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October is here, and the weather has turned slightly cooler. Anticipation is growing for a favorite holiday…Halloween. What better time is there to write haunted stories?
I invited my writer friend, Chere’ Coen to visit my class. She recently released a new book, Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana. You can read excerpts on her blog Haunted Lafayette. Chere’ is a journalist who has always had a fascination with ghost stories. She brought her interest and her talent together in this book published by History Press. The book blurb reads, “Ghost stories abound in the Cajun and Creole city of Lafayette, Louisiana, from those lost in Civil War skirmishes and fever outbreaks to the former living who can’t say goodbye. Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana by The History Press takes readers inside some of the most historic sites in South Louisiana, including haunted bed and breakfasts, restaurants and entertainment venues — even the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In addition, there are the back roads and cemeteries where spirits linger, pirates who refuse to leave and ancient French legends hiding in the swamps, bayous and woods.”
My students came alive while Chere’ talked to them. They all had stories to tell and questions to ask. To illustrate the difference in style from dry, factual writing to intriguing feature writing, Chere’ read an article from the front page of a local newspaper. Then she read an article she had written about a ghost story. We discussed the differences and how we can make our writing more vivid and interesting.
Finally, we all settled down to have quiet writing time. The pens and pencils were flying. My students were primed to write their own haunted stories. Chere’ wrote, too, and shared her scary tale of a class of students diligently writing while a headless man lurked in the sugarcane fields. (In Brooklyn’s thank you note, she wrote that she keeps looking out the window for the headless man.) While we were reading aloud our rough drafts, one student proclaimed, “We are all writers!” Yes! Chere’ inspired them to understand they can be writers.
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