Halloween Treat for Heavy Metal Fans: Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Reads Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’!

A massive fan of the horror genre, Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett delivered a uniquely chilling holiday treat for fans. Kirk Hammett shared a video of himself performing a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic gothic poem, "The Raven."

Kirk Hammett has turned a lifelong passion into standard-setting expertise, building one of the world's most comprehensive personal collections of horror and sci-fi memorabilia, fine art, and cinema artifacts.

A substantial portion of his archive comprises iconic film props, including original laboratory set pieces from the 1931 landmark Frankenstein, Boris Karloff’s screen-worn costume from the 1933 film The Black Cat, the prop axe wielded by Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in 1980’s The Shining, and the iconic original cape worn by Bela Lugosi in the 1948 horror-comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

In 2012, Kirk Hammett published a photo-rich coffee table book detailing his archive, titled Too Much Horror Business. He has also shared his collection with the public through curated exhibits, including "Kirk's Crypt" at the 2012 and 2013 Orion Music & More festivals, as well as launching his signature Fear FestEvil horror convention in 2014 and 2015.

"Heavy metal and horror movies come from the same sources, they come from the same seeds, they have a lot of the same imagery and subject matter," Kirk Hammett previously reflected. "Part of the appeal of horror movies for me is coming in contact with my own mortality without having to pay the actual price. It's about experiencing fear and high tension purely for sonic and artistic pleasure."