October is the month when Scotland seems to belong to ghosts, monsters, and everything that goes bump in the night. After all, Halloween (or Samhain as the ancient Celts called it) began right here, in the misty folds of Scottish and Irish tradition. Long before plastic pumpkins and supermarket skeletons, our ancestors lit bonfires to ward off wandering spirits and dressed in disguises to confuse any ghostly visitors. That little tradition of “guising” is still alive in Scotland today - though these days it tends to involve a Marvel costume and a bucket of Haribo rather than a carved turnip lantern and an ominous chant.
But the roots remain the same: stories and spirits are bound together. Which makes October the perfect time to sharpen your pen (or quill, if you’re going full gothic) and write a ghost story.
The first thing to remember is that not all ghosts are alike. Some are terrifying wraiths, others are tragic souls, and a few are simply confused wanderers who never got the afterlife memo. What matters is not so much the ghost itself, but what the ghost reveals about the living. The best spectral tales are not really about the dead at all - they’re about how the living respond to the unknown.
Atmosphere, of course, is everything. Ghosts rarely appear under fluorescent lighting. A haunting can be a shadow in the corner of a room, the neighbour who shuts her curtains precisely at 3:15AM, or the long silence that stretches across a dinner table. Don’t underestimate the power of suggestion. What the reader imagines lurking in the dark will always be more unsettling than anything you describe outright.
Pacing is another writer’s trick. You can let unease build slowly, creeping like fog around your reader until they feel it in their bones. Or you can deliver a sudden jolt that makes them spill their tea. Too many shocks and your story becomes a cartoon; too much slow burn and your readers may nod off before the haunting begins. The real art lies in blending both so that tension coils, slackens, and strikes again.
A good ghost story often tips its hat to folklore - rattling chains, cold spots, mirrors, unfinished business. But you’re under no obligation to follow the rules. Why not invent your own? Perhaps your ghost only appears when someone plays ABBA at full volume. The more personal and surprising your haunting, the fresher your story will feel.
Above all, ghosts need heart. Behind every haunting lies unfinished business - grief, guilt, love, or rage. Without that emotional anchor, a ghost is little more than a special effect. With it, you create a presence that lingers in your reader’s mind long after the last page is turned.
And finally, don’t forget to enjoy yourself. Writing ghost stories is one of the rare pleasures that allows you to blend fear, suspense, humour, and humanity all at once. Whether your phantom is a tragic Victorian widow or a mischievous poltergeist rattling the biscuit tin, let yourself play.
Final Whisper:
Your aim isn’t to convince readers that ghosts exist. Your aim is to make them feel that they might. If they hesitate before switching off the light, listening for footsteps on the stairs, then congratulations - you’ve done your job.
Mary Turner Thomson is an international best-selling author, writing coach and publishing consultant. She specialises in helping people tell their stories, and is passionate about not victim shaming – including not victim shaming ourselves. She’s also the author of two true crime memoirs and a novel about resilience.