The story concerns a Boy Scout named Stanley Judkins, a rude and badly behaved boy with no respect for authority. While on a camping trip, Stanley Judkins and the other Scouts are told not to enter a certain field. An old shepherd tells Stanley that the field is called Wailing Well and that it is haunted by four ghosts. Stanley does not believe the old man and makes up his mind to fetch some water from the well in the field. "Wailing Well" has been adapted for film and television.