One common one is hearing strange noises at night. Like the sound of footsteps circling your tent when you're all alone in the wilderness. It makes you wonder what kind of creature is out there.
During a camping trip in the forest, my friends and I noticed that our food kept disappearing. We thought it was some small animals at first. But then one night, we heard heavy footsteps around our campsite. We peeked out of the tent and saw a large, shadowy shape rummaging through our stuff. We were too terrified to do anything but wait until it left. The next day, we found huge footprints that didn't look like any animal we knew.
Sure. One time I was camping in the woods. At night, I heard strange growling noises outside my tent. I peeked out and saw a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness. I was so scared that I didn't dare to move all night. In the morning, I found out it was just a wild dog, but it was terrifying at that moment.
Getting lost in the wilderness while camping can be extremely scary. You might not be able to find your way back to the campsite or to civilization. I once strayed from the marked trail while camping and ended up in an area I didn't recognize. It took me hours of wandering and panicking before I finally found a familiar landmark and made my way back.
Once, while camping in the woods, a friend of mine heard strange howling at night. It was like no animal he knew. As he peeked out of his tent, he saw a shadowy figure moving among the trees. He was so scared that he didn't dare to move or make a sound until morning. When he told us in the morning, we thought it might be his imagination, but the fear in his eyes was real.
The unknown is often the scariest element. For example, not knowing what is making that strange noise in the dark. It could be a wild animal or something else entirely.
There was a camper who set up his tent near a supposedly haunted lake. During the night, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder while he was half - asleep. He woke up in a panic and saw a shadowy figure outside his tent. He quickly packed up his things and left the campsite. Later, he learned from the locals that there were rumors of a ghostly apparition near that lake.
The isolation. When you're camping, you're often far away from other people. So, if something strange happens, there's no immediate help. For example, in those stories where people hear strange noises at night, they can't just run to a neighbor's house. They have to deal with it on their own, which adds to the fear.
One story could be about a person who always heard strange whispers in an old, empty house they moved into. Every night, when they were about to fall asleep, the whispers would start, making the hair on their neck stand up.
One scary camping story is about a hiker who got lost in the woods while camping. As night fell, he heard strange howling sounds that seemed to be getting closer. He found a small cave to hide in, but then he saw a pair of glowing eyes at the entrance. Another is when campers heard someone whispering their names in the middle of the night, but when they looked around, there was no one there.