https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v To help explain why ghost stories scare yet entice us, I have collected professional resources for everyone to read and watch. en-us 2023-06-10 22:16:29 UTC 2026-01-19 21:37:43 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f383.png olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2619997058 This news article by Eric Lindberg from USC will help serve as an introduction to students on why people get thrills and chills on Halloween, and why we are fascinated by tales of the dark. This article is meant to provide an expert's insight into the reaction people have to horror, from the body, and from the mind, but also the cultural diversity of horror is unique, and the life lessons that can come from such a grim tale can have on people. The guiding questions from this article would be things such as: What do you feel from scary stories? Is there any life lesson to be gleaned from scary stories, or are they just stories meant to entertain?]]> 2023-06-10 22:26:45 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2619997058 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2619997925 This article by Haiyang Yang and Kuangjie Zhang delves into the psychology of what it is about the horror genre that makes us scared or in love with it. They suggest three different interpretations of why we do (or don't): One reason is to experience stimulation. Exposure to terrifying acts, or even the anticipation of those acts, can stimulate a person physically and mentally, either negatively, in fear or anxiety, or positively, in the form of excitement or joy. The second is to gain a novel experience, perhaps to overcome fear, or to live out an alternate reality, from zombies to aliens. The last suggestion offered is the most intriguing, that exploring horror allows humans to safely satisfy the darkness of the human psyche, via observing the different storylines actors portray serves as a character study of the human condition.
The guiding questions for this article would be: What reason do you think you fall under for horror? Do you feel attracted to a certain subgenre of horror? What subgenre of horror do you NOT enjoy? ]]> 2023-06-10 22:33:04 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2619997925 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2623680485 It doesn’t matter if a ghost is real, what does matter is the ghost story. Coya Paz, interim dean of The Theatre School at DePaul University, delves into three different categories of ghost stories and why it’s important to listen closely - because the dead want just as much from us as we want from them. Ghost stories connect people together, it could be silly, sad, or scary, so long as it connects them together. From folktales to old lore, they have an inkling of truth as they come from real history. Essential Questions: Do you know of any ghost stories from your home? Have you ever seen a ghost? Has a family member? Do you even believe in ghosts?]]> 2023-06-14 18:17:47 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2623680485 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2624882362 One of the most iconic poems by Edgar Allen Poe, it describes an unnamed man who is going through grief having lost his love, Lenore. As the man mourns, he hears strange noises: tapping, a raven that talks to him, and his own whisper speaking back to him. He goes through a night of madness as he longs for silence and to be left alone, until he finally ends the night with overcoming his grief.
The questions for this poem would be: Does the poem end the way you expected it to? Is Lenore represented by the Raven, or is it the main character's mind? How is the main character's insanity explored in the poem?

]]> 2023-06-15 22:11:56 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2624882362 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2624882631 This poem by Louise Glück would be delivered as a means to show how Halloween can inspire unique works of poetry. Seemingly innocent and a little bit spooky, the poem describes a landscape, a farm at night, with a field that's barren. After the wife calls out to someone, a soul creeps out of the trees.
The guiding questions for the poem would be: Is the soul that left the tree a person, or is it a ghost? How would you describe all Hallows Eve with this poem?]]> 2023-06-15 22:12:59 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2624882631 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2624889390 This small graphic web novel created by Em Carrol is intended to be the first piece to present to the class. A story of two brothers who go and hunt a monster that has been terrorizing their village, where they successfully kill the monster, and the more perfect brother was killed by his own brother. After framing it as the beast and being hailed as a hero for some days... His brother returns from the woods, unharmed, and joyful, embarrassed at getting lost. And no one questions it, except the brother, who knows very well that his brother is dead. The guiding questions for this web novel would be: Is that really the brother? What is the significance of digging holes? Does the ending have any real meaning? ]]> 2023-06-15 22:33:15 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2624889390 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2625705877 One of Edgar Allen Poe's most known works, the Tell-Tale Heart, tells a story of an unnamed man who addresses the audience that although he's overly nervous, he is not mad. He was caring for an old man, but he was afraid of his one pale eye, and every night he would check to see if that eye was closed. One night, the old man woke up and hearing the heart pound made the man think the neighbor would hear it, so he killed the old man and hid his heart under the floorboards. When the police looked into the old man's passing, he was going to get away with it, until he heard the heart beat, and began to feel paranoid that the police could hear it and then he drastically exposed where the heart was.
The guiding questions for this short story would be: How does the narrator feel immediately after he commits the murder?  Do his feelings change after the killing? Is his nervousness madness? Do you feel like the narrator is a reliable narrator?

]]> 2023-06-16 18:10:51 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2625705877 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2625777880 Taking a look into one of the most famous horror icons, in pop culture and in myth, vampires are all about mystique and intrigue. While the most famous of all vampires is Count Dracula of Romania, he comes from history as inspiration by Vlad Dracul, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler. The article discusses the historical origins that Vlad the Impaler that connects him to the fictional character.
The guiding questions for the article would be: What other historical figures merged into Halloween? Do you believe that because Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula are Romanian, it creates a stereotype for Romania? ]]> 2023-06-16 22:04:54 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2625777880 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2632728017 This YouTube Channel, Mythology & Fiction, delves into the historical origins of Halloween (or known as All Hallows Eve), and how this holiday has grown from the superstition of dressing up to protect themselves from evil spirits to what is known as today. From the holiday itself, to Trick-or-Treating, and to the iconic Jack-o-Lantern, and more, Halloween has undergone a change.
Essential Questions: Did you know that Halloween has religious origins? How do you feel about the commercialism of Halloween now?]]> 2023-06-26 19:00:09 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2632728017 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2632733692 A Will-O'-The-Whisp has two meanings: in literature, a Will-O'-The-Whisp is meant as metaphorically referring to a hope or goal that leads one on, but is impossible to reach, or something one finds strange or sinister. In folklore, it's an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes,  said to mislead travelers by resembling a flickering lamp or lantern. In his poem, Madison Julius Cawein sets a spooky scene of an unnamed individual getting lured into the night... Essential Questions: What is the scene Cawein is showing to us? What is the meaning of the phrase at the end of the poem "the face of me"?]]> 2023-06-26 19:14:36 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2632733692 olivianixsifuentes https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2632743683 Mathias Clasen is a researcher in horror media and has spent years getting to the bottom of the paradox of horror: Why do people seek out the kind of entertainment that’s designed to make them feel bad? Drawing from research on human cognition and evolution, Mathias argues that our appetite for horror and our fascination with monsters run deep in our nature. Horror entertainment serves important functions for us by satisfying a deep-seated need for imaginative experiences with scenarios of danger. Essential Questions: What kind of horror media do you enjoy most: movies, books, games, or real-life, but controlled scares? Is there any horror media you choose not to consume?]]> 2023-06-26 19:38:29 UTC https://padlet.com/olivianixsifuentes/61q32up1pnk2mi7v/wish/2632743683