Cache with a made-up story?

[BearDeer]

We're toying with the idea of hiding our first cache and we're not sure where the guidelines stand on the following: We'd like to pick a nice place and then create a fictional story about it - it would be some fantasy/mystery connected with the physical location and things found in it - but it would all be our made-up fantasy tales and would have no basis in history or facts related to the location. Is something like this allowed?

[RuideAlmeida]

We're toying with the idea of hiding our first cache and we're not sure where the guidelines stand on the following: We'd like to pick a nice place and then create a fictional story about it - it would be some fantasy/mystery connected with the physical location and things found in it - but it would all be our made-up fantasy tales and would have no basis in history or facts related to the location. Is something like this allowed?

 

Sure.

 

I had a cache based on an invented tale about a giant archer... just because 2/3 of our team are archers.

[+Wacka]

How about an event at the food court in the Mall?

[Keystone]

BearDeer, the answer depends in part on the words used in your story. The description is subject to the listing guidelines and the site Terms of Use. For example, the story cannot be used to promote a political, religious or social cause, and it cannot be used to make fun of / criticize / insult another geocacher. (Not that it sounds like you're planning to do any of that, but it helps to review a complete cache listing and not just a summary of an idea.)

[+wmpastor]

Best to make the story so extreme it's *obviously* fiction. Otherwise some person or business is likely to figure out a way to sue for slander!

 

[+barefootjeff]

We're toying with the idea of hiding our first cache and we're not sure where the guidelines stand on the following: We'd like to pick a nice place and then create a fictional story about it - it would be some fantasy/mystery connected with the physical location and things found in it - but it would all be our made-up fantasy tales and would have no basis in history or facts related to the location. Is something like this allowed?

 

I love caches like that with a tale woven around them. I've done a series set in late 1800s colonial Australia about the fictional Constable Plodfoot's attempts to track down and capture the Bushranger, starting with GC5YP8E (there's a bookmark list on that page for the rest of the series). That one in turn was inspired by a friend's cache called The Bushranger (GC5WHEM). They've all been well received by the local caching community if the number of FPs is anything to go by.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Oh, I make up all sorts of silly stories. I hid a cache by the Oak Ridge Reservoir, and called it "Elvira, by the Oak Ridge Reservoir". I don't think anone ever got the joke.

I claim to talk to the local bears. "Amparo Oso Comió el Tocino" I posted that we followed Amparo Oso, to convince her to stop chewing on our caches. We hid a cache to show her. She dropped a hint to show us she could find it any time.

We met Cindy Bear at the Bear Picnic, and she told us how to find one of her favorite spots. Cindy also showed us a photo of her grandfather Jockey Bear. That puzzle was a dismal failure. Oh, well.

Not creative history, but humorous stories. IMHO.

[+Mama514]

Oh, I make up all sorts of silly stories. I hid a cache by the Oak Ridge Reservoir, and called it "Elvira, by the Oak Ridge Reservoir". I don't think anone ever got the joke.

I claim to talk to the local bears. "Amparo Oso Comió el Tocino" I posted that we followed Amparo Oso, to convince her to stop chewing on our caches. We hid a cache to show her. She dropped a hint to show us she could find it any time.

We met Cindy Bear at the Bear Picnic, and she told us how to find one of her favorite spots. Cindy also showed us a photo of her grandfather Jockey Bear. That puzzle was a dismal failure. Oh, well.

Not creative history, but humorous stories. IMHO.

I get the Elvira cache name. Just awful! 😁 It was so popular I can't see how noone else made the connection.

 

There's several tall tales in cache descriptions around here and also seem to be very well liked. I'd do this myself if I were creative enough. Go ahead!

[+Ambrosia]

Oh, I make up all sorts of silly stories. I hid a cache by the Oak Ridge Reservoir, and called it "Elvira, by the Oak Ridge Reservoir". I don't think anone ever got the joke.

I claim to talk to the local bears. "Amparo Oso Comió el Tocino" I posted that we followed Amparo Oso, to convince her to stop chewing on our caches. We hid a cache to show her. She dropped a hint to show us she could find it any time.

We met Cindy Bear at the Bear Picnic, and she told us how to find one of her favorite spots. Cindy also showed us a photo of her grandfather Jockey Bear. That puzzle was a dismal failure. Oh, well.

Not creative history, but humorous stories. IMHO.

 

Thanks, now that song is in my head.

