Creative writing graduate to serve terrifying tales from beyond

Are you looking for spooky fun to celebrate Halloween? Come to Lees-McRae College on October 27, at 7 p.m. to hear an original play, The Devil’s Stairs, written by Boone novelist Joshua Simcox. A graduate of the college’s creative writing program, he will direct a radio broadcast reading of his play with Lees-McRae students in Evans Auditorium.

Simcox graduated from Lees-McRae in 2005 with an interdisciplinary degree in creative writing. Since then he has worked in the publishing industry and as a freelance writer. He has published two novels and has a third coming out in fall 2016. He is excited to bring out his first play for the public.

“The Devil’s Stairs is the story of a terminally ill young girl and her friends who encounter a strange man in a haunted stretch of western North Carolina where the devil is said to roam," said Simcox.

Simcox has roots in Ashe County where the haunted stairs are located.

“We look forward to premiering Josh’s play. The students have enjoyed his novels, and anticipate a fun, but frightening, evening,” says Dr. Michael Joslin, director of the Stephenson Center for Appalachia at Lees-McRae. “The Appalachian Mountains are home to numerous ghosts and ‘haints,’ with the apparitions at the Devil’s Stairs having a long history of haunting.” 

Everyone is invited to attend to the program. Stephenson Center for Appalachia lectures are free and open to the public. For information email joslin@lmc.edu.