What makes a great ghost story? – Part 12

A great story in any genre has certain qualities that make it great. A great ghost story will share those qualities, and add one more; it has to scare the pants off you! Why do we enjoy being scared? Most of us love a heart stopping; take your breath away, THRILL. There is something about being scared silly that is just plain fun!

A great ghost story has to have the backbone elements of any good story. It needs a plot; a riveting storyline, and a good ending. The very best ghost stories are realistic. Ghost stories are told as true stories. Even when you don’t believe in ghosts, (or so you tell yourself) a great ghost story will have you looking over your shoulder and jumping at noises.

Ghost stories are best told with an accompanying atmosphere; outdoors, around a campfire in the woods, or even better yet, in a graveyard. The listeners will be on the edge from the beginning. If told indoors, the atmosphere can be enhanced by dimming the lights, and lighting candles.

Ghost stories have been around for centuries. How did they originate? Perhaps, the first ghost stories were not stories at all. Maybe they were eyewitness accounts of what someone saw on a dark lonely road, in the middle of the night.