London Month of the Dead - Silent Screams

IN THE PIT WITH POE An Evening of Silent Horror Shorts Readings by Bryony Dixon (BFI) with Live Music Accompaniment by Stephen Horne on Friday the 24th October 2025 at 7:30 pm The pit has long served as a symbol of terror and torment in the medieval imagination—a dark, liminal space suspended between life and the torments of hell, where hope itself becomes a source of suffering. Edgar Allan Poe’s most iconic tales probe these uneasy borderlands between life and death, and his vivid, unsettling imagery has fascinated filmmakers since the earliest days of cinema. As part of London Month of the Dead, a selection of rare surviving silent film adaptations of Poe’s work will be screened at Guy’s Hospital Chapel. Bryony Dixon, curator at the BFI, will read excerpts from Poe’s texts, while renowned silent film accompanist and composer Stephen Horne provides a live, atmospheric musical score. Tickets £15 including a delightful gin cocktail and a 20% donation to the King's Chaplaincy Trust. Please click here to purchase. Stephen Horne Stephen Horne has long been internationally considered one of the leading silent film accompanists. A house pianist at London’s BFI Southbank for over thirty years, he has played at all the major UK venues and recorded music for scores of films. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates other instruments into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. He regularly performs internationally and in recent years his accompaniments have met with acclaim at film festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. In 2011 and 2012, he was commissioned to compose ensemble scores for the London Film Festival Archive Galas of 'The First Born' and 'The Manxman'. And every year since 2014, he has won in one or more categories in the annual Silent London poll. Bryony Dixon Bryony Dixon is a curator at the BFI National Archive, specialising in silent film and early cinema. She has led numerous restoration and preservation projects, bringing rare and forgotten films back to life for modern audiences. Bryony is also a published author, speaker, and broadcaster on the subject of film history, with a particular interest in the cultural and social context of early filmmaking. Her expertise has made her a leading figure in the revival of silent cinema, and she frequently collaborates with musicians, academics, and institutions worldwide to present silent films with live accompaniment and historical insight.

IN THE PIT WITH POE
An Evening of Silent Horror Shorts
Readings by Bryony Dixon (BFI) with Live Music Accompaniment by Stephen Horne on Friday the 24th October 2025 at 7:30 pm

The pit has long served as a symbol of terror and torment in the medieval imagination—a dark, liminal space suspended between life and the torments of hell, where hope itself becomes a source of suffering. Edgar Allan Poe’s most iconic tales probe these uneasy borderlands between life and death, and his vivid, unsettling imagery has fascinated filmmakers since the earliest days of cinema.

As part of London Month of the Dead, a selection of rare surviving silent film adaptations of Poe’s work will be screened at Guy’s Hospital Chapel. Bryony Dixon, curator at the BFI, will read excerpts from Poe’s texts, while renowned silent film accompanist and composer Stephen Horne provides a live, atmospheric musical score.

Tickets £15 including a delightful gin cocktail and a 20% donation to the King's Chaplaincy Trust. Please click here to purchase.

Stephen Horne
Stephen Horne has long been internationally considered one of the leading silent film accompanists. A house pianist at London’s BFI Southbank for over thirty years, he has played at all the major UK venues and recorded music for scores of films. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates other instruments into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. He regularly performs internationally and in recent years his accompaniments have met with acclaim at film festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. In 2011 and 2012, he was commissioned to compose ensemble scores for the London Film Festival Archive Galas of 'The First Born' and 'The Manxman'. And every year since 2014, he has won in one or more categories in the annual Silent London poll.

Bryony Dixon
Bryony Dixon is a curator at the BFI National Archive, specialising in silent film and early cinema. She has led numerous restoration and preservation projects, bringing rare and forgotten films back to life for modern audiences. Bryony is also a published author, speaker, and broadcaster on the subject of film history, with a particular interest in the cultural and social context of early filmmaking. Her expertise has made her a leading figure in the revival of silent cinema, and she frequently collaborates with musicians, academics, and institutions worldwide to present silent films with live accompaniment and historical insight.