All terms

What is a ghost story?

A spooky tale about supernatural occurrences and apparitions.

Exorcising the Ghost Story: How to Write Spooky Tales That Haunt the Reader

A ghost story is a classic genre of fiction that has been haunting readers for centuries. At its core, a ghost story is a spooky tale that features supernatural elements such as apparitions or spirits. These stories are often set in old, gothic houses, or cemeteries with an eerie atmosphere that sends shivers down the reader's spine.

Ghost stories can vary in style, tone, and length. The techniques that make a good ghost story include careful pacing, a suspenseful build-up, use of descriptive language, and the element of the unknown. Writers can use real-life events as inspiration or create completely imaginary scenarios with a supernatural twist.

Ghost stories not only provide a way to scare readers, but they also allow us to explore deeper, darker themes such as loss, grief, and mortality. They can make readers question what they believe about the world and our existence within it.

Phantoms in Print: Two classic examples of the Ghost Story in Literature

Ghost stories have been a staple of literature since humans first gathered around fires to tell tales of the supernatural.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

This haunting novella tells the story of a young governess who is hired to take care of two children in an old country house in England. However, things take a dark turn when she begins to see apparitions and discovers that her predecessor may have been having a relationship with the previous valet.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

In this novel, a young solicitor is sent to the remote Eel Marsh House to settle the estate of the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow. He soon realizes that the house is haunted by the ghost of a scorned woman who seeks revenge on the living for her own past heartache.