Crafting a Christmas Ghost Story: An Artemis Writing Workshop

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Places for this interactive workshop are limited and the event will not be recorded

In this workshop, Heather and Sophia from Artemis Writers will guide participants through a number of exercises on the art of telling a compelling Christmas ghost story. We begin with a discussion of evocative settings and story openings, before exploring how to subvert features of a familiar setting in order to create terror and tension. The final exercise involves a close reading of a selection of extracts, including E. Nesbit’s ‘The Shadow,’ W. F. Harvey’s ‘The Clock’, M. R. James’s ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ and F. Marion Crawford’s, ‘The Upper Berth’. We consider what makes the entities in these stories so spine-chilling, and then devote the remaining time to writing a climactic scene between a character and a supernatural presence.

Heather and Sophia have previously run this as a 90-minute workshop in Ely and Cambridge, though the time may be reduced if required. Feedback from the previous participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with one attendee stating, ‘Ghost stories are one of my favourite parts of Christmas. Thank you for doing them justice!’ The workshop is suitable for both experienced writers and those at the start of their journey. Differentiated handouts are provided.