Tag Archives: halloween

Oct26

Write Your Own Spooky Story: Day 1 Free Lessons for your Class or Child

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Write your own Spooky Story this week, Oct. 26-31. Lessons posted daily!

Write your own Spooky Story this week, Oct. 26-31. Lessons posted daily!

Write Your Own Spooky Story

To Note: This whole activity is available online at my new “Keep On Writing” Online Writing School. It’s set up as a tutorial to allow kids to work at their own pace with more in depth instruction. For more information, LINK HERE!

Day 1

This week I’m planning a big treat. Usually, I’d be doing this in my classroom. But I’ve been on medical leave and a sabbatical for the last few months. This leaves me without a classroom for the first time in 18 years. So, I thought I’d take some of my teaching on-line this week for one of my more popular writing projects, The Spooky Story. This week before Halloween, I’ll be posting daily steps for you or your little one to be writing their own Spooky story. I have done this in my classroom for over 15 years, and I’m happy to be able to share it with you during this special creative week when everyone has spooks and goblins on the brain.

Day 1: Build your Main Character

Day 2: Create a Sidekick and Villain/Setting/Plot

Day3: Start the Spooky Story Rough Draft

Day 4: Write your Rough Draft help and guidance

Day 5: Proofread and Revising Tips for your Spooky Story

Day 6: (Halloween) Rewrite and finalize your Spooky Story to read tonight!

Today, we’ll focus on character. Which means, you guessed it, you get to make up your very own spooky character for your story. Think of all those spooky stories you’ve read before, like Goosebumps or Scooby Doo. They all involve a girl or boy human kid that runs into monsters such as ghosts, vampires and zombies. But you don’t have to stop there. You can have your main character be a vampire, zombie or ghost if you want. The important thing is that your story will revolve around this character. They will be the center of your action. So, pick carefully.

Once you’ve decided on whom your character is, it’s time to add all the details that will come in handy while writing your story. It’s called prewriting. You can do it in a couple of ways. You can write a list answering questions about your character or you can fill in a detailed web of ideas about your character. I will include both. You can decide to do one or the other, or both ways. Get as many details as you can. They will come in handy when you work on tomorrow’s assignment, sidekicks and villians.

Questions About Your Main Character:

  • What is their name?
  • Describe what they look like. Hair color? Eye color? Age? Height? Weight?
  • How do they dress? What are their favorite things to go to school or work in?
  • What are their favorite movies, books, or TV shows?
  • Do they have a best friend? Who is it?
  • What about their family? Brothers or sisters? What do their parents do?
  • Describe their school or work.
  • Do they have special powers or abilities?
  • What is their flaw? Do they have trouble doing something?
  • What are they good at?

Special Extra Credit: Describe what is in their backpack or what they take with them always.

Idea Web for your Main Character

Idea Web for your Main Character

Tomorrow, we’ll work on a sidekick and a villain. These two types of characters are very important to help your main character and to cause trouble for them.

Pumper the Pumpkin: A Halloween Tale by Tiffany Turner is a Kindle Unlimited title. Free Oct. 27-31!

Pumper the Pumpkin: A Halloween Tale by Tiffany Turner. Treat you child with a book this Halloween.

Plus, for this week only starting Oct. 27, my Halloween Tale, Pumper the Pumpkin will be available for free on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Pumper-Pumpkin-Tiffany-Turner-ebook/dp/B005X1CS1A

Until tomorrow, have fun making your character. I’ll see you tomorrow for creating a sidekick and villain.

-Tiffany Turner

Oct21

Trick or Treat Gift For You: Pumper the Pumpkin Free Promotion Oct. 27-31

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One of my favorite holidays is coming up soon, HALLOWEEN! As a kid, I loved using my imagination to make a costume and trick or treat in the night time. It was also the time the neighborhood would come out and visit with one another. I would see many of the people once a year, and would note the changes from the previous year of trick or treating. I would also meet the new people that moved into the neighborhood. There is nothing better than Halloween to promote creativity and community.

