By GREG COOK | October 24, 2012

In Patt Kelley's twisted but surprisingly sweet comics, a hairy-faced lady from a traveling circus romances a tree-man, a monster spawned by dirty dishes devours the world, a vampire finds her soul mate in a guy with a permanent nosebleed. It's a dangerous, unpredictable world, but love wins out. And, ya know, death.

"I do stuff with vampires and monsters. It's all kind of out there," Kelley explains. "I think I use the sensitivity and the human aspect of it to ground the story."

"Everything That Creeps," this fall's edition of the annual Halloween lowbrow-art spook-tacular organized by Ami Bennitt, will feature Kelley's creepy-cute paintings of scenes from the films The Birds, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rosemary's Baby, and Alien alongside masks by Eric Bornstein, whose clients include Boston Lyric Opera's Madame Butterfly and Boston Ballet's Nutcracker; works by Beth Robinson, who makes Day of the Dead–inspired skeleton lady dolls as well as alien fetus holiday ornaments; psychedelic goth drawings by apocalyptic/folk/sci-fi/magic/musical impresario Walter Sickert; and Nicole Johnson's freaky dolls depicting zombie ladies, zombie Easter bunnies, and just plain old ladies.

And as always, the opening party should not be missed (this year's is from 7 to 10 pm on October 27). Bennitt says, "The freaks like to fly their flag. I can't tell you how many grown-ups have come in costume. Elaborate. I'm talking comic-con level of enthusiasm."

"EVERYTHING THAT CREEPS":: Lincoln Arts Project, 289 Moody St, Waltham ::Through October 31 :: lincolnartsproject.com

Related: Worst Public Art Manifesto No. 1, ''Elsewhere'', Game on, More

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In the 1930s and '40s, Boston painters developed a moody, mythic realism. They mixed social satire with depictions of street scenes, Biblical scenes, and mystical symbolic narratives, all of it darkened by the shadow of the Great Depression and World War II.
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The Reverend Al Zombie, organizer of the Providence Zombie Pub Crawl, climbed on the bar at Fatty McGee’s as the event kicked off Saturday night to offer a disclaimer.
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