What makes a good 'ghost story'?

[George]

Hi all,

I have been considering attempting a ghost story of my own and have been thinking a lot about the genre. The great Roald Dahl described good ghost stories as 'damnably difficult to write'. With that in mind, what is your favorite ghost story, and what is one quality or element of the approach that you feel differentiates it from the crowd?

Best,

GH

[Char]

One of my favorite ghost stories, (and one of my all time favorite books), is Ghost Story by Peter Straub. What I liked most about it was its use of language and the intricacy of the story. By the time I finished I was AWED by how well all the strands were weaved into one.

Probably my VERY favorite ghost story has to be Sweetheart, Sweetheart. This is another book with beautiful use of language and a steadily creeping, building atmosphere.

I prefer more of a subtle haunting with half glimpsed things and lots of questioning of one's self rather than a poltergeist type of thing.
On the other hand, the subtle haunting has to have a REAL payoff and not just some bullsh*t, lame ending like The Woman in Black. (My opinion only.)

[[deleted user]]

Char wrote: "One of my favorite ghost stories, (and one of my all time favorite books), is Ghost Story by Peter Straub. What I liked most about it was its use of language and the intricacy of the s..."

Ghost Story remains one of the best novels I've ever read and appreciate the intricacy you mentioned, Char. I think it strikes a balance between the atmospheric horror of a Henry James and Hawthorne and the more in-your-face elements of the novel's second-half. I've read that Straub cites King's Salem's Lot as a major influence in that it showed him how to write about an entire community. There is just so much in the book that impresses me and I even liked the ambiguous ending.

[Char]

Jesse wrote: "Char wrote: "One of my favorite ghost stories, (and one of my all time favorite books), is Ghost Story by Peter Straub. What I liked most about it was its use of language and the intri..."

It took me 3 tries to get into Ghost Story. I was young...probably my late teens and I just couldn't get into it. But hey, the third time was the charm as they say, and from then on, I was hooked.
I've been told that Straub's Julia is also an excellent ghost story, but it's one of the few books of his that I haven't yet read.

Jesse, what you said about Straub citing Salem's Lot as an influence-I've not heard that before, but it definitely makes sense to me.
Straub built...was it Milford?...in a similar vein to King's Salem's Lot and even Derry. (King's interludes in "It" about Derry-they've always stuck out in my mind as potent story-builders. Relating the history of that evil, evil town and all of the horrible things that had happened over its existence...it makes me shudder to even think back on them.) In that regard, Salem's Lot, Derry and even the town from Needful Things became characters-as much a part of the story as Barlow, Pennywise or Leland Gaunt.

[[deleted user]]

Julia, in some ways, feels like a starter kit for Ghost Story. But it's much shorter and it's entirely atmospheric in its effect. It's a very British kind of ghost story, if that makes sense. It's good, but it's not GS.

Yeah, I remember reading a Straub interview years ago where he commended how King's Jerusalem's Lot was a huge character in the Salem's Lot novel.

Milburn is the town in GS.

I really like authors that revisit a particular location over a series of books, like King does with Castle Rock. And, like you, I was fascinated by the Derry interludes in It. I enjoy the history-building that goes on when King describes the horror that returns every 25 years or so.

[Char]

Milburn, okay. I couldn't quite remember the town's name.

I believe I mentioned that I was in my late teens when I finally went all the way with GS. I have since lost my copy, bought another paperback and then I bought a Kindle copy as well. But I still haven't re-read it. Is it because my reading schedule is crazy? Yes, that's part of it. But another part is because I'm afraid to ruin my memories of this book. Does that make any sense?

I've actually purchased a Kindle copy of Shadowlands as well, another Straub novel I loved and same thing with that one. I'm afraid it won't live up to my memory of it.

[[deleted user]]

That absolutely makes sense. I've read my share of books later in life that didn't live up to my memory of them from my teen years. One of these days, I'll re-read It and I pray that's not the case.

I have a copy of Shadowlands and Floating Dragon, but I've not read either of those novels yet. I think those were the two published right after GS.

[Char]

I just re-read IT for the third time, this time via audio, (narrated by Stephen Weber and I thought it ROCKED.)

