Mon, Feb 24, 2020, – Fri, Feb 28, 2020
At the Black Monarch Hotel in the ghost town of Victor, Colorado
Fans of Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe know that isolation can lead to writing epiphanies…if the writer doesn’t go mad, that is. “One of the U.S.’s most haunted hotels” (The Metro UK), the Black Monarch is thrilled to host the inaugural Haunted Writer’s Retreat created by the esteemed writers behind Suspect Press and Lit on Lit. This Victorian building from 1899 has been decadently renovated to highlight its sordid history, attracting international acclaim for its luxuriously gothic rooms themed after serial killers and witches.
The four-day retreat will include complimentary food and beer, and a curriculum of curated horror writing workshops, bone-chilling bedtime stories, scary movies, and historical ghost tours of an abandoned mining town. Josiah Hesse, author of the Carnality psychological horror series and writer for Vice and the Guardian, will lead the workshops. Daily classes will take place at the Black Monarch and include traditional short story development and the craft of writing horror, as well as hauntingly creative writing prompts like Tarot cards, Ouija boards and deep dives into the town’s haunted history. They’ll mine the sordid past of Victor, Colorado, learning about the misery and mischief that led to the town’s transformation into a hotspot for paranormal activity.
While the Black Monarch will serve as the hub of the retreat, guests can choose to stay at one of four locations, all whispered to be wildly haunted: The Black Monarch, the Victor Hotel, the Fortune Club, or The Olympia Hotel. This five-day workshop is sponsored by the immersive arts collective Meow Wolf, as well as Sexy Pizza, Ratio Brewing, and Lit on Lit.
Erin K. Barnes 