diff --git a/lib/sinatra/dsl.rb b/lib/sinatra/dsl.rb
index 9aeea407..16931362 100644
--- a/lib/sinatra/dsl.rb
+++ b/lib/sinatra/dsl.rb
@@ -54,11 +54,34 @@ module Sinatra
       Sinatra::Event.new(:delete, path, &block)
     end
 
+    # Run given block after each Event's execution
+    # Usage:
+    #   before_attend do
+    #     logger.debug "After event attend!"
+    #   end
+    # or
+    #   before_attend :authorize # authorize is a helper method defined using helpers
+    #
+    # Stop execution using - throw :halt
+    #   before_attend do
+    #     throw :halt, 401 unless has_access?
+    #   end
+    # Throw a Symbol to execute a helper method
+    # Throw a String to render it as the content
+    # Throw a Fixnum to set the status
+    #
+    def before_attend(filter_name = nil, &block)
+      Sinatra::Event.before_attend(filter_name, &block)
+    end
+
     # Run given block after each Event's execution
     # Example:
     #   after_attend do
     #     logger.debug "After event attend!"
     #   end
+    # or 
+    #   after_attend :clean_up  # clean_up is a helper method defined using helpers
+    #
     def after_attend(filter_name = nil, &block)
       Sinatra::Event.after_attend(filter_name, &block)
     end
diff --git a/lib/sinatra/event.rb b/lib/sinatra/event.rb
index 7918e51d..39631c78 100644
--- a/lib/sinatra/event.rb
+++ b/lib/sinatra/event.rb
@@ -45,15 +45,30 @@ module Sinatra
 
     cattr_accessor :logger
     cattr_accessor :after_filters
+    cattr_accessor :before_filters
     
     @@mutex = Mutex.new
     
+    self.before_filters = []
     self.after_filters = []
     
-    def self.after_attend(filter)
-      after_filters << filter
+    def self.before_attend(method_name = nil, &block)
+      setup_filter(:before_filters, method_name, &block)
+    end
+
+    def self.after_attend(method_name = nil, &block)
+      setup_filter(:after_filters, method_name, &block)
     end
     
+    def self.setup_filter(filter_set_name, method_name, &block)
+      raise "Must specify method or block" if method_name.nil? and !block_given?
+      send(filter_set_name) << if block_given?
+        block
+      else
+        method_name
+      end
+    end
+      
     after_attend :log_event
     
     attr_reader :path, :verb
@@ -69,13 +84,27 @@ module Sinatra
     def attend(request)
       request.params.merge!(@route.params)
       context = EventContext.new(request)
-      begin
-        result = run_safely { context.instance_eval(&@block) if @block }
-        context.body context.body || result || ''
-      rescue => e
-        context.error e
+      run_safely do
+        caught = catch(:halt) do
+          call_filters(before_filters, context)
+        end
+        body = case caught
+          when :filter_chain_completed
+            begin
+              context.instance_eval(&@block) if @block
+            rescue => e
+              context.error e
+            end
+          when Symbol
+            context.send(caught)
+          when String
+            caught
+          when Fixnum
+            context.status caught
+        end
+        context.body context.body || body || ''
+        call_filters(after_filters, context)
       end
-      run_safely { run_through_after_filters(context) }
       context
     end
     alias :call :attend
@@ -95,9 +124,19 @@ module Sinatra
           yield
         end
       end
-  
-      def run_through_after_filters(context)
-        after_filters.each { |filter| context.send(filter) }
+      
+      # Adapted from Merb
+      # calls a filter chain according to rules.
+      def call_filters(filter_set, context)
+        filter_set.each do |filter|
+          case filter
+            when Symbol, String
+             context.send(filter)
+            when Proc
+             context.instance_eval(&filter)
+          end
+        end
+        :filter_chain_completed
       end
       
   end
diff --git a/test/sinatra/event_test.rb b/test/sinatra/event_test.rb
index fb43dd2c..bf83ea07 100644
--- a/test/sinatra/event_test.rb
+++ b/test/sinatra/event_test.rb
@@ -33,5 +33,14 @@ describe "Event" do
     Sinatra::EventManager.expects(:not_found)
     Sinatra::EventManager.determine_event(:get, '/asdfsasd')
   end
+
+  it "should not execute event if halted" do
+    Sinatra::Event.before_filters << lambda { throw :halt, 'whoa!' }
+    event = Sinatra::Event.new(:get, '/') do
+      foo
+    end
+    event.expects(:foo).never
+    get_it('/').should.equal 'whoa!'
+  end
     
 end