Heartpounders: Halloween Tales of Horror with Odds Bodkin

Over an evening of slowly increasing horror, Bodkin explores supernatural tales from Colonial America, French Canada, China and finally Russia. But first, on Celtic harp, the storyteller explores the omnipresent belief in dark and inexplicable forces across cultures. How none escapes the fear of evil feeding off the night, especially at certain times of year. Tied to our ancient, pre-scientific fears, born of when only fires and candles could fight the darkness, these old folktales still grab us, like cold hands from nowhere.
First, The Storm Breeder, performed on 12-string guitar. This American Colonial tale thunders to life in a fierce storm as a Boston Brahmin with a bad temper challenges the powers of heaven and hell. He loses and becomes a wraith of the roads, eternally chased by storms. Next, on Celtic harp, The Girl Who Danced with the Devil tells of how young Rose dances past midnight and Satan arrives to charm her as he sucks out her soul. After intermission, Odds picks up his alto recorder and plays Chinese motifs to underscore The Panther Boys, a terrifying tale of lycanthropy from Confucian China. Lastly, Treasure Trove, a Russian serf tale about a man’s frozen wife and a cruel priest who, to trick the old widower out of gold, dons the bloody skin and horns of a goat and rises at the old man’s window. The ruse works, but there’s a problem with the skin.
In all these tales, Bodkin creates vivid character voices and vocal effects that include whiplashes andgalloping hooves, screaming panthers and creaking wood, unbalanced dogcarts and scissors snipping apart blood veins. An evening of intense but tasteful horror.
Tickets are for seating at community tables or the bar. Seating begins at 5pm for performance that begins at 5:30 PM. Themed food and drink menu will be offered for purchase, as well as Grendel's Den's regular offerings. The program lasts approximately 3 hours with intermissions. Please do not plan to arrive after the performance has begun, as this is a live storytelling event that will be disrupted by late arrivals!
Venue will make an effort to seat parties together when possible. If you do not purchase all tickets for your party together, please email sayhi@grendelsden and inform us of all the names in the group that wish to sit together.

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