Turn down the lights, get yourself a drink and gather round while we take you on a little trip down a dark and twisted road to the place where your fears like buried. This month we have extra spooky story times for grown ups in store, at the library and coming soon to a pub near you as a part of our celebration of Booktoberfest. Each October, our regular twice-monthly Thrilling Tales: Story Time for Grown Ups (Mondays at 12:05 at the Central Library: lunches welcome) turns to weekly Chilling Tales Spooktoberfest. Here’s what’s in store:
- October 2: The Ebony Frame, by Edith Nesbit. One look at the antique paintings in the attic and he was transfixed, for one bore his likeness, and the other that of the woman he had loved all his life, but never met. A classic Victorian ghost story.
- October 9: The Red Lodge, by H. Russell Wakefield. They thought it the most picturesque of summer rentals there along the riverbank, until the green slime showed up, that is.
- October 16: The Snail Watcher, by Patricia Highsmith. Mr. Peter Knoppert’s new hobby – observing gastropod behavior – is fascinating – one might even call it all-consuming.
- October 23: Such a Sweet Little Girl, by Lance Selway. It was at breakfast on a bright Saturday morning that Julie first made her announcement: “There’s a ghost in my bedroom.”
- October 30: The Considerate Hosts, by Thorp McClusky. A stormy night on a dark country road. A washed out bridge, car trouble, and a lonely house in the woods with a light in the window. Perfect conditions for a tale of murder, with a spooky twist.
But that’s not all: this Booktoberfest we have four different scary story events at six venues. On October 22 at 8:05 p.m. at the Capitol Hill branch as a part of LitCrawl Seattle, we’ll be hosting Late Night at the Library: Spooky Stories in the Stacks,
featuring some fun short and spooky tales read for you live from the dark heart of the library, after-hours. 
Then it is Ghastly Tales and Cocktails on October 24, 8 p.m. at Lottie’s Lounge in Columbia City, or October 26, 7 p.m. at The Conservatory in Georgetown. Next, we have ‘Ales from the Crypt on October 28, 7 p.m. at Floating Bridge Brewing in University District, or October 29, 8 p.m. at Tippe & Drague Alehouse on Beacon Hill. Finally, we arrive at All Hallow’s Eve itself, with a Hallowe’en Horror Hour at Third Place Books, Seward Park (don’t worry: they have beer & cocktails), October 31 at 7 p.m.
Until then, here are some past podcasts of classic Chilling Tales to get you in the mood:
- The Bus Conductor by E.F. Benson.
- Confession, by Algernon Blackwood.
- The Adventure of the German Student by Washington Irving.
- The Voice in the Night, by William Hope Hodgson.
- In the Dark, by E. Nesbit.
- Jean-Ah Poquelin, by George Washington Cable
- The Ghost Child, by Bernard Capes.
- The Magic Shop, by H.G. Wells.
– Posted by David W.
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