So in the spirit of giving out treats, I’m offering Pumper the Pumpkin, my Halloween picture book free from Oct. 27-31 on Amazon. I first wrote the story when I was in Mrs. William’s class in 5th grade. The original was a path down the road of learning that writing can be fun. I was bit by the bug from then on. I had always wanted to rewrite it and make it available for people. I would get lost in the world of Pumper the Pumpkin, and carve him every year with his girlfriend. Her name changed through the years, but it has finally ended as Mirabelle. It deals with the search of finding where you belong and meeting your destiny. Every year, I would find the right pumpkin to carve and turn into Pumper. I am happy to share this tradition with you and your youngster this Halloween.

To everyone this year, may you have a happy and safe Halloween!

Note: Pumper the Pumpkin is also a Kindle Unlimited title.

LINK TO PUMPER THE PUMPKIN ON AMAZON–Also a Kindle Unlimited title.

Oct29

Buried: A New Goth Series for When Everyday Is Halloween

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Buried by Linda Joy Singleton: A Goth Girl Mystery

Buried by Linda Joy Singleton: A Goth Girl Mystery

For those of us that enjoy Halloween everyday, I recommend Buried by Linda Joy Singleton. This amazing new Goth series is a spin off of her Seer books. Thorn has just moved to Nevada, started a new high school, but has managed to find her niche, other goth girls. Black nail polish, black fairy wings, piercings and fabulous wig colors are the normal attire to complement a school day. Throw in a past student that has reached fame like Justin Bieber, and you get the starting of a new goth adventure.

Thorn has the ability to find things. Needless to say, a locket finds her with a mystery. When she discovers the secret of the locket, she is connected to its crime. Can she manage to find the owner of the locket that will clear her name? It might mean giving up what she has found most dear, her new friends and gothic look. Can she give it all up to enter the singing contest and expose the criminal before it’s too late?

Seriously. This book has drive. It kept me glued to its pages, turning feverishly with mysteries around every corner. Who is the Grin Reaper? Is he cute? Can a girl save her friend from being with the wrong guy? Not to mention, candy pink doesn’t go well with skull earrings.

If you notice right now you’re wearing black nail polish, this is most likely the book for you. It is a great YA read for any age. Whether you want a good mystery to relax with, or relish the days “Everyday is Halloween”, I recommend Buried. It will make you want more in the end, especially if its dressed in black.

***** Five Star Rating

Available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

Oct24

New Halloween Picture Book: All Hallow’s ABC

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All Hallow's ABC by Jenni Kaye

All Hallow’s ABC by Jenni Kaye

Are you looking for a Halloween themed bedtime picture book? All Hallow’s ABC by Jenni Kaye is a great way to get your child into the Halloween theme without the scary, threatening pictures and messages that are often within books and movies this time of the year.

The illustrations are darling, with a cartoonish quality. Each line captures the magic and fun of Halloween. It will help with that high energy excitement as the spooky night approaches. This is definitely a repeat read for each year until the little trick-o-treater is ready to read it on their own. Currently a bronze medal winner at the 2013 Moonbeam Children’s Awards, I recommend for a spooky read-aloud every night.

***** Five Star Rating
Available at Amazon.com as a paperback or ebook edition.

Oct28

Charming Picture Book For Trick-o-Treaters

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A Ghost Went Trick or Treating by A. J. Cosmo

There is nothing better than a good story to set the mood for Halloween. A picture ebook called “A Ghost Went Trick or Treating” is a charming story about the lessons learned on Halloween Night. If you are looking for a nonviolent, friendly and safe story for Halloween, this is a great book for your little Trick or Treater.

A mysterious ghost Trick or Treater is adopted into a group of children. Figuring he needs some help, they take him around with them. But when one of them gets into trouble, bullied by the local teens, the ghost comes to the rescue. Plus, there is a surprise twist to the plot. I’m not including spoilers. But if your child likes cute monsters, they will enjoy the surprise.

