How To Tell a Ghost Story

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It was a dark and stormy night, and you wanted to scare the crap out of your campfire friends...

To complete this How-To you will need:

The right setting
Practice
An active imagination

Step 1: Find a good setting

Your story won't work if you're shouting over street noise or basking in a bright, sunny day. If you want maximum scare impact, find a spot that's dark, quiet, and secluded, and pick a time when you won't be interrupted.

Step 2: Understand the basic structure

Whether it's about a vengeful spirit or a stalking serial killer, ghost story structure is simple. We meet the hero, who has a problem. The hero's attempts to solve the problem unwittingly upset the bogeyman, who takes a lengthy ironic revenge. The story ends with the bogeyman still out there somewhere, possibly very nearby...

Tip: When you know this basic structure cold, play with it a little to find out what works for you.

Step 3: Make it personal

Make it personal. Say the story happened to the friend of someone you know, or fill in the specifics with places and names familiar to your audience. In other words, if you're in the woods, your story should be set there, too — and the characters should be a lot like your listeners.

Tip: Make your specifics sound familiar and believable, so the listeners can easily imagine the story happening to them.

Step 4: Build suspense

Start your story with a quiet, casual attitude. As you work towards the scary climax, ratchet up the suspense by increasing — or decreasing — your speed and volume.

Step 5: Be presentational

If you've got a flare for the dramatic, now's the time to break it out. Give each character a different voice and mannerism, and don't be afraid to use your body.

Tip: Work props into your performance, like shining a flashlight under your chin or flashing a hook hand at just the right moment.

Step 6: Make contact

Target someone a little jittery. When your performance hits its scariest peak, make quick physical contact with that person. Watch your audience jump a foot in the air.

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Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• campfire
• camping
• children
• halloween
• how
• howcast
• kids
• scary
• stories
• telling
• to
• trips
• vacation

[PirateKing1256]

One day...a boy named Justin Bieber and here he sings "Baby baby ohh..."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!....

All the children ran off.

[WishingBabyX]

How to tell a scary story:

Step 1: Dress like justin bieber

Step 2: Sing Baby

step 3: let them shit their pants

done :D

[TheCrasella]

hahaha at 0:39 that guy was dancing. hahaha lol. my sides hurt

[MermaidXVanessa]

It also helps if you are talking about a monster to scream "'THERE IT ISSSS!!!!" in the middle of your story lol

[Timmytimmy123123]

Thatsssssssssss a very nicccccccccce ghosssssssssst ssssssssssssssstory you got there, it would be a sssssssssssshame if anything would happen to it.

[siemka321]

1.Read CreepyPasta.

2.Tell it to friends.

3.????

4.PROFIT!?

[Therandommaster4343]

Step1. bring chuck noris

Step2. laugh your ass of while your friends run

[legoclockfreak710]

i did this once.. i scared the crap outta my friends by telling them a made-up story about a

man-gone-serial-killer after he lost his arm to a meat grinder... they didnt sleep at all for the rest of the trip!!!!

[randomstuff8328]

Check out my website for scary stories. Go to bing and type in "scary stories webpaper" it should be the second result. The background is lime green. u can comment on my site 2. thumbs up so people can see

[ElectricGuitarLuver]

hey theys said crap

[theweatherchayz]

one dark stormy night

stick tells host story

"one clear, sunny day-"

man says boo