I've read both Shadowlands and Floating Dragon, and SL was my favorite of the two. I am a sucker for stories involving magicians.

(And puppets. And small towns. And clowns. And circuses or carnivals. And...) :)

[George]

Ghost Story is one of those books I have been aware of since childhood, but somehow never read. I have it on my Kindle now at least!

One seemingly effective mechanism for a ghost story is a first person narrative. It lends itself well to creating a sense of fear.

[Quantum]

Thx for the rec on sweetheart sweetheart, Char. I requested it thru interlibrary loan

[[deleted user]]

George wrote: "Ghost Story is one of those books I have been aware of since childhood, but somehow never read. I have it on my Kindle now at least!

One seemingly effective mechanism for a ghost story is a first ..."

Great point, George! And a first person narrative also can lend an ambiguity to the text, especially if the narrator is unreliable.

[Char]

Alex G wrote: "Thx for the rec on sweetheart sweetheart, Char. I requested it thru interlibrary loan"

I hope you enjoy it! :)

[George]

Gothic settings are effective also. They make the story more believable somehow. Maybe because those are the types of ghost story we grow up with?

[J.]

To me the best ghost tales are set at time of their writing, and rely on plot and characters to draw in the reader.

The Shining is set in a then modern hotel. What gives it bite is the Torrences. An alcoholic, his abused wife and their special needs child snowed in for the winter. Something bad was going to happen, the supernatural elements just added flavor.

[Kimberly]

I have to agree with Char's choices on this one. SWEETHEART, SWEETHEART, stood out to me as a particularly effective ghost story because of the menacing atmosphere. It doesn't merely come in waves, but subtly continues to build as you go along--before you even realize you're trapped in it, yourself.

For myself, stories that don't immediately spell everything out for you--the more "ambiguous" ones that give you a bit of information at a time. (That you often end up having "clicking" in your head towards the very end).

[George]

'Sweetheart, Sweetheart' is now on my to read list. Looking forward to it.

You make a great point about ambiguity. I think slow revelation works well in a ghost story. I read a nice short tale by Rosemary Timperley called 'Harry' recently that did this well.

I think ambiguity is a generally an effective writing tool.
Also, endings are so much more rewarding when something major is learned in them. An ending that fizzles is a horrible thing.

[Jennicem]

The Haunting of Maddy Claire by Simone St James is my favorite ghost story. Totally creeped me out. Got some naughty parts, just a warning if you're sensitive to that.

[George]

I have added that one to my list also! Thanks. No sensitivity to naughty parts here thankfully!

[Joshua]

I'm usually not a huge ghost story fan, but the ones I did like were wrapped around a mystery. I enjoyed the movie Oculus (the one with the creepy mirror) because it had two different plots happening at the same time. They eventually wove together for a pretty interesting ending. I also liked the element of warped perception where you start to question what's real and what's not.

[George]

Well, I finally sat down to start writing my ghost story last night. I'm opting for the short story format, perhaps somewhere in the 30-40 page range as a prediction. It will be a 'traditional' ghost story of sorts. The story part is easy, but making a simple tale actually feel haunting will be the tough part - I feel that this skill is something more akin to poetry than storytelling, in that correct choice of language becomes more vital and unforgiving. I enjoy the challenge though!

[Joshua]

George wrote: "Well, I finally sat down to start writing my ghost story last night. I'm opting for the short story format, perhaps somewhere in the 30-40 page range as a prediction. It will be a 'traditional' gho..."

Right on George! Let us know what you come up with! Look forward to seeing it!

[George]

I certainly will do Josh!

[Kimberly]

R.D. wrote: "I like the Amityville Horror. To me, what makes a good ghost story is the feeling that there's a really bad, wicked, evil spirit haunting some place, something so evil and hateful that it refused t..."

I agree. M.R. James was one of the first known for making his ghosts "evil and destructive", and opposed to the lovesick and "helpful" specters that most wrote about at that point.

[George]

I think the 'true story' angle also adds some punch to stories like The Amityville Horror. Even as a rationally minded skeptic, it still adds something!

To expand on that point - a well told ghost story has a special ability to scare, because while werewolves and other tropes are seen as purely imaginary, I think ghosts are seen as occupying some grey area between fact and fiction....