Creating Original Ghost Stories
with Cynthia Rintye
How did I come to teach a workshop on ghost stories?
Well, I certainly had no intention of becoming an expert on spooky tales or paranormal experiences.
Then again, I had no intention of becoming the Queen of England, a professional Segway rider, or a
teenage zombie trainer. But I DID have the intention of pursuing an interesting career.
I’ve been a performer forever, but I got into storytelling because of a Kissing Wench. I worked at the
Georgia Renaissance Festival as both Assistant Entertainment Director and the Queen. Another cast
member, a Kissing Wench, asked me to become a storytelling guide for the Lawrenceville Ghost Tour’s
inaugural season.
I fell in love with storytelling and, for many years, was the tour’s director.
Guests would share with me spooky occurrences that had happened to them. I learned to craft these
anecdotes into compelling stories.
I also led ghost tours of downtown Atlanta (on a Segway!) Guests said, “Let me tell you what happened
to me!” and shared their paranormal encounters. I crafted these into tales for The Veil of Time: Ghost
Stories from Atlanta, which garnered a Storytelling World honor.
Additionally, I’ve written scary stories for others to tell in Terror on the Trail. In this, guests were led
from one teller to the next by teenage zombies. (Guess who trained them.)
Having created so many ghost stories, I assumed that everyone else was telling originals, only to hear the
same spooky stories told over and over and over! I understand the importance of folktales and that some
folks tell them exclusively. That’s fine. But if your repertoire includes original material, why not tell
ghost stories that are original as well? In my workshop, I will show you how to take an eerie occurrence
and create a terrifying tale.
I will also expand your understanding of paranormal activity. While leading tours in a haunted cemetery, I witnessed a great deal of paranormal activity. It’s not just about SEEING a ghost. Paranormal can manifest through sight, sound, touch, smell, and be captured by electronic equipment. Understanding this can expand your possibilities for a spooky narrative.
On top of crafting hours of ghost stories and experiencing many types of paranormal occurrences firsthand, I have also trained dozens of guides on how to tell stories in a way that optimizes eeriness.
I invite you to attend my workshop, learn more about paranormal activity, how to weave the thread of a ghostly encounter into a compelling story, and how to tell that tale in the spookiest manner.