What makes a story feel haunted long before a ghost appears? Why do familiar places, forgotten objects, and half-remembered stories linger in our minds long after we've left them behind?

This craft talk and generative workshop examines how absence, memory, and longing operate in fiction through the twin lenses of haunting and nostalgia. Through close readings of writers such as Carmen Maria Machado, Angela Carter, and Helen Oyeyemi, alongside ideas from thinkers like Mark Fisher and Svetlana Boym, participants will explore how these forces reshape narrative perception and atmosphere. Handouts with selected excerpts will be provided, and short generative writing exercises will allow participants to immediately apply these concepts and build new material on the page. By the end of the session, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how haunting and nostalgia function as structural tools in storytelling, as well as new pages generated during the workshop.