Historian **Rob Velella** (or rather, author Nathaniel Hawthorne) visited the Old South Meeting House to read a selection of the Salem-born writer’s short stories. Complete with a timid entrance and a gruff salutation, Velella’s performance as this literary icon is clearly well researched. Though famous for novels like _The Scarlet Letter_ and _The House of the Seven Gables_, Hawthorne penned his fair share of short stories, as well, such as “Monsieur du Miroir” (beginning at 2:38) and “Young Goodman Brown” (12:52).
Rob Velella is an independent literary historian and playwright specializing in American literature of the nineteenth century. He maintains the [American Literary Blog](http://americanliteraryblog.blogspot.com "American Literary Blog").