Happy Halloween! If you’re looking for creepy literature or inspiration on All Hallow’s Eve, here are some recommendations (and warnings):
photo by kevindooley (flickr cc)
– The Baltimore Museum of Art is currently featuring an exhibit of paintings — some by renowned artists like Gauguin and Matisse — inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. This is only one event in Nevermore, Baltimore’s year-long celebration of Poe throughout 2009 (in January, Poe would have turned 200). Tonight at the Strand Theatre (1823 N. Charles Street), see David Keltz read/perform as Poe, and afterwards, grab a pint at the Annabel Lee Tavern. For a full list of events, visit Nevermore’s website. (Via NPR)
– Over at The Millions, Ben Dooley suggests curling up with House of Leaves.
House of Leaves doesn’t just frighten. […] It is a virtuoso effort. Taking full advantage of his medium, Danielewski paints the page like a canvas, exploiting both knife-sharp prose, painfully clever post-modernist narrative devices, and typographical tricks to draw the reader into his tale of horror.
– If visual scares (and social commentary chills) are more your style, check out this week’s New Yorker cover:
*Unmasked* by Chris Ware (cover of the New Yorker, Nov. 2 issue)
– For a so-creepy-it’s-true read, indulge in Adam Kirsch’s essayistic review of the new Ayn Rand biography (thanks, Mom, for forwarding).
– Our definition of scary is now completely turning the corner. Not recommended AT ALL? Halloween book burning at the the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in North Carolina. WTF?! (Via Bookninja) And here’s a link to a video about it, via Inkygirl.
