Lesson Overview 

The first step for this lesson is to make sure that the students all bring in a Ghost Story (if you look at some of the handouts that directly precede this lesson you will see a mention of that part of the assignment).  Here are some of the  parameters:

• It has to be oral - from memory - no reading from anything.

• The preferred story - is an old one that has been passed down - I tell them to ask their parents, ask their grandparents (this often leads to wonderful discoveries)

• They need to keep it under 5 minutes.

The seats are arranged in a circle. The lights are turned off - my fake campfire started (last used when we began Beowulf) and the spooky music starts playing on my speakers.  I usually point out the connection to Beowulf - I ask them: "What was Beowulf?"  - the answer - "An oral story." - Ahhhhh --- "What are our last Oral Stories?".   "Ghost Stories".  And it's true - it is a wonderful connection to the Anglo-Saxon tales we read about a month previous - and gives students a real feel for the concept of how Beowulf was passed down - and the power of oral tales.

I ask for a brave volunteer.  I pass around a skull flashlight that glows in the student's face - as they tell their tale.  We get as many volunteers as we can fit in - and I usually tell three tales: 1) The story of the dog who kept his owner safe   2) Johnnny, I'm on the first step   3) And the boy who kissed a ghost....  It's good to spread the teacher tales out - I never want to dominate the class - and boy do the students come up with some great Ghost Stories.  I will include at least one audio of the lesson below - and a video too if I can find one that focuses on me (rather than the students).

We used to end the class with the recording of a comedien's Ghost Story - the hilarious "Chicken Heart" as told by Bill Cosby.  However, when the revelations about Cosby's criminal conduct came to light - we didn't do that anymore.  I searched in vain for another funny Ghost Story - but none was found (other than my own "The Boy who Kissed a Ghost" - though I can't really call that my own - as it was originally told by a student during this lesson - many years ago.

Thoughts on the Lesson 

In the 32 years that I taught - we always did Ghost Stories (when I was teaching British Literature) which was about 27 of those 32 years.  Very rarely I would have a parent wonder why we were telling Ghost Stories in an English Class - but far more often, I had happy parents whe recounted their children (my students) doing research on old family stories.  Ah - exactly!