Saint John storyteller pens book of ghost stories
If anyone in Saint John knows how to tell a good ghost story, it's local storytelling legend David Goss, who has spent over four decades perfecting his craft and collecting terrifying tales from all over New Brunswick along the way.
Now, Goss, who is well-known around the city for his popular "Walk n' Talks," has written and published a book which shows readers how they, too, can sell a spooky story to an audience.
"I wanted to share with people the way I've gone about doing ghost stories, so these are my secrets, these are how I've made the stories work," says Goss.
"I've taken the stories and made them so that anybody who wants to share them with their children, or grandchildren or around the campfire, can take this story and realize 'I just have to localize this story, I just have to do it in my own words and I can be successful with this."
One of his tried and true tips that's sure to send shivers down someone's spine is to use the element of surprise.
"You have to have something in the story at the end of the story that they're not expecting," says Goss, "and at the very end of the story, the story takes a bit of a twist and gives people a bit of a scare."
For even more scares, he says that props can be very important – in the book there's a story about Lady LaTour of Fort La Tour, who has been asked to keep the hand of one of her men who have died – and once a year, on his birthday – to kiss it.
"So, when Lynn Adams does the story for me, she has the hand in a basket, and nobody sees the hand until the very end," says Goss, "then she reaches into the basket – and says this is the day I have to kiss the hand – she pulls it out – gives it a kiss and throws it out."
The book is available at Coles, Indigo and the Great Canadian Dollar Store.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
BREAKING London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.