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GHOST TALES for Retelling
by Idella Bodie
Twenty seven spine tingling scary stories short enough to remember and retell. The tales in this book are from the author's childhood memory. Many are based on myths, legends and fairy tales. Included are hints for effective storytelling to create a mood and give the audience chills and shivers.
Remember sitting around a campfire telling the story of "The
Golden Arm" or "The Purple Ribbon"?
Read them, watch how each story unfolds, and then tell them in your
own words. Use that special rise and fall in your voice and that devilish
twinkle in your eye, and you'll see the goose bumps pop out.
From the Foreword:
One of my fondest childhood memories is listening to and telling ghost
stories. When our cousins came for their extended summer vacation, our
parents would allow us to build a small night fire in our country yard.
We sat around and told stories. The delight of the older ones was to
send us running into the house to Mamma. Her response was a good
hearty laugh and a mild rebuke out the back screened door. As one of
the youngest children, I admit to losing sleep on those nights for fear the
ghosts and goblins of the stories haunted the pallets where we slept
alongside our cousins. Still the next night's telling drew me in to it
with a kind of magic and wonder I could not resist....Idella Bodie.
Ages 10 & up. 78 pages.
1994. Sandlapper.
ISBN 13: 978-0-87844-125-9/ ISBN 10:
0-87844-125-5,
Softcover $12.95
Reviewer comments:Scary stories are the highlights of Halloween. "Ghost Tales for Retelling" by Idella Bodie made me sprout goose bumps from my head to my toes. Bodie makes a strong case for telling, rather than reading, these stories to children. Eye contact and voice inflections can go a long way toward scaring off children's socks. Even the simplest story, told with a "Boo!" in just the right place, will make listeners jump.....
Fran Hawk, The Post and Courier