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kalafatic's avatar

Anyone know a truly terrifying ghost story?

Asked by kalafatic (150points) August 30th, 2009

I am collecting ghost stories to tell as a preshow for a ghost play that my theatre company is producing for halloween. If you have a story (real or fiction) that you don’t mind sharing, I would be extremely grateful for the help. If you would like to include stage directions (i.e. ‘this is where your partner sneaks up behind the crowd and screams.’ etc.) that would also be appreciated.

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17 Answers

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cyn's avatar

you might find some here

teh_kvlt_liberal's avatar

Poltergeist!
And what a great movie, too.

Lacroix's avatar

In the back hills of Arkansas, long ago, people were few and far between. For Laura Beth, who considered herself the most beautiful creature that God had made, his was unbearable, for it meant that she seldom got a chance to show her looks off to others and receive the praise, awe, and jealousy she thrived on. Winters were even worse, for it meant the end of the few parties and gatherings that the Ozarks had, and that Laura Beth would be confined to her parents’ farm with no one to admire her beauty.

Just before the start of what the old folks were predicting would be one of the worst winters yet, Laura Beth received an invitation to the mayor’s to attend his son’s birthday, which was certain to be the last and best of that year’s entertainments. Laura Beth was hungry to attend, but on the night of the party a fierce wind came in from the north, and with it the first flurries of snow. Her parents begged her to stay home where it was warm and safe, but Laura Beth would have none of it, and would not be satisfied until they had hired a carriage for her. Her mother gave her a thick, homemade quilt to wrap herself in for the journey there, but Laura Beth sneered and tossed it to the driver. She would not be seen wrapped in a moth-eaten, fraying pile of rags, of that she was certain. The driver gratefully wrapped himself in the blanket, and off they sped.

Well, the wind began to howl, the carriage rocked and shook as the horses raced down the road, and the snow began sticking to the windows.

“Miss!” the driver shouted, “We should turn back!”

“Drive on!” she called from inside.

The wind grew fiercer, the snow was so thick as to make the air white, and ice was hanging off the carriage.

“Miss, please!” the driver begged, “We should turn back!”

“Drive on!” shrieked Laura Beth.

Steam billowed from the horses as they ran, and ice coated the road so that the carriage slid almost as much as it rolled.

The driver started to turn his head, started to petition Laura Beth once more to see reason, but an icy hand gripped his shoulder, and a cold, raspy voice breathed into his ear, “Drive….on….!”

The horses let out a shriek and dove through the storm with renewed speed, the whites of their eyes rolling and heads tossing. When the carriage finally arrived at the doorstep of the mayor’s great house, the pair of them dropped dead they stopped, their poor hearts having burst.

It took three men to break away the ice that held shut the carriage door, and when they opened they found Laura Beth inside, beautiful as ever and frozen solid through. She was dead, but she had made it to the party.

On cold winter nights in the hills of the Ozark, when the roads are icy and the sky is more snow than air, there are some that think to pull over, stop the car, or turn back. And sometimes, if they are alone, a cold hand will touch them, and a raspy voice will call out from the back seat, “Drive…on…!”

Bugabear's avatar

Well theres always the bloody mary story. And theres also this story about a dead dog dripping in the shower. Man that story made me scared to go near a shower.

madcapper's avatar

One time this ghost told me to kill the 90 year old man that lived next door. I did it. The ghost never came back again… perhaps it was “death” that wanted this, Perhaps I am now death’s servant…

NaturalMineralWater's avatar

@Bugabear Yes, the bloody mary one that we told was definitely creepy. I don’t exactly remember how the story went but the scary part was trying to make her appear in the mirror afterward. It was said that holding hands, spinning in a circle 50 times while saying Bloody Mary would make her appear in the mirror. Of course, the lights had to be out for this.

ubersiren's avatar

Have you ever read any of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books? I think they’re targeted for a pre-teen age group, but some of them were scary, I tell ya! Some of the illustrations are pretty creepy, which could help you set the mood for your play. Here’s the Amazon link in case you’re interested. If your age group is older, you could probably spice the stories up a little to make them edgier.

teh_kvlt_liberal's avatar

HOLY SHIT I LOVE THOSE BOOKS
I have all of them!! GOD, they were just GENIUS

ubersiren's avatar

@teh_kvlt_liberal: There’s one about a man who stays the night in a haunted house and encounters a scary ghost lady, and the next day at church he finds her dead finger in the collection plate or something… remember that one? That story had me terrified to be in a dark room alone for like a year. The picture that went with that story was, I think, what pushed me over the edge. Creeped me the freak out.

teh_kvlt_liberal's avatar

Oh yeah, that illustration was pretty scary. It was just so gruesome.
my favorite one was the one about the ghost with the bloody fingers. it was so hilarious!

Bugabear's avatar

Oh speaking of the Bloody Mary story theres this really funny xkcd comic about that story

sjmc1989's avatar

@ubersiren Lurve for mentioning Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark I have all of them too! Harold scared the shit out of me when I was little! Okay I still read them and Harold still scares me but only if I read it at night…Okay maybe during the day too! :)

teh_kvlt_liberal's avatar

Harold!!!
That was a great story, even though it’s not about ghosts
The illustrations still scare the crap out me me

ubersiren's avatar

I’m going to have to go back and read all these that I don’t remember. The only ones I do remember are the one I already mentioned and the one where the girl (I think it’s a girl) thinks she’s being followed because the person behind her keeps flashing their high beams at her. But really… well, I don’t want to spoil the ending!

Palindrome's avatar

look up white rock lake ghost story. it has told to be true, but who really knows? i live nearby but i’ve never really believed in it.

http://www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/lore/ghost.htm
“One of the best-known Dallas legends is the so-called “Lady of White Rock Lake,” a ghostly figure who is said to haunt the park’s environs.”

ubersiren's avatar

I just thought of one that freaked me out called the legend of theBunnyman Bridge.

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