by Jeff Weintraub
Ghost-story telling is an age-old pastime. There’s something mystical about the unknown, something fun about imagining encounters with the supernatural.
To frightfully entertain campers and not overwhelm them takes an understanding of young people’s fears and a consideration of the environment in which you tell your ghostly tales. Before you decide to tell a ghost story, compare the story and situation with the following guidelines. If even one principle does not apply to your situation, consider changing the story’s format or not telling the story at all.
Know your audience’s fears
Children’s fears change with age:
4-years-0ld
Fear parent separation, animals, dark, noises (including at night).
5-years-0ld
Fear animals, “bad” people, dark, separation from parent, bodily harm.
6-years-0ld
Fear supernatural beings (e.g., ghosts, witches, Darth Vadar), bodily injuries, thunder and lightening, dark, sleeping or staying alone, separation from parent.
7- to 8-years-old
Fear supernatural beings, dark, images resulting from media events, staying alone, bodily injury.
9 to 12-years-0ld
Fear examinations in school, school performance, bodily injury, physical appearance, thunder and lightning, death, dark
(Garber, Garber, Spizman, 1993).
Tell age-appropriate stories
Younger than 10 years old
Do not tell ghost stories to children younger than 10 years old.
Six-to 9·year-old children enjoy pretending and fantasy (Berger, 1961). Appropriate stories include:
- common folk tales
- fairy tales; fantasy tales
- hero and adventure tales
- stories about animals
- funny stories (Colwell, 1980).
10-to 12-years-0ld
Tell mild, tame ghost stories ifyou feel no one in the group will get upset. (If just one camper out of 20 will become upset, the story is not worth telling.) Possibilities include:
- playful hoax tales
- jump tales
- lighter ghost stories.
Keep story endings lighthearted, so campers aren’t frightened right before bedtime or after you leave the
vicinity (Mitchell & Meier, 1983). Tell a variety of stories.
Teenagers
Tell scarier ghost stories. Follow the same rule of one as for younger campers: If just one camper gets upset, the story was not worth telling.
Older campers tend to enjoy “ghost-story only” sessions. Acknowledge and dissipate mild fear (increased heart rate, increased breathing rate) at the end of a ghost story session (Cundiff and Webb, 1957). Counteract scary endings by having campers cool-off before bed: stretch, sing a song, tell a joke, discuss storytelling techniques, or go over the next day’s activities.
Determine appropriate times
Never tell a ghost story at the beginning of the camp session. Wait for a sense of trust and safety to develop, usually mid-session. Avoid telling too many ghost stories. Consider a worthy ghost story a nighttime treat, and leave room for other types of stories and storytellers. Rainy days, unit disappointments, dish-washing or work chores, health center visits, and restless rest hours call for very different types of stories (Mitchell & Meier, 1983).
Don’t overwhelm campers
Never intentionally try to overwhelm your campers with a ghost story. The main objective of telling a ghost story is frightful entertainment, or fun. Ghost stories should never be too gruesome.
Although you should portray a ghost story as believable and credible by really telling the tale (becoming the story), never describe a fictional account as actually happening to you or someone you know. Also, never set the story in the camp or the surrounding area.
Some children will constantly ask and need to know whether a fictional story is true, or whether you personally believe in ghosts. I usually respond with one of three answers: “No, it isn’t true,” “I don’t know if it’s true,” or “I take pleasure in the story itself, and I try not to explain the un-explainable.”
Minimize further fear
If a child becomes excessively frightened by a ghost story, there are appropriate responses a storyteller can use to minimize further fear (Garber et al, 1993).
- Never belittle a child’s fear. Take the fear seriously; do not tease the child or say the fear is silly.
- Don’t force a child to confront a fear. A walk in the dark after a story to expose any lingering ghosts is not a good idea!
- Don’t overreact. Even if a child begins to cry, take a deep breath and confidently relate that “everything is okay.
- Be patient and help the child cope with the fear. Have the child breath slowly and deeply, and relax his or her muscles. Then, to counteract a child’s negative, scary thoughts, create positive statements and images. Two examples: “Only shadows dance in the dark and they can’t hurt me” and “ghosts are friendly, make-believe people.” Leading children through an imaginary scene in which they successfully cope with their fears can also be beneficial.
A worthy, gripping ghost story can entertain campers in a number of acceptable contexts. Pay attention to your listeners, and let their fears guide you to appropriate tale telling.
The art & technique of ghost-story telling
A ghost story’s distinctiveness and strength stems from its being told at night, around a campfire, candle, or flashlight, to a small group of campers. The novice, confident storyteller will enjoy the slow-paced rhythm and intimate setting of a ghost story, which easily engenders enthusiasm. receptiveness, and wide-eyed anticipation. Nevertheless, artful ghost-story telling develops through patience and the practice of three main storytelling skills: selection, preparation, and presentation.
Selection
- Select stories that you find enjoyable; find a story that begs you to tell it.
- Select tell-able ghost stories: two or three main characters, action oriented, one event leading immediately to another without unnecessary description. (Griffin, 1989)
Preparation
- Do not memorize a ghost story; learn it by heart.
- Visualize the story in a series of pictures. like the frames of a filmstrip.
Presentation
- Look directly at your listeners.
- Speak naturally, and use a slower pace when telling a ghost story.
References
Berger, H.}. (I’}61). Progrtlm adlvlties/or camps. Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Company.
Colwell, E. (1980). Storytelling. London: The Bodley Head.
Cundiff, I.E. &: Webb, B. (1957). Srory-TelJlng/or You: A hIlndbooll 0/help for story-tellers everywhere. Yellow Springs, OH: The Antiodl Press.
Dimock, H.S. &: Slatten, T. (19-0). Tali ro Counselors. New York: Association Press.
Ditter, B. (NovemberfJ)ec:ember 1989). In the Trenches. Camping Magazine, 62(2), 8.
Garber, S.W. &: Garber M.D. &: Spizman, R.F.
(1993). Monsters lJtuIer the Bed and Other Childhood FelIrs: Helping ,your chUd overcome anxilJties, fears, and phobias. New York: Villard Books.
Griffin, B.B. (1989). Students as Storytellers: The long and the short a/learning a story. Book one of The StorytelJer Guldebooll series. Medford, OR: Barbara Budge Griffin.
Mitchell, VA It Meier, }.F. (1983). Camp COfIIJS8I.
Ing. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. SchmIdt, E.F. (1980). WoodsmoM and Campfll’ff. Martinsville, IN: American camping Association.
Schwartz, A. (1981). Scary Stories to Tell in the Darll. New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books.
Jeff Weintraub is the youth services program supervisor and Camp Lakeland program director for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo, N.Y.
From CAMPING Magazine, July/August 1996 p.11-12