October 21, 2022

FAMOUS ARTISTS  Getting to Know Edward Gorey  You might know Edward Gorey as a somewhat-beyond-cult figure, known for his intricately cross-hatched drawings of vaguely Victorian figures and for the droll stories accompanying them: The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Wuggly Ump, The Evil Garden. His former home was equally as quirky as he was, and though it’s been renovated into a museum, it’s still recognizable as the lair of an eccentric, or at least a place that still steers into that reputation. One writer reminisces about her time meeting the famous oddball artist.  READ MORE →   GASTRO OBSCURA The Art of Kitchen Divination Long before anyone had Co–Star on their phones, people still wanted to peer into the future. In some cases, these fortune-telling methods were deadly serious; in others, they were more of a light-hearted party game for Halloween gatherings. And while they may have fallen out of fashion, they’re generally pretty easy to do, provided you have a stocked pantry and a little imagination. Here are a few to try this spooky season. READ MORE →   OAKINGTON, ENGLAND Grave of Walter "Snowy" Farr Walter Reginald Farr was born in 1919. He came by the nickname “Snowy” because even as a child he had white hair. He worked as a street sweeper for many years, cared for the grounds at St. Andrews Church, and raised tens of thousands for charity with his traveling menagerie of animals in Cambridge Market Square. When he passed away in 2007, the community raised funds to provide him with a proper gravestone. READ MORE →   SPONSORED BY LOS ANGELES TOURISM L.A.’s Mid-City Marvels Centrally located in the heart of Los Angeles, this sprawling neighborhood is a place filled with secret wonders and wonderful treats. Art is everywhere here—including TikTok-ready public art pieces, a piece of the fabled Berlin Wall which waits near one of the world’s premiere museums, a neon-hued hot dog stand and prehistoric tar pits. Here are five Mid-City spots that are filled with curious marvels ripe for exploration. LEARN MORE →   STRONG BUILDING BLOCKS Catalonia’s Human Tower Tradition In Catalonia, no festival is complete without castells, massive towers of humans that can reach jaw-dropping heights—the tallest on record had 10 levels. Castells go back to the early 18th century, and likely grew out of much older gymnastic and human tower–building traditions throughout Spain, particularly Valencia, to Catalonia’s south. Unlike many of these ancient sports, which have all but disappeared over time, castells have actually been gaining in popularity for the last several decades. READ MORE →   MANHATTAN, NEW YORK IFC Center Peephole Upon exiting the West 4th Street subway in New York City, just across from the famous “Cage” street basketball court, you will find the IFC Center. The theater features independent and foreign films. But if you don’t feel like buying a ticket, there is a secret way to get a peek inside, and even watch a film, right from the sidewalk. READ MORE →   ATLAS OBSCURA COURSES This Halloween Season, Learn to Decode Gravestones Have you ever wondered why funerary monuments look the way they do? In this course with Dr. Elise M. Ciregna, you'll learn how to decipher the stories hidden in these stones, drawing from a foundational knowledge of cemeteries and material culture. We’ll trace the history of burying grounds, cemeteries, and gravestones in the United States, focusing on a different period of American history each week. ENROLL TODAY →   A RECIPE FOR YOU Resurrecting the Spudnut The rise of what was once the largest doughnut empire in the United States started at sea. When Bob Pelton, a drugstore clerk from Salt Lake City, returned home from his European tour in the 1930s, he had potato doughnuts on the brain. He christened the doughnuts “spudnuts,” a decidedly more American-sounding name, and scaled up in a big way—he started in 1940 by opening the first Spudnuts shop in Salt Lake City, and by the 1950s, there were more than 350 Spudnuts stores across the continental United States, Alaska, and Mexico. Spudnuts seemed undefeatable. And then—it all collapsed. READ MORE →   BARCELONA, SPAIN ‘The Kiss of Death' The Cementiri de l’Est (East Cemetery), was the first to be built outside the walls in medieval Barcelona after the parish graves were dismantled. Alongside the typical guardian angels and other funerary sculptures adorning the mausoleum in the pantheons section is a sculpture called The Kiss of Death. It stands out for its expressiveness and sense of the macabre: a winged skeleton takes the life of a young male body by means of an allegorical kiss. READ MORE →   FREE MEMBERS-ONLY EVENT Explore the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft The rib of a corpse. Stolen gray wool from the sheep of a widow. Regurgitated communion bread. These are the ingredients needed to breed a “tilberi,” a magical milk-collecting creature, and just one of the spellbinding attractions you’ll see in this live virtual tour of Strandagaldur, The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft. If you aren't a member yet, you can sign up during the RSVP process for this event. BECOME A MEMBER TODAY →