SLIS 600 Post #6 - Free Choice - Ghost Stories

In the chapter, “Storytelling in Libraries and Schools in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland,” from “Part II” of the book Storytelling: Art and Technique, Patrick Ryan writes about the time that he ran storytelling workshops for young offenders in prison. During these workshops, what he discovered was that, “The boys were particularly interested in ghost stories, and we explored the fact that, more than content, how a story is told makes it scary” (Ryan, 2010, p. 260).

While reading this section of the chapter, I was at first reminded of how much I used to enjoy ghost stories when I was in elementary school. It began when I was in third or fourth grade, and my parents had bought me the book The Scariest Stories You’ve Ever Heard, Part II, from the Scholastic Book Fair. I read it a couple of times and began to retell the stories to my friends. During sleepovers, we would sit in a circle and tell ghost stories in the dark, and it was always fun to hear a new one that you could add to your own repertoire of stories.

I still have it and Part III.

Reminiscing about that made me think about why ghost stories resonate with young people. In chapter 9 of Storytelling: Art and Technique, Greene and Del Negro (2010) suggest that the reason is because, “Young adulthood is an age when one faces real unknowns, difficult situations, and an unclear future; therefore, the suspense tale is particularly intriguing” (p. 178). This rings true to me, as I remember experiencing a lot of dread in my youth, mostly around periods of what I perceived as great change, like moving from elementary to middle school and middle to high school. In the Russin (2013) article, Tales Dark and Grim: Why Kids Love, and Need, Scary Stories, she argues that, “Children need to grapple with the range of emotions that fear invites: Anxiety, sorrow, confusion, surprise, anger. A child comes away from a scary story with new tools for managing or controlling their own reactions to fear” (para. 16). So, in a way, they are stories that teach coping mechanisms for some of the more negative emotions that might be felt.

Going back to that first quote, particularly the emphasis on how the story is told being an important part of what makes it scary, made me think about my second storytelling experience and how setting can impact the telling of a story. For that experience, I told a ghost story and tried to set the mood for it by turning the lights down low. I did this, because I think that ghost stories are always more effective when they are told in the dark, at night, but I was curious about why that is. In the Emanuel (2017) article, The Psychology of Black and Why We’re Scared of the Dark, she states that, “Prehistorically, people would have been more at risk of being attacked by predators or by enemies when in the dark . . . . Through evolution, humans have therefore developed a tendency to be scared of darkness” (para. 9). I think that this is why campfires make for such a good setting for telling this kind of story, because when you are telling the story, it is just you, the fire, and the surrounding darkness. For my own storytelling experience, I tried to replicate that low campfire light, but knew that I had to still be visible on camera, so the video could not be that dark. I do like the shadows that the light source created behind me though. Most cameras are not designed to capture lowlight video, so I feel like the best way to tell a ghost story will always be in-person, surrounded by darkness, illuminated by a campfire or maybe a flashlight.

I wanted to leave you with the following positive message from Greene and Del Negro about what listeners can learn from being told scary stories. In the chapter, “Storytelling to Young Readers,” they wrote that, “When the main character overcomes fear and defeats a frightening being or situation, listeners learn to face and defeat the challenges in their own lives as well” (Greene & Del Negro, 2010, p. 179).

References

Emanuel, D. (2017, September 1). The psychology of black and why we're scared of the dark. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/01/health/colorscope-black-fear-of-darkness/index.html

Greene, E., & Del Negro, J. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

Howcast. (2008, October 15). How to tell a ghost story [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiXeORXuh7U&t=1s

Russin, E. (2013, October 20). Tales dark and grim: Why kids love, and need, scary stories. Parent Map. https://www.parentmap.com/article/tales-dark-and-grim-why-kids-love-and-need-scary-stories

Ryan, P. (2010). Storytelling in libraries and schools in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In E. Greene & J. M. Del Negro (Eds.), Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.) (pp. 249-269). Libraries Unlimited