Among the brilliant colors of orange, red and gold emerges a figure clothed in black with a pet bird perched ominously, perhaps muttering the single word, “Nevermore.”

That’s music to the ear of Northwestern Lehigh High School English teacher Linda Paist, the woman behind the costume.

Not one to miss a teachable moment, Paist will be guiding her 11th grade students through Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short stories such as “The Black Cat” and “Tell-Tale Heart” at this most appropriate time of year.

“The Raven,” Poe’s famous story poem about a lost love, features the uncanny bird who succeeds in tormenting the narrator and giving readers the heebie-jeebies.

For good measure, Paist is throwing in a few other Gothic tales, including Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily.”

Paist’s in-class lessons prove there’s more to Halloween than just carving pumpkins.