For Key Stage Three and above....
By the time young people get to this stage they have a tendency to think they`re too hard or too cool for stories.
They`re wrong. (Or more likely they`re lying!)
The emphasis in John`s work at this stage tends towards the spookier / urban legend kind of story because these are precisely the kind of stories teenagers still love to listen to, and love to tell.
They`re also a very useful way of approaching other areas pupils and students need to consider:
Gothic tales like Frankenstein and Dracula and ghost stories such as The Woman in Black are often on exam syllabuses, but do your pupils and students really understand the difference between a ghost story and a horror story?
And they're an excellent starting point for consideration of a wider range of topics: attitudes towards others; belief; the nature of truth and the way in which it can be manipulated and distorted accidentally, and a lot more....
Oh - and did we mention they`re also great fun?
We promise - they will love these:
Beowulf and Grendel
An atmospheric (and wonderfully gory!) retelling of one of the oldest stories in the English language. It's the basis of John's book 'The Geat' but not a reading or recital of the book in any way - it's a live and engrossing retelling which is different every time but which always leaves audiences (children and adults) breathless at the end!
(Please note that to do this justice for KS3 and upwards the session really needs to be 80 minutes.)
The Vanishing Hitch-Hiker
Urban legends are the stories you`ve heard from friends who assure you they`re true because they heard them from a friend who heard them from a friend of a friend........ you get the idea. They go from strange to hysterically funny to spooky and then downright gruesome. They are also the kind of stories kids hear (and tell!) at sleepovers and as such are a great way of getting the apparently disaffected back into the idea of listening, reading and telling stories.
Creepy Crawlers
A strange collection of stories from around the world in which human beings encounter the spirit world. From the native american princess who found she`d taken on more then she bargained for when she finally married, to the yorkshire nurse who ended her career with the strangest of jobs, these stories have been told from generation to generation with such conviction that we can only assume there must be some truth to them somewhere......
Spooky Stories
These stories are part of a modern oral tradition, having been collected by John over the last 30 years or so, usually from the very people they happened to. Having questioned his sources rigorously John is as sure as he can be that each of these is as true as any story can be. You may not find them frightening at the time, but the next time you`re alone in the house and it`s dark outside...
The Geographical Gazeteer
A collection of folk tales, legends, ghost tales and curiosities from your own part of the world. Did you know, for example, that the Bogles referred to in Harry Potter stories are actually from East Anglia? Or that Cormorants have a particular significance in Lincolnshire?
(Please bear in mind that it helps to book this well in advance so that John has time to prepare and do any extra research that might be necessary.)
Can't see what you're looking for?
If you've got a particular need / request / idea / suggestion please do email John - he'll do all he can to answer your questions and come up with just what you need, but if you don't ask you don't get!