THW 2020
Here are the highlights of the very first Writing Haunt retreat
Feburary 7th-10th 2020
Workshop with Catriona Ward
Haunting Yourself, Haunting Your Text
Our guest speaker Catriona Ward, author of Rawblood and Little Eve, delivering an immersive Gothic writing experience, who taught us that a straight forward description of a chair can be incredibly spooky if it’s followed by 'and behind it, I saw her’.
Head Chef, Yorkie, Hard at Work
We take pride in providing delicious home-cooked meals to suit everyone’s dietary requirements. This year our amazing chef catered meals suitable for vegans, coeliacs, diabetics, lactose intolerant and halal. Not to mention satisfying everyone’s sweet tooth.
Abigail in the Priest Hole
One of the charms of Treowen House is its little hide-y hole on the first floor. These are hiding places built into houses during the prosecution of Catholic priests under Elizabeth 1st, for priests to avoid arrest, torture and execution.
Our guest speaker, Abigail Mann, author of the upcoming The Lonely Fajita plunged beneath the floorboards for a little exploration.
Workshop with Celine Terranova
Pushing Through to the End
Getting a Book From Draft to Print
Celine Terranova, author of The Part-Time Artist, gave us invaluable advice on how to get through a manuscript which our attendees plan on making use of.
Gathering Around the Fire
It wasn’t all work and no play in the workshop room. Our guest speakers and attendees got themselves cosy by the open fireplace.
Ghost Stories by Candlelight!
To finish the Haunt with a bang - or even better with eerie silence and flickering light - our delegates enjoyed sharing their own ghost stories. In true Victorian style, each storyteller would blow out their candle at the end of their tale to submerge the room in more darkness.
This was not without its own spooks as attendees reported seeing faces in the dark. And the biggest fright of all came when our organiser Vicky Brewster sneaked in to take a photo and surprised us all with her flash.
Vicky’s Photo
What our attendees thought?
Don’t just take our word for it, here are some of the feedback we received:
“Honestly, I basically loved every single second”
“Apart from making it longer, I couldn’t think of anything to make it better!”