Tips to Write a Great Ghost Story
Ghost stories are popular around summer campfires and fireplaces during evening get-togethers, but writing a good one can be a challenge. Use too many cliches and too much gore, and your story will elicit peals of laughter rather than gasps of fear and anticipation. To write a truly hair-raising, bone-chilling tale, avoid tried and true scary story conventions. Break the mold and really scare your readers by making ghosts seem closer to home than your audience ever imagined.
Decide who your ghost is and what it wants. According to ghost story writer Susan Hill, ghosts need to have a motivation or purpose. Perhaps your ghost is coming back for revenge, or maybe it wants to warn living relatives about an impending tragedy. Of course, you shouldn't reveal your ghost's agenda right away. Build suspense by leaving other characters (and your audience) wondering what the specter wants.
Establish the setting for your story. Some settings are overused, like old, abandoned houses in the middle of a thunderstorm. Try to be creative. You'll actually scare your audience more if you choose a relatively mundane setting and make it seem progressively creepier as the story builds. Think about schools, coffee shops or even office buildings--places that readers know well and generally perceive as safe.
Determine what your ghost does and how he interacts with other characters in your story. Your ghost might throw objects, cause your other characters to have bad dreams, whisper airily in their ears or play mind games that cause your characters to doubt their own sanity. Decide what makes sense to you based on your ghost's purpose and your story's setting.
Write your story. As Horror Writers UK suggests, open the story by presenting a normal, everyday situation and gradually build suspense through creepy events of increasing intensity. The ending you choose depends on the ultimate effect you want to have on your readers. Consider an open-ended conclusion if you want to leave readers with a lingering sense of unease, or tie up all loose ends for your reader if you want to leave them feeling relieved at the end.