2025 will be the ninth consecutive year of the October-long Oh, the Horror! series hosted by the Springfield-Greene County Library and Friends of the Library.
“It engages the community with the horror genre and makes them explore the kinds of things that scare them through fun books, movies, local history programs," said Stump. "So we have kind of something for everyone, depending on what your scare level is.”
Throughout the month, many different authors and books will be highlighted, several of which are nationally recognized.
Among the events are author conversations, panel discussions and more.
In addition to these more traditional events, the series will also feature a themed trivia night to raise funds for the Library Foundation. “Flights and Frights” will take place on October 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. for ages 21 and older at 4 By 4 Brewing Company. Tickets are $45 dollars each, and will include a flight of 4 beers, 3 tacos from Tinga Tacos and prizes.
For a full list of programming, to sign up for the newsletter or to place books on hold, visit thelibrary.org/oh-the-horror.
One of the featured authors in this series is Ozarks native and self-described “amateur folklorist,” Brandon Weston.
“I grew up around a lot of stories and traditions, things like that. And then when I started college, I took a folklore class. And as we started talking about all these stories and remedies and ghost stories and all this other stuff, it was very familiar with what I had grown up with. So I got interested in where the folklore and the folk practices are today and the 21st century.” said Weston.
In his latest book, “Granny Thornapple’s Book of Charms," Weston discusses the lives and traditions of Ozarks healers through the character of Granny Thornapple.
“Traditionally, the healers in the Ozarks had to walk a very fine line between, you know, being accepted by the community and being, you know, accused of witchcraft and all of the spooky things that, you know, people often talk about with healers," he adds.
“[Granny Thornapple] is an amalgam of a lot of people who I did know and a lot of granny women and healers and witches who have been written about in Ozark folklore. So she sort of represents all of them in the story. And the book focuses really on the verbal charm and the prayer tradition in the Ozarks. And so that's the real focus of the bo," he said. "And then interspersed in the chapters are stories from the life of this character, Granny Thornapple. So it's a nice mixture of folklore as well as information on traditional healing, traditional folk practices in the Ozarks.”
Weston will be showcased at the Library Center on October 9 at 7 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing. His work and more information about his self-taught classes can also be found at his website, on Instagram and on Patreon.