[+WarNinjas]

and it cannot be used to make fun of / criticize / insult another geocacher.

OH man! Now I have to archive a few caches!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Best to make the story so extreme it's *obviously* fiction. Otherwise some person or business is likely to figure out a way to sue for slander!

 

 

I have one that is in an area with a bunch of mountain bike trails that includes a bunch of obstacles on along a trail constructed by the local mountain biking community. The area is known as "Area 51" so I created a story behind it by photoshopping some photos of an alien presence.

 

 

 

[+DragonsWest]

Have you heard the tall tale? The Magnificent Other Half Dome

[+redsox_mark]

Many of my favourite caches are based on a story. One example

[+captnemo]

One of my favorites GC3D974

Edited January 11, 2017 by captnemo

[+J Grouchy]

Here's one I found a few years back: https://coord.info/GC3NWH7

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Most of the examples shown so far are puzzle caches. I lot of puzzle caches will use a story *as* the puzzle. The most elaborate that I have seen is Key to Cryptonomicon. The story isn't in the description but the puzzle is based on the story from a book. It has multiple levels, several elaborate parts that don't directly lead to the solving of the puzzle, but fill out the story. Some of those might be considered red herrings. Many that solve the puzzle will spend weeks on it before finally getting the set of coordinates needed to find the cache.

[+rjb43nh]

Some of my puzzles use made up stories. For example: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCRPK5

[+redsox_mark]

Yes, most of the "story" caches I can think of are puzzles or multis... or Wherigos.. not Traditionals. No reason you can't make a story out of a Trad, but keep in mind that the cache page is less likely to be read in detail for a Trad.

[+DadOf6Furrballs]

Here's one of mine. The PLFC Cache

 

[+geodarts]

Yes, most of the "story" caches I can think of are puzzles or multis... or Wherigos.. not Traditionals. No reason you can't make a story out of a Trad, but keep in mind that the cache page is less likely to be read in detail for a Trad.

 

A story makes any cache better. Although not every cacher will read cache descriptions,there are those of use who appreciate such stories and might find a cache solely for that reason. I have looked for traditionals that have traced the path of a fictional adventurer who found a sunless sea or that inspired me to kayak among ghostly pirates. I have also cached in search of Incan Gold; encountered Uncle Vinny and the "family" who did not appreciate cachers interfering with a pile of rocks; met other pirates, aliens, and dangerous rabbits along the way. Mysteries can encompass more than puzzles. Sometimes I will look for a cache simply because it has a fun story and I envision the log that I will eventually write. The tale about ghostly pirate ships led to a log about my own encounter with the legendary ship - complete with photos.

 

I have written a coyote story for a cache and invented numerous characters ranging from a "famed" cryptologist to a local historical figure with embellished tales. A fictional lake monster and a fictional swamp creature have been featured in my caches along with bigfoot. The adventurer who took me to a sunless sea was a character I had originally created for a different cache, so sometimes you never know where things will lead. I started using a cartoon commander of the Clarian space fleet in several logs and eventually added her to a couple of my own caches and set up her own website.

 

So have fun with whatever your write. And if you have fun with it, others will appreciate it.

Edited January 13, 2017 by geodarts

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Yes, most of the "story" caches I can think of are puzzles or multis... or Wherigos.. not Traditionals. No reason you can't make a story out of a Trad, but keep in mind that the cache page is less likely to be read in detail for a Trad.

 

A story makes any cache better. Although not every cacher will read cache descriptions,there are those of use who appreciate such stories and might find a cache solely for that reason. I have followed a fictional adventurer in search of a sunless sea or kayaked among ghostly pirates in search of traditionals. I have also cached in search of Incan Gold; encountered Uncle Vinny and the "family" who did not appreciate cachers interfering with a pile of rocks; met other pirates, aliens, and dangerous rabbits along the way. Sometimes I will look for a cache simply because it has a fun story and I envision the log that I will eventually write. The tale about ghostly pirate ships led to a log about my own encounter with the legendary ship - complete with photos.

 

I have written a coyote story for a cache and invented numerous characters ranging from a "famed" cryptologist to a local historical figure with embellished tales. A fictional lake monster and a fictional swamp creature have been featured in my caches along with bigfoot. The adventurer who took me to a sunless sea was a character I had originally created for a different cache, so sometimes you never know where things will lead. I started using a cartoon commander of the Clarian space fleet in several logs and eventually added her to a couple of my own caches and set up her own website.

