THE BEAUTIFUL ART OF THE MACABRE

By: Casandra Vicario.

Do you know the story of the hapless child? The one about the golden bat? The demented cousins? The one about the Gashlycrumb Tinies?

All these illustrated stories, and many others, were created by the mind of an eccentric author, Edward St. John Gorey, born in February 1925. It's said, and rightly so, that Tim Burton's work is heavily influenced by Gorey's; this year, the collection known as "The Vinegar Works" marks 50 years since its publication, and that's why Macabro has taken it upon itself to remember this wonderful author.

Before getting into the biographical details, it's worth mentioning that "The Vinegar Works" is made up of 3 books: "The Gashlycrumb Tinies," one of the best known and, in my opinion, one of the author's finest works, in which we meet children whose names begin with a letter of the alphabet and who die in dramatic or violent fashion; "The Insect God" and "The West Wing."

Born in Chicago, Edward Gorey was eccentric from an early age. It's said that he himself used to tell people he learned to read at age 3, and that by age 5 he had already read two important books many of us know well: Dracula and Alice in Wonderland. Later, while still a child, he says he read Frankenstein and the complete works of Víctor Hugo. His favorite writer? Agatha Christie.

The first story he tried to publish was "The Loathsome Couple," based on a true story that took place in England and which tells of a couple who find satisfaction only in killing children; the story was abruptly rejected by the publisher he approached, who considered it macabre and tasteless. Because of this, Edward Gorey decided to start his own publishing house: Fantod Press.

His official biographer, Alexander Theroux, recounts that Gorey knew a great deal about criminal cases and boasted of having seen every slasher film in history; he was a diehard cinephile and even became a film critic. He used many pseudonyms to publish his work, all of them anagrams of his own name.

One of the great moments of his career came when he designed the costumes and set design for a Broadway adaptation of "Dracula" starring Frank Langella, work that earned him a Tony Award in 1975.

Until the day he died, Edward Gorey lived completely alone; he was never known to have had a girlfriend. His biographer mentions that he once had something that could have become a romantic relationship, with a girl named Bunny Lang, to whom he even dedicated one of his works, "The Hapless Child," but the girl died young, and with her died Gorey's romantic interest.

Edward Gorey had 5 cats, though the feline family gradually grew larger; he enjoyed solitude and staged theatrical versions of his works with real actors and puppets, a show he presented in the town of Cape Cod. He was also a follower of ballet.

Edward Gorey died 3 days after suffering a heart attack, on April 15, 2000. Today, the house where he lived out his last years is a museum, which opens its doors from April to December each year and is located in Massachusetts.

This year, 2013, in honor of the 50th anniversary of "The Vinegar Works," the original drawings for these works will be on display.

If you visit the museum's website, you'll get a sense of what the place is like, learn details about Gorey's life, and be able to purchase a wide variety of beautiful merchandise, ranging from magnets, calendars, and jewelry to lunchboxes and much more, including a special edition of "The Black Doll," a doll a friend of Gorey's made for him in 1942, which the author himself asked to be left without a face, arms, or clothes.

This is a small glimpse of who Edward Gorey was; his work grows more popular by the day and keeps him relevant, and it will continue to do so for many years to come — there's no doubt he is missed.

Visit www.edwardgoreyhouse.org (abre en nueva pestaña) . And let yourselves be surprised!