Ghosts Stories for Christmas?
If one is not careful, you will likely spend the entire Christmas season making an effort to be jolly and overly festive. It is possible in these modern times to forget the traditions of the season, which until recent times had such an important role in the celebration of Christmas. I am talking about ghosts!
Today for many the closest they come to incorporating spirits and ghosts into their holiday activities is perhaps watching a televised version of A Christmas Carol or finding a documentary on TV about the historical background to many of our Christmas traditions, symbols, foods, and legends.
Yet, there is a bevy of Christmas ghost stories, many set in Victorian times with the design and feeling of true winter tales. Many are by noted authors of the nineteenth century. If you like ghost stories, or narratives with a peculiar twist and an almost solved mystery, you will love this genre of literature.
As you likely know, the custom of story telling on Christmas eve predates the Victorians by at least a hundred years. Storytelling, especially ghostly and supernatural tales were popular with both the rich and the poor of the era. Only recently has the custom been fading away.
So how can we read and re-tell these ghostly Christmas tales? First we must set the mood. By all means wait until dark to share your story. It is particularly effective if it happens to be a cold and windy night. Dim the lights, gather your audience together, turn off electrical devices and cell phones. Let the quiet seep in, until the silence itself seems to echo across the room. Waiting in a quiet and dimly lit room can be very effective when listening to these tales.
Should you have a fireplace, it is a perfect time to use it. But even with only a few candles strategically located, with one illuminating just your face, will help your listener focus on the sound of your voice. You can read the story, or just re -tell it, that is up to you. Re-telling doesn’t require you to memorize the story, you need to read it a few times and say it with as much feeling as you can.
Begin speaking in a low, almost half whisper, so the listeners need to lean towards you to hear. Be sure to use lots of facial expressions, and even some hoarseness in your voice is helpful.
As you reach the climax of your story raise your voice ever so slightly and end with a strong firm voice. Your audience will be delighted and will be begging for more.
(It is the perfect time to invite others to share strange and bizarre experiences they have had, — ghosts, unexplained sightings, sounds, abnormal happenings, or uncanny feelings.)
I wish you great success and many happy evenings of storytelling.
I hope you will revive this age-old custom and have a wonderful holiday.