Enjoy Dickens stories during Hayes Home Holidays: Spirits of Christmas
Experience the magic and supernatural side of Christmas with beloved Christmas stories, including “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens during an evening tour of parts of the historic Hayes Home.
Hayes Home Holidays: Spirits of Christmas tours are offered Friday, Dec. 19, and Saturday, Dec. 20. Tours each day are at 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30 and 8 p.m.
Dickens, one of the most popular writers of the Victorian era, was a favorite author of President Rutherford B. hayes and lived at the same time as Hayes. Hear Dickens’ beloved stories in Hayes’ Victorian mansion, which will be lightly decorated for Christmas in a historically accurate manner.
The Victorians believed Christmas was a time when the portal to another world was opened, which made the holiday popular for telling ghost stories. Many of Dickens’ works, including Christmas stories, feature the supernatural.
Enjoy the warmth of the Hayes Home at night, a time when it is not often open to visitors, while hearing stories that will tingle your spine but leave you with a warm feeling. A cup of wassail, a traditional holiday drink during Victorian times, will also put you in the Christmas spirit.
Before tours, guests can enjoy the “Hayes Train Special” model train display in the museum auditorium. Tickets for non-members are $18 for adults ages 19 and older, $10 for kids 6-18 and free for kids 5 and younger. Tickets for Hayes Presidential members are $15 for adults 19 and older, $8 for ages 6-18 and free for kids 5 and younger.
Tickets are available below. Members will need to log in to receive their discount. They will also be available at the museum front desk the days of the events, pending availability.
For visitors who need special accommodations for mobility, vision or being hard of hearing, Hayes Presidential requests a notice of 72 hours. Please contact Linda Lopez-Fouts, visitor services manager, at 419-332-2081 or llopez-fouts@rbhayes.org. Requests received with fewer than 72 hours notice will be handled to the best of Hayes Presidential’s ability.
Hayes Home Holidays is a part of A Presidential Christmas, a series of holiday events at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. Partial funding for A Presidential Christmas is by Wright Leather Works.
For information on A Presidential Christmas events, visit https://www.rbhayes.org/news/2025/10/30/general/a-presidential-christmas-all-the-holiday-info-you-need-here/.
Hayes Presidential is America’s first presidential library and the forerunner of the federal presidential library system. It is partially funded by the state of Ohio and affiliated with the Ohio History Connection. Hayes Presidential is located at Spiegel Grove on Buckland Avenue.
For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like Hayes Presidential on Facebook and follow on Instagram at rbhayespres and on Bluesky at rbhayespres.bsky.social.