WRI 359 - Writing the Supernatural

Semester Hours: 4

Stories of monsters, ghosts, and all things supernatural have appeared in popular literature for centuries, from Hamlet to Dracula. Over the past few decades, contemporary literature has seen a resurrection of the supernatural narrative in multiple forms because the horror genre creates space for writers to probe into difficult questions about race, disability, gender, religion, identity formation, politics, history, queer bodies, etc. This course provides aspiring writers with a broad understanding of the modern horror scene, as well as the evolution of horror fiction as a domain of serious literary accomplishments, so that students can create insightful creative work of their own. While reading and analyzing the writing of predominant writers, as well as both critical and craft theory, students will experiment with horror techniques in their own writing. Students will be expected to write and workshop two stories with supernatural elements.