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Seasonal Spookiness
Chilly breezes, fallen leaves, pumpkins—these are the signs of fall. Another staple of the season is the spookiness of Halloween. If you’re like me and enjoy incorporating a little seasonal spookiness into your class curriculum, here are eight ways to do so:
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Crowded Cemetery In this whole class game, students build a spooky cemetery and fill it to the brim with tombstones, black cats, jack-o-lanterns, bats, spiderwebs, and, of course, ghosts. But they must build wisely! The more crowded their cemetery grows, the more important every decision becomes. Some items only score points in certain arrangements or by touching other items. Design your cemetery in such a way that it will gain maximum points.
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Masque of the Red Death There are many contenders for the spookiest Edgar Allan Poe story, but this one is chock-full of thrills and chills. When a wealthy prince and his hardhearted lords and ladies quarantine themselves for a Halloween-style ball to wait out a plague that is ravaging their country, a mysterious guest makes a surprisingly—and deadly—appearance at the party. This Reader’s Theater script-story adapts Poe’s classic with parts for 8 readers.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving’s classic tale of a bumbling schoolteacher vying for the love of a local heiress is both hilarious and haunting. The specter of the Headless Horseman holding his jack-o-lantern head is an iconic Halloween image. This Reader’s Theater script-story adapts the story with parts for 15 readers.
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Witch Hunt In this social deduction game based on the Salem Witch Trials, students must determine who among them are the witches, who are secretly cursing the other villagers. This experience really simulates the paranoia of the time period—and it’s tons of fun.
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Macbeth “Double, double, toil, and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.” The eerie atmosphere of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play” makes it a great seasonal accent. The play is retold through three Reader’s Theater plays, which lightly adapt Shakespeare’s language and add narration.
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Dracula What is more Halloween-y than vampires? And Bram Stoker’s Dracula is what inspired our modern concept of the vampire. This collection of six Reader’s Theater script-stories retells the entire novel and comes with enough materials to build a whole “undead” unit around the bloodsucking count. It also includes a worksheet that explores the history of vampires.
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Dante's Inferno If your goal is sheer creepiness, what could be better than a trip through hell? This collection of six Reader’s Theater script-story adapts Dante’s Inferno, making it accessible for high-school learners but also preserving the spirit and language of the original work.
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Monster Mash! Want a whole monster unit? This collection includes Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
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Research some local creepiness Last year, I researched some local legends and ghost stories to share with my students. With a little effort, I found enough spooky tales for each student to have one to read, analyze, and share in small groups. This can be a great way to connect literature to local history!
Whatever you choose for your classroom, I hope you enjoy the spookiness of the season!
Stay creative,
Zachary