Hear spine-chilling tales for free on Sunday in Rancho Bernardo

A free performance of spine-chilling stories will be presented this weekend for the next “Sunday Afternoons @ 3” program in Rancho Bernardo.

Local actors Veronica Murphy and Walter Ritter will be joined by concert pianist Jacquelyne “Jacqui” Silver when they share short stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe and other writers during “Mystery and Mayhem.”

The show will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 in the Ed Brown Center for Active Adults, 18402 W. Bernardo Drive in Rancho Bernardo Community Park. All ages are welcome.

Unlike previous “Sunday Afternoons @ 3” performances, this month’s offering is free due to a grant from the Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation, which is underwriting it.

Murphy and Ritter are part of the Write Out Loud theater company, which they cofounded in 2007. Its performers specialize in reading literature aloud and regularly present their offerings to libraries, classrooms, senior centers and retirement communities throughout San Diego County.

One of the group’s previous endeavors included having members participate in a “Moby Dick” marathon, where over the course of 25 hours they read the entire book aboard the Star of India as a program for the San Diego Maritime Museum.

As for their acting backgrounds, Murphy has performed in San Diego County for the past 20 years with groups such as Cygnet Theatre Company, Ion Theatre Company, Lamb’s Players Theatre, Lynx Performance, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Pam Turner Dance and Tonic Productions. Ritter has been a resident artist at Ion Theatre Company and Lynx Performance. He has also been seen at Lamb’s Players Theatre, Sledgehammer, Moonlight and Starlight.

Silver will perform Robert Schumann’s “The Prophet Bird Opus 87, No. 7” and accompany the actors as they read the various spooky tales. The Juilliard School graduate has performed throughout North America and worked with numerous well-known artists, including Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland, Barry Tuckwell, Tony Randall and John Cullum. Silver has also appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “Dick Cavett Show” and “Alan King Show,” plus several television and radio specials.

For questions about Sunday’s presentation, call the center at 858-487--9324 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays. For information about its other offerings, call or go to EdBrownCenter.org.