There’s something deeply haunting about theaters. Maybe it’s the way the wings of the stage are designed to obscure anything and anyone standing among the layers of curtains. Maybe it’s the way sound seems to travel in unnatural ways, as though amplified by unseen forces. Or maybe it’s simple conditioning; we walk into a theater expecting to suspend our disbelief, and we set aside the cold, hard truths of the living world for the stories being told onstage.
Whatever the reason and simply put, theaters are creepy places.
I’ve never liked being alone in them. I remember talking my way onto the set production crew in high school because it meant getting to hang out and paint things with one of my friends. I didn’t last long; a few days into the gig, I looked up from butchering the colors on a faux-brick set piece to find myself sitting alone on the stage, surrounded by the eerie silence of an empty auditorium. The stupid stories we used to tell each other about secret tunnels under the school popped into my head, and I was suddenly convinced I was about to be dragged beneath the stage, never to be seen again. I bolted and never went back. The production was better off without me…. I can’t mix colors for &%$#.
In the right company, though, I would desperately like an opportunity to explore a different local theater after hours. Salt Lake City’s own Capitol Theatre has a very spooky reputation, with numerous accounts of paranormal activity even while the building is packed full of theatergoers and performers.
Built in 1913, the Capitol has had over 100 years to accumulate its ghosts. One of the most famous is a former usher named Richard Duffin, who died while helping patrons escape a fire that swept through the theater in 1949. Some of the theater’s staff believe Duffin is now a poltergeist nicknamed “George” who plays lighthearted pranks like opening and closing cupboard doors, moving small objects, and generally being a mild nuisance. The consensus is that George is most active during runs of The Nutcracker, for reasons unknown.
But not every entity is as friendly as George. A pair of security guards shared their experiences patrolling and securing the building during the midnight hours. One of them recommends staying away from the men’s restroom on the third floor. The door there slams on its own, and one night after walking through a cold spot, he felt an angry, malevolent presence in the space.
The officers continued their search for the potential intruder who they believed could have slammed the door. Backtracking to the second floor, they found lights on and doors open… in a hallway they had secured and darkened just minutes before.
The guards also recommend staying out of the basement, which for some creepy reason has been nicknamed “the catacombs.” There, they’ve heard whispering voices and smelled smoke where there is none.
One of the theater’s accountants stopped using the elevators after a hair-raising experience while working alone in the building late at night. Strange sounds drew him from his office, where he found an elevator door opening and closing on its own. Ignoring every horror movie fan’s screamed advice (“Don’t go in there!!”), the accountant walked into the elevator to investigate what might be causing the disturbance. Just as he was about to leave the small space, the button for the basement lit up—on its own. The doors closed, trapping him inside. With no command from any living presence, he was taken down three floors into the empty catacombs. Proving he’s far braver than I am, he actually walked through the basement, looking for anything that could have called the elevator and finding nothing.
I can’t help but wonder who these ghosts were when they were alive. There seem to be at least two: the playful poltergeist and the angry presence that managed to scare the bejeezus out of multiple security guards. Are there more than that? What do they want?
As with most haunted places, I’m at once itching to find out and terrified of knowing.
Have you had a paranormal experience at the Capitol Theatre or any other performing arts center? I hope you’ll share in the comments!