NWR--scary story

Sure. I'm doing a lesson on how important setting is for stories. I'm planning on introducing the lesson by telling the kids a 'scary story,' but changing the setting so that instead of maybe taking place on a 'cold, dark, stormy night in the middle of an old, haunted graveyard,' it takes place 'on a warm, sunny, bright afternoon in a school playground at lunchtime'...

Does this make it any clearer? I need a semi scary story that wouldn't be as scary if it didn't take place at night.

Ex. Bob and Jane went into the creepy mansion on a cold, dark, stormy night to escape the rain. They tried to turn on the lights, but they wouldn't turn on! Bob and Jane started to leave, but the front door slammed shut and they were trapped. They began to hear noises, but they couldn't see where they came from...

THEN, I would change it as I tell the kids so it would go something like this...

Bob and Jane went into the creepy mansion on a warm summer afternoon to get out of the sunlight. They tried to turn on the lights...every light went on; the place was illuminated. They heard noises, which were coming from the kitchen...


Problem is...I can't think of what else to write and would rather work with a pre-existing story :)

Help?

ohhh ok. Funny story: When I was in 3rd or 4th grade my teacher had us all sit on the floor and closed the blinds, shut the lights and read us this scary story... about a hand, or a hook.. I don't remember, I just remember everyone not being SCARED and a boy (class clown) said 'mrs. p, that wasn't scary AT ALL' and one of the aids knocked on the door (on the window part) all we saw was a hand, well he SCREAMED like a girl. it was not planned.. it was just perfect timing, so maybe you could PLAN something like that.

but ok to pick up on your story:

'they tip-toed into the kitchen, trying to be quiet, but with each step they took the floor boards creaked, louder and louder as they approached the kitchen. They peaked in and there was a family of ghosts (or zombies or whatever is appropriate), jane screamed and ran down the hallway to what looked to be the back door , bob followed, the floor getting louder and louder then BOOM! they fell, there was a trap door below the carpet, they were in a dark damp basement'....

that's all I have for now. How scary can this be? I mean ghosts can be more funny then scary (hello casper ), zombies are my worst fear (don't laugh- the unusuals scared the crap outta me last night), vampires can go either way... same with mummys. Clowns are scary to all kids, I don't care what anyone says. then you have trolls, gremlins, warewolves, etc.
So.. how old are these kids? You don't want parents calling and complaining that little johnny can't sleep, but you want to give them a thrill?

What grade are you teaching? I did a lesson for third graders like that using a Goosebumps book. You can pull an excerpt from it (I think I used one about comic book stores, maybe?), and then have them rewrite it so it's not scary anymore.

HTH!

It's not a scary story, but what if you describe someone arriving home to a surprise party . . . first, they arrive home at night, all of the lights are turned off. The person walks into the room and just as he/she is about to turn on the lights, everyone jumps out and yells surprise, catching the person totally off guard.

Then, the person arrives home during the day time. The house is full of natural light. Everyone is in the same hiding places, but the effect is totally different.

They're kids in a juvenile detention center so it has to be entertaining...they range from 13-17. It also has to be short in order to keep their attentions! I'm only using it as an intro, so I want something shorter than 5 minutes of telling.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll definitely try to pick out the scary parts of all of those and maybe come up with my own story!