The sun creeped down the sky in Bryan Park as winter -coat-wearing crowds huddled together, scooting lawn chairs closer as the first storyteller took the stage.
Bloomington Storytellers Guild hosted the 50th anniversary of the Festival of Ghost Stories on Friday night in Bryan Park. The festival included nine stories told by both past and current guild members, featuring Stephanie Holman, a former member who now lives out of state, as a special guest. Performances blended folk music, storytelling and group singing to send shivers down the audience’s spines.
BSG was founded in 1975 by a group of librarians looking to celebrate the art of storytelling and bring storytellers together.
“We were librarians, and we worked with children, and we told stories endlessly,” Ginny Richey, a BSG founder, said. “Storytelling became one of the major tools of our job.”
BSG began meeting in living rooms, shifted to churches and finally settled in the Monroe County Public Library. It holds meetings monthly to share and discuss new stories.
Christina Jones, a guild member and head of the Education Library at Indiana University, said her start in storytelling originated from her love of theater.
“In storytelling, you have to talk to people and kind of respond in real time to how they're listening and responding to me,” Jones said. “I felt a little vulnerable, but then I got addicted to it.”
Jones was the first storyteller of the night, warming up the audience with “Wicked Jack,” an origin story of the jack-o-lantern. She said for members of the audience, being on the receiving end of the storytelling provides a unique experience, one that feels close and personal.
“What we give the community is permission to just sit and listen in a way that they're not used to listening,” Jones said. “When you're in person, hearing the same story at the same time and responding to it, it gives people a communal experience.”
David Matlack, guild member and biology professor at IU, agreed.
"Storytelling is very heart to heart, you pick up the vibe of the group, and you can actually feel them,” he said.
Matlack told the story “Mr. Fox,” a cautionary tale about bravery, faulty perceptions and things being too good to be true.
“It's an entertaining way to touch people’s hearts, make them think, and you’re kind of keeping an ancient folk art alive,” Matlack said.
Richey said there’s an art to storytelling.
“You need a strong opening that you are confident about,” Richey said. “You need it to catch the audience's attention right away.”
She said BSG members value the art of storytelling for its ability to unite communities and even teach interpersonal skills.
“We worry sometimes about people developing empathy for others,” Richey said. “Storytelling helps particularly young people think about somebody else’s response and develop those compassion muscles.”
The next BSG meeting is scheduled for 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Monroe County Public Library. The group’s next big event is the Winter Telling Event at 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Monroe County Public Library auditorium. More information on guild events and activities can be found on its website.
