To kick off the Halloween season Durham County Library once again joins forces with the Horror Writers' Association to conjure a spectacle of dread and sonic nightmare beneath the streets of Durham. Descend into the subterranean crypt of Moon Dog Meadery for an evening of live horror readings from local authors Richard Dansky and Jon Carroll Thomas, followed by a special performance by harbingers of woe Cosmic Reaper, descending from the the stars to bring doomful riffs and strange terrors to the land. 

This event will be held at Moon Dog Meadery, located at 1104 Broad St. Admission will be first come, first serve. Register for more information and a reminder email. 

Please be advised this event may feature disturbing content for mature audiences

Widely regarded as a leading expert on video game writing and narrative, Richard Dansky has worked on franchises such as The Division, Far Cry, Splinter Cell, Assassins Creed, and more. He is the author of The Video Game Writer’s Guide to Surviving an Industry That Hates You, and co-authored the upcoming horror graphic novel Bridgewater with French comics legend Matz. Richard has published 8 novels and 2 short story collections, with his next novel, Nightmare Logic, scheduled for release in 2026. He has worked extensively in tabletop RPG writing as well, having been a core contributor to White Wolf’s classic setting The World of Darkness. Richard is also pretty sure he is the only working horror writer to have won PC Gamer Magazine’s coveted “Mission Pack of the Year” award, and he was briefly the world’s leading expert on Denebian Slime Devils. https://richarddansky.com/

Jon Carroll Thomas is a dark fiction writer, event coordinator, and corporate grocery store peon. He lives in a little log house in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his beautiful wife, charming son, and six spoiled rescue cats. He leads the Quails From The Crypt book club through Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, and is a founding member of the North Carolina chapter of the Horror Writers Association. He enjoys vintage cartoons and old movies that take place in creepy, old houses. His recent stories appear in Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword and Sorcery, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and on the Creepy Podcast.

Since 2017, Cosmic Reaper has carried a black-flamed torch of tradition, forged in the long lineage of doom and sludge. Emerging from the shadows of Charlotte, North Carolina, the band blends a raw, southern swing with the full circle of heavy metal—creating a sound as steeped in American mysticism as it is overloaded saturation of amplifier worship. https://cosmicreaper.bandcamp.com/