It's good to be alive, but with Halloween only a week away, the Last Bookstore would rather celebrate the departed at “Dead Men Do Tell Tales.” The night's blood-curdling entertainment begins with Paul Koudounaris lecturing from his 2011 photo book, The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses. Koudounaris traveled the world investigating memorial sites made out of human bones. If you lose your lunch, call the ambulance: Local performance troupe The Art of Bleeding will emerge ready to demonstrate health and safety tips with a morbid and comical twist. If you can stand pain in your ears, check out the musiclike noise from Rosemary's Billygoat, the metal spoof band that has been around 20 years. The members go by the names Mike Odd, Neal Gargantua, Pat Trick and Paul Bearer, and their last album, 2002's Evilution, included a cover of Pat Benatar's, what else, “Hell Is for Children.” The last to spook are trio Clowns & Fetuses, who perform spoken word accompanied by the sci-fi-sound-making theremin. Trekkies and sickos of all kinds are invited. The Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., dwntwn.; Wed., Oct. 24, 7 p.m.; free. (213) 488-0599, lastbookstorela.com.

Wed., Oct. 24, 7 p.m., 2012

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