By Jyll Thomas, Candler Park Resident.
Monsters hiding in the closet and underneath the stairs are coming out to The Lake Claire Community Land Trust to celebrate Halloween on Saturday, October 26th. Lake Claire resident and Bram Stoker Award nominated writer, Brian Kirk is hosting the second annual Scary Fireside Stories at the Land Trust. Some of Atlanta’s best horror and thriller writers will spin tales to make your hair curl like a bad perm from the 1980s.
“The first time I saw the amphitheater at The Land Trust, with its fire pit and quaint stage, I knew it would be the perfect setting for telling stories,” Brian said.
In addition to creepy tales, there will be ingredients for making s’mores prior to the readings and perhaps a surprise intermission. Costumes are optional but imaginations are required. I asked Brian if he felt it was harder to entertain kids with campfire tales because of the abundance of technology, “No, just the opposite. Today’s kids are less reliant on using their imaginations for entertainment, so they don’t have as much experience having their imaginations activated as previous generations. With storytelling you have to rely on your own experiences and mental imagery to visualize the story being told, which can make it more intimate and scary.”
Scary Fireside Stories is geared towards the PG-13 crowd but children as young as 8 years old (like Brian’s twin boys) were at last year’s event and nobody felt the material was too mature. The readers will be mindful to avoid using vulgar language or graphic depictions of violence. Still the material is meant to be scary, so parent discretion is advised.
This is a free event but donations are welcome to help cover the cost of the event and some of the performers will have copies of their books available for purchase. Bring your family, friends and come join your neighbors at The Lake Claire Community Land Trust October 26th at 270 Arizona Ave. The fun and frights begin at 6:30pm until 9:30pm. For more information, search on Facebook for “Scary Fireside Stories for Halloween”. We’ll be lurking for you!