Halloween Magic Lantern Show! – Showing 1

Presented by The American Magic Lantern Theater

Travel back in time with the boisterous fun of America’s only Halloween magic lantern show. An authentic 1890s visual extravaganza projected on a full-sized screen—the kind of show that led to the movies!  Halloween stories like Poe’s The Raven, spooky animated comedy, spiritualist slides of the dead visiting the living—all dramatized on-screen by a live showman and singer/pianist. The audience participates in the fun, creating sound effects, and joining in chants and hilarious sing-alongs like The Worms Crawl In. Plus, a modern take on an 18^th century spook show, The Phantasmagoria.

For 25 years, The American Magic Lantern Theater has delighted audiences from Lincoln Center to Singapore. “What a hoot!” says NEED. “You’ll be enthralled,” says The Family Adventure Guide to Connecticut. But National Public Radio says it best: “It’s an incredible experience . . . .Don’t miss them. They’re a living national treasure!” For adults and children 10+.

The American Magic Lantern Theater is the nation’s leading touring theater company recreating Victorian magic lantern shows. Over the last twenty-five years, Theater members have appeared in more than 1,000 performances, from Lincoln Center to Singapore.

Terry Borton, a fourth-generation lanternist, narrates the performance, which he also wrote and produced. Terry has a doctorate from Harvard, has written two books on education, and was for fifteen years Editor in Chief of Weekly Reader.  With his wife he is the co-author of Before the Movies. His new book, Magic Lantern Art: The American Screen’s First Great Narrative Artist, Joseph Boggs Beale, is now available at bookstores. The Borton Magic Lantern Collection, concentrating on the work of lantern artist Joseph Boggs Beale, is at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Joy Kelly, soprano and pianist, graduated from Temple University with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance. Since then, she has worked professionally as a stage director, costume designer, conductor, accompanist, and her favorite, opera singer. Currently, Elizabeth teaches private lessons and is curating her own concert series entitled Elizabeth & Friends.

The event is free to attend with advance registration. It will be held in-person at the Clark Library. Seating is limited at the Clark Library; walk-in registrants are welcome as space permits. The registration form below is for Showing 1 (5:00 – 6:00 p.m.) and will close on Monday, October 26, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.

Photo credit: Magic lantern slide by Joseph Boggs Beale