text; anon

[polterguide]

[it's the middle of the night when an image is posted to the network from someone who has chosen to be anonymous]

so how would you choose to be spooky?

[in a world where halloween doesn't exist but ghosts do, you can talk about hauntings whenever you want! nobody can stop you or judge you!]

Comments

text; un: stargazer

[leicesters]

I'd tap people on the shoulder, and when they turned around, there would be NO ONE THERE. Bone-chilling stuff.

... Or just annoying. Either way, I'd have fun.

anon;

[polterguide]

i mean i've definitely met people who find being touched by something they can't see to be incredibly terrifying. tends to make them paranoid, y'know?

but if they can get the vibe you're not malicious maybe it'd be more annoying than spooky, yeah

text; un: Linneus

[inaurare]

Such a question...! I'm not sure I would be entirely convincing being spooky. Though this is the sort of thing that means different things to different people.

What is 'spooky' to you?

[polterguide]

[There's really only one way to answer this question, as an American born in the '90s.]

capitalism.

text; un: manslayer

[hitokiri]

haunt my enemies until they die

anon still;

[polterguide]

okay, but what are you gonna do after THEY die? them dying might not be enough to put your soul to rest so you're gonna have to find another way to be spooky

text; un: anonymous

[corruptedsave]

[Because this is something they have considered, but they don't want anyone they know to know about it.]

Stand, while covered in blood, in the doorway with a knife.

[polterguide]

ah, very classical scare. i can appreciate it!

un: kingjj

[kingfuckboy]

but why are u trying to be spooky??

i think id try to go for some scary sounds and music tho
i think sometimes the scariest parts of movies is the sounds
leading up to a scare

anon;

[polterguide]

well statistically most ghosts are spooky because they want attention and don't have any ways to show their presence that don't frighten those living in the haunted house/apartment/whatever

but i'm more curious about what would make a haunting spooky than anything as deep as that

you're right about the music, it can really build a lot of tension, can't it?
no matter how cheap the jumpscare is

text; un: dunmer dragonborn

[fireandhoney]

I make myself transparent using magic and make ghost noises.

anon;

[polterguide]

what's your preferred kind of ghost noise?
like going ooOOOooOOoOooOo or like
screams in the distance?

text; un: naglfar

[mycaringheart]

I suppose that would depend on who I was trying to haunt, and towards what purpose.

[polterguide]

hmm
well for this scenario let's say you're just haunting them because you have an attachment to this place because of whatever significance you think would tie your soul to it
and these people have come in and started fucking it all up and redecorating
but their aesthetic choices are terrible

text; un: maou

[owarifool]

dunno about "spooky" but i've learned one of the best ways to inspire fear is to foster an image of ruthlessness, of unquestionable will to lay waste to anything before uu in the name of ur goals. make ur enemies believe u drink sake from cups made of their skulls.

text; un: RUDEBUSTER

[facebite]

drink BLOOD from their skulls and that would be sick as hell

[polterguide]

that's incredibly edgy but i guess it would be a bit of a powermove, yeah
i guess it counts as spooky
but is that all you've got?

text: hawkeye;

[custodire]

Oh, I doubt there's much to worry about there.

Apparently, I'm quite spooky enough without trying.

[polterguide]

are you one of those people who are just naturally very intimidating?
or are you just very tall

text; un: anon

[mushroomaficionado]

Well the anticipation is the most important part. You let them sense that you might appear behind them but keep out of sight until the last moment.

It makes the actual scare that much more satisfying for both parties.

[polterguide]

satisfying, huh?
i mean i guess it's better then like building up to nothing and then lulling them into a false sense of security and THEN popping up behind them.

text; un: tacobell

[itsjiaheng]

i'd just make people really unsure like
if they saw me for real
you know how like
you have floaty things in your eyes
but every time you look at them
they move
kinda like that
"did u really see me at the end of the hallway? or did u imagine that?"
"was that a person i saw standing behind me when i looked in the bathroom mirror?"

it would also be totally cool to be like
a film ghost
like maybe you have juuuuust enough influence on the physical world
to leave your impression on like 2 seconds of film
so now every ghost nerd is gonna rent this hella specific DVD
and go by frame by frame to really see if its for real
yeah that'd be heckin cool af

[polterguide]

the film ghost thing isn't a bad idea.
it'd drive people absolutely nuts.
but would it work on streaming too?

text | un: maruchan

[fujimaru]

I think it depends on who you're hoping to spook
Like me?
"OooooohhhHHHhhHHhhhh, don't forgeeeeeeet you've got COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAAAAAaaaaAAaamssssssss that will potentially determine the outcome of your whole liiiiIIIiiIIiiifeeeeee coming up"
Maybe not that dramatic
But honestly that scares me more than most monsters?

[polterguide]

i mean i think a lot of people are most scared by things that they consider real threats versus things that are just make believe.
and i know not every world has things like vampires or werewolves and the like!

i mean my world has vampires and shit and i still think my student loan debt is scarier.

Text / un; Chasseur

[resistetmords]

I don't know why I would choose to be spooky! Though I guess I can be kind of scary sometimes!

I suppose I'd just make them watch "Human Centipede"?

[polterguide]

mmm i dunno.
i feel like that falls more under "disgusting" then "spooky".
but ymmv i suppose.

text; un: mogget

[themogget]

Stare very intently at something no one else can see then run out of the room as if I'm absolutely terrified of whatever I was seeing.

[polterguide]

yeah that's pretty scary.
my roommate's cat would do that and it scared the shit out of them even when i told them there weren't any ghosts in our apartment.

text; un: ems

[unhappy]

Draw them somewhere with dim lighting by making them see someone they know, then find some way to get that person to call them while the fake is still in their sight. Or make them see someone they trust go absolutely nutters and like melt their face and make everyone start laughing around them? That could work too.

Honestly, it's easiest to freak someone out if you customize it.

[polterguide]

that's very true.
i would hope that if i get haunted by something actually intended to scare me it goes for the bespoke option.
otherwise it might just be more annoying or goofy then spooky...

people laughing at you while you're losing your shit is always pretty fucked up though.

text; un: Rider

[amakakeru]

Hm, I would put things that were left out back in their proper place while no one was around, then every few months or so I'd throw something on the floor from a high place in the middle of the night to scare them and go right back to putting things back where they belonged the next day.

Nothing harmful, just unsettling.

[polterguide]

[oh, it's horny calendar guy.]

what's your backup plan if the people you're haunting are really tidy and don't really leave things out where they don't belong tho?
would you then put things where they absolutely shouldn't be?
like idk.
putting a kid's stuffed animal in the freezer.