Led by Dr. Erica Anzalone, author of the award-winning collection, Samsara. Erica holds an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a doctorate in English from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, where she was awarded a Schaeffer fellowship. With over eighteen years of teaching experience at the college level, Erica's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Autofocus Literary Magazine, The Colorado Review, Hotel Amerika, Cream City Review, Juked, Pangyrus, Denver Quarterly, The Literary Review, The Offending Adam, Pleiades, Sentence, UCity Review, and elsewhere.

What haunts you – and how can you transform it into art?

In this generative creative writing course led by Dr. Erica Anzalone, we’ll explore ghosts not only as supernatural beings, but as potent metaphors for trauma, memory, and desire. Whether drawn from personal or collective experience, ghosts shape the stories we carry—and the ones we long to tell.

Through fiction, poetry, and hybrid forms, we’ll examine the ghost as muse—not just as inspiration, but as witness, antagonist, and embodiment of the unspeakable. We’ll study how writers use ghosts to navigate grief, challenge dominant narratives, and defamiliarize the familiar to captivate readers.

We’ll reimagine myths, folklore, and true crime through a contemporary lens, using techniques like surrealism and humor to amplify emotional resonance. Engaging all five senses, we’ll create carnal ghosts and richly textured, atmospheric settings that feel uncanny and alive. In this approach, setting becomes a character in its own right.

By exploring what your characters want—and how those desires collide—you’ll deepen motivation, heighten narrative urgency, and uncover the hidden heart of your story.

Who is this course for?

The Haunted Muse is a generative creative writing course for writers of all levels and genres, exploring ghosts as metaphors for memory, trauma, and desire. Through fiction, poetry, and hybrid forms, you’ll channel what haunts you—personally or culturally—into vivid, emotionally resonant narratives.

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Produce four original pieces (essays, stories, or poems) that explore themes of memory, trauma, and desire.
  
• Experiment with varied approaches to ghosts in literature: humorous, surreal, political, mythic, and erotic.
  
• Refine your craft through focused exercises on setting, imagery, ambiguity, character, and point of view.
  
• Receive thoughtful, supportive feedback from Dr. Erica Anzalone and fellow writers
  

By the end of the course, you’ll have a portfolio of work that channels personal and cultural hauntings into compelling, unforgettable narratives.

Join us as we conjure the spectral, write from what lingers, and find inspiration in the shadows.

*All course readings can be found online and listed in the course outline/syllabus.

COURSE OUTLINE

WEEK ONE: LAUGH OR CRY: HAUNTED BY GRIEF & THE ABSURD

WEEK TWO: CHOOSE YOUR HAUNT STYLE (& SETTING)

WEEK THREE: RETELLING MYTH, FOLKLORE, & TRUE CRIME

WEEK FOUR: HUNGRY GHOSTS: THE BODY, POLITICS, & POWER

TESTIMONIALS:

“Thank you, Erica, for a fabulous class! I've learned so much about the writing process and relished the texts. Each class has helped awaken long-slumbering skills of analysis and muscles of creativity that I haven't exercised in some time. I'm especially grateful for the workshop portion, both for my own piece and for others. I've always been insecure about my writing style, but these classes have really boosted my confidence and filled my well of creativity. The workshop notes I received validated my process and helped magnify the paths to take next. I'm so grateful to Erica and the writing coven that is forming through these classes.” — Kristilyn Ink

“With Erica’s mentorship, I am now attending the MFA program of my choice and have published several of my poems. She saw potential where I did not, and she pushed me out of my comfort zone by encouraging me to write creative non-fiction. She taught me to trust in my own writing and the fact that my stories are valuable on their own. I fell in love with creative non-fiction because of her. Not only did Erica spend an ample amount of time with me (more than she had to!), she provided me with pages of written feedback that helped me revise and assist in the publication process. I am a much stronger, more confident writer since working with Erica, and am successfully pursuing a career in the field of creative writing.” — Kerri Vasilakos (Kerri’s poetry has appeared in Black Moon Magazine, The Ekphrastic Review, The Penman Review, and Crow and Cross Keys)

“Erica helped me with my applications to MFA programs in Creative Writing. With her assistance, I was accepted or waitlisted to every place I applied, and I'm now a student in my top-choice program. Throughout our work together, Erica was empathetic, challenging, and generous. She helped me to present myself with confidence and clarity. Her feedback was always specific and extensive, and I know the advice she gave me was critical to the success of my applications. I'm sure these skills transfer over to her classes together. I can't recommend working with Erica enough! — Lizzie Fox, Writer/Translator

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

Begins Sunday, November 2nd, 2025

Live Zoom Sessions will meet on Sundays from 12PM - 2PM EST