This dissertation explores the storytelling abilities and story repertoire of children from a sixth-grade class in Gosport, Indiana. The history and present nature of Gosport are first examined, to indicate community and social influences on the children's story repertoire. The children's repertoire, presented in an annotated collection, includes examples of many narrative genres, including folktale, legend, personal-experience account, joke, and narratives based on television programs, movies, and comic books; the narratives reveal a strong interest in the supernatural. Those narratives dealing with supernatural topics were selected for analysis of the ways in which they reflected the personalities and preferences of the narrators, both individually and as a group. Excerpts from transcripts are presented to demonstrate group interaction patterns; content, function, and style of the stories are also analyzed. The 30 children are categorized according to their ability and interest as storytellers. The investigator also examines ways in which the celebration of Halloween in Gosport has affected the children's supernatural information and beliefs. The conclusion of the dissertation places the Gosport case study into a larger social and historical perspective. (Author/GW)