When the leaves begin to turn and the first signs of chill
are in the first-world air, many begin to think of blazing fires, and stories
that send chills up your spine. Second Life is no different as autumnal builds
and Halloween destinations spring up, like toadstools in a friendly lawn, all
over the grid. Seanchai Library on the Bradley
University sim is among the longest running spoken word venues in SL, and
enthusiastically embraces this spirit of the season each year by ramping up the
ghost stories, tales of haunting, and other scary fiction from a variety of
genres presented live in voice by talented staff.
“It seems like it is the start of the ‘story season’ every
year,” said Chief Storyteller, Shandon Loring.
We just get through International Talk Like a Pirate Day, take a deep
breath, and then leap into October. We
run all out, full speed, pretty much from October 1st to end of
March without a let up. It’s great!”
Seanchai presents literature and stories live in voice year round, five to
eight hours a week, with tips going to benefit a variety featured charities
annually. It was founded in March of
2008 and prides itself on being a library whose collection is built “one story
at a time, shared live.”
Seancha Library is celebrating this “spookable” of year with
an encore presentation of Roger Zelazny’s A Night in the Lonesome October presented
in five one-hour sessions by a cast of voice talent. A Night in the Lonesome October is a
semi-satirical novel by Roger Zelazny published in 1993, near the end of his
life. It was his last book, one of his five personal favorites, and was
nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1994.
Seanchai will also feature Robert Beatty’s debut novel,
released this year, which Serafina
and the Black Cloak follows a 12 year old who is different and lives
apart from most other people with her father in a basement. Serafina has never had a reason to disobey
her pa and venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. But when children
at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows the clues to follow. Caledonia Skytower presents the captivating
adventure this month in selections at both Seanchai’s home, and their outreach
program at 
One of Seanchai’s most popular weekly sessions is “Tea Time at
Baker Street” on Sunday afternoons (SLT). Since 2012, a core team of four readers has
been working their way through the entire canon of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
Sherlock Holmes adventures: four novels, 56 short stories, and a handful of
micro-fiction and parodies penned by Doyle himself. This month the team will complete the final
piece in their transit of the Holmesian canon: The Valley of Fear,
published in 1915.
In addition to the regular story sessions, Seanchai Library
is participating in Literature Alive’s Good
Reads Hunt October 1 through 31st. Eleven or more destinations round out a
celebration of autumn’s power to inspire reading and literature. “
The Library is also featuring a new and updated version of
“Five Irish Haunts”: an exploration of some of Ireland ’s tradition of haunts and
spooks. Many haunting legends are
similar, but have different origins in different cultures which are reflected
in their stories and folklore. Seanchai
celebrates its roots with the Irish origins of a selection of spooks. Look for the blue and green information
globes to learn about the Banshee, Dear-Dur, Far Liath and more. Who
knows? There just might be surprises
hidden in those wee spinning spheres as well!
The featured charity October through December will be Reach
Out and Read, one of the most highly rated literacy charities in the United
States, reaching 4.4 million children annually in all 50 states, and
distributing over 1.6 million books. Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit
organization of medical providers who promote early literacy and school
readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by integrating children's books
and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud into well-child visits.
Love a good
story? Check out Seanchai Library’s website for
schedule and program information.
by Caledonia Skytower
“Any Ink is Good Ink,
even if it is Virtual”
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