Camp Monsters - Behind the Scenes of Camp Monsters

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

Join host Weston Davis for a behind the scenes look at the who, how and why of the Camp Monsters podcast! This is a BONUS EPISODE from Wes' interview on REI's Wild Ideas Worth Living podcast with host, Shelby Stanger. He spills the spooky tea and you don't want to miss it. Connect: Shelby Stanger on Instagram Listen to Wild Ideas Worth Living! 

It's that time of year again. Halloween approaches, and spending time outside is a little spookier than usual. As it gets dark earlier and leaves start to fall, our minds can run wild with visions of unknown creatures hiding in lakes or slithering across trails. Whether it's Sasquatch or the Chupacabra, many communities around the U.S. have stories of monsters or supernatural beings that live in the woods. Weston Davis, host of the Camp Monsters podcast,

tells the stories of these impossible creatures and folks of all ages can't get enough of them. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production. This episode of Wild Ideas hits pretty close to home. In the end credits of every episode, I mention her senior producer, Chelsea Davis. Well, a few years ago, Chelsea enlisted her brother Weston Davis to write and host Camp Monsters. It's a fictional podcast about the things that run across the trail in the middle of the night, just beyond the beam of your flashlight.

Growing up surrounded by the dark, rainy forests of the Pacific Northwest gave Chelsea and Weston a sixth sense for eerie, blood-curdling tales. And fans of spooky stories, eat them up. Camp Monsters has been nominated for the iHeartMedia Awards twice. Much of the acclaim goes to Wes for his imaginative writing and the dark tension in his voice. He knows exactly how to build suspense and to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You blink your eyes, slowly open. Where are you? Oh, yes, you're tucked snugly in your bunk at Camp Wile-A-Way. What time is it? After midnight. The porch light filters through the old fabric of the curtains, casting the dimmest orange glow across the room.

So dim that it's hard to see anything but shadows. Shadows. You find yourself staring at the shadows, especially that one over in the far corner. And as you stare, your heart begins to beat fast and faster. Weston Davis, host of Camp Monsters. Welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living. Thanks for having me, Shelby. I'm just super excited to be here. Okay, you have the best Camp Monster voice ever. How did you get such a deep monster voice? Is this genetic or like? Oh, years of exercises and practice. No, just luck, just dumb luck, you know, but I'll take it. You know, whenever anyone sees me, they always say

I have a perfect voice for radio. So Camp Monsters, it's such a great show. Maybe you could just start by telling us your experience with monsters, especially camp monsters and camping outside. Well, one thing everyone should know about me is that as a child, I was terrified of scary stories and I wanted nothing to do with them. So anyone that's out there that, you know, it's just too intense for them. I totally understand. And I get it because I was a very imaginative kid. And I think that, you know, someone would tell a campfire story or a scary story or anything like that. And I would, it would be so real for me that I had a really hard time with it. You know,

so that's, that was my initial relationship with Scary Stories. But as I got older, it got to be something that I learned to enjoy and kind of kept going back to. And so when this opportunity came along, it was, you know, I had a lot to say and I had a lot of interesting ways to say it, I guess. So like I said, I think the best place to come at monsters from is a place of real terror, and that's where I was coming from. So I hope I'm able to infuse some of that into these camp monster stories. Where did the idea for the show even come from? Like, how did you and Chelsea come up with this idea?

Well, you know, it was easy because the way this whole thing happened was very accidental. Yeah, and it was a really backwards kind of way to come at it. So the situation was that REI had this artwork that they'd come up with, with this map of the U.S. with all these different legendary creatures on it. And they loved the artwork so much that they wanted to make a podcast out of it. And Chelsea Davis, full disclosure, she's actually my sister. Which is so awesome because I remember when she was looking for a host and she couldn't find one,

but okay. Well, that was the thing. So she approached me just as a proof of concept. I have a background in theater and voice and all that sort of thing. So she said, Wes, can you just do an episode that I can take to REI and kind of give them an idea, an outline of what I'm thinking of. And then we'll go and replace you with, you know, someone who's known someone, a name and all that kind of thing. And she started talking to multiple different people that she was wanted to host it. And, you know, it got started with this person got started with that person negotiations kind of, you know, it got started with this person, got started with that person. Negotiations kind of, you know, got tough.

And they were thinking they were going to have to scrap the season. And she said, well, hold on. Can we just listen to this pilot episode that I made as a proof of concept? Let's just play this and see what we've got. And that first episode was a Batsquatch episode. And once they heard that one, they really loved it. So they green-lighted the whole thing. And we put together our first season. That first episode was a Batsquatch episode, and once they heard that one, they really loved it. So they green-lighted the whole thing, and we put together our first season,

and it was such a success that they've had us back every year. I love it. I love it. It sounds like monster stories and ghost stories must have been a part of your upbringing, because for Chelsea to have seen a poster on the wall of an REI office and to like take that and think of a camp monster podcast and then for you to end up becoming the host like there has to be some sort of like ghost culture in your family well I had two younger sisters and I had to scare them you know Chelsea was one of them and so you know she knows how it was but the problem was I was I would always scare myself as well. You know, where we grew up, the nearest large green space that we had to kind of play in was a cemetery.

