What makes a good ghost story?

In terms of timing, this was actually the very first thing that I brought up with the kids. This was before we started reading 'Breathe'; before we began looking at the front cover or even speaking about what my plan would be in terms of writing ghost stories over the next few weeks.

The first thing I did was place the question: 'What makes a good ghost story?' on the IWB and got them to start talking in pairs and then as a whole class. I got a whole bunch of answers and was really pleased with some of the responses. It should be noted that the first few weeks of Literacy in Year 6 Autumn is spent looking at different genres so the kids had a fair idea.

As you can see from the first slide, the kids hit the nail with some of the main features:

* The unexpected

* A chase or a hunt (I really liked this one and it came from a child who I didn't expect to make such an insightful comment)

* Tricking the reader

* Ghosts *pfft*

* Short sentences

As you can see they covered many stylistic devices as well as creative ideas which would work well. This ended up helping me come up with my 'Ghost Story Starts' idea of which I will look at in a later blog, but have attached the resource for this idea in the Resources section. [How to use it shall be revealed another time].

What Ghost Films have you watched?

I was also interested in the fact that most of them had claimed to have watched a 'Ghost Film.' I was very surprised by this and was expecting to hear a list of films which I feel they probably should not have watched. I find that what children watch at home a fascinating exploration into their countenance and behaviour. As you can see from the results, they went off on a tandem and ended up being a bit daft with their ideas - they did make me laugh though.

What we have watched:

Ghostbusters, Brothers Grimm, The Fog (PG-13), Scooby Doo, Carry on Screaming *I almost wet myself at this one and knew that I'd lost all serious offerings at this point*, The Haunting, Skeleton Key, The Haunted Mansion, The Grudge!!!! (PG-13) (1/2 of it. The lad had claimed that a friend and himself had nicked it from his friend's mum and dad's collection and watched half before being terrified and switching it off) Lost Boys, Vampire Kid, Harry Potter...and Caspar...*sigh*

It went from 'ok' to 'awful' very quickly. The kids were offering ideas and then finding it hilarious to offer something vaguely connected but not really. I thought it was very interesting that they could be serious about the format a ghost story should take in a book but lost it when they were asked to name films. Many of the things mentioned don't even have a ghost in them! I did laugh for a long time at the offering of Caspar though...

What elements of fear have we experienced that we could use to help us write a good ghost story?

I asked this question to try and elicit from the children a sense of what it was that made a good ghost story a chilling experience. I explained to them about when I was younger and found myself alone in the house at night and how I got incredibly scared even though there were no 'ghostly' happenings. We began to explore what elements of fear they thought affected them and how they would use it in their own work.
This was a great conversation and last a good 15 minutes. The children were enthusiastic about this and I would say that for every missing-the-mark comment which was offered, there were 10 that did hit the mark.

We first started speaking about our home. One of the class really connected with the idea that our home should be a safe place and so when you begin making it unsafe then it can be far scarier than sending your characters to a haunted mansion. We talked about our fear of there being something in the cupboard in the end of our room or something under the bed. We then brought in how sound can affect us greatly - and our characters. The creaking of a floorboard, the groaning of pipes - noises which, in the dead of night, were unaccountable when fear has a grip on us. The class then spoke about the importance of taking things away from the character that they rely on: family, light and electricity were some of the suggestions. One pupil, which I found very interesting, related the primal fear of being alone in the house with an unwelcome presence to the experiences of Little Red Riding Hood and her time in the cottage as well as her journey through the woods - bright spark! Overall, we agreed that in a ghost story, there must be a moment where things become out of control for the character - and therefore for the reader.