By Lisa McPeek

Coming to a cemetery near you: instead of Tales from the Crypt, the Dublin Branch Library presents Grave Tales.

Started in October 1984 by a youth services librarian, Grave Tales has become one of the library’s most popular events. Every year around Halloween, the library invites storytellers to perform scary tales for the public on the back lawn in front of historic Pioneer Cemetery.

The program, which marks its 26th anniversary this year, is one of the only scary storytelling events in the state with a cemetery as the backdrop. The event attracts guests from around Central Ohio, says Loren Scully, assistant manager and youth services director for the library.

On the evening of the event, jack-o'-lanterns line a path outside the cemetery. Guests – who are encouraged to wear costumes – arrive early to look at graves and ask the storyteller questions. When everyone has settled in with their blankets or a thermos of hot chocolate, the stories begin.

Scully says the first half hour is comprised of mildly scary stories aimed at younger audience members. After a brief intermission, the more chilling tales begin.

The library brings some of Ohio's most famous storytellers in for the event. Past participants have included Storytellers of Central Ohio members such as Lyn Ford, Frank McGarvey and Melanie Pratt.

Ford, a Columbus-based storyteller who has performed at Grave Tales numerous times, remembers the nights fondly. While she will not be presenting the tales this year, she says the aura of the event and the crowd's reactions are extremely unique.

“I loved the pumpkins, lit and smiling on the cemetery wall, as the night grew darker and the moon rose,” she says. “It was so atmospheric.”

“The setting is perfect, and it's a great event for the whole family,” Scully says. She adds the library staff is always excited for the Grave Tales program because it gives them the opportunity to wear costumes and interact with library patrons.

This year's Grave Tales will be from 7-8 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Dublin Branch Library, 75 N. High St. In case of inclement weather, it will move to the meeting room of the library. For more information, visit www.columbuslibrary.org.

Lisa McPeek is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.


BONUS:
How spooky is Grave Tales? Lyn Ford shared some of her favorite memories of the event with Dublin Life:

- One year, Grave Tales occurred on the night of a full moon. Ford often tells her own stories, and this year she chose one about a giant, monstrous pumpkin that chased a young man until he escaped and the pumpkin fell off of a cliff, breaking into many pieces. The smallest pieces spread seeds across the land, and gave mankind pumpkins for pie and harvesting. Then the biggest piece flew into the sky and became the moon.

- After she told the story Red, a spooky spin on Little Red Riding Hood, a little boy from the crowd asked Ford if she really owned the ring the grandmother in the story wore. When Ford revealed her hand, showing a ring, the little boy's eyes widened. All he could say was, “Whoa.”