Narrative Writing Prompt - The Haunted House
This narrative writing prompt is sure to engage the curiosity of your students during writing in English. Children love a good, scary story! Now they have the chance to write one themselves. Will their stories from the perspective of a scared protagonist who is trying to retrieve something from a haunted house? Perhaps the main character has been dared to go into a haunted house? Maybe the main character is someone living inside of the haunted house, a lost soul from the past? There are copious amounts of ideas that can come from this story writing prompt. Encourage your students to end their scary story with a twist! It’s the perfect writing prompt for it.
Story Starter
Sarah stood on the overgrown lawn, grass tickling her knees and weeds grabbing at her scuffed Converse. The house loomed over her, casting a dark shadow over her small face. The house seemed to sway in the summer nights breeze, all of its rotting features humming with content. It’s alive; she thought, and nobody could change her mind about that. Sarah breathed in deeply, the air catching down her throat. She choked and doubled over coughing. When it was over after what felt like forever, she darted her eyes praying that nothing had heard her. Her head swivelled from left to right, the dark street etching down either side in suburban houses all identical, the only light, the flickering of the dimly lit streetlamps. She sighed softly, letting out puff of air.
Narrative Writing Example
This narrative writing example will have your students on the edge of their seat. Sarah begins her short adventure by standing in front of a haunted house. The author uses descriptive language perfectly to set the scene and keeps the reader engaged throughout. It’s an excellent story to show your students. Get them highlight 3-4 descriptive sentences that they might want to use in their writing. Also, get them to identify any figurative language, such as metaphors and personification. If they can identify figurative language, they’re more likely to use it in their own writing.
Writing Tip
Remember to ‘show don’t tell’ when you’re writing. Instead of writing “Tom was cold”, write “A cold breeze ran down Tom’s spine and shivers engulfed his aching body”. This way, readers are able to create vivid images in their mind and make the inference that Tom is cold. If you use this writing strategic throughout your text, your writing will be more engaging for readers!
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