Edgar Allan Poe and Halloween are enmeshed like cobwebs on a lamppost. In classics like “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Masque of the Red Death” and more, the master of horror fiction gave us imagery — sinister masquerade balls, mysterious catacombs, menacing city streets — that’s long inspired Halloween revelers. And retailers and craft suppliers have caught on.
Here are easy ways to give your Halloween party a literary bent.
Quoth the raven
Perhaps the most iconic Poe symbol, the raven is easy to spot around Halloween — large and small, ceramic or silhoutte. There are black birds for buffet tables, bookshelves and front porches.
Pottery Barn () has metal crows for outdoors and faux crows with feathers for indoor use. Crate & Barrel, there are plates and napkins with an all-over raven graphic as well as string lights and carved wooden ravens.
A black feather wreath makes a dramatic statement on a mantel or door, or you can run a black boa down the length of a serving table — or anywhere you’d use a pin garland. You’ll find both in stores, but you can make your own with instructions on .
Raven masks turn even a non-costume dinner party into something intriguingly chic; has both simple and elaborate versions.
In a narrative vein
Try a touch of the literary: a long white glove with ink stains on it, vintage books stacked haphazardly, a tattered tablecloth. Piles of black-covered volumes will set the tone — try covering any book with black paper. Arrange white feather “quill pens” in spice jars.
With a porcelain marker, write a line or two from your favorite Poe piece on some inexpensive white plates or serving trays. Or use metallic, permanent markers to add a phrase to cotton or linen napkins.
Gothic and glam
Hit fabric stores for ebony taffeta or silk, and flea markets for tarnished metals, candlesticks and black wrought iron to bring in an element of Victorian gloom. At , you can find faux-black, wrought-iron fencing a la “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
Midwest Living magazine () has ideas for a Poe-themed dinner party, including using pages from a Poe book as placemats, having each guest read a selected passage, and providing little chocolate tell-tale hearts as favors.
CafePress () has wine charms printed with Poe’s image or words, as well as serving trays, beer steins and glasses. There are pillows, ornaments or tiles with his portrait, or vintage illustrations from the books.
