Ghost story; Gothic novel setting as character Dickens

This animated Power Point resource tells a ghost story in the Gothic tradition. It is set in a grave-yard at midnight and uses such devices as owls hooting, wind howling and trees scratching against the window panes of a creepy church in order to make your blood run cold.Students are encouraged to see setting as character within the tale.The story is one of tragic loss: William Blythe is one of the thousands of young boys who lost their lives in a corner of a foreign field during the Great War. Sarah, his sister, remembers a happier time when they played as children on a warm summer’s day.
Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is included as reference to a Victorian novel which could be classed as a famous ghost story and the character of Scrooge is brought to life with descriptive writing.Images are included of ghostly hands and tree silhouettes which could be used to inspire discussion and independent learning.
This resource could be used to inspire creative writing or as a means to revise devices used by authors to create a ghostly atmosphere. The story reveals that William lost his life at Passchendaele and could be used to support studies of the effects of war on the family members left behind. As we look back over a hundred years of history, we are reminded of the sense of loss felt by the wider family left at home. Sarah is subjected to some of the same horrors that her brother would have endured on the battlefield.Opportunities for further reading and study are given. This resource could be used to support the study of novels by Dickens, Mary Shelley or Edgar Allan Poe.
Suitable for ages 10+