BRADY TWP — The drizzle and chilly temperatures on Saturday evening only enhanced the atmosphere at the Spooky Stories event at the Old Stone House.

Two storytellers spun spine-tingling yarns in the 1822 tavern's parlor and bedroom while guests enjoyed popcorn and hot cider and younger visitors made Halloween cookies in the tavern room.

Face painting, candle dipping and a presentation on bats were held on the grounds of the historic site.

New to the Spooky Stories event this year were three members of the Miracle Elixir Sideshow, who mesmerized about 30 people just off the front porch.

Dressed in Halloween-themed Victorian clothing, the troupe included master of ceremonies “Professor Nicodemus Styles,” a fire eater known only as “Lavinia,” and “Zephyr, the Man Who Feels No Pain.”

The latter performer lay on a bed of nails and hammered a nail into his head to the sound of a groaning yet fascinated crowd.

“We love entertaining people,” said Lavinia. “We love keeping the magic alive of these old shows that once toured the country.”

In the parlor, storyteller Mary Morgan Smith told tales with just the right amount of spooky, depending on the ages of those in the crowd.

Smith has 40 stories to tell, but a professional storyteller does not have them memorized.

“You have to know the first line and the last line and what happens in between,” Morgan said. “I never tell a story the same way twice.”

She regaled one of the younger 10-person groups in the parlor with a tale of a boy whose mother told him to go into the pumpkin patch and find a fine pumpkin for her to cook.

He found an enormous specimen that could be turned into many dishes by his mother, so he thumped the pumpkin to see if it was ripe.

The pumpkin shouted at him to stop thumping in a deep, cantankerous voice.

When the boy did it again, he rocked back and forth in anger until he came apart from his vine and began rolling after the boy.

The boy ran into a series of barriers in his flight from the pursuing pumpkin, all of which magically moved out of his way because he asked politely. Conversely, the ill-mannered pumpkin ran over the trees, pigs and houses.

Finally, Smith related, a herd of cows hid the boy in the center of their ranks and when the pumpkin shouted for them to move or be flattened, they lowered their heads and sent him sailing high into the sky.

“And do you know what happens to a pumpkin when it lands on the ground?” Smith asked the rapt children in the parlor.

She said one piece of the pumpkin became the sun, another the moon, and the hundreds of seeds became the stars.

She also counseled the group to ward off ghosts by placing one slipper on the floor facing away from the bed and one facing toward it.

“Then you'll never have to worry about ghosts,” she said.

Becky Lubold, an environmental education specialist at the nearby Jennings Nature Reserve, talked with visitors about the behavior, habits and diet of the nine bats native to Pennsylvania.

She also talked about bat myths and facts and the white-nose syndrome that has reduced the bats' population in the area.

The bat display also included an activity in which children glued toothpicks onto a tracing of a bat to represent its tiny bones.

Steve Brandon of Slippery Rock attended Spooky Stories with his family, which included two grandchildren. The latter ate popcorn, heard stories and made candles outside by dipping a long wick into wax melted over the fire in the tavern room's hearth.

“I've lived here all my life, so I'm familiar with the Old Stone House,” Brandon said. “This is a nice event. It's something different.”

He recalled bringing his son to the Old Stone House 30 years ago when he was a Scout leader.

“These events make people aware of the Old Stone House,” Brandon said. “It's something that's still here that is part of history.”

Jamie Campbell is a docent at the Old Stone House and a student at Slippery Rock University, which oversees the historic building and its activities.

Campbell helped young and old alike dip candles under a tent just outside the front door.

She explained that both ends of the long wick are dipped over and over to build up two candles.

“See the drops at the end of the wick?” Campbell asked one participant. “When you can't see through that drop anymore, it's time to dip again.”

Sylvia Bella, a Slippery Rock University graduate assistant for the Old Stone House, said Spooky Stories is the major fundraiser for the Old Stone House each year.

She said the university brought in about $2,000 last year, but she enjoys the event for other reasons.

“It brings the community together,” Bella said.