This is a great story to begin Halloween week. It can be read again and again as a lead up to the big event on the 31st. I highly recommend this for younger Trick or Treaters, but for older siblings as well. The author, A.J. Cosmo, teaches compassion in situations where sometimes, just a nice gesture can be returned in kind.

***** 5 Star Rating
Available on the Kindle only.
This is a Kindle Select book and only available on Amazon.
For your copy of “A Ghost Went Trick Or Treating” click here.

Oct30

A Book for the Wereperson at Heart

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Year of the Werecurse-Werewhat? by Debi Faulkner

October is the month for spooky, creepy fiction. If you like that plus a touch of some ole’ fashion normal kid problems, this book is for you. Imagine moving to a new town. Your family just inherited a mansion and for some reason, the villagers are afraid of you. Welcome to the world of Jack Henry, your average geeky 11 year old, that loves comic books and a glance at beautiful girls from afar. His only problem was waiting for the new copy of a thriller comic book in the Gargoyle Knight series. You know, simple preteen problems, until he came to Whereville.

Now, something strange is going on with his family. His new house can’t stay in the same pattern for long, making it a clear adventure just to go to the bathroom. But more unravels when the full moon arrives. Can he keep his family safe from their own were curse? Will the villagers ever treat him normal? Or is that impossible with a family that is clearly cursed with an unusual ability? You be the judge in this new take on what it is to be “Were”.

If you love the Goosebumps series or books like it, you’ll enjoy this interesting way of looking at werepeople. Werewolves tend to be the most written about wereanimal. But what if there were more types? Peacocks? Sea Turtles? Sloths? It does create a bit of a family problem, especially since the curse seems to be affecting his parent’s ability to judge what is safe versus unsafe. The main character, Jack Henry, seems to be the only one aware of the problem until he finally convinces his sister being a werepeacock is a bit different. Of course, one can infer it’s part of the curse.

This book kept my attention until the end. And I did enjoy the conflict of the Science teacher and town bullies out to get the poor, Jack Henry. Miserable underdogs appeal to me.

If you like a story to get you into the Halloween mood and that could take you through the next few weeks, this is a book to start now. As many good horror fiction tales, it goes through a good portion of the school year, making it a great read all year long. A definitely enjoyable children’s horror fiction that turns Jack Henry into a were-Harry Potter hero.

**** Four Star Rating

Available in Amazon.com and Smashwords.com ebook editions.

Oct29

#SampleSunday Oct. 30, 2011 Pumper Continues His Quest: A Halloween Exclusive

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Pumper the Pumpkin: A Halloween Tale by Tiffany Turner

Last week, I posted the beginning of my new Halloween Tale, “Pumper the Pumpkin”. This is a short story for children from 3-8 years old. Pumper was off on his quest to become a jack-o-lantern when he met another pumpkin with the same dream, Mirabel. Together they headed off to try to find a way to become jack-o-lanterns. They were given a clue by a scarecrow to check another part of the pumpkin field. This is where our tale left off. Now, we return to “Pumper the Pumpkin”:

And off they went, up and down, and all around, until they reached the other end of the field. There they found a crow.

“Where are you off in such a hurry,” said the crow.

“To find someone to carve us,” said Pumper. “Do you know someone who can?”

“I think I might have seen a family down at the other end of the field by the farm house. Maybe if you check there, one of the children may want to carve you.”

So off they both went, up and down, and all around the drying vines and dirt clogs to the farm house. There, they saw a small family. A boy and girl were looking among the vines and dirt clogs.

“I don’t see any pumpkins left,” said the girl.

“Maybe we’re too late,” said the boy.

“Wait,” shouted Pumper. He slid and jumped as fast as he could.

Mirabel slid and jumped right behind him. “Wait, we’re still here.”

“Do you hear something?,” said the boy turning to the girl.
Mirabel jumped up in the air. “We’re here.” Mirabel jumped as high as she could. “We want to be carved.”

Pumper jumped in the air. “We’re over here”.

Will they find someone to carve them in time?

To find out, you can get your own copy of Pumper the Pumpkin, link to Amazon.com or Smashwords.com. Happy Halloween!

