The exhibition shows how the fantasies of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann grow out of real things and stories. Graphics, books, and photo zones turn the play of light and shadow into a narrative about the writer's inner world. The exhibition is dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the author, whose strange tales and novellas have entered the golden fund of European literature. About seventy exhibits reveal the spiritual and political background of the era: in the halls, graphics and painting, sculpture, antique editions, and decorative arts coexist. Through these objects, one can see how everyday life prompted the creation of stories about doubles, animated toys, and capricious fate. Masonic swords, an etching after a print by William Hogarth, lithographs by Viktor Vilner, images of monarchs and writers remind us of the circles in which ideas close to the author were born. Nearby are photo zones: the storyteller's "study," the scene of the Nutcracker's battle with the mice, the alchemist's laboratory. In these settings, it is easy to imagine that manuscripts rustle, and shadows hide new heroes. A modern interpretation of the legacy is presented in a series of illustrations prepared by the "Vita Nova" publishing house. Thirty-five graphic sheets show how today's artists reread his texts and find themes of fear, freedom, and choice within them. The exhibition allows one to feel the multifaceted nature of the author - an artist, composer, and observer of the human psyche. In this world, fate takes on the form of a sorceress, a toy turns into a prince, and a cat turns out to be a genius. The poster for St. Petersburg is available on KudaGo.