theatre ghosts

[Susannah E Biles]

Hi all,

I am starting a search for all ghost stories/hauntings taking place in
UNIVERSITY Theatres. That is...theatres on University campuses. Here
at NMSU, the Hershel Zohn theatre has "George" and the department head
thought it would be kind of neat to compile University theatre ghost
stories. So, if anyone has heard one, please e-mail me!

Thanks!!!

Susan
>>sbi...@dante.nmsu.edu

[Bill Satterlee]

Susan,

This is a ghost story that was popular on the campus where I did my
undergraduate work. Forgive me if this story is more of an urban legend than a
verifiable haunting. I worked in the theatre in question, and cant's say that
I ever noticed anything too wierd.

Like I said, this is from my undergraduate days in the late '70's at Clarion
State College, now Clarion University of Pennsylvania in Clarion, PA. The
story pertains to a building called The Chapel. It was constructed as a chapel
for the campus, which had religious origins. It was built in the late 19th
century. In addition to being used as a chapel in its early days, it was also
used as a theatre. In the early '70's it was converted for use as a theatre
and classroom. O.K., now that the stage is set (excuse the pun), on with the
story.

In the early part of this century, a playright was using the Chapel as the site
for the production of his first big play. The night that it was supposed to
open (according to the legend it was October 31 -- this makes me wonder about
the veracity of all elements of the story) the major funders of the play pulled
out, the actors, fearing no pay, refused to perform. The playright, in his
total and utter despair, hanged himself in the theatre. His body was
discovered the next morning. According to those who told the story, all of
this was verifiable historic information. I never bothered to check.

Of course, the story doesn't end with the playright's unfortunate demise.
Legend has it that every October 31, the playright returns for a repeat
engagement of his hanging, and that anyone brave enough or unfortunate enough
to be in the building at the time can see his body swinging from the rafters.

Hope this helped.

Bill Satterlee
978...@vms.csd.mu.edu
School of Education
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI

[Ken Banner]

Rearding Bill Saterlee's story of the playwright who is said to have hung
himself in the theatre at Clarion University in Clarion, PA. This was also a
very popular story on campus in the 80's when I worked there as a campus
minister. The theatre is old and dark and has just the right decor to keep
stories like that alive! It's the kind of place where you definitely do
not want to be by yourself at night! Unfortunately Bill, when I left there in
1989, they were in the process of remodeling the theatre. I hope they
didn't "modernize" it to the point that it hurts the effect of the story!

Ken Banner
kba...@philae.sas.upenn.edu
University of Pennsylvania

[hi...@kenyon.edu]

In article <SBILES.93A...@dante.nmsu.edu>, sbi...@nmsu.edu (Susannah E Biles) writes:

Would you settle for colleges? Kenyon's theater has tons...

Victoria

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Victoria C. Hill "Seventeenth century Massachusetts has thus become in
Kenyon College retrospect a preposterous land of witches and witch-
Gambier, OH 43022 hunters, whose main occupation was to prevent each other
from having any fun, and whose sole virtue lay in their
Hi...@Kenyon.edu furniture." -Edmund S. Morgan
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