Limestone Alum Organizes Literary Scavenger Hunt Jan. 23

Local horror author and Limestone College alum Mark Allan Gunnells is organizing a literary scavenger hunt in Gaffney on Saturday, Jan. 23, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Starting at Grindstaff’s Printing and More, located at 612 E. Frederick St., teams will follow literary clues throughout the bookstore. The first place team will win a prize pack of books and a bookstore credit.

Teams and individuals can sign up on the day of the event, and participation is free.

Before and after the scavenger hunt, Gunnells will be reading from his books “Flowers In A Dumpster” and “Fort.”

A 1999 graduate of Limestone, with bachelor’s degrees in English and Psychology, Gunnells is a native of Gaffney and he now resides in Greer.

“I wanted to do something fun to put the focus on books and reading,” Gunnells said, “as well as make the community more aware of the great little used bookshop right in their midst.”

In addition to the books he will be reading from on Jan. 23, the list of Gunnells’ other books and novellas include “The Quarry,” “Ghosts In The Attic,” “Asylum,” “October Roses,” “The Exchange Student,” “The Summer of Winters,” “Tales From The Midnight Shift,” “Creatures Of The Light,” “Dark Treats,” and more.

With “The Quarry” and “Fort” both set at Limestone, Gunnells said he particularly enjoys the backdrop of some of his stories being on college campuses, where teenagers find themselves away from parental rule. He often reaches back into his memories of Limestone, and weaves his stories all around the campus.

“When kids are on their own for the first time, it can be kind of terrifying,” he explained. “So that makes the perfect backdrop for a lot of stories. The thing I like about writing about college campuses is that they are a part of the local community, but also separated from them, too. And when I think of college, I think of Limestone. That’s my go-to campus.”