What Ghost Stories Are Perfect For Halloween Horror?

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As you hold the flashlight beneath your chin, eerily illuminating your face, you glance around the semi-circle of kids holding onto marshmallows and sticks over the camp fire, and some are intently staring at you with wide eyes, others looking around at their friends for support. Telling ghost stories is one of the oldest pastimes in the world; a way of exorcising our anxieties and deepest fears through a cathartic tale. If you're looking for another ghost story to tell around a campfire, then here are some suggestions for all different ages and scare levels.

If you have little ones, then you'll want to get them in the mood for Halloween fun, yet you don't want to scare them silly with stories about ghosts. Theatrical storyteller Mary Jo Maichack plays guitar and fiddle on her audio CD, while combining folklore and "howlarious" Halloween jokes. She'll offer kids a variety of voices, from a Hungarian ghost to a goofy vampire to comprise a funny version of Halloween. The "Ghosthunters series," by Cornelia Funke, combines humor, illustrations and gross stuff for seven-to-nine-year-olds to enjoy.

"Fungus the Bogeyman," by Raymond Briggs, is a good picture book stuffed with puns and illustrations that'll have your little ones roaring with laughter as they follow a monster through his daily routine. "It's Halloween!," by Jack Prelutsky, includes thirteen separate poems about Halloween and isn't really a ghost story, but will certainly gets the kids in the mood. There is also a great collection of audio books and stories at www.surfnetkids.com/audiobooks/short_stories/ that may be suitable for your children.

For teen and adult reading, S.E. Schlosser's "The Spooky Series," as featured on www.americanfolklore.net, is a collection of books detailing ghost stories specific to a particular state. You can read about Bloody Mary who is in the Pennsylvania series, learn about the Headless Horseman and the Lincoln Death Train in the New York edition, read about a Bigfoot sighting in California or an eight-foot skeleton wandering the Arizona desert. To get a feel for these creepy, ghostly stories, you can read excerpts on the website and even listen to spooky podcasts. There's just something so terrifying about the local ghost story. The Spooky Campfire Stories give you podcasts for wee little ones who just want some Halloween fun, podcasts for kids who aren't so easily scared and serious Halloween horror that may even raise the hairs on the necks of adults.

Another way to experience ghost stories is by listening to audiobooks, which, in some ways, can create a more haunting experience. At www.talking-book-store.com, you can get 20 of Edgar Allan Poe's stories read by Vincent Price for $16.95 or "The Complete Stories of M.R. James," for 3 hours and 40 minutes of narration by David Collings. At www.audible.com, which is one of the biggest libraries of downloadable audiobooks, you will find Halloween horror classic collections with Ambrose Bierce, HG Wells, Charles Dickens, Clara Riddell, Rudyard Kipling, Daniel Defoe and more. Visit www.simplyudiobooks.com for a great collection that includes Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," "The Monkey's Paw," "The Ghost Ship," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde," Edgar Allan Poe's "Bernice," Braham Stoker's "Dracula," "The Spectral Ship" and "The Flying Dutchman." As well, at www.vintagehorror.com and www.themonsterclub.com, you will find offerings of old time radio shows of Halloween horror as well.