Horror-Writing for Young Adults New

What gives horror stories their power, and what truths can they reveal about the human condition that no other literary genre can?

In this dual seminar-workshop course, students will learn the fundamentals of suspenseful writing from the greats of the horror genre, from Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, and Victor LaValle. On a craft level, students will be introduced to the formal elements that make suspenseful stories and be provided with prompts that inspire their own spine-tingling “future classics.”

Over three weeks, students will engage deeply with assigned texts, supply feedback to peers, and meet individually with their instructor with a shared goal as a cohort: to reveal the human psyche in its truest form, and to support a creative and inclusive workshop environment while doing so. 

The course culminates in a final project that will include a selection of revised horror stories and one new piece.