Oct23

#SampleSunday October 23, 2011 Pumper the Pumpkin, A New Halloween Tale

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Pumper the Pumpkin: A Halloween Tale by Tiffany Turner

For years, I’ve been working on a Halloween Tale about a little pumpkin that has one wish, to be a Jack-o-Lantern. This year his wish comes true. Pumper is the last pumpkin left in the pumpkin patch. All he wants to be is a Jack-O-Lantern to light the way for trick-o-treaters so they don’t get scared on Halloween night. With his friend Mirabel, his dream comes true as this family friendly tale unfolds.

Pumper was a character I created when I was 10 years old. It was a school assignment to write a Halloween story while I was in Fifth Grade. The original story was my exploration in character development and early chapter books.

Pumper’s first adventure is a bit strange, with the loss of his entire family due to high school bullies that smash them in the middle of the night. Thinking that was too scary, I took that out as an adult, and came up with a quest adventure to replace some of the previous ideas.

Here is an excerpt from the beginning of Pumper the Pumpkin:


Once upon a time, there was a small pumpkin left in the pumpkin patch on Halloween Eve. All the other pumpkins had been picked and given good homes. But Pumper the Pumpkin was the only one left of all the pumpkins that had been before.

He wanted to be a Jack-o-Lantern. It was his one wish, to be all lit up on Halloween night, bright and shiny, so all of the Trick-o-Treaters could say “Hi” and not be afraid.

He was feeling rather sorry for himself when he heard some crying out in the distance.

Who could that be? He was the only one left in the patch? Or was he?

He headed off slowly in the direction of the crying. He slid over drying vines and dead leaves. There were holes and ditches where all the pumpkins had been on display.
He went up, and then down. He went sideways, and around. And then he arrived where the crying had started.

It was a girl pumpkin, all alone. She sniffed when she saw him. “Who are you?”

“My name is Pumper. What’s yours?”

“Mirabel.”

“Nice to meet you.” He nodded and asked, “How come you are all alone in the pumpkin patch?”

“Because no one picked me for their pumpkin. All I want to be is a Jack-o-lantern. It means so much to be lit up so all the Trick-0-Treaters will say ‘Hi’ and not be scared.”

“Wow! I thought I was the only one. I thought I was all alone in the pumpkin patch.”

“Me too,” sniffed Mirabel.

“Maybe we can work together to find someone to make us into Jack-o-Lanterns.”

So off they went to look for someone that could turn them both into Jack-o-Lanterns.

They went up and down, around and between drying vines. Then they spotted a maze of corn. The farmer had cut paths throughout the cornfield. Maybe someone was still exploring their way out. After all, the sun wasn’t down yet.

So they went into the maze. They went around and down through husks of corn. They went slow and fast until they found the middle. In the middle was a scarecrow.

“Hello Mr. Scarecrow,” said Pumper. “We’re trying to find someone to carve us for Halloween. Could you carve us please?”

“I should think not,” said the scarecrow. “My job here is to make sure the crows don’t get any of the corn in the maze. There is still plenty to do, and I don’t have time to do any carving. What you need is a nice boy or girl to carve you. There might be one or two still left at the other end of the field. The sun isn’t down yet, and many people look all the way until it is dark.”

“Thank you friend Scarecrow,” said Mirabel. “We’ll go see what is at the other end of the field.”

And off they went, up and down, and all around, until they reached the other end of the field. There they found a crow.

A Note on the cover art: I drew the cover and used GIMP to complete the project. My husband, Keith, helped with final touches. The drawing of Pumper was developed when I was 10. Each year, I would carve him from my chosen pumpkin with the same eyes and face. One year I got creative and used paper to create his facial features. He lasted until Thanksgiving that way. Now Pumper will live forever in this Halloween Tale.

