What makes a good ghost story?

/ Katie

Halloween and Christmas are my two favorite holidays, and I’d have a really hard time choosing between them. But there is one thing that I love that’s definitely more Halloween, and that’s a good ghost story.

(As you can imagine, A Christmas Carol is an absolute forever favorite. Christmas and ghosts? Yes, please!)

But over the last few weeks, as I’ve been sitting a lot, thinking about writing without actually writing much, I’ve been pondering: What makes a good ghost story? What elements come together to make something truly spooky? Or sad. Or happy. Not every ghost story has to be scary. Right?

Or should it?

When I think about my favorite ghost stories, there isn’t really anything consistent among them. Some are scary. Some are psychological. Some are funny.

I love BBC’s Ghosts, which is funny and heartwarming and about as far from creepy or spooky as you can get. I was really struck by the quiet, tense storytelling of I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House is sort of a revelation for psychological hauntings – the things that haunt us not because they’re real ghosts, but because they’re our ghosts. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is sweet and sad. Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co. series (the books, but the show on Netflix, as well) is such an interesting exercise in building an alternate world that feels close to our own, but is one we definitely wouldn’t want to live in. And certainly some of the old stories, like The Turn of the Screw and The Tell-Tale Heart, they stick with me. That building sense of dread, there’s really nothing else like it.

All of that to say, there are so many components, I think, that can make a really good ghost story. And some that can make an otherwise great story feel hokey and silly. Jump scares are fun, but they need to be used sparingly for maximum impact. There’s more to fear in what you don’t see, what you imagine and build up in your head, than in what you do see.

I’m rambling, I know. But I’m curious. What are your favorite ghost stories? What draws you in, or pushes you away? How do you like to see ghost stories end? Do you like to be scared in the first place?

I do, within the secure confines of my comfy chair and cozy living room. And that’s the power of stories, isn’t it? To be scared – or sad, or angry, or worried – but ultimately safe.

18 thoughts on “What makes a good ghost story?”

    • I love that, too. If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend the BBC version of Ghosts. It’s mostly a comedy and not creepy or scary at all, but part of the fun is seeing all these ghosts from all different eras of history trying to coexist in one house. It’s a lot of fun!

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  8. I agree! Being scared but ultimately safe is somehow cosy?! A Christmas Carol is also one of my all time favourite stories and movies (and theatre shows, I’ve seen a few different versions). I’m also mad about BBC’s Ghosts, it’s one of my favourite comedies and I prefer it to the US version though that one’s not bad at all. The Haunting of Hill House totally freaks me out and I daren’t watch it. I saw a clip and that was enough! The fact that it’s based on true events makes it even worse!

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