Our celebration of cartoonist Charles Addams continues as we remember his work and life, and delight in the macabre that he inspired. 

Born in 1912, Addams is best known for creating the creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky series of cartoons that later became known as The Addams Family. Initially created as unrelated one-panel cartoons, with only one line of dialogue written underneath, The Addams Family that most people remember did not develop until the creation of the television show in 1964. At that time, Addams was forced to give the characters their names and what would become their other defining characteristics.

Two points of Addams Family trivia!: Morticia Addams was based on the likeness of Addams's first wife, Barbara Jean Day; the name Wednesday was taken from the popular children’s nursery rhyme, "Monday’s Child," which says "Wednesday’s Child is full of woe."

Addams was married multiple times and enjoyed friendships with popular creative minds such as Ray Bradbury and Alfred Hitchcock. He died September 29, 1988, at the age of 76. Here, we list the types of books and stories that are just right for fans of Addams’ work. (Descriptions adapted from publisher summaries.)

Check out our previous posts on Addams-inspired books for kids and spooky picture books for younger children, and visit the NYPL Picture Collection located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building —the Room 100 archives have letters Addams sent to the then-curator regarding the donation of tear sheets and images from The New Yorker. Finally, look for a new Addams animated film, scheduled for release in October 2019.

Charles Addams and his work

The Comic Worlds of Peter Arno, William Steig, Charles Addams, and Saul Steinberg by Iain Topliss

In this first full-scale scholarly study of the subject, Iain Topliss considers the work of each of these four artists, traces the development of their art, and recalls the cultural and social context in which it was created.

Illustrated with more than 50 drawings from the artists published in The New Yorker magazine between 1925 and 1975, The Comic Worlds of Peter Arno, William Steig, Charles Addams, and Saul Steinberg recognizes the achievements of these talented artists and their distinctive contribution to American culture.
 

The World of Chas Addams by Charles Addams

A retrospective collection of the humorous, macabre artwork of Addams features black-and-white drawings and full-color covers from The New Yorker, in a selection that spans more than fifty years in Addams' career.
 

Chas Addams: A Cartoonist's Life  by Linda H. Davis

An intimate portrait of the famed cartoonist and creator of the ghoulish Addams family traces the life and career of Charles Addams, documenting his colorful personal life, friendships, rich love life, and influential humor.

An authoritative biography that is enhanced by family photographs, personal drawings, cartoons, and paintings. 

Movies about unconventional families

The Family (2013)

A mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite Agent Stansfield's best efforts to keep them in line, Fred Blake and his family can't help resorting to old habits by handling their problems the "family" way.

Chaos ensues as their former Mafia cronies try to track them down, and scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Three grown prodigies, all with a unique genius of some kind, and their mother are staying at the family household. Their father, Royal, had left them long ago, but now returns to make things right with his family.

Dark Shadows (2012) 

Imprisoned vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin.

The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better and are in need of his protection. 

Watch the Dark Shadows TV show, or read the graphic novel.

Beetlejuice (1989)

After Barbara and Adam Maitland are killed in a car crash, they find themselves trapped as ghosts in their beautiful New England farmhouse. Their peaceful "existence" is disrupted when a yuppie family, the Deetzes, buy their house.

The Maitlands are too nice and harmless as ghosts, and all their efforts to scare the Deetzes away are unsuccessful. They decide to call to Beetlejuice, a people-exorcizing ghost, for help.

Watch the Beetlejuice animated series.

Ghoulish TV shows

The Addams Family (1964)

Follow the adventures of this macabre family. 

Watch The Addams Family  movie.

The Munsters (1964)

Meet the ghoulish but kind family from 1313 Mockingbird Lane.