It was the summer of 69.’ The fun begins! Beach parties every weekend, late-night movies every Friday, block parties on the 4th of July weekend, tee-peeing houses at midnight, and shopping at the nearby outdoor mall. There’s always a bombardment of excitement that hits me when summertime approaches. The wind is breezy, everyone is happy, and rooms are filled with the sounds of laughter. The best place to be during the summer is the notorious Sunshine Camp! After all, it’s where all the fun and chaos happens.

Friday; July 06, 1969; 10:43 p.m.

My roommates and I had just finished watching “Sixteen Candles” and we went back into our cabins to get ready for bed. I took a quick shower, changed into a fuzzy pj set, and hopped into my bed. I heard some weird noises outside, but ignored them, thinking it was nothing. I waited for my roommates to finish getting to bed so that we could talk a bit before falling asleep.

11:27 p.m.

I was woken up by a strange noise that came from outside. It had been a modicum of time since I got into bed, but something seemed off. I tried waking up my roommate, but she was in a deep sleep, so, I decided to go outside to check out what it was. When I stepped outside to see what was going on, there was nothing. Just a wide empty view of darkness.

12:44 a.m.

I tried going back to sleep after some time of tossing and turning. Again I heard another sound. It was a gushing sound, almost as if someone was getting stabbed. I went outside and walked around a bit, and as I got deeper into the woods, there was a foul, rotten smell. I was thinking there was a dead carcass festering in the fields. Continuing to walk along, I followed the lingering scent. I regretted coming far deep into the woods, all alone. It wasn’t just the weird noises coming from the woods, there were visible footsteps on the dirt and the nasty smell lingering. I figured that maybe one of the boys from the other side of the cabins was using the restroom, so I decided to go back in, but the second I stepped back, I heard a loud scream. I ran as fast as I could into the group leader's cabin, but no one was in there. Passing through each cabin one by one, flying the doors open, and slamming them shut, I realized that everyone was gone. Not a single soul here in Sunshine Camp. Only me. I looked down below me and saw a puddle of blood down below me. As I traced the path of blood with my eyes, I saw a body covered in gushing, dark red blood. Half of my body was drenching and palling in it. A second later, I became one of the hundreds of bodies on the ground.

From this tragic year of 69’ the entire Sunshine Camp was abandoned. No one knows how this tragic disaster happened, but there continues to be talk about this camp in our county.