Yes, they can be. Ghost stories often play on our fears of the unknown, and in this book, they might be especially spooky. The short format allows for quick jolts of fear.
There's 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. It may seem like a story about a woman's descent into madness, but it has a ghostly undertone. Trapped in a room with the hideous yellow wallpaper, she begins to see a figure trapped within it. The story builds tension through her isolation and the sense of a supernatural presence.
Here's another one. In an old, empty school, there was a rumor of a ghostly teacher. A group of kids dared each other to stay after school. As it got dark, they heard the sound of chalk on a blackboard. They slowly walked to the classroom where the noise was coming from. Through the window, they saw a shadowy figure writing on the board. When they opened the door, the figure vanished, but they could still feel a cold breeze. Turns out it was the spirit of a teacher who loved the school so much she couldn't leave.
There was a story of a little girl who lived in a haunted house. Every night, she would hear a lullaby playing softly, but there was no music box or radio. One night, she followed the sound and saw a ghostly woman sitting in the rocking chair in the attic. The woman turned her head slowly, and her eyes were completely white. The girl screamed and fled back to her room. After that, she never went to the attic alone again. This story shows how the unknown in a haunted place can be truly terrifying.
The story of 'The Ghostly Pianist'. In an old mansion, there was a grand piano. Every midnight, without anyone playing, the piano would start to play a sad, haunting melody. People said it was the ghost of a pianist who had died in that mansion long ago, still trying to finish his last composition.
Common elements include the use of the supernatural. Ghosts, spirits, and otherworldly phenomena are central to scary ghost stories. In short stories, this can be used to convey a deeper meaning or just to scare the reader. Another element is foreshadowing. In many of these stories, there are hints early on about what will happen later. For instance, in 'The Yellow Wallpaper', the description of the wallpaper at the beginning foreshadows the woman's descent into madness as she becomes more and more fixated on it.
One really scary one is about a girl who found a doll in an abandoned house. When she took it home, strange things started to happen. The doll would move on its own at night. It turned out the doll was possessed by the spirit of a girl who died in that abandoned house.
Since we don't know the exact nature of these '2017 ghost stories', it's difficult to determine their scariness. Some might be based on real - life experiences which could make them more terrifying as they seem more believable. Others could be fictional stories that use common horror techniques to create fear. Some might be scary to those who are easily spooked by the supernatural, while others might not find them so bad.
It depends. Some might find them extremely scary as ghost stories often play on our fears of the unknown and the supernatural. If these stories are well - written and full of suspense, they could be terrifying.
It depends. Some people find ghost stories terrifying, while others might not be as affected. It all comes down to how sensitive you are to spooky elements and your imagination.