Horrifying costumes, scary movies and pumpkin carvings are associated with Halloween. But four Johannesburg performers opted for something different at the weekend. The women chose a carefully selected reading list - from which they read completely naked.The Naked Girls Reading club of Alicia Skead, Nelisa Ngcobo, Nthabiseng Mokoena and Unathi Mgolombane evoked psychological, sexual and general fears as they read extracts from Roald Dahl, SL Gray, Chuck Palahniuk and HP Lovecraft.The performance was at downtown Johannesburg's POPArt theatre in Maboneng, which seats about 40 people. Skead said the concept originated in Chicago, US, in 2009."The concept is difficult for people to grasp, they don't know if it's going to be lewd.we're using something beautiful to educate people. Nakedness is being used in a way that it hasn't before. This is about taking it back to the basics of reading and as women it's so empowering," Skead said.The readings ranged from comedic and sensual to dark and realistically scary. Ngcobo said it was important to break stereotypes around female bodies."It's just a body, the female form should be celebrated. Nakedness doesn't mean embarrassing."We need to move away from thinking it's taboo," she said.Webbed decor in the venue and air conditioning set just cool enough for the "undead" provided the perfect intimate setting.Theme music from Nightmare on Elm Street added to the atmosphere of Halloween fear.Skead said: "We tried to look at different fears with each reading. The problem with society is that we're all consuming the same material and so most people are thinking the same way. We need to break that. So some of the stuff we say is lewd because sometimes women say those things."Once the reading began the event became less about the performers' nakedness and more about what they were reading. Occasional giggles filled the theatre as audience members reacted to the pieces.The Naked Girls Reading is set to return to the POPArt theatre in January with what Skead said would be a more "uplifting" performance with readings based on self love...