In Cobalt Manor

When someone claimed to have mastered the manifold techniques of Cobalt Manor, people doubted him, for understandable reasons. "There hasn't been a living person there for thirty-six years, and neither does the manor stand," they objected.
"And yet," the man said.
A series of duels convinced the world of his sincerity. Rather than resenting the opposition, he gave advice to anyone who wished to attain what he had done, which was to go to the ruin and be heedful.
A company assembled of adventurous fighters to make the attempt. After a month of resting in the field, half of them left, called by bolder deeds. In the second month, the remaining cleaned the manor's floors and walls. In the third month, those who endured their servitude became disciples and began to learn the outer techniques. In the sixth month, they began the inner techniques, the first disciple returned, and Cobalt Manor was reborn.
Finis

The Varieties of Maids

1. Clumsy
2. Hyper-competent
3. Gossipy
4. Found the body
5. Loyal
6. Saucy
7. Tyrannical
8. Naive
9. Not actually a maid
10. Flirty
11. Intelligent talking animal
12. Gambling tipster
13. Assassin
14. Unscrupulous
15. Wise in herbal remedies
16. Believes in ghosts
17. Mad scientist
18. Artificial
19. High-level
20. Engaged

Now get out your randomization method of choice. But wait! The discerning reader has already noticed most of these are mutually compatible, while the especially discerning knows all of them are, the first two most of all. Therefore randomize yourself how many traits to assign. I recommend no more than three, duplicates allowed.

An Explanation of the Selection of Monster for the Previous Story

You know, not a lot of monsters have meaningful weakness. Werewolves have silver, which is pretty impractical, and the main problem faced by mummies is that they're boring. No wonder vampires are so popular.

The Heart of Necromancy

"Blast!"
The corpse dissolved into dust while the necromancer looked on, disgusted. His servant moved to clean up the mess, barely quelling his repugnance.
"Hurry up, servant. The experiments must be resumed right away. When I have combined zombies and ghosts successfully, at last the zombost will exist, with all the insubstantiality of the ghost and the stench of the zombie! Ahahaha!"
"Yes, master." The servant worked quickly, not because of the command but because of his own inclination to spend the least possible time in the experimental chamber. Even so, he paused at the door and looked back, mumbling, "How does he afford all this? Who would pay him?"
"You fool! I heard every word. Don't you realize I'm an employee of the city in charge of freeing up cemetery space? I've been commended for my work every year! Begone!"
That was how the servant learned he had been hiding his employer's identity for no reason. I hope we all learned a little something about honesty and, more importantly, government work.
Finis

Addendum

I know the first idea you had was a ghost that turns out to be trying to give someone the wallet he dropped, but a descarifying reveal doesn't erase earlier spookiness.

Peril of the AI Ghosts

The chief engineer reported. "Our AI is better every day. We project that to continue for at least 2,500 years and no more than 5,750 years."
The board acknowledged the report and moved on to other business. The public was not so blasé when it saw the camera phone pictures of the presentation which a leaker posted. Internet analysts followed every implication to its most unreasonable but logical conclusion, and one such could not be endured.
"Better AI means worse AI ghosts!" That was the cry on message boards, imageboards, news aggregators, and livestreams. Nor did those responsible have a satisfactory answer.
"This will increase productivity."
"It's October!"
"The economy will boom."
"It's halfway over!"
"You'll see results by Christmas."
"It's Halloween soon!"
The largest Halloween demonstration of all time began, and as the vampires, witches, and horsemen holding their heads lay about with their axes in the AI development facilities, economists cried but the community-minded who bore a love for the human experience far greater and deeper than number-lust cheered.
Finis

New Ghost Era

The mood in the room was weighty, still, an elephant grown past easy handling. "Ladies. Gentlemen." The chairman did not try to relieve the seriousness. Doing so would have been futile. "The matter before us today is serious. Do we get rid of human ghosts?" The next person along the table nodded. "AI ghosts are much spookier."
The one after agreed. "Their utterances are impossible to follow but give the impression you can if you listen harder. Very spooky."
"They have the wrong number of everything. The more you stare, the worse they look."
"They don't rely on stale techniques like dripping blood or detaching their heads."
"People have started to feel bad for real ghosts instead of themselves."
All the way down the table and all the way back up, the opinion was unanimous. The decision was handed down, and soon all spirits trapped in this world were at last released from their torment to be replaced by AI ghosts. Thus shall it be forevermore.
Finis

The Difference Between Horror and Dark Fantasy

In fantasy, ghosts are hardly ever a big deal. Have you ever noticed that? OFten they're positively benign.

Happy Spooky Mayvember

People don't know about Spooky Mayvember, but they don't know ghosts are real, either. To say nothing of the vampiroids. Celebrate with some, I don't know, eat some flowers or something. Everybody's just killing until Juneuary anyway.

Ghost Attack!

You're under attack by ghosts! What do you do?

1) Pray
2) Punch (ghost)
3) Punch (person who got you into this)
4) Charge gauge
5) Talk (ghost)
6) Repent
7) Reveal ghost form
8) Show badge (ghost)
9) Absorb ghostly energies to reach the next stage of your plan

Sequel Series Corner

Q. I want to write a sequel series to a completed stories. How many years in-universe should I let pass?
A. Two hundred thousand.
Q. I sort of thought I would be bringing back some of the old characters.
A. As spirits possessing comic relief mascots who reveal their true nature at a moment of crisis.
Q. All of them?
A. One of them. The rest will be replaced by different people who look, talk, and act the same but have different names.
Q. The one holdover will get pretty lonely.
A. "X, you remind me of someone I used to know." Done!

