Eleanor Cooper's Ghost

On January 28, 2012, Stuart Cheveralls and his partner Natalie visited London's Dominion Theater. They were there to see the We Will Rock You show, and after settling into their seats to wait for the show to start, Stuart used his iPhone 4 to snap a quick selfie of himself and Natalie.

While going over the pictures the next day, Stuart noticed that he and Natalie weren't alone! At the time of the photo, the couple was sitting at the end of a row of seats. The two seats directly behind them were unoccupied---they'd be filled later on by two men who arrived late to the show. But what showed up in the photo was definitely not an empty seat, nor was it a dude arriving late to the show!

What Stuart saw made the hair on his arms stand up. What showed up directly between him and Natalie was the ghostly pale image of a young girl! Intrigued, Stuart began doing some research on the theater, and found that it had a haunted reputation.

The Dominion Theater was built atop the site of the old Meux Brewery. On October 17, 1814, tragedy struck when a vat of beer burst. Over 3500 barrels of liquid were released, collapsing a wall and part of the roof, and reigning terror among the nearby citizens.  One of those citizens was a 14 year old girl named Eleanor Cooper who was a servant of Richard Hawes.

According to the British Library's Untold Lives Blog, "Richard Hawes gave evidence at the coroner’s inquest held on Wednesday19 October that he was in the tap room of the Tavistock Arms at 5.30pm on the previous Monday when he heard a crash. The back part of his house was beaten in and everything in his cellar destroyed. Beer was pouring into his pub and across the street. Eleanor Cooper was in the yard washing pots and her body was dug out from the ruins nearly three hours later. She was found standing by the water butt."

In total, 8 people lost their lives, many of them children. It's no wonder that staff and visitors to the Dominion Theater have reported the phantom sounds of a giggling child and the apparition of a brew-master! But the big question is...

Does this photo really show a ghost and if so, is it the ghost of Eleanor Cooper? Although Stuart claims that there was no trickery involved, many people don't agree. What about you? Do you think this is the real deal, or not?


Source:
Matthew Tucker: 'Theatre Ghost Picture Is Real' Insists Photographer Stuart Cheveralls - Are You Convinced?  (HuffPost, 31 October 2012)

South Eugene High School

South Eugene High School, in Eugene, Oregon, was built in 1953. At the time, it was simply known as Eugene High School. It wouldn't be until 1957 that it would be renamed South Eugene High School in response to the new North Eugene High being completed across town. The following year, however, the school would experience a deep and lasting tragedy.

Robert Grankey

Robert 'Bob' Turnbull Grankey was a sophomore student working in the theater department. On March 11, 1958 he was either installing or changing some lights between the school auditorium's ceiling and the roof of the building. As Robert attempted to cross from one catwalk to another six feet away, 30 students in the auditorium watched in horror as Robert came crashing down through the ceiling, landing on a pair of unoccupied auditorium seats. Those seats, Row G Seats 10 and 11, are said to have remained dented from his fall until they were removed in 1994. It is believed he had slipped trying to get from one catwalk to another, located six feet away. The 50 foot fall killed Robert Grankey instantly, causing a broken neck and major head trauma. He was 16 years old. In his honor, a theater award was set up in his honor, which lasted until at least 1965. Something else lasted even longer....

To this day, one of the most prolific and well-known haunts in the Eugene area is that of South Eugene High School and Robert. The hauntings seemingly did not begin until the 1970s when lights started to mysteriously switch themselves on and off throughout the auditorium. Laughter and footsteps, as well as piano music, have been heard coming from the catwalk area. A brochure photo taken by several students is believed to actually SHOW the ghost of Robert and several other people have claimed to see a shadowy figure sitting in the theater's balcony.

Ghost or Processing Error?

In one particularly strange incident, during the 1994 remodel when the dented seats were removed, a worker allegedly fell from the ceiling...and onto the exact same seats. He survived with only an injury to his foot. Did the ghost of Robert Grankey cause the accident...or did he play a part in saving the workman from suffering the exact same fate as he did, so many years before?




Sources:
Ghost May Haunt South Eugene High School, by Kristen Sheley. Oregon Daily Emerald (28 October 1997)
Robert Turnbull Grankey Find-a-Grave Entry
The Victoria Advocate (March 12, 1958)
Wikipedia

Cleveland's Haunted Agora Theater

The present site of Cleveland's Agora Theater has quite the rich history in entertainment! Construction began in 1910 under Max Faetkenheuer, an opera promoter. Known as the Metropolitan Theater, it officially opened on March 31, 1913 with a performance of Aida. Over the years, the venue would serve a number of purposes under a slew of different names before finally becoming the third and final home of the Agora Theater, a live music venue, in 1985. Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Meatloaf and Marilyn Manson are just some of the big names who have shared this space while it was a local radio station's concert hall, a vaudeville/burlesque show, a movie house, and now the premier live venue it is today.

