The power of friendship triumphs over even the most cackly of witches in Reece Carter’s exciting new ghost story, A Girl Called Corpse. Teen Breathe had a chat with the author about how this tale of a lonely girl ghost on a quest to escape her island (and the cruel witches on it!) came to be…
What inspired you to start writing A Girl Called Corpse?
It’s a funny story because at first, I was convinced Corpse was haunting my roof. The manhole in the ceiling of my bedroom kept popping ajar (for no reason!), and I imagined there to be a kid ghost made of wax up there. I decided to write her a story, and here we are! Of course, in the book, it’s the roof of a Witches’ shack that she haunts.
How did you ‘build’ Corpse, what kicked off her appearance and personality?
When I first imagined her, she had buttons for eyes, a mophead for hair and spiders’ legs for eyelashes. That all changed, though, when I decided to set the book by the ocean. I asked myself what kinds of things Corpse would be able to find roaming the tide pools, and ‘built’ her from those. I also wanted her to have lots of colour – which explains the shiny blue abalone shells for eyes, and bright green seaweed for hair! (Also, as soon as I gave her a huntsman spider for a sidekick, I knew I couldn’t keep her eyelashes as spiders’ legs. That would just be way too cruel!)
In terms of Corpse’s personality, that came right at the start. I knew she was lonely, and that she was missing somebody. I also knew that she had survived a long time on the rock-that-doesn’t-exist. All I had to ask myself was what that would do to a person, and I came up with the self-sufficient, clever, entirely stubborn kid that she is! Of course, she’s also got a heart of gold, and we see that in the way she treats Simon – and, eventually, Girl.
I loved little Simon, it was so cute to make him a huntsman spider. And the weresquid is hilarious! How did you come up with those ideas?
Aww – don’t tell the others, but Simon is my favourite! Interestingly, though, he wasn’t part of my original plan for the story. Since Corpse is lonely on the rock-that-doesn’t-exist, I didn’t think to give her a friend (rude of me, I know) and it was only once I was about five or six chapters into writing it that I realised ‘Hang on, she needs somebody to talk to’, and that somebody was Simon. I grew up in an old farmhouse, where there were huntsman spiders in every corner, and so I thought he would be type of critter Corpse might have met haunting her roof.
As for Mister McKraken, the weresquid, he sort of evolved as the drafting process progressed. I didn’t plan on bringing him back after Corpse’s first run-in with him, and I never imagined he would be a big part of the story until I got to writing the final chapters and had an ‘ah-ha!’ moment. That’s when I turned him into a fully-fledged character – as well as when I came up with the word ‘weresquid’!
Why do you think do ghost stories fascinate us so much?
Such a great question! I think it comes down to exploring our fears. Let’s face it: there’s not much scarier than the idea of death.
In real life, we (very fairly) avoid situations that spook us out, but ghost stories give us a chance to experience and explore what scares us in a way that’s safe, because the ghosts and ghouls stay trapped inside the pages where they belong!
Do you have a favourite ghost story?
Is it a stretch to call The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, a ghost story? It’s my favourite book of all time, in which a boy who loses his parents is raised in a cemetery by its resident ghosts. In it, the ghosts are the friendly ones, and they protect the boy from the man who killed his parents. It’s a fun switch of the roles you usually see in a ghost story: the ghosts are the good guys, and it’s the living that our hero needs to worry about. If you haven’t checked it out yet, do.
What are the most important elements of an effective creepy story, one that sends shivers down our spines and sticks in our memories?
Are you asking for my story recipe? Okay… I’ll share it. But don’t tell anyone.
The creepiest stories tap into readers’ (or listeners’, if it’s being read aloud) existing fears, like spiders or the dark; or else they take something that shouldn’t be scary, and then tweak it until it is – think dolls that move, walk and talk; or clowns with row-after-row of razor-sharp teeth. The familiar is often just as scary as (or maybe even scarier than) the fantastical, and good scary stories play into that.
The other thing that good spooky stories do well is tension. There should be lots of obscured details and cliff-hanger moments in a ghost story. That tension heightens fear, gets us on the edges of our seats, and floods our veins with adrenaline. Then… BOO!
What advice would you give to readers about the best way to think out of the box, creatively speaking?
I think we’re all innately very creative, and so we all have plenty of ideas, but the challenge is learning to trust them. When I first started writing, I didn’t think that I was good enough to take my weirdest and most out-of-the-box ideas and turn them into stories, so I stuck to things that I’d seen before or that felt safe. The result was never very good. But writing terrible stories is an essential part of eventually writing good stories, so my advice would be to practice, practice, practice. The more confident you become as a writer, the more you’ll learn to trust your zaniest ideas!
The power of friendship, not judging a book by its cover, asking for help when you need it… Little Corpse and her friends deal with many important themes. What are you hoping readers take from Corpse and her friends’ adventures?
I really hope that, when readers turn the very last page of A Girl Called Corpse, they’re left with a sense of hope, and a gentle reminder that, even in darkness, friendships and love can give us a place to belong where we are safe.
Reece’s spooky faves
- Halloween costume: My favourite outfit ever wasn’t spooky at all, but it was very fun. I fulfilled a childhood dream and dressed as the red Power Ranger.
- Spooky song: ‘It would have to be I Put a Spell on You by Better Midler in the film Hocus Pocus. I was obsessed with that movie as a kid, and I’m so excited for the sequel.
- Fave iconic witches: It’s a tie between Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus and Ursula the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid. Both for the same reason: they’re deliciously evil, and they can sing!
- Books/authors: Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book is my favourite book of all time. I also loved Roald Dahl books. The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, and Matilda all strike a wonderful balance of whimsical, ‘cosy’ and ‘dark’.
A Girl Called Corpse (published by Allen & Unwin) is available from 5 October 2022.
