Christmas Ghost Stories for Adults | Read by Robert Oakes | Tuesday, December 30 at 7 pm

About this experience

It's the most frightening time of the year! Join author and storyteller Robert Oakes beside the fire at the famously haunted Ventfort Hall 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.

Robert Oakes writes books about ghosts, leads tours in haunted places, and sings soulful original songs. He has written three books, The Ghostly Tales of the Berkshires (2023), Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey (2022), and Ghosts of the Berkshires (2020), all published by Arcadia Publishing. He has also released numerous recordings, both as a solo artist and as part of the folk duo Oakes and Smith. Since 2010, Robert has led immersive ghost storytelling experiences at historic locations in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, including Ventfort Hall, Edith Wharton's The Mount, and Herman Melville's Arrowhead. He has also given talks and readings for both children and adults at many libraries, schools, and cultural centers. Robert was featured on the October 2025 edition of the Risk! storyteller podcast. He has also appeared on Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger’s New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio and has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Berkshire Eagle, and numerous other media outlets. Robert earned his master's degree from the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English and has taught elementary, middle, and high school English, as well as adult writing workshops.

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.