Event Recap: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Hosts "A Victorian Halloween" with Magic-Lantern Show In Southern California

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art may not be opening until next year in Southern California, but it has already hosted a number of events in promotion of the highly anticipated location and its collections. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a fascinating event called “A Victorian Halloween" in Los Feliz, and below you’ll find my recap of the evening.

“A Victorian Halloween" took place at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz, which was founded in 1934. I had never visited this intriguing venue before, but after learning more about it I am very curious to go back and check out some of its other programming.

Upon entering the courtyard of the Philosophical Research Society, we found signage promoting the “Victorian Halloween" Magic-Lantern Show, and we also took a look around the venue’s library and gift show, which was full of all sorts of interesting materials on an eclectic variety of subjects. There was also a calendar of events posted for October.

Inside the venue’s auditorium, a slide was projected on the screen with the key art for the Lucas Museum’s Halloween event while attendees filled the hall and the performers got set up. While we waited for the show to begin, we were individually greeted by accomplished magic lanternist Terry Borton, who showed off a favorite flip-book and welcomed us to the performance.

Below you’ll find a look at the program for the evening, which included magic-lantern retellings of familiar stories such as “Little Orphan Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley “The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning, and Edgar Allan Poe’s beloved narrative poem “The Raven."

But before the featured performance began for the evening, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s Senior Curator Ryan Linkoff introduced the proceedings, and told us a little bit more about the upcoming museum, which will be able to host events such as this after it opens sometime in 2026.

The following photo is an up-close look at the magic lantern used by Terry Borton during the show, which utilizes slides made of transparent plates to project images on the screen. The dual lenses allow the lanternist to actually animate the and transition between the images. In-between the stories listed above, Borton (with the assistance of his wife Deborah and a talented pianist and singer named Elizabeth Joy Kelly) incorporated a number of other short stories, songs, and effects– such as the fabled horror-themed Phantasmagoria– that were illuminated by the magic lantern and many wonderfully illustrated slides created by the artist Joseph Boggs Beale more than a century ago.

The audience at the Philosophical Research Society was enthralled by the magic-lantern show that evening, and afterwards Borton even stuck around for a Q&A session during which we learned a lot more about the history of the technology and art form. Personally I got a really big kick out of this two-hour event, and I can’t wait to attend more like it– either at other venues around Los Angeles or at the Lucas Museum itself starting next year.

For additional information, be sure to visit the official websites of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the Philosophical Research Society– both located in Los Angeles, California.