Halloween: Tell a scary tale
It’s Halloween night. The room is dark except for a candle flickering from behind the grotesque face carved into a jack-o’-lantern. There’s an eerie quiet in the room, and a chill is in the air.
Now it’s time for a ghost story.
Tess Gerritsen, author of The Mephisto Club (Ballantine Books, $25.95) shares her tips on how to tell a good ghost story:
“It all starts with ‘the chill.’ While reading the news, or listening in on a conversation, I’ll hear something that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and I know this will be my next plot.
“Reports of a corpse who woke up in the morgue inspired my novel ‘Vanish.’ Ancient accounts of demons described in the Dead Sea Scrolls launched ‘The Mephisto Club.’ Both books started with ‘the chill.’
“But no matter how outlandish the premise or ghoulish the monster, the threat must be something that readers believe could actually happen to them. Because what grabs us and pulls us into the story isn’t the ghost or the villain, but the victim — the most vulnerable character in the story.
“It’s the victim we identify with, and a truly scary story reminds us that we are all potential prey.”
Associated Press