By G. SAM PIATT
PDT Staff Writer

FRIENDSHIP -- Nearly 500 Cub Scouts jammed into Camp Oyo this weekend to camp out, learn scouting skills, and get a good Halloween scare.

The event was the 26th annual Scary Night. Ghosts flittered in the tree branches and the tents beneath them were decorated in traditional Halloween favor.

There was a contest to see who could carve the best looking jack-o'-lantern.

As darkness fell Saturday night, the Cub Scouts put on their costumes and went on a trick or treat excursion to various locations within the grounds.

Later, they gathered in the dining hall to hear the telling of scary stories.

"We'll shake them up a little bit. The kids really enjoy it," said David Wright, one of four camp directors working under Camp Master Phil Malone.

Another of the directors, Laura Davis, said 778 people registered for the two-night jamboree, including parents, guardians, scout leaders and some Boy Scouts who came to teach the younger boys some of the scouting skills.

"We have somewhere between 450 and 500 Cub Scouts," she said.

They came from packs from Chillicothe to Maysville, Ky., to Ironton.

The road leading past the camp was lined bumper to bumper with cars parked on the shoulders. A field across Ohio 125 from the turn-in to the Boy Scout camp was also filled with vehicles.

Zackery Messer, 9, of Lucasville, a member of Pack 44 Northwest, said he enjoyed his day Saturday.

"So far I've shot BB guns and I'm on my way to the archery range," he said.

He also was working with his mother, Jessica, in making a recipe holder for her kitchen.

"They do all the normal things Cub Scouts do -- shoot BB guns, bows, sling shots, plus learn some camp skills," Davis said. "And then we like to give them extra to look forward to with the season."

Messer said Saturday he didn't know what to expect for the night coming up.

"They tell me you never know what's going to happen," he said.

Joyce Caskey had come along with her son, Austin, 8, from Cub Scout Pack 104, sponsored by First United Methodist Church in Ironton.

"We got here Friday evening and we'll leave Sunday morning. It's a good experience for the boys," she said.

Charlie Hammonds, who had a grandson in the same pack, said, "I think it's really a good thing. There's only one Scary Camp, and the boys have been hearing about it and wanting to come for a long time."