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Tuesday, March 19
The Indiana Daily Student

Bloomington Storytellers prepare for spooky night at Bryan Park

entGhostStories

By Sanya Ali

The Bloomington Storytellers Guild will host their annual Festival of Ghost Stories on Friday from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The festival will take place in Bryan Park, a venue Storytellers Guild Coordinator Ginny Richey said she thinks will provide the perfect atmosphere for chilling tales.

“When you’re out in the cold in the dark, sitting on the ground in the park, it just gives it atmosphere,” Richey said.

Richey, who has attended the event since 1974, said the festival usually takes on a musicality of its own as all of the participants take turns sharing their scary and spooky ghost stories.

“What you can expect is a consort of tellers,” Richey said. “One voice and then another voice. Each person will have prepared and bring a different sort of story, so we have a good variety this year.”

Most of the audience will be sitting along the Hillside of Bryan Park, watching the performers deliver their ?stories.

A new addition to the event this year is the musical interlude, about which Richey said she is excited.

Stephanie Holman, children’s librarian at the Monroe County Public Library and event coordinator, said she has attended the festival and feels a sense of relaxation hearing the story, if only for a moment.

“I love sitting back or laying on the ground and looking at the stars while the stories waft over me,” Holman said. “But sometimes the tales get pretty scary, and I have to sit up and make sure nothing is sneaking up on me.”

Richey said the process of excavating a story to tell at the festival is one of her favorite parts, though each aspect of the process ?contributes to her enjoyment.

“I think, as a storyteller, there are a lot of different things that are very exciting,” Richey said. “Are you gonna go with a local legend, like ‘If you go out to the cemetery at night ...’ where you can actually connect it to a real place?”

The alternative of using older stories is equally as exciting, Richey said, since older, lesser-told stories can contribute to newer ideas about what can be scary.

“Maybe I’m going to find a story that somebody hasn’t told for 100 years in a book,” Richey said. “The search for a story is just fascinating. You go all over the place.”

Holman said she looks forward to hearing the diverse array of stories told by the passionate storytellers at this year’s festival in ?the park.

“I like telling at the ?annual Festival of Ghost Stories because the people in the audience are big fans of storytelling,” Holman said. “They like hearing the complex, intriguing and bizarre stories we choose for this night.”

Richey said she also enjoys being a listener and following along as her fellow tellers take the stage.

“Suddenly, you’re sucked into that story,” Richey said. “You’re entranced: your imagination takes over and you’re going, ‘I don’t want to walk home in the dark tonight.’”

Richey said what can be considered truly scary is very personal.

She shared that, one year, she heard a story she did not consider too scary but scarred her daughter, who abstained from attending subsequent festivals for years.

She said, however, some things can be considered universally frightening.

“It’s something that taps into one of those primal fears,” Richey said. “It’s dark, you’re out of control, something’s happening. You don’t know quite what it is, but it isn’t normal. That whole feeling of helplessness that feeds into the ?sacredness.”

Richey shared memories of her experience with the Girl Scouts — how there was a similar fear as they told stories around the campfire.

There was a feeling, Richey said, that the story could somehow come ?to life.

This feeling is one she hopes carries on to the ?festival.

Nowadays, the event coordinators at the guild partner with the Monroe County Public Library and the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.

Each partner, Richey said, contributes something different to the event at large.

“Parks and Recreation usually has a little stand with hot cider up on the hill away from the teller, so if you get really cold, you can slip up there and get some nice warm cider, even just to hold to keep your hands warm,” Richey said.

The weather predictions for Friday are favorable, and Richey said keeping warm is a necessity to fully enjoy the experience.

“You should bring a chair, a blanket, dress really warmly and bring a friend so you can cuddle together under the blanket,” Richey said.

In the event of inclement weather, Richey said the reception will move to the Ellettsville Branch of the Monroe County library.

The storytellers do not advise bringing young children to the event because, though some may enjoy the stories, some of the content may not be suitable for all audiences.

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