And so as I was growing up, it sounds really morbid. It sounds really morbid to say, but it wasn't at the time. It was just a big open green space that we could play in. So regularly growing up, we'd go down to the cemetery and play and run around. And this was back in the day when I guess you were comfortable, people felt comfortable with, you know, a 10-year-old or something going there and playing on our own. So we'd be running around the cemetery, and of course, I'd have to make up stories about the people and make up stories about the things in the woods. The woods were pretty intimidating all around that cemetery. So those kind of stories, I would make them up on the fly and tell them.

But the problem was, as soon as Chelsea or my other sister Alexis got scared and ran for home, I was not far behind them because by the time I got them scared, I was right there with them and convinced that whatever it was was going to fly out of those trees at me. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Yeah, scaring your siblings was a big part of growing up. Everything I have, I have thanks to scaring my siblings. I mean, that's really what it comes down to. Wes's sister Chelsea remembers his scary stories pretty well. So we got them together for a little family reunion. As far as what Wes did to scare us, like he was always a good storyteller.

And so after the big storm that happened in 1995, it knocked a bunch of trees over. And one of the trees like split in a way that the trunk looked like a big bird. And so Wes took us there, my sister and I, and told us that it was a devil bird. And it came alive at night and would fly over the cemetery and like snatch up kids or people who dared to go through the cemetery so that's right although the devil bird story backfired because i scared myself with that one yes we all went screaming out at the cemetery yeah he is so good at writing stories he scared himself weston prided himself on scaring the crap out of ch and their sister Alexis with ghost stories and urban legends. He always had a flair for the dramatic.

In junior high and high school, Weston started acting in plays, and after college, he pursued theater professionally in Chicago. Ten years later, Weston decided that it was time for a change of pace. He moved back to the Pacific Northwest, he got a day job, he started a family, and he thought his professional acting days were behind him. That all changed when Chelsea asked him to write and record a sample episode of Camp Monsters. Becoming the accidental host was, in many ways, a blessing in disguise. It gave Wes a chance to flex his acting muscles.

Plus, he gets to creatively write out the scary stories that are rattling around in his head. Okay, so how many monsters have you guys featured so far? Let's see. We've done 32 now, and we'll have 40 by the time this season is complete. And that's full episodes. And then in between our full seasons, we've had, you know, little smaller monster stories, kind of little monster blurbs, as it were. Sometimes we take them overseas and we do creatures from other countries.

So all told, we're probably pushing 50 creatures now. How do you learn about these creatures? Like, where do you learn about them? How do you hear about them? Yeah, it is a deep dive. What's really cool and really exciting about getting to do this podcast is that you really get to access all these local legends. I mean, we've really just scratched the surface in terms of what people in one particular region or one particular area have as kind of common knowledge in their area. People will write in and tell us, oh, we should do an episode about this creature that I've never heard of and you've never heard of, but in their particular part of the country,

everybody knows about this thing, you know, and it has a whole backstory and a whole legend related to it. So our listeners provide us with a lot of ideas and the internet fills in some spaces, fills in a few blanks, you know, and then imagination also plays a bit of a role when you've got that foundation laid, then you've got to go in there and decide what it would be like to actually encounter this creature. Oh, I love that. So how do you research them? What are some of the rabbit holes you go down and how? I want to know the method to your madness. Yes. No, I like it. It's mostly madness. The method is that it's mostly madness.

Some of these creatures have campfire stories that have kind of been passed down through the generations for so long that you'll find a thousand different variations on a similar story online, even in books, all kinds of things. And I just take that and run with it. So, you know, you can kind of get a starting point based on what everyone's seen, what everyone's experienced. And then, uh, with a little artistic license, we're able to put together something that we always try to do something different. Sometimes it's first person, sometimes it's a third person. Sometimes it's, you know, kind of in the present.

