"You'll never look at the region the same way after chatting with Robert Oakes.”  

— Diane Bair, The Boston Globe

"Robert Oakes is an incredible speaker and tells ... stories so elegantly you feel like you've stepped back in time!" 

—Drew Babineau, paranormal investigator

Robert Oakes writes books about ghosts, leads tours in haunted places, and sings soulful original songs. He has written three books, The Ghostly Tales of the Berkshires (2023), Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey (2022), and Ghosts of the Berkshires (2020), all published by Arcadia Publishing. He has also released numerous recordings, both as a solo artist and as part of the folk duo Oakes and Smith. Since 2010, Robert has led immersive ghost storytelling experiences at historic locations in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, including Ventfort Hall, Edith Wharton's The Mount, and Herman Melville's Arrowhead. He has also given talks and readings for both children and adults at many libraries, schools, and cultural centers. Robert has appeared on Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger’s New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio and has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Berkshire Eagle, and numerous other media outlets. Robert earned his master's degree from the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English and has taught elementary, middle, and high school English, as well as adult writing workshops.

“We have to step out of our rational mind and step into the unknown. Follow our instincts, our imagination, and our intuition, and open up to the many mysteries in our world.”

— Robert Oakes