Once upon a midnight dreary… No, it wasn’t actually midnight, but the atmosphere in St. Daniel auditorium was certainly of that general mood. The stage was set for the “Twisted Tales of Poe”, a clever interpretation of some works by Edgar Allen Poe in the form of a 1940s radio program. It was exciting to see how this idea would play out on stage.

At first, it was admittedly a tad confusing as to what was going on. The more accustomed to the format one became, the more convincing it was that this was precisely the way to perform Poe’s stories. Sure enough, when the events of the “Tell-Tale Heart” came to their haunting climax, the sheer vocal talent of the actors and actresses enthralled all. To top it all off, the resonating “heartbeat” (made by pounding a fist against the stage floor) that pulsed through the auditorium was enough to make every audience member feel as though they were trapped in the spiraling descent of madness alongside the main character.

It was about halfway through the second play, “The Cask of Amontillado”, that one would think to follow the suggestion given by the playbill and close the eyes for a few seconds to get the full experience of a radio broadcast. Without seeing the movements on stage of the actors or the sound crew, it was entirely possible to imagine sitting by an old-fashioned radio, listening faithfully to a favorite show. It was like a bit of time travel- purely magical. Having the eyes closed made the already chilling story of Montresor’s “perfect murder” absolutely terrifying.

“The Raven” and “The Black Cat” followed the same pattern of the first two plays; that is, they took already unnerving stories and made them downright spine-chilling.

All in all, “The Twisted Tales of Poe” captured the imagination in the spectral way perfect for this Halloween season. This was no doubt due to the incredible passion and hard work of everyone involved, both on the stage and off it. The final description of this play is that it was utterly amazing. Simply this, and nothing more.