Spend an Eerie Evening at The Huntington

If it takes "practice, practice, practice" to reach Carnegie Hall, how do you enter The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens after sundown?

Hoo. That's a toughie, but there are a few routes to explore.

One? Be a plant, a rose bush or a succulent, because you won't have to leave at night, even after The Huntington closes to guests. We mean won't have to leaf? You get us.

Two? Be a member of the San Marino landmark, and enjoy a handful of summer evenings spent strolling among the flowers and trees.

And three? Purchase a ticket to "Drama After Dark: A Night of the Macabre with Poe & Gorey," the atmospheric, autumn-eerie treat that falls across The Huntington each year, much like a shadow falls across an ornate Victorian door.

It's a treat built around the chilling stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the more cheerful (but still chilling) words of Edward Gorey.

Players from the Guild of St. George visit some of Mr. Poe's greatest works, like "The Raven," through short, deftly acted vignettes. 

So, too, with the gleefully ghoulish pieces crafted by Mr. Gorey, who was also famous for his witty illustrations of elegant swells engaging in all sorts of spooky deeds.

The can't-be-topped stage for these spooky shorts? The Huntington itself, which feels as timeless a place as the tales being told.

Mix in moonlight, and candlelight, too, and you have a leafy, alfresco adventure of the most merry, not-too-scary sort.

The date? The Saturday before Halloween, Oct. 27, which, let it be said, is the most phantasmagorical of all Saturdays on the calendar. 

A ticket is $55 if you're a Huntington member, $65 if you're not, and here's the Poe truth and the Gorey details about this particular affair: It sells out every year, and well in advance of when it takes place.

Tickets are now on sale, so make like a raven and fly, fly, fly at once for your admission to this most elegant expression of the Halloween season.