Ideas for Halloween - Telling Scary Stories

What better way to end a Halloween party than to gather round and tell each other scary stories. But why not incorporate some learning into the fun? Depending upon the age of the children at the party there are some techniques and story games that may prove very successful and entertaining.

Toddlers and preschoolers

Storytime for toddlers and preschoolers is best if supervised and carried out in a calm, inviting environment. Try using some creative lighting to set the mood for spooky tales, and maybe provide some homemade monster cookies for an added treat. There are a large selection of spooky halloween stories on offer at any bookstore and you could simply read aloud from a book if you aren't feeling too adventurous.

If you are willing to try new ways of engaging children with reading and imaginative play then how about creating your own spooky story. Early on in the evening you could set the scene by asking the children to draw or paint a scary picture and think about some scary tales they can add to the scary storytime. Have your own scary story ready and start storytime off with that. Children will feel more confident to tell their story if they see a respected adult tell a story of their own, and if they see you having fun with the story and enjoying it they will share your enthusiasm. After you have finished your scary story ask if any of the children want to share a scary story of their own.

If the children are too shy to share their own stories how about making one up together. With your party group sitting around, start the story off and stop at regular intervals to ask the children if they have any ideas as to what could happen next. You could start with..."It was a dark, dark night in (your home town) and Jenny was trying to get to sleep but she kept hearing whooshing noises outside her bedroom window". This is where you could ask the children to shout out suggestions on what could be making all the noise. Go with the most creative suggestion and after setting the scene again ask for some more input. Young children have fantastic imaginations and you could be surprised by where the story ends up.

This type of imaginative storytelling will need some input from an adult so try to persuade a creative type to head up the storytime, and if there's a fast writer amongst the adults it could be fun to make a record of the story to type up at a later date and hand out as a memento of the party. Each of the children who attended should be mentioned in the author credits. You could also include a copy of a picture or two that were draw earlier. It would take some effort (and a scanner) to scan the pictures in and add them to the story but imagine their excitement when they see their very own story in print, it could really inspire them to create more stories and drawings. You never know, you could be inspiring the next Hitchcock!

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