Alex Boast's Blog, page 3
July 1, 2015
The Anatomy of a Ghost Story
Classic ghost stories are as old as literature itself. Ghosts are present even in ancient epics like ‘The Odyssey’. The only thing that has changed about them is how they’re told. From oral tradition to modern multimedia, these tales of woe have sewn conscious or unconscious terror in our minds throughout history.
Why are Ghost Stories so scary?
The answer is simple: they remind us of death.
Whether you believe in an afterlife or a higher power the fact remains; we don’t understand death. T...
June 12, 2015
Flash Fiction Ghost Stories
Starting with ‘The Tin Can Man’ I want to use a short ghost story in the flash fiction style to serve as both an epilogue to my short story collections and a prelude to what we can expect to see in the next one.
Whilst the feedback on Amazon for the first story collection has been overwhelmingly, heart-breakingly positive, people I have spoken to who’ve read it are often bewildered about the inclusion of the fourth short ghost story ‘The Tin Can Man’. Does it count? How does it relate to th...
June 3, 2015
Gwrach y Rhibyn – A Welsh Ghost Story
Gwrach y Rhibyn by Reece Arianwyn
The following story is by Welsh illustrator and writer Reece Arianwyn, based on the Gwrach y Rhibyn, a spirit from Welsh mythology, with a modern twist. She foretells the impending death of those with the misfortune to hear her crying at their window at night, or as she flies alongside them, invisible, as they come to a crossroads or stream; the latter which she often arises from as twilight arrives. It is told she is very ugly, like a harpy, with leathery w...
May 17, 2015
Piss & Wine: The film (with video)
It came as a surprise to me that Piss and Wine would be the focal point of my first collection.
After all, it isn’t called ‘Piss & Wine and other Ghost Stories’.
However, the story does have some background that I thought I would share, to try and understand the popularity of this story over more traditional offerings such as the eponymous tale.
Piss and Wine is rooted in my time at Kingston University in 20...
April 22, 2015
Best 2015 Ghost Stories
Let’s put the theory that modern ghost stories can’t be done to bed, shall we? There’s been resurgence to this beautiful art form, and whilst this humble writer is doing his best to contribute, other authors are finding wild success with their efforts; a few of which I want to mention below.
Whilst there are horror writers such as Laird Barron and Livia Llewelyn to be praised, I shall stick to ghost stories for now, and update this post over time.
New Release: Verona by Benedict Ashforth:
March 29, 2015
Free Ghost Story
The following is a free example story. It is not good enough to be included to be included in any of the collections but should serve as a good indicator of the sort of storytelling that goes into a Ghost Story.
This example will set the stage as the beginning of my guide to writing, publishing and marketing ghost stories, which I will write over the coming months.
Also, this story raises a point I want to make in a future post. Do Ghost Stories have to be scary? What does it take to be scary...
