Reflection on Creepy Stories
- Ms. Ertelt
- Oct 27, 2015
- 2 min read
It is that time of year when leaves are falling, wind is blowing, and we celebrate things like harvest, Halloween, and Dias de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). During this time of year, many students come to find "scary stories". They aren't the only ones. I myself tend towards re-reading some of my favorite creepy stories.
One of my favorite all time short stories, "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, is a great example. It is a story about what happens when you are given a chance to have your wishes come true. Unlike most stories with genies, the consequences of the three wishes on the monkey's paw turn gruesome.
Another set of stories that send chills up my spine are Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Pit and the Pendalum", and "The Masque of the Red Death". In each of Poe's stories, I remember, recall, or experience new emotions and thoughts as I read. "The Cask of the Amontillado" is a story of revenge. The "Pit and the Pendulum" and "Masque of Red Death" are stories based off of historical attrocities and the human element. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a classic story of possession and consequences. In all of these cases, the almost best part of the story is that your imagination must create what is happening. Unlike the current storie of zombies, witches, gouls and ghosts, these stories do not give you the extreme detail; rather, it plays on our imagination's capabiity to make anything worse than it might actually be. Because of this, the fear factor and chills increase.
In this season of fall, I strongly encourage you to take a moment or two to read some short stories that bring chills or thrills to your heart and enjoy the atmosphere of the season!
Ideas and Resources:
Your local library or the School Libratory
Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Tales and Poems
Sherlock Holmes: Complete Collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Complete Collection of Classic Creepy Tales by Editor Canterbury Tales.
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