Writing the Occult - Harbingers and Spirits

Saturday 12 December 2026

Starts 1pm UK / 9am ET

Early bird tickets are £35 until 30 November, or £40 from 1 December. Sales end at midnight GMT on 11 December 2026.

Do you see the crow outside the window? They say crows carry messages from the spirit world, just as that ouija board does. Or there’s the old lady in the forest they say can tell the future, warn you of impending danger. And the lake in the moors that will show you the reflection of the next in the parish to die.

Whether superstition or folklore, old wives’ tales or truth passed down through generations, our worlds are full of harbingers and spirits. Every family has a tale of nature’s symbolism, every culture has its own spirit guides, every place has its hauntings. And since it’s December in Britain, that can only mean one thing: It’s time for some spooky stories.

This time around, Writing the Occult visits the worlds of harbingers and spirits. What did the Mothman prophesize? Are the Four Horsemen on the horizon? Does the banshee’s wail really signal a family member’s imminent death? Dare you join our party to find out?

Full schedule to come.

Writing the Occult is a boutique series of events brought to you by the Society of Ink Slingers, in partnership with Alex Davis Events. Our approach is to bring together the fiction world with folklore and academia to bring a well-rounded view to a specific area of interest to both speculative fiction writers and those with a hankering for the esoteric.

Speaker bios and session details at writingtheoccult.carrd.co. Follow @societyofinkslingers on Instagram for announcements.