It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.
Sunday, October 11th
13:30: Tea time at Baker Street
It was the fourth of February in the year 1875. It had been a severe winter, and the snow lay deep in the gorges of the Gilmerton Mountains. The steam ploughs had, however, kept the railroad open, and the evening train which connects the long line of coal-mining and iron-working settlements was slowly groaning its way up the steep gradients which lead from Stagville on the plain to Vermissa, the central township which lies at the head of Vermissa Valley. From this point the track sweeps downward to Bartons Crossing, Helmdale, and the purely agricultural county of Merton. It was a single-track railroad; but at every siding—and they were numerous—long lines of trucks piled with coal and iron ore told of the hidden wealth which had brought a rude population and a bustling life to this most desolate corner of the United States of America.
For desolate it was! Little could the first pioneer who had traversed it have ever imagined that the fairest prairies and the most lush water pastures were valueless compared to this gloomy land of black crag and tangled forest. Above the dark and often scarcely penetrable woods upon their flanks, the high, bare crowns of the mountains, white snow, and jagged rock towered upon each flank, leaving a long, winding, tortuous valley in the centre. Up this the little train was slowly crawling.
The oil lamps had just been lit in the leading passenger car, a long, bare carriage in which some twenty or thirty people were seated. The greater number of these were workmen returning from their day’s toil in the lower part of the valley. At least a dozen, by their grimed faces and the safety lanterns which they carried, proclaimed themselves miners. These sat smoking in a group and conversed in low voices, glancing occasionally at two men on the opposite side of the car, whose uniforms and badges showed them to be policemen.
Several women of the labouring class and one or two travellers who might have been small local storekeepers made up the rest of the company, with the exception of one young man in a corner by himself. It is with this man that we are concerned. Take a good look at him, for he is worth it.
Thus opens the second part of The Valley of Fear, and with it we are transported to the United States in the year 1875, and introduced to a man by the name of Jack McMurdo. But where, in all of this, might sit the hand of Moriarty?
Join Caledonia Skytower, Kayden Oconnell and John Morland as they continue to read the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel.
18:00: Serafina and the Black Cloak – Encore
Join Caledonia Skytower as she presents an encore of the beginning of Serafina, at Magicland’s Golden Horseshoe (see below for more on the story).
Monday October 12th, 19:00: A Night in the Lonesome October
The Seanchai staff are marking the arrival and passage of the Halloween month with readings of Roger Zelazy’s A Night in the Lonesome October. The latter is the last of Zelazy’s published works, and 31 of its 32 chapters (the first being an introductory chapter) each take place on a night in October.
The book is satirical in nature, and is written in the first person – the narrator being Snuff the dog, the companion to none other than Jack the Ripper.
Once every few decades, when the moon is full on the night of Halloween, the fabric of reality thins, and doors may be opened between this world and the realm of the Great Old Ones.
At this time, men and women with occult knowledge gather at a certain location to engage in The Game – an attempt by some to open the doors, and others to hold them closed. Should the Openers ever win the game, the Great Old Ones will come to Earth, remake it in their own images and enslave or slaughter the human race in the process.
Thus, through the month of October, the Players in The Game – all archetypal characters from Victorian Era Gothic fiction – form alliances, make deals, oppose one another, and even resort to murder in their attempts to make sure the doors are ready to be opened or can be held fast when, on the night of October 31st, the final ritual takes place and the fate of the world is decided.
Tuesday October 13th,19:00 The Ghost of William S. Burroughs
… Makes an appearance at Seanchai… seriously!
Wednesday October 14th 19:00: Serafina and the Black Cloak
Caledonia Skytower continues reading of Robert Beatty’s spooky mystery thriller.
Serafina lives a life of total secrecy. While her father may be the maintenance man for the great house of the Biltmore Estate, the wealthy owners of the estate have no idea that he lives in the basement of the house – and much less that his daughter lives there with him.
Not that this is a problem for Serafina; she is quite at home exploring the great house and its grounds whilst avoiding being seen. There’s certainly no need for her to venture into the great forest beyond the estate, and with which, he father has said, lie many dangers.
But when the children on the estate start vanishing, Serafina is forced to join forces with the young nephew of the Biltmore’s owners, and discover the identity of the one they believe to be behind the disappearances: the Man in the Black Cloak. But in order to do so, Serafina must enter the forest her father has warned her against; and within that forest lies a deeper secret Serafina must confront – that of her own identity.
Thursday, October 15th
19:00: Ghost Stories
With Shandon Loring.
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
With Shandon Loring.
Saturday, October 17th, 12:00 Noon PDT at Seanchai InWorldz
The Fetch, a ghost story, with Shandon Loring.
A fetch is a supernatural double or an apparition of a living person in Irish folklore. Akin to the doppelgänger it is regarded as an omen, possibly of impending death. So what does it have in store for us? Join Shandon and find out!
(https://inworldz/region/Delphi/176/72/36)
Also This Month
- Seanchai Library is participating in the Good Reads Hunt. To get started, visit the Good Reads starting point at Literature Alive!/Desi’s Gifts and Prints
- Don’t forget to visit the Five Irish Haunts panels at Seanchai Library to discover something about ghosts and hauntings!
—–
Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
The featured charity for October – December is Reach Out and Read, one of the most highly rated literacy charities in the USA which reaches 4.4 million children annually and distributes 1.6 million books.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
Reblogged this on Windlight Magazine and commented:
Inara covers this week at The Senchai Library:
LikeLike