StokerCon 2025

This is a separately ticketed event. Tickets may be purchased through the Registration portal. Click Get Tickets and scroll down to options labeled "Horror University" or "HU."  

This course delves into the five key elements that make Jordan Peele’s films both visually and narratively groundbreaking. Through the lens of "String Theory," we explore how characters react under pressure and how these moments shift their axis. "Point of View, Point Askew" examines how characters’ perceptions are upended, creating new narrative possibilities. "Family Focus" reveals the impact of generational behaviors on character arcs and outcomes. "Call and Response" analyzes the dynamic interplay between protagonist and antagonist, highlighting audience engagement and investment. Finally, "Boom, Splat!" unpacks the climactic finish, showing how hidden Easter eggs reframe our understanding of the story, offering layered interpretations and endless rewatchability. Gain the tools to analyze and apply Peele’s storytelling techniques, enrich narratives with multidimensional characters and intricate plots, master audience engagement, integrate complex themes, and draft impactful endings that encourage lasting impressions and multiple interpretations.

This is a separately ticketed event. Tickets may be purchased through the Registration portal. Click Get Tickets and scroll down to options labeled "Horror University" or "HU."

Learn how to use the “hero's journey” template to write epic horror fiction! Storytellers have been using the “hero’s journey” pattern in tales for thousands of years, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Star Wars. It’s a tried-and- true technique, one horror writers can use too, but with its own deliciously dark spin. Topics covered will include: The “hero’s journey.” How the horror “hero’s Journey” is different. The twelve stages of the horror “hero’s Journey.” The nine story outcomes of the horror “hero’s Journey.” Techniques for combining different story outcomes. How you can apply the horror “hero’s Journey” to your own stories. You’ll write several exercises exploring different aspects of the horror “hero’s Journey.”

This is a separately ticketed event. Tickets may be purchased through the Registration portal. Click Get Tickets and scroll down to options labeled "Horror University" or "HU."

Magic realism conjures the imagery of Frida Kahlo and Henri Rousseau and is something Salman Rushdie calls “a newish name for a very old thing.” Propelled across the literary world by Latin American writers of the 1950s, magic realism has deep, dark roots for storytellers that tangle with colonialism, disobedience, and subversion. Magic Realism for Rebels reintroduces this genre favorite through the horror lens with writing prompts along its elements, contours and many invitations. Respectfully, we’ll enter where personal and wider histories converge in kitchen wisdom, folklore, and social contemporary messaging.