouse us. Let him sleep a bit longer: who knows how long he stayed up last night. We’ll wake him when breakfast is ready.

Hm? Of course Jim’s still sleeping. He isn’t out here, is he? You ought to know, you two share a tent with him. Oh, come one-- what do you mean he’s not in there? He’s probably just rolled up in his sleeping bag! Here-- <> Hey, Jim. <> Jim!

Alright. OK. He might have gone into the wrong tent. Everyone check your tents. <> Or… sleepwalking, maybe. Does anyone know if he was a sleepwalker? He couldn’t have gone far, asleep or awake-- it’s just another of those little flat landings we’re on here-- if he’d tried to climb those cliffs behind us he wouldn’t be near the top by now, we’d still be able to see him. He’s not there. We’ve got the find him, though-- if he wandered off and curled up somewhere in the open to sleep he could be in real danger-- it was cold last night. You two: take a canoe and paddle in close along the shore, holler if you see anything. The rest of us will go down to where the flat area meets the cliffs, and we’ll sweep this whole ledge from end to end. <> Jim! Hey, Jim! Jim!

<>

I don’t get it. I don’t get it. If he’d gone in the water we’d have heard him, if he’d tried the cliffs we’d see him, and if he was anywhere on this ledge we’d have found him. We’ve been over every inch of this place. And even if… I mean, the water is so clear… And who’s ever heard of someone sleepwalking silently into a lake? It doesn’t happen!

Anyway he’s not here.  Jim isn’t here, and we’ve got to get help. Everybody try their phones again-- but I know we’re way out of signal range. We’ve wasted most of the day looking, but the sky is clear… we’re supposed to have a bit more moon tonight, and it should rise early… Let’s get in the canoes. Only load survival essentials, leave everything else behind. We want the boats as light as possible, we’ve got to paddle straight through the night and tomorrow and even the next evening until we get to the landing where the van is supposed to meet us-- since we’ll get in early we may have to hike out from there, at least until we can get a phone signal. It’s going to be rough, but we’ve got to get help as quick as we can in case… in case Jim still needs it. C’mon, let’s get these boats loaded.

<>

Keep ‘em together, everybody. Keep the canoes close. Tighten up, tighten up. This moonlight is tricky-- just because you can see the mountains lit up way over there doesn’t mean you won’t lose sight of the other canoes if they get more than a few yards away. Stay close. I know it’s tough, you’re all doing great. Don’t ask me how much longer-- just assume we’re going to be paddling for eternity, then when it finally ends you’ll be glad you overestimated.

<>

What’s that? Up ahead, over on the far shore. See it? Through the trees? We’ll see it better as we round this point… There. Oh… it’s a campfire, just like the other night. It’s impossible. There’s no one else up here, there couldn’t be. We haven’t seen another soul.

Stop. Stop paddling, everyone. Something just crossed the firelight, between us and the fire… there it is again. Something pacing, racing back and forth on the shoreline. It’s too far off to see for sure what it is, but… It must be… it must be a man wearing a mask and… antlers… it must be… Anyway, let’s head off along that shore, as far from the fire as we can. Slowly, feeling for snags.

<>

That wasn’t a loon.

<>

That sounded… did that sound like Jim? <> It came from the fire. What’s going on here? What is this? <> Alright, we’ll… we’ve got to find out. Ok. Ok, the rest of you keep your canoes out here and… and talk a bit amongst yourselves, tap your paddles on the canoes now and then, let… let whatever it is by that fire hear you. And be ready to bolt down the lake on my signal or… or if you see… something with antlers swimming toward you in the water. The two of us in my canoe will loop around and land on the far side of the fire, try to creep up close and see… see if anybody over there needs help. Alright, here we go. See the rest of you in a bit. Listen for us.

<>

[QUIETLY] Pull it onshore just a little… don’t tie it off. We may have to leave in a hurry. The fire’s not far away. Follow right behind me, quietly!

