As Halloween approaches, join Professors Kathleen Cruz and Michael Dylan Foster for a conversation about monsters across cultures–what they mean and why we remain attracted to horror, despite the nightmares that might ensue. Beer and food will be available for purchase (proof of age is required to purchase alcohol). 

This event is part of a series on The Odyssey. As Odysseus takes to the sea after the sack of Troy, he encounters hordes of monsters who decimate his crew and send him on detours that prolong his journey over many years. Once he finally gets home to Ithaca, however, a different kind of monstrosity awaits: his house and family have been taken hostage by men who, once loyal to Odysseus, are content to ransack his stores, pray on his wife and servants, and desecrate his memory. Through an act of horrific violence–the slaughter of all suitors and their consorts, trapped inside his great hall–Odysseus finally reclaims his home and ends his journey.