Spooky Tales scare bookstore audience

Oct. 22, 2022  |  By Amelia Canney | Community News Service 

Bridgeside Books turned down the lights for Spooky Tales readings. Photo by Maddie Cross

The audience sat rapt in the twinkling candlelight as they watched the witch and ghoul spin scripted stories like spiders before them. 

As the costumed performers regaled the crowd with tales of hauntings, monsters and more, the dozens of listeners at Bridgeside Books on a recent Saturday shivered at the scares, went silent at the buildups and even laughed at the jokes scattered throughout the stories. 

The performers, couple Kathryne Blume and Mark Nash, read seven short stories by local authors that night as part of the Waterbury bookshop’s first-ever Spooky Tales event Oct. 15. 

The two-hour event saw the Charlotte duo read, and occasionally act out, the collection of Halloween-themed tales as a way to bring the thrills of the season to an age group — adults — that might have forgotten what they’re like.

The event was organized by Nash’s niece, Jenna Danyew, who works at the store. She was inspired by the longstanding Winter Tales series put on by the Vermont Stage Company in Burlington — a show Nash conceived of in 2004 during his time with the production group.

The night’s stories were prepared specifically for the event. Authors wrote and submitted their works this past summer, then went through two heavy edits to prepare the pieces to be performed aloud. 

Lucy Andrews Cummin, who wrote the story “Do Werewolves Cry?” for the event, said she got her inspiration from a prompt in horror master Stephen King’s classic guide “On Writing.” 

Actors Kathryne Blume and Mark Nash bring original Spooky Tales to life at Bridgeside Books recently. Photo by Katya d’Angelo

“I went off in a whole new direction — I wish I could get another prompt from him,” the Huntington writer said.

The sold-out event drew more than 60 people, both newcomers and those who had been to Winter Tales in the past. 

“I have attended Winter Tales for years,” said Waterbury resident Elizabeth Danyew, mother of Jenna, the organizer. “It’s fun to celebrate the season in a way that’s more mature than trick-or-treating.”

Nash and Blume performed at Winter Tales for almost a decade, starting in 2004 before. Spooky Tales was similar in ways to the other event, but they didn’t expect the same kind of atmosphere or turnout.

“We didn’t know how many people were going to come,” Blume said. “We didn’t know how they were going to respond. We really hoped that they wouldn’t be bored.”

The stories performed that night will not be published, about half of the authors behind them have other stories and books published and carried at Bridgeside Books.

Jenna Danyew and Bridgeside Books owner Katya d’Angelo say they’re already thinking about Spooky Tales 2023. 

Community News Service is a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.