<>

Down! Right here, behind this log. <> Big fire tonight, bigger than before. Nothing around it. You see something? Where? Here, let me move to the other side of you, get a better angle. <> Yeah, I see it. Like old clothes or a twisted dirty sleeping bag, or… did it just move? <> Is it…? It’s Jim. It’s Jim! D’you see his face? Just barely, in the firelight. It’s him, I’m sure of it. It’s got to be him!

<> Let me go! We’ve got to help him! What? Of course-- of course it’s a trap, but what other choice do we have? Hopefully the others have distracted whatever… I mean, whoever-- hopefully the others have distracted that thing down by the water over there. C’mon! You’d better come with me. If Jim’s hurt it’ll take two of us to carry him.

<>

[whispers] It is! It’s him! Jim! Hey, Jim! From the way he’s laying I thought he’d be tied up, but it’s just like he’s sleeping… I don’t know… he’s got a good pulse. Jim! Wake up! C’mon, buddy… Get him on his feet, c’mon, heave him… There he is! Jim, hey Jim we’ve got to go. Can you move? Can you walk? This way, this way, quick as you can. <>

<>

What was that?

<>

There it is.  It’s coming.  Look at… Oh, Jim. Aww, Jim, we gotta run. Gotta run buddy, come on!

<>

This way! C’mon Jim, get up! Get him up, drag him along! C’mon, Jim, c’mon, run!

<>

Where is it?! Where’s the canoe? It was right here! It was right here! <> Into the water! It’ll wake Jim up some more. We’ve gotta swim. Have to swim for it. Swim for the boats! Swim! <> HEY! HEY! HERE WE ARE! HERE WE ARE! HEY!

<>

Mountain lakes hold many secrets. Archaeologists know that from the number of prize artifacts they find in them, all over the world. Beautiful objects, expensive, costly things: sacrifices, it would seem, to hungry, long-forgotten spirits. Nowadays we know better than to believe in such things-- and we show it, in the way we’ve named our lakes. A good example of that is the lake whose legends inspired this story. In modern times it’s named after the man who was assistant commissioner of the Water & Power Department in the nearest middle-sized city back in the 1920s, when the dam that expanded the lake was built. There had been a lake in that valley before-- a much smaller one, with a name in the local native tongue which translated roughly as “Spirit Lake.” Having heard this story, it seems probable that though the name has changed, the spirit remains… and it doesn’t sound like the spirit of a middle-aged Water Commissioner, does it?

Thanks for listening.

Camp Monsters is part of the REI Podcast Network.

If you’re thinking of appeasing a hungry lake spirit, nothing keeps your food-offerings fresher than a YETI cooler. With a YETI, there’s no need to paddle day and night in a race against time-- your YETI will stay icy for days on end. So take your time, enjoy the scenery, go ahead and investigate that mysterious campfire across the way. While you’re looking out for lake spirits, YETI is looking after your food and beverages. Thanks, Yeti!

The lake in tonight’s story was man-made, and the man who made the sounds of it was our very own Nick Patri, engineer extraordinaire. The spirit crying hungrily across the cold waters was our Senior Producer Chelsea Davis, endlessly seeking the next finished script. Miles away, basking in the warm glow of the electricity that the dam at the end of the lake produces were our Executive Producers Paolo Mottola and Joe Crosby. And paddling frantically across the choppy night waters was yours truly, writer and host Weston Davis. Thank you very much for listening, and remember to like, share, rate, and review this podcast. We appreciate it, every time.

Next week we’ll be back on the water, but… waters much larger than these. Out on the open ocean, out past the furthest glimmer of land, out with the dark waves like foam-capped mountains around us… most of the legends out there live in the depths below, but next week… next week the uncanny has climbed out of the sea… and is hiding somewhere aboard our ship. We’ll seek out the stowaway… and then we’ll find it.

See you next week for another episode of the Camp Monsters Podcast.