BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Dead authors are back in Palm Beach County libraries this fall, and it won’t cost you a thing to see them. “I Read Dead People,” the Palm Beach County Library System’s haunted literary show, returns for a fourth straight year after winning the Florida Library Association’s 2026 Innovative Program or Service Award earlier this year.
Library staffers dress up as famous authors visiting from beyond the grave, then read from their best-known horror and thriller stories. Past performances featured Edgar Allan Poe reciting “The Raven” and Shirley Jackson reading an excerpt from “The Haunting of Hill House.”
Each author gets a room dressed to match the story. Michael Crichton once held court surrounded by fossils and dinosaur artifacts, a nod to “Jurassic Park,” while Charlotte Perkins Gilman sat among the hideous wallpaper from “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Guests move in groups from room to room to hear each tale.
This year, each branch puts its own spin on the event. The Lantana Road Branch, 4020 Lantana Road in Lake Worth, will present a new selection of classics on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. The Greenacres Branch, 3750 Jog Road in Greenacres, hosts a bilingual version with stories told in English and Spanish on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. Updates on upcoming performances are posted at pbclibrary.org/events.
