Los Angeles is doing it again.

The city is stirring up the sun, sprouting flowers and kicking up sinuses. An early, overly optimistic spring has made its mark on February and will most likely saunter its way through March.

So get ready for birds, bees and...macabre tales of murder? That’s right, blood and guts will spill over onto spring with Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Troupe's “Poe Fest.” Rather than frolicking in the sunshine, why not get in touch with your darker side?

The North Hollywood theater folks aren't staging an adaption of the stories, but rather a word-for-word performance told with vivid staging and tight ensemble work. Translation: The characters swing back and forth from people to inanimate objects while scaring the be-jesus outta ya. The day of the leap year has never been so frightening.

On the bill for the Edgar Allen Poe Fest is (cue: bah-bump-bah-bump-bah-bump) “The Tell-Tale Heart,” performed with live music, and the tumultuously terrible “The Pit and the Pendulum,” with an original score by Christopher Reiner.

The ringleader of the fest, the aptly named Zombie Joe—who cautions “it'll cost you” to learn the “ugly story” behind his name—has been an active theater guru in NoHo for 15 years. A Poe-themed show runs at ZJU every six months, but Zombie Joe notes that after his performances, it's common for unusual things to happen. So listen for pulsating hearts as you scurry toward your car. The Valley's never been so terrifying.

"Poe Fest" runs Fri., Feb. 29 through Sun., March 16, at Zombie Joe's Underground Theater.