Sometimes it's in the past. And that always seems to add a bit of depth to the fear factor. I heard you listen to these stories and share them with your kids. Oh, yeah. Hey, well, one of my kids actually did one of our mini episodes. It was during the early days of the pandemic and everybody was just going sure crazy and nobody knew what was going to happen. And we'd been listening to a lot of episodes and my son who was, I think he was three or four at the time, he was retelling a lot of these stories and it was so good that I just had to get some of

it on tape. So I brought him in the studio and he was so excited to be a part of it. And he did a great job, presented a lot of the episode just like it occurred to him. And then I sent it to Nick, our engineer, and Nick couldn't help but set it to the intro music and the sound effects that we'd use for a normal episode. And it was so much fun at such a tough time in the world that we released it like an episode and got a great response. Everybody loved it. I think we should hear a clip from that episode. The creature, he was driving late at night and then he saw something in the headlights at Mount St. Helens. He was driving late at night, and then there was a face,

size backs of eyes the color of teeth and orange and blood that looked like hair but rot. Now Albie's very, my son's name is Albie, he's very, he's mortified now. You know, now he's a big boy, he's seven. Whenever that one comes on, he makes me skip past it. That's so cute. Do the kids, your kids, are they starting to tell their own camp monster stories? Oh yeah, and they have a lot of them that they're really upset that I haven't made into full episodes yet.

And I explain, well, we're kind of trying to base it on real creatures and all that. And they said, yeah, but this is so scary, dad. And so, so, uh, you know, I, I'm going to pitch them. I'm going to pitch those ideas because, you know, it's very real to them. So we just have to make it real for everyone else. And you have a full-time job as well. I do. Yeah. That's amazing. Well, for those of you listening, we're recording this at night after dinner because Wes is obviously just a busy man and you're a good model for us all. How do you do it all? Well, you know, I was telling an old friend of mine that I've, I'm finally becoming the disciplined person that I always wanted to be

before I realized how unfun it is being a disciplined person. Yeah. So that's it. You know, there are massive demands on my time, especially right now. And so it is, it's just hammering away at things, you know, and get up in the morning and you start working and you just keep working until it's time to go to sleep again and you get up and do it again. So, um, you know, it's tough, but you know, you're, you've, you're an athlete and an influencer and all kinds of amazing things. And so, you know, what it is to go after something that you really want. And I have a lot of different things I want.

So I got to go after all of them. And the fun is in the journey and what you're doing along the way. So I'm having a blast. When we come back, Weston talks about how Camp Monsters has evolved. He gives us a sneak peek of a script fresh off the press and he shares his advice on making art. People are so into the Camp Monsters podcast that they send Wes handwritten fan mail to REI headquarters. The team's research, penchant for creativity, and sound design by Nick Patry have produced some pretty incredible and bone-chilling episodes.

They're releasing their fourth season right now and already have plans for more. There is certainly no shortage of monsters to investigate. The show has featured more than 40 monsters so far. How has the show evolved since, you know, that first pilot? You know, we've come a long way while we have kept the basic structure intact. So that first season we were doing it very much, very minimalist. We had fireside sounds in the background. We were steering clear of anything that kind of sounded like sound effects. It was just a fire and a voice, and that was it.

As the seasons went on and on, you know, we were able to keep coming back to that, but work in a little bit more suspense with sounds and create a little bit more of a world with the sound that I think is able to kind of bring people that much further into the stories that we're telling. Plus, like I said, we've started experimenting with some sort of first person episodes where we try to take the listener right there along with us, sort of in the field as it were, and other kind of plot twists and things that just add some layers to these awesome creatures that everybody ought to know about. I'm really curious because I've looked at some of the reviews last night and people are

obsessed with this show. So I want to hear from you what feedback you've gotten from listeners. I love them. I love them. I love my listeners. And it's cool. We have them all over the world and we get reviews from overseas. But my favorite ones, young people of 10, 11, 12, 13 have written letters and sent them to REI and they've come my way. And those are just treasures. I love every single one of them. And, you know, I always write back because I feel like what we're doing here is accessible to younger people and hopefully speaks to them in a cool way. And I just, I'm honored to be doing this because I remember being young and getting to read stories that really impacted me and really affected me. And I hope that's kind of what we're able to deliver

on this show now. Yeah. I mean, what are these letters look like from kids? It's really cool that you reach kids. Like that is the coolest genre and kids are like the coolest demographic ever, I think. They really are. Yeah. They don't suffer fools. When I'm writing this show, I'm not writing it for kids. And when you listen to the show, I don't think it comes off as anything that is written for that audience because I don't think they'd like it if we did it that way. You know, as a kid, you don't want something that is sort of watered down for you. You know, you want the real thing that is being presented in a way that's still accessible to you. And the letters we get from kids are great. Everything from an eight-year-old

that's still working on their writing and spelling, just telling us how great it is and drawing a picture of the monster. You know, we've had crayon drawings of the monsters sent in and all that kind of thing. And they're really good too. All the way up to, you know, 12 or 13-year-olds writing very precisely and very well, I might add. We had some very, very literate young people write in to say it's their favorite show and they really like it and make suggestions for episodes and things like that. So keep them coming. I mean, I just can't get enough of that stuff.

