Name: The Spooky Side of the Christmas Season
Start: 2025-12-06T10:00:00-07:00
End: 2025-12-06T14:00:00-07:00
Location: Denver Botanical Garden

An in-person experience in the Woodland Mosaic Solarium at the Denver Botanic Gardens on Saturday, December 6, 2025, 10AM - 2PM
A portion of ticket sales (6.7% to be exact) will be donated to Food Bank of the Rockies.
In times of old, the home was kept merry and bright to keep in luck and vitality, while warding against spirits of the roaming dead, the fairy folk, and even the old gods. As the nights grew cold and increasingly dark, the Yuletide and Christmas season and into the New Year were also a time to gather round to tell haunting tales, practice divination, and work rituals to carry good fortune into the coming year.
Join medium and folk magician Sterling Moon in the charming Woodland Mosaic Solarium at the Denver Botanic Gardens for a half-day experience, complete with lots of take-home goodies, photo ops, and warm beverages and snacks throughout the day on Saturday, December 6, 2025 from 10AM – 2PM.
Here’s what awaits you.
✨Guests will enjoy Victorian-era ghost stories and tales such as those of Krampus, St. Nicholas, St. Lucia, and even the Wild Hunt of Odin while creating a keepsake talisman for the entrance of your home.
✨Discover the haunted history of adjacent Cheesman Park and the garden grounds themselves and consider the presence of the spirits as you explore the winter gardens throughout the day.
✨Learn to divine using your own black scrying mirror, prepared by your host herself; discover the traditional ritual of burning a bayberry candle at either Christmas or New Year’s Eve to bring good luck; and the significance of the orange in old times. You will leave with your scrying mirror, an authentic bayberry wax candle, and handmade orange ornaments that can be transformed into talismans of friendship.
✨And because we all love holiday photos, commemorate your experience with a Polaroid (and a few cell phone pictures, if you want them) by our Yuletide tree - festive attire is encouraged!
✨Warm beverages, water, and light snacks will be provided throughout the day. Please note these will include items containing wheat, dairy, sugar, meat, and various fruits and vegetables.
Ticket price is $222 and 6.7% of ticket sales will be donated to Food Bank of the Rockies.
Why 6.7%? It was Sterling’s son’s idea! If you have kids in your life, you’ve probably heard them exclaim “6 7!” It’s a nonsense joke kids are loving right now. Food instability hits children hard and it can have lifelong effects. At Christmas, kids should be scared of Krampus and the ghosts said to wander the winter nights…not whether there’ll be enough food over the holidays.