Horror literature is often brushed aside as trashy, cliché, even boring. But the reality is that great literary horror is anything but. Some of the most iconic and beloved stories and novels of all time—House of Leaves, The Lottery, The Tell-Tale Heart, Manhunt, Tender is the Flesh—fall under the horror literature umbrella.
This workshop-based class will give students the tools necessary to write an engaging, well-written, and, of course, terrifying work of horror. You’ll explore the different genres under the horror umbrella, from psychological to paranormal to Lovecraftian to occult, and dive deep into questions of suspense, intrigue, and what makes a piece of writing truly scary.
In this workshop, you’ll:
- Discover the many subgenres of horror and their unique appeals
- Learn techniques for building suspense and atmosphere
- Analyze what makes horror writing truly memorable and terrifying
- Try guided prompts that help you craft your own chilling scenes
- Leave with the beginnings of a horror story and new tools to develop it further
Come as you are, whether you’re a seasoned writer or just curious about what happens when literature and fear collide. No experience required, only imagination and an open mind.
Details
- Date: October 11, 2025
- Time: 3:00–4:15 PM CST (Zoom)
- Instructor: Celeste Amidon
- Cost: $30
How to Pay: Space is limited, so please sign up early. Venmo your deposit @LoungeWriters with your email address. In notes, add: Horror Class. (The last 4 digits of the phone number are 9616, if Venmo asks.) Email Oksana Marafioti at info@loungewriters.com if you have questions or would rather pay by Zelle or PayPal.
Your Instructor: Celeste Amidon is a short story writer and novelist with a penchant for the dark and grotesque. She received her MFA in Fiction from Boston University, where she was a Leslie Epstein Global Fellow. There, she was awarded the 2025 Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award. She has had her work featured in Gulf Coast, POLYESTER, Air Mail, Broad Sound Journal, and elsewhere. In 2025, her short story, “Turtles,” was selected by E.M. Tran as the winner of the New Ohio Review Ellis Prize for Fiction. Also in 2025, her short story, “The Absinthe Drinker,” was selected for the Gemini Magazine Short Story Prize. Most recently, she won the Jerboa Lit Flash Fiction Contest. When she is not writing, she is growing a collection of Stephen King novels, feeding her carnivorous plants, and cuddling with her Bull Terrier, Mango.
Lounge Writers 