Cape Cod . . . the name evokes images of sand dunes, clam shacks, and traffic snarls. But soon it’ll also conjure pictures of flappers with kohl-rimmed eyes and hapless children meeting their untimely demise.
Yarmouth Port is now the home of the Edward Gorey House, a museum devoted to the prolific author, artist, and illustrator of comic and macabre stories. Known to PBS viewers for his animated introduction to the Mystery series, Gorey is also famous for books like The Doubtful Guest, The Curious Sofa, The West Wing, and The Gashlycrumb Tinies, this last an alphabetical list of children and their fatal mishaps.
Gorey wrote more than 100 books, and he illustrated a remarkable number by other authors, including T.S. Eliot (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats), Samuel Beckett, and Saki. He also worked in the theater, most notably as the set and costume designer for the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula, for which he won a Tony Award.
His own books were often filled with a sense of foreboding. Umbrellas flew across the sky like bats; moustached men sported raccoon coats; Victorian ladies plotted in corners; furry visitors had mysterious agendas. His landscapes typically stretched long and barren, punctuated by the occasional crumbling tower or sinister statuary.
As glimpsed from the winding Old King’s Highway (Route 6A), Yarmouth Port seems an unlikely setting for his home. Even in a driving rain like the atmospheric ones he frequently inked, the town’s shingle-style houses look sunny and undaunted. Most were built before 1800, and there’s nary a mansard roof or watch tower in sight.
The 200-year-old house where Gorey lived for the 14 years before his death, in 2000, is no exception. And though several neighboring homes hide down narrow, hedge-lined drives, 8 Strawberry Lane is perched conspicuously on Yarmouth Port Common.
Inside, visitors are met by wide pine floors, two church pews, and glass-fronted bookcases full of small objects. The poison ivy that once crept through cracks in the walls is gone. The ghost that Gorey suggested was entrancing his six cats has yet to reveal itself to the curator and her family, who live on the second floor. But his spirit still feels present.
The " Gorey, 1925 to 2000 " exhibit leads visitors from his Chicago birth certificate (dated February 22, 1925) and first baby shoes to book covers he created while working at Doubleday/Anchor and a copy of his first book, The Unstrung Harp (1953). His more personal side is also on offer. Shelves hold an eclectic array of stuffed animals, pottery, gothic rings and necklaces, and photographs of Gorey, a towering man with a piercing gaze and long, bushy beard.
" There are a lot of things people haven’t seen before, " says Rebecca Schroeder, the museum’s director and curator. " These are on loan from a relative " — she gestures toward early drawings of Mr. Earbrass, the main character in The Unstrung Harp.
Nearby, the Tony Award Gorey won for his Dracula costumes joins miniature, hand-colored books. " I think he had it [the Tony] in a shoebox in his closet, " Schroeder recalls. " And then one day, a friend came over, and she told him, ‘You need to take care of this.’ And he was like, ‘Take it.’ After all these years, she showed up yesterday with it. She even brought the shoebox. "
The " Gorey on the Cape " exhibition celebrates his theatrical contributions to communities from Bourne to Provincetown. Through January of next year, Goreyphiles can drool over bold theater posters — so much larger than his book illustrations. There are also photographs of the puppet troupe that performed the shows he wrote, designed, and directed. Schroeder says, " We’re hoping to build a relationship where the troupe will perform shows here a couple of times a year. "
Animals were always Gorey’s most sympathetic characters, and he evinced his affinity for them at an early age. On loan from the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust are cat-centric diary entries, including one dated March 20, 1938, that gushes: " Kittens OK! Kittens 11 days old. Tiger kitten has one eye open. Awful cute. " It’s fitting, then, that the museum’s " Everybody Read " room houses educational exhibits and games created by the Animal Rescue League of Boston, Bat Conservation International, the Xerces Society (which protects spineless creatures like bugs, slugs, and crabs), and Tufts Veterinary School.
" Edward mentioned organizations in his will that he wanted his estate to continue working with, " Schroeder explains. " So we offered to give them exposure at the house. " A portion of the museum’s admissions will fund the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, the mission of which is to support animal welfare. Also in the " Everybody Read " room, young visitors can browse through titles that Gorey illustrated for children’s authors John Bellairs, John Ciardi, Florence Heide, Edward Lear, and Peter Neumeyer.
The museum, which deftly uses small objects to pay homage to a personality larger than life, almost never came to pass. When Gorey’s home was put up for sale, the bidding grew heated. The executive director of a private Boston philanthropic organization led the effort to buy the house for use as a museum.
" Luckily, the executors liked our idea best, " says Schroeder. " They really were glad that someone wanted to do something in the house for Edward. "
Lucky, indeed. Now, when a summer storm washes out beach-related activities, visitors can easily avoid the fate of two of the doomed children from The Gashlycrumb Tinies: " M is for Maud who was swept out to sea. N is for Neville who died of ennui. "