What makes a great ghost story? – Part 25

Ghost stories can be told in so many ways, and about so many different types of ghosts. There is a major difference in ones told around the dinner table or during a family gathering when older members may be passing one down, and ones told at night in a secluded place in the woods around a campfire. The best ones by far are the ones that leave you to scared to fall asleep at night. The kind you remember long after you hear it.

So what makes a great ghost story? It’s the suspense, the setting, the realism, and the things that leave you wondering.

The best ghost stories make you believe they could happen. They leave you wondering what you would do if you were in a similar situation.

They are set in believable and realistic places. Maybe it is somewhere you go regularly, or somewhere you have always wanted to go but were unsure, and are even more unsure after hearing the story.

As you are listening to one of these stories you are sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting for what is coming next. Waiting expectantly for the moment that will make you scream.

When you go to bed at night you still hear the story repeating in your head. Jumping at the slightest sound. Trying to drift off to sleep but feel a touch, see a shadow tha wasn’t there before, feel eyes watching every movement.

Yes, the best ghost stories are the ones that not only scare you at the time but that scare you long after.