Google is commemorating Edward Gorey's birthday with a doodle depicting grim works from the celebrated American author and illustrator.

Having passed away April 15, 2000 at the age of 75 from a heart attack, Gorey would have been 88 today. Gorey is best known for his macabre illustrations that garnered him a worldwide cult following and inspired the likes of film director Tim Burton and the goth rock band Nine Inch Nails.

Gorey did illustration for such works as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.

His own works, often featuring children or wayward characters that ultimately suffer undeserved deaths; well-known titles by the author include “The Unstrung Harp,” “The Doubtful Guest,” and the “The Gashlycrumb Tinies.”

He also did stage design for “Dracula” on Broadway for which he won a Tony award in 1978, as well as his own play “Amphigorey.”

The Chicago native graduated from Harvard University in 1946 and notably word for the publishing company Doubleday.

In the doodle, Gorey is seen setting in the “G” among two cats the bird like creature from “The Doubtful Guest,” while other animal characters, drawn in his style lounge about the rest of the word.

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