Join author and storyteller Robert Oakes beside the fire at the famously haunted Ventfort Hall in Lenox, MA, as he brings back the Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas. There among the shadows, under the watchful eyes of Ventfort’s ghosts, Oakes will read selections of Christmas-themed ghost stories by some of the most accomplished authors of an eerier age. Please note: Due to some dark themes and advanced language, this event is intended for an adult audience.
Guests will experience the magical atmosphere of this gorgeous Gilded Age estate, beautifully decorated for the holidays. Festive refreshments will be offered with a spirited holiday drink available for purchase. Seating will be available, but attendees are also invited to bring something comfortable for sitting on the floor.
“There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.” This line from the popular holiday song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” may make you stop to wonder why anyone would include ghost storytelling on their list of Christmas activities. Was that ever such a thing that it deserved its own line in a Christmas song? Turns out it was. During the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth, the telling of a spooky tale was a popular holiday pastime, the most enduring of which, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, we still retell each year. But Dickens wasn’t the only one to redefine holiday spirit. Cambridge professor and author M.R. James was known to terrify his students and colleagues on Christmas Eve with one of his eerie tales. Henry James presented The Turn of the Screw as a ghost story told at Christmas. And throughout the nineteenth century, many families anticipated the arrival of holiday magazines brimming with ghostly yarns by esteemed authors like Elizabeth Gaskell, F. Marion Crawford, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
Tickets are $30. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit
https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call us at (413) 637-3206. Please note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable.
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