And it's, like I said, it's so meaningful to be doing something that you hope 20 years from now they think, gosh, that show I always used to listen to as a kid, Cat Monsters. Yeah, that was so much fun. You know, I mean, that's if we do that and I think we are doing that, I mean, that's as good as it gets right there. That's so endearing too. Can you give us a sneak peek at season five? Sure. You know, we've got a little clip here that we haven't recorded yet even. I mean, it's hot off the press that I could do a little of it if that's going to be of any use to you. I would love that.

All right. Let's do it. The setup is main character driving along a terrifying narrow road through the woods at night. That's really all we need to know. It shouldn't be far now. Trevor squinted out into the night ahead, looking for signs. And as he did, he caught just the slightest glimpse of movement, way off at the edge of his windshield, almost beyond the palest fringe of his headlight.

A sudden movement, the flashing reflection of eyes and paleness and a motion he couldn't interpret at first. Like a... something like a throwing motion. Trevor would have looked in that direction if the very next instant the whole world hadn't shattered. But it did. Cut out the sound of pages turning. I thought that was part of it. Trevor had slammed on the brakes when his world exploded, but in

the next heartbeat, he decided he was in no hurry to meet whoever had thrown that rock. So he put the pedal to the floor. The little van's wheels spun in the gravel just as something low and dark broke cover from the edge of the forest ahead, running towards the van. Running with unbelievable speed, Trevor only saw it for a moment before the van's spinning drift

pointed his headlights in the other direction. Whatever it was, Trevor did not want to meet it. And we'll leave it there. Oh! Yeah. You got me. Oh, it's about to get real.

So good. You're very talented, Wes. So did you take any like voice lessons or growing up okay yeah I mean as a part of wanting to be a theater artist you know I worked on singing and I worked on speech and diction and you know voice but it's just an ongoing process. It's something that you just have to kind of keep working on. And again, working in the audio space is a lot different because in theater, a lot of it is working on projection and diction and making sure that people can hear you, whereas in the audio space, it's very intimate.

And I have to remind myself that I can speak very softly. People are still going to hear what I have to say and it's going to draw them in to certain points of the story. So that's been a real adjustment. Not only do you record a show, but you write it, which is a whole other skill. Any advice on people who want to write scripts

for podcasting? Like how do you do it? How did you learn how to do it? How do you get better at it? Yeah, like anything else, I wish I had a magic bullet, but I think it really comes down to doing it and then listening to yourself and not being afraid to be critical. Not tearing yourself down and saying like, oh gosh, going down that road of being really negative, but just listening to yourself and saying like, huh, if I were listening to this and I didn't know me, I would want more here. I'd want less there.

And a lot of times it's about less when it comes to these, at least the dramatic side of, of a podcast script, because the temptation is always to tell people too much. And when I write a script, I found even just this season that I have to let myself just write and write and write. And I'll just scribble it out longhand because I need to build the world enough that then I can narrow it down and focus on, okay, now that I've got these great characters and I've got this great creature and I've got this great world, what are the parts that are actually exciting? What parts can we, you know, how can we move through this story

in a way that's going to be engaging from start to finish? What do you hope Camp Monsters does and gives for listeners? That's a good question. I'm going to say I hope it gives them two things. I hope that it gives them worlds that they're able to jump into and inhabit and experience that are different than maybe they've experienced before in their life or in their podcast listening or just in the way that they engage with this large entertainment sphere that we have here. And then part two would be, I hope the way that we tell these stories and the way that we structure these stories lets them know that you can tell a really great story without telling too much,

that you can engage people and you can give them a positive experience that involves a lot of negative factors so most of our stories you know they go to pretty intense places but we always manage to bring them back to something that's you know relatively i don't want to say uplifting but it's relatively positive and i think that's really important in the world today and also in the entertainment space because I think we have a responsibility as artists to change the world in a positive way. I love that even by making and telling scary stories,

we can bring joy to so many people. Weston, you're practically Superman. I'm in awe of your ability to work full-time, to parent several young kids, and still make time to write and create Camp Monster stories. And your voice is awesome. If you want to learn more about Weston Davis and Camp Monsters, search for Camp Monsters on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. To get in touch with Weston, check out his website, westondavis.com. That's W-E-S-T-O-N-D-A-V-I-S.com.

Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger, written and edited by Annie Fassler and Sylvia Thomas of Puddle Creative. Our senior producer is Chelsea Davis and our associate producer is Jenny Barber. Right now, we're all in Portland, Oregon. We're hiking around as a wild idea. We're prepping for an amazing slew of shows for 2023. Our executive producers on this show are Paolo Motilla and Joe Crosby. And as always, we appreciate when you follow the show, when you rate it, and when you take the time to write a review wherever you

listen. And remember, some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas.