Like most traditional literature, Ghost Stories were first passed down orally.

In fact, one of the earliest mentions of ghosts comes from the Torah, when King Saul has a Witch conjure the ghost of his old mentor, Samuel. Ghost Stories are part of an ancient, ubiquitous form of traditional literature alongside fables, fairy tales, folktales, and myth. Who knows what we’ll discover! On Ghosts & How To Write About Them The History of Ghosts & Ghost Stories In this article, we’ll dig up every corner of ghostlore I’ve explored so we can learn about ghosts and how to write about them. I read ghost stories constantly, and I recently read two huge collections of Southeast Asian ghost stories that really helped me solidify my thoughts on ghosts. Plus, because the archetypal ghost story plots and tropes are so familiar, you have to work that much harder to craft one that can truly surprise your audience.Īs some of you already know, I’m a horror nerd-but I’m a ghost story junkie, in particular. Your ghost has to be carefully crafted for the protagonist so they really press on the protagonist’s shame, fear, and trauma. It seems simple enough, but ghosts are actually freighted with symbolic emotional and psychological significance. Grisly ghosts pop out and a terrible fate befalls the character-no one sleeps that night. And if you ever tried telling one, either out loud around a fire, or via the written word in a short story, you’ve realised they’re tough to write well!īut why is that? Aren’t all ghost stories the same? A character goes to spooky, secluded place and weird things start happening. If you’re anything like me, you love a spooky ghost story. Do you like a good ghost story? In this post, we explore the phenomenon of ghosts and how to write about them.

Ex Libris, A Ghost Story by T.R. Warden