Speakers & Performers

Andy Davidson

Bram Stoker Award–Nominated Horror Author

Andy Davidson is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun, The Boatman’s Daughter,…

Brandon Schexnayder

Podcaster - Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic: The Podcast explores the history behind some of the American South’s darkest days, greatest mysteries, and…

Charlie Mewshaw 

Podcaster - Arcane Carolinas

Charlie Mewshaw spent several formative years in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina before settling down a river…

Chris Panatier

Celebrated Voice in Speculative Horror

Chris Panatier is the author of the novels The Phlebotomist, Stringers, and The Redemption of Morgan Bright, blending…

Clay McLeod Chapman 

American Author, Filmmaker & Storyteller

Clay McLeod Chapman is an American author, storyteller, playwright, filmmaker, and comic-book writer whose work spans horror fiction,…

Craig Dominey, The Moonlit Road

Podcaster - The Moonlit Road

The Moonlit Road is a Southern storytelling project dedicated to preserving the folklore of the American South since…

David Joy

Acclaimed Southern Noir

A twelfth generation North Carolinian, David Joy grew up in the Piedmont along the Catawba River, moved away…

Jason Mott 

Author & National Book Award Winner

Jason Mott confronts America’s ghosts in Hell of a Book and beyond, blending grief, violence, and truth into…

Julia Elliott

Southern Surrealist

Julia Elliott is the author of the story collection Hellions, a TIME book of the month, and the…

Karen White

New York Times Bestselling Author

Karen White reveals how real haunted houses and Charleston’s shadowed past inspired the ghosts, mysteries, and long-buried secrets…

Lindy Ryan

Award-Winning Author and Anthologist

Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author, anthologist, and short-film director whose books and anthologies have received starred reviews…

Mark Brandenburg

Attorney & Former Judicial Law Clerk

Mark Brandenburg, a graduate of The Citadel and Duke University School of Law,  began his legal career as…

Michael Wehunt

Award-Winning and Celebrated Author of the Macabre

Michael Wehunt is the author of the novels The October Film Haunt and Nightjars, as well as two collections of short…

Mill Hands

Bluegrass Band

The Millhands are a bluegrass band from Columbia, South Carolina, known for their high-energy picking, tight vocal harmonies,…

Nancy Tolson

Storyteller & Folklorist

Nancy Tolson has been telling tales as long as she has been able to talk. She completed her…

Nathan Ballingrud

Shirley Jackson Award–Winning Author

Nathan Ballingrud, winner of the Shirley Jackson Award, is the author of The Strange, Wounds: Six Stories from…

Ray McManus

Author & Poet

Ray McManusis the author of five books of poetry: The Last Saturday in America, Punch, Red Dirt Jesus, Left Behind, and Driving through the…

Robert Gwaltney

Award-Winning Southern Author

Robert Gwaltney, a recipient of the 2022 Pat Conroy Writers Residency, was named 2023 Georgia Author of the…

Robert Stewart

Former SLED Chief & Attorney

Robert Stewart served as Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) from 1987 to 2007. As…

Scott Gould

Scott Peeples

Author & Professor of English

Scott Peeples has taught American literature and writing at the College of Charleston since 1996; he served as…

Tanya Pell

Bram Stoker–Nominated Voice in Horror

Tanya Pell is a narcoleptic horror author who drinks bougie coffee and lives in the American South. She…

Tommy Pope

Attorney, State Representative & Former Solicitor

Thomas E. “Tommy” Pope is a South Carolina attorney and elected official who has served in the South…

Valentine Wolfe

Gothic Music Duo

Valentine Wolfe is a Greenville-based gothic music duo featuring Sarah Black on vocals and keyboards and Braxton Ballew…

Vincent Sheheen

Yah Yah Schofield

Horror & Speculative Fiction Author

Yah Yah Scholfield’s work has been featured in a number of horror and speculative fiction magazines and anthologies,…