Chicago, IL
Holiday Spirits
A multi-story and multi-storied immersive adaptation of classic Victorian Yuletide ghost stories that takes place in a 1880s era mansion in downtown Chicago. Join us this winter by the fireplace as we meet the holiday spirits of Christmases past.
During the long nights of midwinter, join Ghostlight Ensemble and the Driehaus Museum once again by the fireplace(s) as we return to the Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories at Yuletide. If you missed last year’s one-night event, Holiday Spirits: A collection of Victorian Yuletide Ghost Stories returns to the Driehaus Museum this holiday season for two performances. Adapted by Ensemble member Maria Burnham, Holiday Spirits is a multi-story and multi-storied immersive, site-specific adaptation of classic Victorian ghost stories. Three distinct stories will unfold throughout the museum. Limited seating will be provided but audiences should be prepared to move with the actors as they uncover these otherworldly visitors. During the Victorian era, newspaper and magazine publishers printed ghost stories during the Christmas season for chilling reading by the warming fireplace. The most famous example of such tales is A Christmas Carol, but Charles Dickens did not invent the Victorian Christmas ghost tradition — he was just the one to recognize its potential for commercial success. Stories adapted for this performance include: The Ghost of the Cross-Roads by Frederick Manley: During a cold, blustery Christmas night, jolly festivities are underway at the Sweeny’s home. Suddenly, an upper-class stranger stumbles, half frozen, into the house and tells a strange tale about a mysterious dark man, and a card game at the crossroads. This adaptation will also feature The Haunted Tree written by an anonymous author. 19, Great Hanover Street by Lillie Harris: A young doctor finds the perfect house to let for his new practice and living quarters only to discover the reason why such perfections comes so cheap. A Spirit Bride by Andrew Haggard: A séance to rid a house of ghosts brings an unusual woman into our narrator’s life.
Audience Role
In The Ghost of the Cross-Roads, audience members are attending a holiday party at the home of the Sweeny family. Attendees will be split into three groups to either sing Victorian-era songs, play Victorian-era games or hear another ghost story within the ghost story. In 19, Great Hanover Street, audience members are only there to bear witness to our protagonist's story. He will interact directly with audience members, but reply is not absolutely necessary from the audience. In this story, they will have the opportunity to choose whose story they want to follow at points, however. In A Spirit Bride, audience members are participants at a séance and will sit in a circle, grasping hands with their neighbors to summon the ghosts who haunt the house they are visiting.
Ages: All ages
Content Advisories
Interaction Advisories
Mobility Advisories
3
Events
2
Years on EI
About Ghostlight Ensemble Theatre Co
Ghostlight Ensemble is a Chicago theatre company that asks questions to challenge the status quo through timeless stories, immersive environments and unconventional staging.