Halloween Storytelling: Find Your Spooky Voice

October is right around the corner. With the cooler weather comes the celebration of Halloween. What makes Halloween fun? It's the scary ghost stories. Learn how to tell a Halloween humdinger.

Learning how to tell a good ghost story is not as hard as you might think. On Halloween, people are already in the mood to be scared out of their minds. Why do you think the lines are so long outside haunted houses?

Join the ranks of Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and all those old-time scare masters. Be the one on the block that kids can count on to give them nightmares long after October 31^st has past. Bone up on your ghost stories and find your spooky voice.

1. Read some good ghost stories. Get yourself a book full of them. Suggestion: Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural by Marvin Kaye. Give it a read and find one that strikes you as particularly gruesome. Read it at night with the lights off. If it scares you, it will scare someone else.

2. Make the story your own. Chances are no one has read all the ghost stories out there. You can improvise on the story you read or use it as a base to create a unique story. Another suggestion: Don't borrow from scary movies. We've seen them all and will spot a stolen plot a mile away.

3. Find a costume. I don't care how old you are, Halloween is nothing without looking the part. What would a master of the supernatural look like when he or she tells a story? Amp it up as much as you can with wigs, face makeup to add wrinkles, long fingernails, a cane, and other props.

4. Keep a few tricks up your sleeve. Speaking of props, hide a few under the folds of your costume. In the dark, no one will know who is touching who. You can heighten the scare value of the story with a few well timed scary voices, icy fingers, and the like.

5. Set the mood. Don't disappoint the scare junkies. A dark room or an outside patio with a single light or candle burning in the midst of the group. Practice a bit before the actual performance to be sure you can control the setting.

6. Tell the story until it is committed to memory. Nothing stinks worse than a storyteller who forgets their own story. If you host a Halloween party, let the ghostly storytelling be the main attraction. Work with small groups for maximum effect and tell them to keep it "hush, hush" until everyone has had a chance to hear the story. Try on a voice changing device to see what works better-your natural voice with a few tweaks or a total change.

Do you have a flare for telling ghost stories? This Halloween put those talents to good use. Find your spooky voice and darken the night with a Halloween ghost story or two.