Get Into The Halloween Spirit With Some Spooky & Fun Tales!

Did you hear that wolf howl? What about the long moans of a ghost? Those witches are cackling, can’t you hear them? Well, you might not have, but hey, you know it could happen because it’s almost Halloween! Ah, the one time of year where you can dress up as somebody else that you’d never been and act like door-to-door salesmen in the evening, only you got to “sell” a “Trick-or-Treat” and get some free candy or treats in return!

Of course Halloween (or All Hallow’s Eve) is not only about the night, costumes, candy, tricks or people scaring the pants off you. At least not for some. Around October there’s always going to be that creepy buildup until the big night. It comes in the forms of posters, Halloween stores, television advertisements, horror movies, word of mouth or, my personal favorite, creepy tales. Years ago I bought this awesome awesome Halloween CD called “Around the Campfire with Uncle Guts” (Not as gross as it sounds, trust me). It told several amazing old creepy tales like “The Monkey’s Paw” and I didn’t even need to camp out.

Everybody enjoys a good spooky tale every now and then. You gotta love those spine-tingling tales that make you flinch at little noises, a lot of them done just to get your heart racing (Yeah, thanks to my big sister for that). For as far back as anybody could remember, our ancestors spilled out some pretty spooky stories to tell their own young ones. Those old-fashioned ghost stories could either make you scream or bust out laughing, depending on how they’re told. Being scared out of my wits is probably genetic somehow seeing as Halloween is the top favorite in my family, with Christmas topping alongside it.

I’ve heard plenty of those shivery tales to last a long time back when I was a kid. Surprisingly, most of them seem to haunt me to this very day with different twists and turns on the classics, but still the same old stories from way back. And these oldies could give you quite a scare. But no matter how paranoid one may become after hearing even a single one of those spine-tinglers, you always find yourself going back for more. Fortunately for many kids, there are plenty of tales you can have a good laugh at instead of the normal scare routine. It’s best to tell a fun tale or two in between the “make you jump out of your pants” ones.

So, you’re camping out, at a sleepover or just hanging with your family. It’s October and you really want to get a big yelp out of your sibling or maybe some wide eyes. How do you do it? Just by telling them one of these tales that made me get all goosebumps and smiley, that’s how! (Of course there’s no guarantee it’ll have the same effect cause they might have heard some of these already). Not only that, but depending on who you are or how it’s told, they could also be fun or even funny.

Want to explore my favorites in the mysterious world of spooky fun stories? Check out my faves:

“The Monkey’s Paw”

The tale is about the White family who receive a visit from an old family friend. He shares a rare object he has with him: a monkey’s paw. The friend tells the family that it can grant wishes, but nothing should be wished. He warns them not to take the paw as it burns in the fire, but they take it anyway. Not heeding their old friend’s warnings, they make wishes and things don’t turn out as they expected.

This is a serious classic that has been told for a very long time. It’s one of the old-fashioned greats that is told even to this very day though it might have a change in characters or setting.

“Tailypo”

It tells the tale of a hungry man who lives by himself in the middle of the woods. One day, a very strange creature attacks him in his home. He cuts its tail off and it escapes back into the darkness of the trees. Needing some food, he cooks the tail and finds it rather tasty, eating until he was full and content. Suddenly, when he’s ready to sleep for the night, the creature returns wanting its “Tailypo” back. Each time he tries thwart the creature, it comes back into the house even closer and things get a bit hectic.

Another old tale to give you goosebumps around the campfire. If I recall, I didn’t go on another camp out for awhile after unless many people were with me. It was pretty scary to me as a kid and I hope you’ll love it, too!

“Hairy Toe”

An old woman living in the woods goes in search for some food. In the midst of her search, she found a big hairy toe. Feeling it’s a good find, she takes it home and makes a hairy toe soup with it. It’s delicious and she’s content. Unfortunately, once midnight rolled around, she could hear a hair-raising voice out the door demanding the toe back and it’s not a good thing.

A great story for kids that can be a calmer take on the “Tailypo” tale. It was actually best told for younger children who frightened easily without the extra “creepy” added in.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

This ghostly classic is about a mysterious rider known as the Headless Horseman. They say that every night as soon as the sun goes down, this ghost roams the woods and roads in search of his lost head, causing others to lose their own as well. Meet Ichabod Crane, a school teacher, who comes to the town of Sleepy Hollow and deals with this menace of the evening.

Everybody’s heard this story told a hundred times over. This is a fantastic masterpiece written by Washington Irving at least more than a century ago. It’s an old-fashioned classic that will never die.

“Hide and Seek”

Two kids are left home alone as the parents are visiting neighbors nearby. Bored, they decide to play hide and seek The older sibling counts as the younger one hides. The search brings him to the closet and apparently finding his brother. But he when he hears something behind him, he turns to see his little brother looking at him. Eyes wide, he realizes that there is someone else joining in their fun.

A total shivery tale that make you get chills no matter how close to that campfire you are. Never played single hide and seek for a long time after this one.

“The Clown Statue”

A teenage girl is babysitting for her parents’ friends for the night. The parents tell her that after the kids are put to bed, she should go to the living room to watch TV and not wander around the house at night. She agrees. As the kids go to bed and she retires to the room, she notices a life-size clown statue standing in the corner. Creeping her out, she covers it with a blanket. The father of the children calls and she explains that she wanted to go to a different part of the house because of the clown statue. The father then explains that there is no clown statue in their house.

A big chill just went up my spine recalling this tale. If you are easily frightened, this short tale I do not recommend. At least not to young children. Older kids and teens, go ahead and have a good scare.

“Down That Dark, Dark Path…”

This tale is described in many different ways. It’s basically a first person point of view story where you walk everybody through a series of areas like “Down that dark, dark path there was a big, big house. And in that big, big house there was a…” and so on. But with each obstacle passed, you get closer and closer to what it is.

It’s a fun story for little kids. They get a little scary but a big funny at the end! One of the favorites among many!

“The Canterville Ghost”

A family moves into a beautiful new house. Everything is perfect as they unpack and start living their new life. Unfortunately, the house was not vacant when they moved in. A ghostly occupant begins to stir causing a bit of trouble for the family. The family learns to deal with the ghost and help him move on.

A classic Oscar Wilde story told in a few different ways. This story isn’t really scary as anybody may think. Sure some ghostly encounters, but nothing you can’t handle. It’s one of the best oldies ever created and you’ll love it!

“The Cell Phone”

A young son asks his mom if he can a play a game on her cell phone since she was done with it. At first she was hesitant, but then decides he could play a game or two to keep him occupied. As night came on and her son was in bed, she decided to have a glance at what her son got into on her phone. She realizes that he wasn’t only playing games, but taking pictures. She smiles looking at the selfies he takes, but when she comes upon the last picture, it makes her heart almost stop.

This is probably the creepiest tale ever heard. Especially when it takes place in the modern world. Makes you reconsider those selfies now, huh?

Whether you’re into tales that gives you chills up your spine or hits your funny bone, each one is a unique creation that can keep you entertained for hours. Tell us what are your favorite tales to tell. Think you can scare us? Give it a shot!