**Pumper the Pumpkin is available as an ebook at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.

Oct16

A Haunting Tale For Halloween Reading

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Haunting at Heidelburgh Mansion by Tracy Marchini

October is the time to get into a Halloween mood. Haunting At Heidelburgh Mansion is a great short story that includes characters from the “Hot Ticket” children’s series by Tracy Marchini. Juliet is the odd ball at her school, bullied by the most popular kids. She manages to get through the sixth grade with her good friend, Lucy. Like most kids at this time of year, they are trying to figure what to do on Halloween.

Trick or treating is for little kids, and Juliet isn’t invited to the big Halloween party given by her nemesis Cindy Newsome. Only thing left to do is crash the party. After all, it plans to be the coolest party in town, given at a supposedly real haunted mansion. But when Juliet finds out that the ghost in the mansion is real, they have a most unusual request. And of course, it’s the only way to help rescue her friend, Lucy.

I think this short story is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit. If you want a good read that gives the feel of a Scooby-Doo mystery, this is a story for you. There is even a sneak peek of the first book in the “Hot Ticket” series at the end of the short story. For 99 cents, it’s a great ebook to begin getting into the Halloween mindset. It’s definitely a “Hot Ticket” read.

**** 4 Star Rating
Available at Smashwords.com and Amazon.com.

Link to the “Hot Ticket” series by Tracy Marchini on Amazon.com.

Oct24

The Season for Good Ghost Stories

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Halloween is the season for a good ghost story. I’ve been remembering the days of sitting around a campfire telling tales of ghost hitchhikers and mysterious experiences. How many of you have heard about the guy that picks up a hitchhiker near a cemetery, only to have them disappear from the back seat when reaching the destination? Or the girl with the red ribbon around her neck that doesn’t reveal why it can’t be removed until her husband finally pushes for an answer?

If you’re looking for a good story or two to tell your friends, here are some of the ones I remember best to share. They are some of the good classic ghost stories I remember from back in my day as a kid. Maybe you can share them with your family.

I think one of the spookiest ghost stories is an interactive story that has to be experienced. There are many a slumber party where this was tried. Often, my friends and I scared ourselves in the process. It begins with the legend that if you look in a mirror in complete darkness and say the words “Bloody Mary” three times, the ghost of some murdered girl with a bloody face is suppose to appear.

Did her face ever appear when my friends, giggling wildly, gazed into the bathroom mirror? Um, no. But just the legend and trying it seems to be a good spook, especially at this time of year. Who can say? Maybe it’s actually worked for others, but never me.

Another good story I’ve heard a few times is the hitchhiking ghost. Mostly it’s told around camp fires or in the dark at a slumber party by flashlight. If you want to make it extra spooky, make the setting be more near your current location. Somewhere nearby locations are great for the pick-up point of the ghost.

The legendary story goes like this: A lone driver goes past a spooky location in the middle of the night. They see a hitchhiker, and feel sorry for them. A description of the hiker like dripping wet in dry weather or looking especially white on a warm night could be a good addition to build suspense.

The driver picks up the mysterious hitchhiker. A lot of the time as they talk, it is revealed that some clue, their name or what they were doing is revealed. Next, upon arrival, the hitchhiker has disappeared. The driver, thinking they got out without seeing, goes to the door to check on them. The people in the house are shocked to hear the name of the hitchhiker. The mysterious rider usually has the name of someone who died earlier. Boo.

Lastly, here’s a great spooky story that has so many variations, you could add your own twist to it. A young girl marries a man. She always wears a red ribbon around her neck. Her husband is always curious about the ribbon, and continuously asks her to take it off. She tells him no. There can be several times through their life that he tries. Sometimes they are newly weds where he asks all week. Sometimes he asks her whole life and asks when she’s an old lady. You can always add your own twist. In the end, she gives in and takes off the ribbon. When she does, her head rolls off her shoulders onto the floor. Boo.

Hopefully, this will be a great way to get your ghost stories going during this time of year. Always if someone has heard the story before, let them know it’s a new version or your own version. You could surprise them, or maybe they can add to the story. Enjoy yourself, and have a fantastic, spooky Halloween! Happy Halloween to all my readers and boo!

Link to the Tiffany Turner Website to try out your own Spooky Writing Project.