The flickering flames wake spectral shadows of the past in ‘Ghost Stories for Christmas’ at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

Is the mind playing tricks or do these shapes come with a sinister purpose?

It’s almost the witching hour, dare to come into the candlelight. The late-night sensation that revived a time-honoured tradition, according to the New York Times. ArtsGroupie blends classic frights for modern nights.

Following three years of sold-out performances in the North West of England, ArtsGroupie’s ‘Ghost Stories for Christmas’ returns to chill the air with stories from M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood as part of a newly expanded and immersive theatre experience.

Tickets for these intimate readings go very fast, so don’t miss out and book today, for tis the season to be terrified! ‘Ghost Stories for Christmas’ is at Aberystwyth Arts Centre this Saturday, 6 December, at 7.45pm. Strictly 12+.

“Storytelling is a basic human need,” said John Maguire, ArtsGroupie CIC.

“We have been coming together to share stories since the beginning of mankind.

“Now, in our daily lives we are consumed by technology and spend a great amount of time looking at our digital screens, for work and play.

“Artsgroupie invites the audience to sit, encounter a classic ghost story and engage the imagination in a dark candlelit room.

To delight in the magic of words, composed to create a symphony of terror.”

David Griffiths, Performer and Co-Director, said: “With four years of producing Ghost Stories for Christmas, this is an evolution of our show.

“No longer a spoken word event, this is a full immersive horror spectacle. We’re bringing two classic stories into the 21st century, proving there’s still plenty of scares left in the classics.”

David Griffiths is a playwright, director, screenwriter and author from Liverpool. His plays have been staged at fringe festivals in Edinburgh, Buxton and Camden. He recently directed an adaption of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four (“a powerful production” North West End) and is touring his adaption of Charles Dickens' The Signalman for ArtsGroupie CIC across the north west ("suspenseful" North West End). His latest stage play, The Hammer and Helena, toured in the summer.

John Maguire is a playwright, heritage specialist community and Creative Director of ArtsGroupie CIC. John has had nine of my plays staged professionally, including Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse, a play that revisited the life of public washhouse pioneer Catherine Wilkinson. He has written over 250 articles for online international magazine Ten Million Hardbacks, 10mh.net and two children’s books, Sophie and the Spider and The Liver Bird. He co-created a year-long engagement activity for the Liverpool Year of Writing 2021-22 with Culture Liverpool and Writing on the Wall.

John’s most recent play focused on Liverpudlian Icon, William Roscoe, A Portrait of William Roscoe, exploring his life in the arts and political activism. He is currently playing The Visitor in classic ghost story, The Signalman adapted by David Griffiths.