The True Horror

Now that Halloween is over, Halloween itself is now a spooky ghost. Yikes!

The Profound Terror of Space

There was no hurry about the report. If anything could be allowed time, it was that. Months, years, decades, even a century would not have been too much. Years, it ended up being, and the public wondered at the hastiness of it.
At last the commission presented the report, all 1,476 pages of it, for the first time at a televised hearing. A representative sat at a table stable enough to hold the thick stack of papers that had been printed out for visual effect, one hand on the pile. The minister questioned him.
"To begin, perhaps we ought to hear a summary. Has the commission reached a conclusion as to the reason behind the greatest mystery in human history that confronts us, this current generation? That is to say, why, when we at long last discovered a sentient alien species, we seem unable to communicate with its members? Or observe them carrying out any of the business of the advanced technological civilization it so obviously is? Why the buildings appear abandoned and the factories silent?"
"We have."
Conversations broke out all around the chamber, to say nothing of what went on in homes and offices across humanity's possessions, many after a time delay of course.
"Silence in the chamber, silence." The minister made his demand at an even volume, without any vehemence or sense of injured dignity. He understood. "In the shortest and easiest to understand words you are able to explain, what is that reason."
"They're ghosts
Take all the noise, double it, triple that, add laughs and shrieks, and that would be the general atmosphere.
"Silence!" There was some feeling in the command that time. "Are you quite serious?"
"Yes. We are confident, entirely confident, that what we have found is in fact an extinct civilization, whether its builders died or simply left their planet altogether. We are less confident in our supposition that perhaps an alien species may be able to see human ghosts, but we offer that as a reason to increase interstellar exploration rather than giving up after this disappointment."
The minister gave up on trying to quiet down the tumult. He wiped his forehead instead. What more could he do? The representative looked sane enough, but the implications . . .
Finis

The True Difference Between Fantasy and Science Fiction

Likelihood of ghosts in fantasy: 60%
Likelihood of ghosts in science fiction: 15%

How to Insert Horror Into Fantasy

Add ghosts. Wait, no. Hold on. I need to think harder about this. Skeletons? Uh oh, this might be kind of difficult. Meaningful dreams? Dang it!

The Legacy of the Sword

"No army in the world ever relied on the sword," Roger said. He meant it, too.
Every single person Alex consulted said the same. He came to doubt. Was he wrong? Tromping along cold streets in the lonely night, he wondered. Had he sold his sanity to buy pleasantly superior thoughts of a history only he could know?
"Can't be," he thought. Then he said it. "It can't be. The Romans were real. Everyone knows that. What's going on?" His voice rose. "Rome was real!"
"Not for long." The fog swirled, blown about by an unseen power, but then one seen. A figure stepped forth and confronted Alex. "That dead people exists only in memory. Memories I have erased. Yours are the last, and I do not think you will keep them long. Hmph." The ghost of Hannibal raised his spectral sword, a cleaver of thoughts, a destroyer of minds.
Alex reached into his pocket and spoke the words.
Finis

An Unobjectionable Pitch

Here's the newest hit: Perry Mason . . . but with ghosts!

Edit: We have decided to retract this pitch after being informed of the existence of the Phoenix Wright series of games as well as its spinoffs.

Scheduling

"Your town does have a fine plaza, I confess. I do wonder one thing about it."
"What's that?"
"It seems sellers from one guild only are doing business here. I'm sure that helps keep the space open and orderly, but how do they decide which guild is permitted to make use of it? Is there a schedule of some sort?"
"I must declare you have chosen a good time to ask. Take a look over there." Welvin nodded toward the far side so as to guide his companion's gaze as the ground shook beneath them. A giant entered the plaza from the right, a clattering giant of clay and vim. From the left floated a great sheet draped over a person who was not there.
"Oyez, oyez! Ladies and gentlemen of the Dyers Guild, please pack up your stalls! Everyone else, keep your distance! The battle between Pottery Golem and Textile Ghost begins . . . NOW!" The crier threw a flag down in the middle of the plaza and ran. Pottery Golem swiveled on its expertly crafted hips and swung its massive fists while Textile Ghost floated around the blows and bumped into its opponent, each action winning cheers from the watching members of the Potters Guild and Textiles Guild respectively.
"That ought to clear it all up, I think."
"Very much so."
Finis

Important Location Table

You've come up with some arbitrary item of plot convenience like the best writers do, but oh no! You forgot you had to put it somewhere! That's no problem. Run to your favorite chance-dependent selection mechanism and prepare to have the work done for you.

1 Ruined temple
2 Evil knight's castle
3 Bank vault
4 The moon
5 Lakebed
6 Collection belonging to wealthy widow
7 Astral plane
8 Ghost ship
9 Fortuneteller's tent
10 The future
11 Giant's stomach
12 Child's Christmas stocking

This adventure is really heating up! What will our heroes do? What can they do?

Timeliness Is Next to Godliness

Spring palace? Shouldn't that have taken place in the spooky autumn palace? Well, mistakes made are lessons learned.

Let's pretend all those characters were ghosts. Woooooo!