Writing the Occult: Ritual

Saturday 27 January, 2024

1pm UK / 9am ET until 8.30pm UK / 3.30pm ET

The outsider arrives in an isolated community, and is confronted by strange details: dancing around a wicker man, chanting at a cliff edge, maypoles and sin eaters and masks and costumes. This is the world of the ritual in fiction, and it’s the next topic for discussion at Writing the Occult.

Join us to hear about how to make a ritual, how to ensure it's culturally-appropriate, and how ritual can drive your plot. We’ll talk about folk horror and faith horror and death and burial. We’ll also hear from some of the world’s best indie writers as they describe the part ritual plays in their inspiration and their stories.

As usual, we’re timing the schedule for the European afternoon and East Coast morning, and will record the sessions for those who can’t make it all live (so you’ll be safe to practise your rituals knowing you won’t miss out on anything).

Early bird tickets are £35 until 14 January 2024, or £40 from 15 January. Sales end on 26 January.

Join our ritual, won’t you? Antlers optional.

Schedule:

● 1pm UK / 9am ET: From the Wicker Man to Candyman: How to write a folk horror ritual - Tracy Fahey

● 2.15pm UK / 9.15am ET: Faith Horror: Cinematic visions of Satanism, Paganism and Witchcraft - LMK Sheppard

● 3.30pm UK / 10.30am ET: Traditions of Death and Burial in England - Dr Helen Frisby

● 4.45pm UK / 11.45am ET: In Conversation: Dr Adam Scovell on ritual in occult and folk media

● 6pm UK / 1pm ET: Incorporating your own culture, folklore, and ritual into fiction - Eden Royce

● 7.15pm UK / 2.15pm ET: How we use ritual to drive our plots - panel discussion with Lee Murray, Stephanie Ellis, Robert P Ottone, and Kev Harrison, moderated by Lindsey Trout Hughes

Brought to you by the Society of Ink Slingers, in partnership with Alex Davis Events. Speaker bios and session details at writingtheoccult.carrd.co