Oral tradition British folktale
A chilling - and very short - story.
Story
Someone who believes they are alone in the house goes to sleep in a dark room and has a ghostly encounter in the middle of the night.
Why we chose it
A short but chilling ghost story and a great example of how powerful a very short story can be - and how much narrative can be contained in very few words. It is very popular with primary school children.
Where it came from
A British folktale that may be the shortest of all short stories.
Where it went next
It is included in Kevin Crossley Holland’s Between Worlds: Folktales of Britain and Ireland and in his book of very short stories, Short.
Associated stories
Ghost stories are found all over the world in traditional tales and in stories and novels. Popular ghost stories include Chris Riddell’s Goth Girl series and, for teenage readers, Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co series.
Oral tradition British folktale