The Legend of Camp Jellywitch Part I

Nell sat around a fire, the cool breeze of a late summer night nipping at his neck. As he waited for the children to settle, he added another log to feed the flames.

“Gather round,” Nell said. “And prepare yourself for a frightful tale.”

He felt the shiver of anticipation pass across the minds of the unknowing campers.

“What is it?” Faust asked.

“Who here is afraid of jellyfish?”

Eyes rolled, and minds lost faith in Nell and his ability to wend a story. Of course these children, many Pixies, were not afraid.

Nell raised an eyebrow. “That’s because you haven’t heard the Legend of Camp Jellywitch.”

Nell waited until excited voices calmed to a whisper.

Once, many years ago, there was a small house just over yonder, at the peak of the hill that overlooks the lake. In that house lived a small family: a father, a mother, and their one daughter, Athenia. They were a happy family, and they enjoyed swimming in the twin lakes every day. They warned their daughter, Athenia, to never go too close to the southeastern edge, where the current could suck you down into the underwater cave that connected the two lakes.

One stormy afternoon, Athenia wandered too far. Lost in a foggy haze, she found herself caught in the current. It pulled her into the cave and tore her apart. Although she should have perished immediately, something spooky happened inside the cave. She was still alive, but she was headless.

Her body searched for its missing piece, grasping at anything it could find, when it reached a large, gooey, jellyfish. She thrust it onto her head, replacing her own with tentacles that crept down her shoulders.

Some say her head was in the other lake, some say it was lost in the cave, but it has never been seen since. Her family, horrified by what their daughter had become, gave the land and lakes up to us, but the girl — Athenia — stayed.

She never gave up looking for her head, looking for a way to heal herself, to regain her sight. Some say she still roams the camp, still searching for her head. Some even say she would take any head, as long as it gave her sight again.

Nell leaned back while shivers of fear passed through the camp. Faust, his eldest son, stood, sweeping his cape behind him. “Can we go jellyfishing?”