Editable Student Assignment Sheets

Below, write “technical” terms about ghosts that are new to you. What does each mean?

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Ghost Tour Dictionary

Scare-O-Meter

Keep a log of the places you visit on the tour and, after you complete each stop, rate it for how scary it is on the Scare-O-Meter below. It’s all subjective, of course, this is your personal opinion about how these stops measure up to your expectations. But some are more effective at creating that eerie mood than others.

So, be warned … Mwaaahahahah!

Scare-O-MeterMark where each stop rates for you, five being the scariest.

5

4

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1

First Stop: Ghostly Explanations 

http://www.deathreference.com/En-Gh/Ghosts.html#b

Scroll down and begin reading at "Encounters with Ghosts." 

1. What are some main distinctions between poltergeists, felt ghosts, dream ghosts, demonic ghosts, conjured ghosts?

2. Now, scroll down to the photograph dated c. 1910. What’s a question that this photograph brings to mind?

3. Skim through the rest of the page; stopping to read closely if there’s something that particularly interests you. Once you’re finished, complete your reflection below plus the scare-o-meter, and move on. If you dare.

4. Turn and look at a person sitting next to you. If you had to choose a type of ghost for that person to hunt, which type would you choose?

5. Reflections: What conclusions can you draw from this site?

6. Why?

Move on to the next stop on our ghost tour.

“Yesterday upon the stair I met a man who wasn't thereHe wasn't there again todayOh, how I wish he'd go away.” ~ Hughes Mearns

Learning Targets 1) I can apply the skill of scanning (briefly look through a text for content, format, etc.), 2) I can apply the skill of skimming (examining the content, text features, the layout, and then read the highlights), and then, 3) I can read and analyze selected sections of the nonfiction pieces that follow.

Some of these pieces are rather lengthy, so be sure to follow the process in your

learning targets.

Second Stop: Conducting a Ghost Hunt

http://www.wikihow.com/Conduct-a-Ghost-Hunt

(Watch out for ads on this page. Careful not to click one.)

Skim through the web site and read the headings.

1. Write a brief summary presenting an overview of the most important information about conducting a ghost hunt.

2. Have you ever been on a ghost hunt or tour? ________

3. If so, describe your experience.

4. If not, would you ever go on a ghost hunt? ______________ Why or why not? Explain your thinking.

Move on to the next stop on our

ghost tour.

Third Stop: The Winchester House http://winchestermysteryhouse.com/sightings.cfm

Visit the stairs that go nowhere, the miles of twisted hallways, and secret passageways. More than one hundred rooms that defy the imagination. Dare to go! Now!

1. Start by reading the sightings (on the page entitled “Sightings”). Skim through the accounts. Choose one to read.

What is your opinion of this account?

2. Click on some of the other rooms (e.g., the Thirteenth Bathroom, the Séance Room, and skim through the accounts. Read a few you find interesting. Which room seems the scariest to you?

Why?

3. Skim through the website and write down two interesting facts. (Remember, a fact is indisputable, something that cannot be argued. If a statement can be argued, it is an opinion.)

(1)

(2)

Move on to the next stop on our

ghost tour.

Ready for your fourth stop? This one is short, but

intense. Click here for a brief tour and listen to an EVP

tape from the … Fourth Stop:

Spirits of LaGrange Ghost Tour http://www.discoverlagrange.org/spiritsoflagrange.html

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page and listen to the EVP recording of their ghost encounter. What did the ghost allegedly say?

2. What’s your first impression of the EVP tape?

3. What does the acronym “EVP” stand for?

4. What are some questions raised by this tape?

Move on to the next stop on our ghost tour.

Fifth Stop: Waverly Hills Sanatorium

http://www.waverlyhills.net/haunting.php The hospital at Waverly Hills is considered to be one of the most haunted buildings in the world. You’ll be taken to the “Haunting” page where you will find: an EVP, Enter the sanatorium and hope you do get locked in. ;)

1. What words does the voice utter in the EVP video?

2. Toward the bottom of the “Hauntings” page, you will find why the sanatorium was, in 1982, closed down. What was the reason?

3. The final three paragraphs on that page includes witness accounts of hauntings and disturbances. Which do you find the most frightening – or the most interesting?

4. Click on “Urban Legends” – what is one of the legends about?

5. Next for photos, click here: Trip.Advisor Photos of Waverly . Or, enter their URL: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g39604- d1524185-Reviews-Waverly_Hills_Sanatorium-Louisville_Kentucky.html

6. Ghost-Investigators - Waverly Hills (Just the first page, the links take you to other “top haunted places” in Kentucky. (Interesting on its own, but ….)http://www.ghost-investigators.com/Stories/view_story.php?story_num=27

Maybe you can visit one day, and check out room 502 for yourself

– but stay away from the death tunnel!

Careful not to click on the links in the text section. They take you off the site.

Sixth Stop: So glad to see you made it back safely. Close call! 

Take a few minutes to study photos of allegedly "real" ghosts. See which ones you think are creepy, fake, or even plausible (seems reasonable, even probable).

Ghostly Photos Stop OneClick picture at right or use URL below.

http://ghostsofearth.com/scary-ghost-pictures.html

Ghostly Photos Stop TwoClick picture or use URL below.http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/

1. Which photo is most plausible and why?

2. Which photo is least believable and why?

3. Which photo is your favorite and why?

Seventh Stop: The New England Society for Psychic ResearchThe Amityville Horror

Check out the story behind the movie thus entitled. Read and determine if it is real or a hoax – you decide!

http://www.warrens.net/Amityville.html

1. Have you seen any movie version of the Amityville Horror story? Read the book? If so, which one/s?

2. So, what do you think? Real or hoax?

3. Justify your position with textual evidence.

James Randi Educational Foundation’s One Million Dollar Challenge

to “Psychics”http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html

Forbes Magazine’s Where to Get Spookedhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/bethgreenfield/2011/10/12/haunted-ghost-tours-where-to-get-spooked/

Peruse the top 12 places for ghost tours, in person - not virtual tours, that is. Where would you prefer to go and why? _________________________________________________________________________________

Describe the challenge.__________________________________________________________________

Has anyone ever won the challenge before? If so, who?___________________________________________________________________________

Eighth Stop: Choose Your Ultimate Ghost Tour Destination and Learn about the One-Million-Dollar

Challenge

Aficionado - a person who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a topic – dictionary.com

True ghost story aficionados are familiar with the mastery of H.P. Lovecraft. He is famous for being one of the greatest horror writers. Stephen King referred to him as “the twentieth century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.”

Lovecraft’s language takes some work and time to get used to (it’s so worth it, though), therefore you might want to start with one of his excellent but shorter stories - “The Outsiders,” “Colour Out of Space,” or “From Beyond.” Get started by scanning and skimming, to see which story you might like. Then find one that seems interesting to you and start reading. You may read the rest at home … in the darkness … all by yourself. Now that’s how to read a scary story! We’ll decide the logistics of that later. Right now – just pick a story.

1. National Geographic Ghost Tour Video (1.5 hrs.)

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/inside-secret-america/videos/the-ghost-meter-pro/

Ninth and Final Stop: British Writer, H.P. Lovecraft

http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/fiction/

Fiction Genre