Pack Rat Magazine drove its Chevy to the levee and guess what? The levee–she was filled with whipped cream and booze, man.
I first fell in love with the work of Chris Van Allsburg when I was a wee Meghan. Like millions of other children, I was transported away on the Polar Express and caught up in the game of Jumanji. And my favorite adventure was walking through the wild topiaries in The Garden of Abdul Gaszasi where the shrubs can walk, jump, and run, or so they seem.
Usually, childhood pleasures lose their allure as we grow into adults, but for me, Van Allsburg’s illustrations, with looming, shadowy figures baring down on his children protagonists, are as startling and exhilarating as ever. And one of his books in particular, The Mystery of Harris Burdick, will always captivate me.
The Mystery is a fairy tale told as fact. Van Allsburg writes, in an introduction to the first edition in 1984, the “true story” of Harris Burdick. Many years ago, he claims, a man called on editor Peter Wenders. This mystery caller identified himself as Harris Burdick and said that he had written and illustrated fourteen stories. He presented Wenders with a portfolio of fourteen drawings, captions, and story titles– one for each story–and promised to return the next day with the remaining tales. He never came back.
Wenders, as Van Allsburg writes, hung the intriguing pictures in his home and for some time his children, and then grandchildren would look at the illustrations with their captions and story titles and they would make up their own tales, filling in the blanks as they went. Until one day he showed the drawings to Van Allsburg, who subsequently decided that more children needed to admire them. Hence the book.
I have to admit, it has taken me about twenty years to realize that this is all a ruse. Not until I began to write this blog and I went back and revisited The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, did I see with adult eyes that “Burdick’s” style of illustration was remarkable similar to all of Van Allsburgs other books. Oh well. A little of the magic has died, but the intrigue is still there all the same. Thousands upon thousands of children have written stories to accompany “Burdick’s” illustrations over the last two decades (you can read some of them online). And adults are equally captivated. Stephen King wrote a story called “The House on Maple Street,” inspired by one of the Burdick drawings, an animation company has created short films based on some of the images, and a songs have been written in tribute to the mystery.
Van Allsburg may have children in mind when he sets pen to paper, but his stories have captured my imagination for a life time. Enjoy some of the Harris Burdick images below and let me know if they stir you into writing a tale of your own.
Title: A Strange Day in July
Caption: He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back.
Title: The Seven Chairs
Caption: The fifth one ended up in France.
