During the summer of 1958, best-selling writer Roald Dahl read 749 “English” ghost stories in a determined effort to find 24 that were good enough for the television series “Ghost Time.” By the end of that summer, he was appalled: “I couldn’t believe how bad most of them were.” Twenty-five years later, he added: “Good ghost stories, like good children's books, are damnably difficult to write.”
For my part, I have spent the past 50 years reading ghost stories, thousands of ghost stories from all over the world. The stories differ in plot, structure, character and climax. Some stories succeed (to varying degrees), and some fail miserably. Over those years, I have noticed that the most successful ghost stories seem to follow the same basic pattern. That pattern I have distilled into How to Write Ghost Stories: The 10 Rules. The volume is short, to the point, inexpensive, and includes detailed information regarding the 10 Rules, along with definitions, techniques and a pair of homework assignments that will help you to build a better ghost story.
For my part, I have spent the past 50 years reading ghost stories, thousands of ghost stories from all over the world. The stories differ in plot, structure, character and climax. Some stories succeed (to varying degrees), and some fail miserably. Over those years, I have noticed that the most successful ghost stories seem to follow the same basic pattern. That pattern I have distilled into How to Write Ghost Stories: The 10 Rules. The volume is short, to the point, inexpensive, and includes detailed information regarding the 10 Rules, along with definitions, techniques and a pair of homework assignments that will help you to build a better ghost story.
