people seeking to maintain their unity in the face of divisive and destructive violence.

This address was made by President Lincoln at the location of the Battle of Gettysburg—one of the bloodiest on American soil in the nation's history—when it was turned into a "national war cemetery." Lincoln was clear that little of what the living did that day had any bearing on that spot in Gettysburg: what was done of any import had been carried out by those who fought there, and those who gave their lives at that place:

...we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world...can never forget what [the soldiers] did here.

In creating a scary story about the war, there are many options you can use in terms of your plot. There is fear associated with war. A young man going to war would be scared. For a family divided between the beliefs of the South and those of the North, another fear might be of facing—even killing—a relative: a father or brother. There would also be the fear of being captured by the enemy. A scary story might entail a young soldier, separated from his unit, hiding without food, water or shelter. These would be stories that could reflect those who fought at Gettysburg.

Your tale could be a ghost story, and could include a teenager (the protagonist) that goes to the cemetery on a dare and comes face to face with a young Union or Confederate soldier who walks the earth, unaware that he is dead. The conversation that exists between the teen and the long-dead soldier can convey experiences of the soldier, drawn from personal accounts of soldiers who survived that battle (that you could research). This would be informational and interesting. The response of the modern-day teen could speak to how things have changed since the war; as the writer, you could adopt a stance of whether the teen felt such a sacrifice was worth it, or that too much was lost.

To create a sense of fear, make sure to use vivid imagery, which includes sensory details. Imagery creates pictures in the reader's mind; sensory details appeal to one of the five senses: this would include hearing, seeing, touching, etc. The young man (woman) may hear the "skittering" of leaves across the lawn. The wind may be gently howling, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The image of the dead soldier may be so clear that the protagonist can see the weave of the material from which his uniform was made, perhaps dirt smudged across the soldier's face, or even a clean bullet hole through his jacket, just where his heart would have been. These kinds of details make your writing come alive.

In terms of the dialogue, you will want to refrain from repeating "he said." Use some variety: instead of "said," you can use mused (thought), sighed, whispered, insisted, declared, etc. Mixing your "conversational tags" up will keep your piece from becoming repetitive.

Organize the story's parts: introduction, body and conclusion. Stay focused on your topic. Use the setting to help create the mood.

The first and most important thing to do is research the Gettysburg Address itself. There are several pages of history right here on eNotes, as well as entire books and websites dedicated to the historic event; some quick research on Google should give you all the information you need for historical accuracy.

Second, try to think of a suspenseful or scary theme to the story that does not contradict the existing history -- unless you are writing an "alternate history" story about the event, in which case feel free to change the events as necessary. Good topics would include the end of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination (two years later), the very recent events of abolition, and the Address itself, which became a national event of historic proportions. For example, you could write a story about the five existing original copies of the address, but a sixth copy was stolen to use as Confederate propaganda. Another good plot could concern the people who actually heard the Address; they might fall victim to a curse later in life, or perhaps rise up and attack the podium. If you need a fast plot idea, you could take some generic ideas and incorporate them into the history of the Address.

For dialogue, don't try to emulate grammar or syntax of the era; unless crafted by a Mark Twain, phonetic grammar tends to sound patronizing. Instead, just write out clear sentences in plain English, styled to the education level of the speaker; a former slave or working farmer would use fewer large words or complex grammar than a senator or plantation owner. Don't use "saidisms," or words in place of "said," such as "exclaimed" or "shrilled" except in rare cases when such a word would add extra effect; similarly, don't use adverbs like "nastily" to modify "said" except when it helps the flow of the sentence. In fact, in cases when there are only two or three people talking, you can leave out any identifiers altogether; it should be clear from the dialogue itself who is talking.

Finally, make sure you edit and revise a few times to remove clunky phrasing or missed errors in time, place, and continuity. Have someone else read over the story and offer constructive criticism. Try editing the story backwards, sentence-by-sentence. Above all, try to tell a story that you would enjoy reading.