If you’re looking for a different spin on a Halloween party or just a unique idea to spark up a summer evening with friends, drag out your American lit books and take another look at Edgar Allan Poe. His stories and poems can provide inspiration for a unique party.
Instructions
Host an Edgar Allan Poe Party
1. Make and send invitations: Plain white cards might be printed as follows: “The purpose of this Purloined Letter is to invite you to join Edgar Allan Poe at the House of Usher (your address) for a Masque of the Red Death celebration on (date and time). Your Tell-Tale Heart should respond to this invitation at (phone number for RSVP).”
2. As guests arrive, hand them small masks and lead them to a table piled with items such as feathers and sequins. After decorating their masks, invite guests to wear them for the duration of the party. You might consider taking a photo of everyone in their masks as soon as they're decorated.
3. Plan refreshments: Serve a buffet with small cards next to each item explaining its connection to a Poe story. Sample menu:Bar-b-q ribs and browned potato slices (ribs from the bar-b-q “Pit--and the Pendulums” are the potatoes), Blackened chicken: “The Raven," Heart-shaped chocolate cake frosted in red: “The Tell-Tale Heart”
4. Select some games which can be slightly altered to make them Poe related. For example: Play Charades using the names of Poe stories and poems, Play “Pictionary” using names of Poe stories and poems. Play Jenga calling it “The Fall of the House of Usher.” For atmosphere, you might read the last paragraph of the story first. Play Cootie as a version of “The Gold Bug." Go all out, if you like, by spraying all the pieces with gold paint. Play Clue, calling it “The Murder in the Rue Morgue.”
5. Rent some videos of old movies adapted from Poe short stories and play selected scenes. Serve popcorn and wine or wine punch from “The Cask of Amontillado.”
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