diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 
+5.25
+ - The Vty type got a new field, isShutdown, that returns whether the
+   Vty handle has had its 'shutdown' function called (thanks Ian
+   Jeffries)
+ - Vty's shutdown function is now thread-safe.
+
 5.24.1
  - The "shutdown" method of Vty handles is now idempotent (#159)
 
diff --git a/src/Graphics/Vty.hs b/src/Graphics/Vty.hs
--- a/src/Graphics/Vty.hs
+++ b/src/Graphics/Vty.hs
@@ -94,8 +94,9 @@
       -- | Clean up after vty. A call to this function is necessary to
       -- cleanly restore the terminal state before application exit. The
       -- above methods will throw an exception if executed after this is
-      -- executed.
+      -- executed. Idempotent.
     , shutdown :: IO ()
+    , isShutdown :: IO Bool
     }
 
 -- | Create a Vty handle. At most one handle should be created at a time
@@ -119,13 +120,14 @@
 
     shutdownVar <- atomically $ newTVar False
     let shutdownIo = do
-            alreadyShutdown <- atomically $ readTVar shutdownVar
+            alreadyShutdown <- atomically $ swapTVar shutdownVar True
             when (not alreadyShutdown) $ do
-                atomically $ writeTVar shutdownVar True
                 shutdownInput input
                 releaseDisplay out
                 releaseTerminal out
 
+    let shutdownStatus = atomically $ readTVar shutdownVar
+
     lastPicRef <- newIORef Nothing
     lastUpdateRef <- newIORef Nothing
 
@@ -176,4 +178,5 @@
                  , outputIface = out
                  , refresh = innerRefresh
                  , shutdown = shutdownIo
+                 , isShutdown = shutdownStatus
                  }
diff --git a/vty.cabal b/vty.cabal
--- a/vty.cabal
+++ b/vty.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name:                vty
-version:             5.24.1
+version:             5.25
 license:             BSD3
 license-file:        LICENSE
 author:              AUTHORS