Campfire Stories

I was really glad I decided to revisit “The Burning” (1981) Monday night. The campfire story about Cropsy, how it was shot, just mirrors Paul telling his young adult camp counselors (in “The Burning” Matthews was telling his story mostly to campers) about Jason and how he’s lived on the land and could be anywhere, just waiting for the time to get his revenge. And sure enough, Todd told his kids around the campfire about how Cropsy would do the same. In both instances, with Todd from “The Burning” and Paul with “Friday the 13^th Part 2”, they have a masked prankster jump out to scare everyone right at the end of their proposed Boogeyman “story to tell in the dark”.

The Burning:

Todd: There used to be a camp not far from here, just across the lake. It was called Camp Blackfoot. No one goes there anymore. Everything burnt down. This camp had a caretaker, and his name was Cropsy. Now, this Cropsy was a drunkard... a sadist, and he got real pleasure out of hurting... scaring. And he had these garden shears. The kind with long, thin blades. He carried them all the time, wherever he went. And he had this kind of demonic way of looking at you. One time, Cropsy really went after this kid from Brooklyn, followed him around night and day. He made this kid's life a living hell. But this time, he chose the wrong guy, 'cause the kid and some of his buddies had planned a little prank. Only problem was, the gag went wrong. The next thing anybody knows, Cropsy's trapped alive and burning in his bunk. They try to get him out, but the fire's so fierce, they can't reach him. All they can do is stand outside and listen to him cry out in agony. They say his smashed his way through the bunkroom door in just a mass of flames. And as he burned alive, he cried out, "I will return! I will have my revenge!" They never found his body, but he survived. He lives on whatever he can catch. Eats them raw, alive. No longer human. Right now, he's out there. Watching, waiting. Don't look; he'll see you. Don't move; he'll hear you. Don't breathe; you're dead!

Friday the 13^th Part 2:

Paul: I don't wanna scare anyone, but I'm gonna give it to you straight about Jason. His body was never recovered from the lake after he drowned. And if you listen to the old-timers in town, they'll tell you he's still out there... some sort of demented creature, surviving in the wilderness, full grown by now. Stalking... stealing what he needs, living off wild animals and vegetation. Some folks claim they've even seen him... right in this area. The girl that survived that night at Camp Blood, that... Friday the 13th? She claimed she saw him. She disappeared two months later... vanished. Blood was everywhere. No one knows what happened to her. Legend has it that Jason saw his mother beheaded that night... and he took his revenge. A revenge that he'll continued to seek if anyone ever enters his wilderness again. And by now, I guess you all know we're the first to return here. Five years... five long years he's been dormant... and he's hungry. Jason's out there... watching... always on the prowl for intruders. Waiting to kill... waiting to devour... Thirsty for young blood.