How to Tell Haunted House Stories

"At the top of a hill, on the edge of a town, devoid of neighbors and noise, sat a house. But this was no ordinary house..." Haunted house stories are always fun to tell and thrilling to hear. It's all about creating an atmosphere and having a believable story line. And, of course, stories are always better when they are true. Look below for pointers on how best to tell a haunted house story.

Instructions

1. Engage your audience. Offhanded remarks in a quiet setting always work best. Try "Did you hear the Murphy house is up for sale?" or "Does anyone know who owns the house on the top of Crescent hill?" and perhaps, "Did you hear what happened to Sarah Miller on the Conner's property? Everybody's talking about it."

2. Set the scene. Give the location of the property and describe the surrounding environment. Using real names and locations helps make your tale more believable.

3. Describe the house. Start with the outside and then go inside. Words like "dark," "dank," "lifeless," "solitary," and "isolation" are always helpful in creating atmosphere.

4. Present a history of the house. Everything you know or anything you can make up works. Gruesome murders, lost loves and various horrible events happening in the house's past will create a sense of anticipation in the audience.

5. Present the current situation. This is when you bring the story up to the present and share your involvement with the house. This is whatever you want it to be.

6. Get to the creepy part and slow down. Remember to have many long pauses and exercise the five senses to pile on the atmosphere extra thick.

7. Wait for someone to ask what happened next and give the result of the house related experience. Conclude by explaining the permanent effect on the characters in your tale.

Tips & Warnings

• Old houses work best because new houses always need additional details and reasons for being haunted such as foundations built on burial grounds. People presume old houses are haunted so it's much more believable.

• Bad weather, although a little corny, can create atmosphere, especially if you add a twist. "We had to go inside; the storm was so bad, we had no choice."

• Power shortages, flashes of odd light, almost whispers, and a shuffle in the next room, are nice details to embellish a story. Sometimes little events leading up to the main event will keep your audience along for the ride.

• Ideas for plot line: Stuck inside an old house during a storm Performing a ghost vigil on a dare Playing with a oui-ja board in an abandoned house Going out to check out an old house and only one coming back Returning to an old homestead

• Remember to keep the story straight. It's not scary if we can't follow along.