 

So have fun with whatever your write. And if you have fun with it, others will appreciate it.

 

I completely agree. A story can be used to create a theme upon which other aspects of the cache can be based upon.

For example, I have a cache that has a photo and short quote about Br'er Rabbit. The cache is located in a small garden like setting behind a veterinary hospital called Briar Patch (which is also the name of the cache). The actually hiding spot and the container keep very much with the theme. I originally hide it on Easter several years ago. On of the things I think makes a cache better is when the CO pays attention to every aspect of the cache, and especially when they all can be tied together with a common theme.

 

[+redsox_mark]

I agree too... my point was only that with multiple stages

1. You can be sure the story will be read

2. You can further augment the story, e.g. hiding physical stages along the way which match the theme.

 

Another great one Disappeared. This makes nice use of unique physical stages which match the story.

[+redsox_mark]

 

For example, I have a cache that has a photo and short quote about Br'er Rabbit. The cache is located in a small garden like setting behind a veterinary hospital called Briar Patch (which is also the name of the cache). The actually hiding spot and the container keep very much with the theme. I originally hide it on Easter several years ago. On of the things I think makes a cache better is when the CO pays attention to every aspect of the cache, and especially when they all can be tied together with a common theme.

 

Nice one. And the story is short, so more likely to be read.

[+hukilaulau]

How about an event at the food court in the Mall?

you mean like this?

[twilightseven]

On 1/7/2017 at 2:34 PM, BearDeer said:

We're toying with the idea of hiding our first cache and we're not sure where the guidelines stand on the following: We'd like to pick a nice place and then create a fictional story about it - it would be some fantasy/mystery connected with the physical location and things found in it - but it would all be our made-up fantasy tales and would have no basis in history or facts related to the location. Is something like this allowed?

I do this with a lot of my caches, make up stories using surrounding area terrain. I'm currently in the process of writing two right now. Well one I finished and am waiting for it to be reviewed and the other am in the current process of finishing up the story.  I've gotten a couple of fav points for one of my story caches and a fav point on another. Most of all these are "mystery geocaches". One thing I always do is walk the location of where I am intending to place the cache. I take note of a lot of things that I may be able to use later to write into my "story" cache.

Such as with one cache, I took note of the pond, and counted the big boulders near the pond, and noticed the two porch like swings, and the tress with the red chippings at the base all near this pond that kind of looked like a tear drop shape. The story is about an angel who caught the attention of a # of men. All but one man were big and strong and promised trophies and such. the little man worked w/his hands and won the heart of the angel while the other men were off winning trophies. Its a cute little happily ever after love story the cachers read and in the numbers find the cache.

Another cache of mine, cachers follow a witch who battles a warlock intent on destroying the witch and her family. Cachers walk the path and can kind of see the visuals (reference points I leave) where each character is standing and the battle that wages.( A tree that has a trunk split into two tops, another tree thats fallen over where it looks like a boulder knocked it over) Then the story takes an interesting twist because while most of the story, the cachers are looking in on the story, like an audience watching a play. Then the witch is captured and the only way she is freed and her family protected is if the cachers find the cache which then makes the cachers apart of the story.

This twist I add in another cache where two ladies live in a kingdom. One harbors resentment toward the other who is a princess-to-be. The first finds a magical lamp and through wishes has trapped the princess-to-be where the first hopes the Princess will never be found. Then the cachers step into the story to rescue the princess and right the wrong of the lady with the resentment. This one wasn't supposed to be is hard as its turned out because the property gets so over grown during the summer its insane...which adds a level of difficulty you don't see during the winter time. 

So angels, witches and warlocks, and princesses, kingdoms, and a magical lamp. My newest one im in the process of writing is about female spies.

So let your imagination run wild. 

 

 

[K!nder]

Yes i can made-up a story. Basically the last geocaches i have created are with a made up story, to connect the experience and the arounds with the story i invented.

 

One of my stories was so good that suddenly pass to a book about tales from Portugal, and was said that was a tale from that village for a long time. The cache was only placed on 2011 -.-'

So the authour of the book didn't made a good research about it. And even hasn't change the story she just did a copy paste of my story and placed it in her book without permission

 

So be creative, innovative and let your mind be free. And if it will be a letterbox just tell and for sure i will put it in my watchlist.

[+Mn-treker]

Stories are great to go with a cache. I have a series where it looks like Sasquatch is being hunted.

But at the final you find that Sasquatch was the hunter.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Mn-treker