Haunted Computer

High SchoolNarrativeYears 7-8One-off workshopStage 4GenreCharacterisationArgumentHybrid TextsInformational textsEveryday literary materialsReal World texts

10 Apr

Written By Story Factory Digital Programs

Years 7 - 8

Three Week workshops

Students write a creative letter or email of complaint by a fictional character with a haunted computer. This workshop is interactive, exploring a ghost story which disconnects the computer. Students are encouraged to mash stylistic features, explore mood and humour, the horror genre, and write for a specific audience. The character’s emotional responses and reactions are further expanded throughout the text, producing an engaging fiction sprinkled with spooky fun.

Create literary texts that explore students’ own experiences and imagining (ACELT1607)
Create literary texts by developing storylines, characters and settings (ACELT1794)
Create texts that adapt language features and patterns encountered in literary texts, for example characterisation, rhyme, rhythm, mood, music, sound effects and dialogue (ACELT1791)
Uses processes of planning, monitoring, revising and reflecting to support and develop composition of texts (EN4-ECB-01)
Creates personal, creative and critical texts for a range of audiences by using linguistic and stylistic conventions of language to express ideas (EN4-ECA-01)
Date: Monday 19 July 2024
To: Microsoft Support (support@apple.com)
Re: Haunted Surface Pro Tablet
Attention: Customer Complaints
I am demanding that you replace my laptop immediately and conduct a full spiritual cleansing of my luxury inner city townhouse. Your company has cost me millions of followers and thousands of dollars in celebrity endorsements and free merch. You are ruining my reputation. Last week I was even offered a celebrity appearance to (gasp) open a new Priceline in a shopping mall. This demonic possession is intolerable! You have twenty four hours before I expose you to my followers.
My reputation as a global fashion icon has been ruined as thanks to these avenging demons I have now been seen to be endorsing clothing from Target and Kmart and (ugggh) home brand beauty products from Coles and Aldi. My TikTok stream now features demonically created videos of me sleeping and snoring with my mouth open and with drool leaking to the pillow. Even worse, I was wearing no make up whatsoever. And the lighting was terrible!
The first night after I bought my new tablet I was lying in bed and I felt the temperature drop in the room. Suddenly I was freezing despite the fact that it was still 27 degrees outside on a hot summer’s night. When I looked over to my desk I saw that the cursor on my laptop was moving on the screen despite the fact there was no one there. The next day I discovered to my absolute horror that all the passwords to my social media accounts had been hacked. When I recovered my accounts the text of the changed passwords was always the same: #cursedforeternityvanessa. Even worse was that someone, or something, had been posting on my Instagram and TikTok accounts without my knowledge or permission.
My name is Vanessa Ahn. You will know me as a global fashion influencer and from my millions of followers on my YouTube channel (Luxury Brands with Vanessa) and Instagram account (@vanessaluxe). I am writing to complain about the demonic possession of my recently purchased Surface Pro laptop. You cannot possibly understand the sheer frustration and anxiety I am feeling. Believe me, I am totally shook. This is truly evil from the deepest pits of hell.
Yours sincerely,
Vanessa Ahn