Kids Hunt Bigfoot, Nessie, and Other Cryptids with Help from Their Library
When Bigfoot and a host of other famous cryptids were spotted in a Virginia park in October, area kids set out on foot to find them with help from their local library.
When Bigfoot and a host of other famous cryptids were spotted in a Virginia park in October, area kids set out on foot to find them with help from their local library.
For this special Halloween episode of the “How I Library” podcast, I Love Libraries editor and show host Phil Morehart speaks with actor, writer, and producer David Dastmalchian. Dastmalchian joins the show to discuss his love of comics and horror movies, his writing career, and of course, how he libraries.
Do things go bump in the night at your house? Do you see or feel otherworldly presences in your home? Do you think you have a ghost? Libraries across the country are helping amateur ghost hunters in their communities by lending out ghost-hunting kits, complete with instructions on how to use the equipment.
If you’re like us, you love to fill your spaces with sights, sounds, and smells of fall. Thankfully, the Library of Congress has a plethora of free resources that can be used to add instant autumn ambiance.
It’s Halloween! And if you’re not out and about trick-or-treating, hitting up costume parties, visiting haunted houses, or engaging in the wide variety of spooky fun that comes with the season this evening (or if you need something to do afterwards), you’re most likely watching horror movies. We know we will be. And some of our favorites involve libraries, of course. It’s the perfect locale for some scares.
Mahon Public Library is host to a myriad of spooky occurrences: disembodied whistling, footsteps, and voices; books that fling to the floor by themselves; and the ghosts of a former volunteer whose seen in the horror lit section and a dark-haired woman in a red dress.
Halloween is creeping up on us fast. Celebrate your love of the spookiest of all holidays AND books with something from the ALA Store. Hang a poster in your crypt, slide a bookmark into your favorite horror novel, or unearth some horror reader’s advisory for more scares on the page.
Halloween season is upon us. (Finally!) We love this time of the year here at I Love Libraries-the month-long horror-movie marathons, the costume parties, the scary (and often cheesy) haunted houses, sharing ghost stories with friends and family, chowing down on all sorts of candy and treats, and the decorations. Especially the decorations.
Halloween allows everyone to let their spooky selves shine. And the Library of Congress has a plethora of free resources that can be used to add instant chills (and fun) to your Halloween decor, including a fascinating selection of copyright-free posters and images that can be downloaded and hung at home, in the office, or anywhere you want to add some Halloween flavor.
Here are some of our faves!
“October’s bright blue weather. A good time to read!” Poster by Albert M. Bender. Chicago: Illinois WPA Art Project [between 1936 and 1940].
“Do Spirits Return? Houdini Says No-and Proves It. 3 Shows in One: Magic, Illusions, Escapes = Fraud Mediums Exposed.” Theatrical poster. [United States, approximately 1909].
“The Haunted Lane.” Photo by Melander, 1889.
Autumn scene in rural Pomfret, Connecticut. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Oct. 2011.
“Halloween Roller Skating Carnival: On the Mall, Central Park. Poster. [New York]: Federal Art Project, 1936.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Transformation.” Theatrical poster. Chicago: National Printing & Engraving Co., [1880s].
“Newmann’s Wonderful Spirit Mysteries.” Theatrical poster. Newport, Kentucky: Donaldson Litho. Co., [1911?].
Find more Halloween and Día de Muertos resources, including print materials, photos, movie info, supernatural tales, and music, at the Library of Congress.