I CAN SEE THROUGH YOU! WRITING SCARY GHOST STORIES!

I CAN SEE THROUGH YOU! WRITING SCARY GHOST STORIES! Ghost stories are a great way for fiction writers to flex their imaginative muscles and if you can come up with a really good scary tale of flesh creeping terror, then you could well give yourself a head... More

I CAN SEE THROUGH YOU! WRITING SCARY GHOST
STORIES!
Ghost stories are a great way for fiction writers to flex their imaginative
muscles and if you can come up with a really good scary tale of flesh
creeping terror, then you could well give yourself a head start in most
short story contests.

The problem is, the majority of ghost stories are tiredly predictable.
They
tend to relate anecdotes rather than tell proper stories and most rely far
too heavily on shock tactics by including graphic descriptions of blood,
gore and gruesomely tortured body parts!
The two main elements of a good ghost story are suspense and surprise.

Creating atmosphere and leading your reader down dangerous paths
through the unwitting actions of your characters will help generate
suspense.

Surprise can be created in all kinds of ways, but one which works very
effectively is to have your main protagonist as the ghost! This works
well in either the third or first person.
To introduce the surprise element
you nee Less