Eerie Settings

Paired discussion:
Which settings do you think of when you think of a ghost story?
Challenge: what links these settings together? i.e. what are their common
characteristics?

Write
down the
criteria
for a
spooky
setting:
Read 'Eerie atmosphere' extract. What is happening? What words/phrases really conjure
up the setting?
Annotate your text as we read.

“Can we get on,” said James uneasily, “with whatever were going to do.”
“No good rushing a thing like this,” said Bert. “You’ve got to take your time. Make a good job of it.” He
fiddled around with the bottle and the candles, arranging them to his liking. Then he struck a match and
lit the candles. The flames staggered and twitched for a moment, then settled down into steady, oval
points of light.
“We’d best draw the curtains,” said Bert. “We don’t want people looking in from outside. Then pull up a
chair and sit down.”
With the curtains drawn, the room was half dark, the corners lost in gloom, everything concentrated on
the circle of yellow lights on the table. Bert and James sat opposite one another. The candles made
craggy black shadows on Bert’s face, so that it seemed different: older, less ordinary. Downstairs, a long
way away, the wireless was playing and someone was running a tap.
Bert took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “Right, then.” He cleared his throat and said
ponderously, “Rest, thou unquiet spirit!”
There was dead silence. Bert, catching James eye, looked away in embarrassment and said, I don’t hold
with thee-ing and thou-ing, as a rule, but when you’re dealing with a bloke like this, well, I daresay he’d
expect it.
James nodded. They sat quite still. Nothing happened.
“Return from whence thou come… came,” said Bert. “Begone!”
Two of the candles on James’ side of the table guttered wildly, and went out.
“Ah!” said Bert. “Now he’s paying us a bit of attention.”
What do we mean by a ghost?
n a sp
arit i o e ct r
a p p e
an somethin
g
barely vi
sible a d ea d
c re a t u r
h i n g n e
t e e walking
some a n s an u n s
t
a t m o t h a
t h t hi n g t hi n g s
u s e s
ca e n
a p p
to h
 What does a ghost do?

o f ca u
wa r n se
da n
a n g e r ger
d
scare people make
noise
s
move
j e c t s
ob haunt!
What are the signs that a ghost is present?

strange noises
unexplained happenings
draughts from nowhere
doors creaking
doors slamming
Write the scene describing the spirit looking down on two boys. How would this be
different?

Starting sentences if you need them:

The spirit floated above them, swirling around in circles above their heads. ‘Can we get on?’
he heard one boy mumble, as he uneasily looked about him.
The other boys fiddled with bottles and candles and the ghost smirked. The boy
lit…..
In pairs, plan, design and label an eerie scene. Write 1 or 2 paragraphs describing
it.
Challenge: analyse which spooky characteristics your scene fulfils.
Table carousel of work
Vote for the most eerie example, explaining
reasons for their choice.