Halloween Narrative Writing Fun for Middle School

At this time of year, my students really enjoy some spooky fun.  After all, they're still kids, and many even go out trick-or-treating.  

To help them stay focused but still have fun, I created a narrative writing project in which students write an original story about a spooky (or haunted) house.

First, we discuss the parts of a story using a famously spooky story such as "The Tell-Tale Heart".  It's fun to look at all the great examples of description in the story too!  Then once we've mapped it out and have some understanding of these narrative writing skills, we're ready to write our own spooky stories!

We start with an exterior planning sheet and a black-and-white image of an old ramshackle house.  I ask the students to write adjectives describing their "spooky house" on the planning sheet, and then they add those details to the image.  I even posted a PowerPoint with some spooky house pictures on the smartboard for description inspiration!  

After we repeat this process for the interior of the house, it's time to think about what this house sounds like.  I have the students turn to the pages where sound adjectives and adverbs are to be recorded and then play some spooky music clips accompanied by more spooky house images.

At this point, we also collect details about how these sounds make us feel and what they might even smell like. We need to include all the sensory details!

Next, it's time to think about the characters.  There's a full planning sheet for names, appearances, and traits.

Sometimes, students want to use their classmates' names.  I require that the authors get permission to use those names.  ;)

After that is completed, we're ready to begin thinking about some situations and develop the story.  I lay everything out step-by-step with organizers to make sure the students have a complete narrative - including the time order for the climax and a section for falling action and resolution.

Then, as I bet you've already guessed, students put it all together into a final copy, which we read out loud in class on the days leading up to Halloween. If we get lucky, Halloween is on a school day, and there's nothing better than reading scary stories on that day!

The students absolutely love this project!  In fact, it's been a student favorite for about 30 years!

Not only do the students write a narrative, but they also review all of the parts of a story and even work on descriptive writing! 

Now, in the future, when I need a reference point for rising action or an example of descriptive writing to study figurative language more deeply, I can refer back to this writing project. 

Want to try this out with your own students?  I have the Halloween Narrative Writing Project ready to go - complete with spooky sounds and video!  PLUS, there's a digital version included!

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