October Mini Course: Spooky Gothic Short Stories

This October, we invite students into the shadowy world of the Gothic short story: a genre defined by atmosphere, psychological dread, and the uncanny. Over four weeks, we'll read five masterworks of 19th-century horror, each offering a distinct entry point into the Gothic tradition.

➜ Join us for a month-long deep dive into Gothic short stories. Discuss what you're reading and collaborate with other students on fun writing exercises based on the stories. Complete four short, structured assignments that help you develop your creative writing skills, and choose your favorite to publish in our literary magazine.

Course dates: Monday, October 5 - Thursday, October 29.

Tuition: $45

Class Size: 20 students max. Sign up early to avoid disappointment.

Admissions Guidelines: Ages 12+

Instructors: Darren and Suzanne Alexander

Course requirements: Students will log onto our course forum on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays during the course. All texts for this course are in the printable course pack, which is included with tuition and will be available for students on October 1.

Course texts: We begin with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," a study in madness and guilt, before turning to Poe's atmospheric masterpiece "The Fall of the House of Usher," where the decay of a family mirrors the crumbling of the mind itself. Next we encounter W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," a chilling fable about wishes and their terrible consequences; Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Poor Clare," which weaves Irish folklore into a tale of curses and doppelgangers; and finally, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," a haunting exploration of confinement and madness that stands as an early masterpiece of psychological horror.