Witches, goblins, bats, and black cats adorn the walls of a basement storage room in an unlikely place: the Biltmore House in Asheville. This is the Halloween Room, where brightly colored murals of Russian folklore, a platoon of wooden soldiers, and other scenes have covered the brick walls since 1925.
The paintings have always been something of a mystery — why are they here, in a home known for its sophisticated and elegant decor? For years, it was thought that the room was used for a Halloween party hosted by Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil and her husband, John, at which guests were invited to decorate the walls.
But in 2012, Biltmore’s curators discovered a link between the paintings and a Russian theater troupe. In the 1920s, an avant-garde Russian cabaret called La Chauve-Souris (The Bat) toured the United States with enormous popularity and success. Inspired by the abstract set designs of Russian artists Sergei Sudeikin and Nicolai Remisoff, the Cecils spent three weeks painting the storage room, using the show’s program as a guide. They hosted a gypsy-themed ball — complete with cauldrons and glowing fires — in the Halloween Room as part of their New Year’s celebration on December 30, 1925.
Cook, read, learn, and celebrate what North Carolina has to offer this month.
Our editor in chief reminisces on her first special-occasion restaurant experience in North Carolina.
In Pitt County, a luthier’s handcrafted guitars are sometimes discolored or full of knots; some are shaped liked snakes or shotguns. Each instrument’s story starts with the wood used to make it. And while the past may have left its scars, beauty can be found in the sights and sounds of art.
The Roanoke begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and travels more than 400 miles before emptying into Albemarle Sound, linking countless lives along the way. Follow along as a native son traces the river’s path through northeastern North Carolina, sharing stories of the Roanoke he knows and loves.
