Who's at the Window?

Cultural origins: This story seems to be one passed around in the American folklore tradition. Beth Horner cites "American Folk Humor" as the source for this tale (106). I first heard it at a storytelling workshop taught by Carol Birch. 

Intended audience: Early Elementary (5,6,7)

Why this audience?: This is fake scary story. It has all the elements of something that will frighten their socks off, but in the end makes kids giggle and want to hear it again.This is also a great story for audience participation "white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black fingernails" is repeated 3 times and it has hand motions.

Characters:  A little boy or girl who likes to read (pick a name from the audience)
                        Mother and Father
                        A Witch (with white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black fingernails)

Scenes/Settings: A bedroom with a window

Synopsis: Begin with a question: Who loves to hear a story before they go to sleep at night? Pick someone in the audience and use their name for the story's main character. For this example it is a girl named Lucy. Lucy loves to read with her mother and father every night. "Just one more!"  And every night after they have turned out the lights and kissed Lucy on the cheek and said goodnight they leave a small crack of light shining in through the door and walk down the hall. 

Just as Lucy is about to go to sleep dreaming of all the great stories told that night she hears a "SCRATCH SCRATCH SCRATCH" at the window. Lucy sits up, runs to the window and to her surprise she sees: A WITCH! With white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black FINGERNAILS! The witch says to Lucy, "Do you know what I love to do with my long black fingernails?" "NO!" Lucy responded and runs back to bed and pulls the covers over her head.

This goes on for two more nights, with Lucy trying to explain to teachers and parents about the witch but they think it's a joke. Until finally, Lucy is resolved to confront the witch and when she does the witch slowly raises her fingers as if to strike Lucy and then, all of a sudden, runs it up and down her lips: "BBBBBB!"

Story Climaxes/High Points: The climax occurs when the little boy or girl confronts the witch and demands to know what she "loves to do with her long, black fingernails." There is, of course a giant pause as the witch waggles her bony finger at the child and then bubbles her lips with the finger.

Special Chants/Phrases: 
"Just as she was about to fall to sleep asleep she heard a scratch scratch, scratching at the window. 'Who's there?'  She ran to window, yanked it open and do you know what she saw?......A WITCH! With white, white cheeks and red, red lips and long, black FINGERNAILS! The witch said to (name), 'Do you know what I love to do with my long black fingernails?'

Bibliographic Information:

Baltuck, Naomi. (1993). Red Lips. In Crazy Gibberish (pp. 32-36). Hamden, CT: Linnet Books.

Horner, Beth. (1994). The Mischievous Girl & the Hideous Creature. In Ready-To-Tell Tales (pp. 106-109). Little Rock, AK: August House.