Class

Ghost Stories: Writing What Haunts Us

How do you bring ghosts to terrifying life in your stories? And why would you want to? This class is about the scary kind of ghosts, sure, but also the literary kind: ghosts as longing, ghosts as memory, ghosts as shadow selves. And it's about how we can wring the most from our ghosts—maybe by making them frightening or maybe not. Certainly by making them meaningful.

Sample texts will include work by writers such as Yangsze Chu, Tanarive Due, Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes, Aoko Matsuda, Toni Morrison, Edith Wharton, and Erika T. Wurth. Expect close readings of all sorts of hauntings, lively discussion, and concrete writing exercises to put the ideas to immediate and tangible use.

No class on November 28.

All Classes listed on the Loft website take place in Central Standard Time (CST); make sure you understand your time zone, and adjust accordingly

Instructions for Accessing This Online Class

In order to access live class meetings, you must have the Zoom application downloaded to your computer. You will also need a WiFi/Internet connection throughout the duration of your scheduled meeting and a computer with audio and video capability. The information to join your Zoom classroom will be provided in your confirmation email upon registration. Please check spam folders if you do not see this email upon registration. For more information on how to use Zoom, please see our training manual here.

Some classes use a supplemental Google Classroom page. Should your teaching artist use Google Classroom, you will be invited to join the classroom via email at least 24 hours in advance of your class (check spam folders if you are not seeing this invitation). Please note that Google Classroom requires a Gmail address to access the Classroom. If you do not have a Gmail account, the email invitation will be sent to the email address we have on file and will prompt you to create a free account or enter an existing account to join the classroom. If we are unable to send an email invitation to your non-gmail account, you will be contacted by a staff member to provide a Gmail address. If you do not have a Gmail account, you can create a free account here. Should you have concerns about this, please contact a Loft staff member at [email protected] or 612-379-8999. For more information on how to use Google Classroom, please see our training manual here.