Have a Culture Monster Halloween (and you can start now)

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A roundup of arts-related Halloween productions or activities.

For many, Halloween means carving pumpkins, dressing up in bright costumes and trick or treating. For others, it’s an excuse to walk through a pitch-black cemetery in the middle of the night. If you’re in the second camp, Wicked Literature: A Halloween Theatre Festival might be for you.

From now through Nov. 6, the 4-year-old Wicked Lit festival comes to the Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, presenting theatrical adaptations of six classic works of horror literature.

Audience members can choose between two distinct productions: One features adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Unnamable” and Charles Dickens’ “The Chimes.” The other includes adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Body Snatcher,” M.R. James’ “Casting the Runes” and Mark Twain’s “A Ghost Story.”

Created by Paul Millet, Jonathan Josephson and Jeff G. Rack, Wicked Lit is aimed at people looking for a more theatrical experience from Halloween. The three adapted and direct the classic works.

Though it began as a reading series, Wicked Lit has evolved into an event at which audience members are expected to walk through the mausoleum and cemetery as three separate horror stories unfold, one after the other, from just a few feet away.

“When you see these shows, you’re not sitting in a theater, in a seat, watching the actions in front of you — you are actually in the show,’ says Millet.

Bring comfortable shoes, warm clothing, a flashlight … and your loudest scream.

Wicked Lit, Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery 2300 N. Marengo Ave., Altadena. Tickets: $45 to $60. wickedlit.org.

Keep reading for more Halloween events for the culturally inclined of all ages.

‘Demons, Angels, and Monsters: The Supernatural in Art.’ The new audio tour at the Getty Center, created by kids for kids, features children sharing their impressions of otherworldly figures depicted in works of art from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection.

Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. Admission is free, parking is $15. Offered during regular museum hours through Feb. 5. www.getty.edu, (310) 440-7300

2nd Annual Voices of the Macabre. Saturday night the Bowers Museum presents a night of readings by professional actors, from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” and Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” along with other ghost stories. Costumes are encouraged.

The Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. 1:30-2:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: Member: $7, non-members $10. www.bowers.org, (714) 567-3600

‘Mark Z. Danielewski’s The Fifty Year Sword.’ On Halloween evening, Danielewski returns to the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater with a theatrical production of his illustrated ghost story “The Fifty Year Sword,’ a ghost story for adults who still remember what it is like to fear like a child. The performance will include live music, voices and 40-foot shadows.

REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles. 8:30 p.m. Monday, $20 general tickets, $16 student tickets. redcat.org. (213) 237-2800

— Jasmine Elist

For many, Halloween means carving pumpkins, dressing up in bright costumes and trick or treating. For others, it’s an excuse to walk through a pitch-black cemetery in the middle of the night. If you’re in the second camp, Wicked Literature: A Halloween Theatre Festival may be for you.
From now through Nov. 6, the four-year-old Wicked Lit festival comes to the Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, presenting theatrical adaptations of six classic works of horror literature. Audience members can choose between two distinct productions: One features adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Unnamable” and Charles Dickens’ “The Chimes.” The other includes adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Body Snatcher,” M.R. James’ “Casting the Runes” and Mark Twain’s “A Ghost Story.”
Created by Paul Millet, Jonathan Josephson and Jeff G. Rack, Wicked Lit is aimed at people looking for a more theatrical experience from Halloween. The three adapted and direct classic works of literature by authors that audience members are probably familiar with.
Though it began as a reading series, Wicked Lit has evolved into an event in which audience members are expected to walk through the Mausoleum and cemetery as three separate horror stories unfold, one after the other, from just a few feet away.
“When you see these shows, you’re not sitting in a theater, in a seat, watching the actions in front of you—you are actually in the show,’ says Millet.
Bring comfortable shoes, warm clothing, a flashlight…and your loudest scream.
Wicked Lit, Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery 2300 N. Marengo Ave.; Altadena. Tickets: $6 to $39. Contact: Wickedlit.org
• ‘Demons, Angels, and Monsters: The Supernatural in Art.’ The new audio tour at the Getty Center, created by kids for kids, features children sharing their impressions of otherworldly figures depicted in works of art from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection.
Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. Admission is free, parking is $15) OFFERED DURING Regular MUSEUM HOURSThrough Feb. 5. Contact: getty.edu, (310) 440-7300
• ‘Mark Z. Danielewski’s The Fifty Year Sword.’ On Halloween evening, Danielewski returns to the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater with a theatrical production of his illustrated ghost story “The Fifty Year Sword,’ a ghost story for adults who still remember what it is like to fear like a child.The performance will include live music, voices and 40-foot shadows.
REDCAT, 631 West 2nd St., Los Angeles. Oct. 31, 8:30 pm.$20 general tickets, $16 student tickets. redcat.org. 213-237-2800
• 2nd Annual Voices of the Macabre. Saturday night the Bowers Museum presents a night of readings by professional actors, from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” and Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” along with other ghost stories. Costumes are encouraged.
The Bowers Museum, 2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana. October 29, 1:30-2:30 pm.Tickets: Member: $7, non-members $10. Bowers.org, 714.567.3600
-Jasmine Elist