One common element is the subversion of traditional horror characters. Like the vampire afraid of strange things as I mentioned before. Another is the use of unexpected humor. For example, a ghost who is more concerned about cleaning the haunted house than scaring people. It takes the edge off the horror and makes it goofy.
There was a mummy that got loose in a museum. Instead of scaring people in the spooky way mummies usually do, it kept tripping over its own bandages. Every time it tried to chase someone, it would fall flat on its face. It made the whole horror situation turn into a silly one.
Goofy scary stories often have elements that are both absurd and a little frightening. For example, the monsters or spooky things in these stories might have really strange behaviors or appearances. They can be things like a zombie that only wants to dance instead of eating brains, which makes it goofy yet still gives a sense of the unknown and scary.
There's a story about a goofy ghost that loved to play pranks. He would make the lights flicker in a really obvious way, like a disco light show. And instead of being spooky, it just made people laugh. He also tried to make spooky noises but ended up sounding like a cat with a hairball.
Once upon a time, there was a little pig who wanted to fly. He tied balloons to his trotters and jumped off a fence. But instead of flying up, he just floated a little and then landed in a big mud puddle. He was all muddy but laughed so hard at his silly idea.
One goofy scary story is about a haunted pizza. The pizza would start to sing spooky songs at midnight and its toppings would rearrange themselves into creepy faces. Anyone who tried to eat it would have their fingers pinched by the mozzarella cheese that turned into little white hands.
Rather than going into such potentially inappropriate stories, we should promote positive body image and respect for all body types without emphasizing such specific and often objectifying features. There are many great stories out there about friendship, kindness, and achievement that are much more worthy of sharing.
The unexpectedness. In goofy bedtime stories, like the one where a mouse tries to ride a kangaroo, things happen that are not normal. It makes you wonder what will come next.