When’s the last time you heard a ghost story?
Perhaps it was back during your camp days when tall tales accompanied evenings of roasting marshmallows by the fire. Or maybe it during a sleepover to see who could raise the most goosebumps. Either way, it was more likely than not a thrilling experience filled with a dash of adrenaline, a handful of laughs, and more than one bump in the night afterward.
This winter, the best of spooky storytelling haunts the Valley when Ghost Stories returns to Kingston. The evening of haunted readings comes to UPAC for its third annual event on February 9 to benefit Astor Services for Children & Families in Rhinebeck. While the creepy cool evening, which features tales written by children at Astor, is a fun time with a good cause component as is, it’s even more of a must-see thanks to the number of big names involved with the local spectacle.
As the brainchild of actors – and Rhinebeck residents – Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Walking Dead), Ghost Stories brings celebrity guest and talented performers to the mainstage at UPAC to read the imaginative, spooky stories concocted by the young creatives at Astor. In the past, Burton and Morgan have teamed up with friend and Samuel’s Sweet Shop co-owner Paul Rudd to thrill a rapt audience. While the lineup of guest performers for 2019 remains a secret, Burton recently revealed that Mary Stuart Masterson (Some Kind of Wonderful, Fried Green Tomatoes) will make an appearance onstage.
With what promises to be an enchanting, spine-tingling evening in early 2019, it’s no surprise that tickets may very well sell out. After all, the show already outgrew its original home at The Fisher Center for the Perfoming Arts at Bard College. Seat reservations, which range from premium ($506, including orchestra seats and a photo) to regular ($56-$256), are required. A limited number of discount tickets for balcony seatings and for students and seniors are available for $41 apiece. Sales from the evening directly benefit Astor Services, which provides mental health, development, and welfare services for children in Rhinebeck and New York City.
To learn more about Ghost Stories or to purchase tickets, visit www.astorservices.org.
