Class Description
In a sense, all stories are ghost stories. Words on the written page will inevitably outlive their writer, as stories often capitalize on moments, things, people, and relationships already lost. Many great authors from Mary Shelley to F. Scott Fitzgerald have tried their hand at ghost stories, while some Edgar Allen Poe, Sheridan Le Fanu, M.R. James, and Stephen King have made this niche their empire. A number of minor lights including E.F. Benson, Rosemary Timperley and Robert Aickman have written classic tales in their own right.
In this workshop, we will trace the tradition of the ghost story: its gothic, psychological, supernatural, technological, and weird genesis. We will read and discuss the eerie short fiction of authors Henry James, Edith Wharton, Muriel Spark, Angela Carter, and Joe Hill, and do exercises to enhance your own ventures into this genre as you compose your own ghost story outside of class. I will furnish suggestions for further reading as well as a list of magazines which welcome ghost story submissions.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. Please visit the Resources tab to access the video-conference link.
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!