A spooky-awesome interactive story, just in time for October

Most of my passions boil down to a love of story-telling. Theatre, books, movies, TV -- I love it all. Sometimes I forget that entire forms of storytelling (like movies, TV and even blogs) are all pretty darn new. As in, our great-great-grandparents never took in stories in 30-minute visual packets like we do with our TVs every week.

Sometimes I think to myself, gee, it must have been so cool to be around during the invention of the movie! A totally new style of storytelling -- if only something like that would happen in our lifetimes!

Well, now it has.

One of my theatre buddies (who's also a Bay Area playwright) has tapped into a brand new method of storytelling that uses your phone, your blog, your email and more. The style of storytelling is called an "interactive storyworld" -- my buddy's storyworld is called 13 Pennies.

In the 13 Pennies experience, which runs through the month of October, you'll receive emails, texts, and more from a spirit who's looking for your help to pass over. But it's more than just that:

"It’s not just a ticket to watch a movie or a subscription to watch Netflix, and it’s not a game that you sit in front of for hours while you zone out; it’s an immersive story that’s an active part of your day. You can swap texts with a favorite character while you’re commuting to work on the bus, or unlock a secret photoblog while you’re in line at the grocery store. It’s about using your smartphone to add magic and fun to your daily life. Our goal is for you to feel like you’re always holding Disneyland in the palm of your hand.”

How awesome does that sound?

I just signed up, and I can't wait for whatever spookiness comes from having my phone haunted!

What do you think? Are you going to join me in exploring this new style of storytelling? Are you going to help the spirit figure out how to pass over?