And while that's quite an impressive celebrity guest list, probably the most famous 'performer' associated with the Agora is an unknown man seen in a yellow raincoat. This man, who local psychic Sonya, calls 'John,' has been seen all around the theater. He has been witnessed by stagehands on the stage itself and even on the stairs to the balcony. One club kid even saw the man in the yellow raincoat during a rave. A bottle of Ecstasy had apparently fallen to the floor and as others around him scrambled to scoop up the pills, the look the man in yellow gave this guy was enough to cause him to refrain from joining them! His favorite 'haunt,' however, seems to be on the catwalk. John is also believed to be the cause of strange feelings of a presence in the basement lounge and for driving the cleaning crew crazy by locking and unlocking doors.

John may have some friends, though. A photographer taking some shots of the old theater noticed a group of people sitting out in the audience, whom he thought were workers. He approached them in order to thank them for allowing him to photograph the location, but they had disappeared without a trace.

No one is really sure who John is or why he is there and he might not even still be there at all! Not long ago, Psychic Sonya allegedly conducted an exorcism of sorts in an effort to bring peace to John and the Agora. Afterwards, staff report that things did calm down, but still believe the theater to be haunted. Although it probably doesn't account for John's identity, one interesting story I found about the theater was that it was the home base for a Yiddish theater troupe in 1927. In 1928, the crew was on its way to Youngstown when their bus crashed. Too injured to perform, their company went bankrupt a short time later.

Wikipedia
Dead Ohio
Cinema Treasures 

Mothman Festival 2015 (Day 1)

Originally, I had planned on attending only ONE day's worth of Mothman Festival festivities this year, but as things worked out, I ended up spending three days in Pt. Pleasant! In order to make sure I give every event, attraction, speaker, and vendor I experienced this weekend the attention deserved, I thought it would be best to break this up into several different blog posts.  Let's start with Friday evening....

As part of the weekend kickoff, the historic State Theater in downtown Pt. Pleasant was having a FREE screening of the documentary, Eyes of the Mothman. This 2011 documentary was written and directed by Matthew J. Pellowski and runs a little over 2.5 hours. There are a LOT of great documentaries and television shows featuring the Mothman, but you're not going to find anything as thorough and as well-researched as this documentary. It really goes in depth with exploring the Native American history of the area, the border warfare between the Native Americans and the white settlers/soldiers during the 1700s, the different sightings of Mothman, the different theories of what Mothman might be, other types of flying humanoids, Indrid Cold, etc. Anything that even remotely ties in with the Mothman mythos is covered and many different experts, professors, locals, and eyewitnesses are interviewed. I definitely recommend this movie if you haven't seen it.

Anyway, before the film even started, Carrie (my HPIR buddy), her son, and I got to town early for a quick dinner. Having always wanted to try the Iron Gate Grill and being turned away  last year, we decided to give it another shot. The Iron Gate Grill has been a fixture in Pt. Pleasant for years and we were pleased to see that they weren't too busy. We were quickly seated and had our drink orders taken. The booth we were given was extremely comfortable and unique, and the decor of the restaurant was really cool. I love old buildings, and this one definitely had a great feel to it.  The staff, including our server, seemed pleasant enough. Unfortunately, our sodas took over 15 minutes to arrive, and it would be at least another 10 before our waitress made time to take our food order. When the food arrived, it wasn't horrible---but it just wasn't what I expected. I was under the impression that this was a nicer restaurant. It certainly looks classy from the outside and the prices reflect a more upscale establishment, but the food just didn't reflect that. It wasn't bad--just very bland and very simplistic. My burger didn't taste like it had any seasoning at all, and the macaroni was straight out of a box of Kraft. I've read a lot of reviews of this place and it seems that people LOVE it throughout the year, but during Mothman Festival time, they just cannot get it together. I understand that the festival is a busy, stressful time, and being one of few nice, sit-down restaurants within walking distance, its gonna get crazy. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend trying this place any time near the festival, but it might be worth it during other times of the year.

Dinner wasn't a five star experience, but we weren't going to let that bother us. We finished up and made our way to the theater. An array of baked goods (including Mothman brownies), candies and drinks were available in the lobby for purchase, and a small food truck was set up outside with some tasty-looking options. I loved the fact that the State Theater was being used to show the movie.  Way back when HPIR had its first booth at the Mothman Festival (2007) we were invited by the people who were running the theater at the time to investigate the claims of paranormal activity. Several members of the team had simultaneously seen what looked like a shadowy form cross by in front of the ladies' restroom and we were excited about the prospect of witnessing the alleged apparition of a former employee who was said to make his nightly rounds, checking out the theater floor. We also learned that the storefront adjacent to the theater was used as sort of a staging area during the recovery efforts following the Silver Bridge collapse and that bodies were temporarily stored there.

We didn't experience any ghosts the night of the documentary, but we did experience something that was pretty darn strange. There was a really good turnout for the film, but we still managed to get good seats right in the middle section, just a few rows back from the front. After awhile, a few people around us left, leaving the rows in front of us completely empty.  It was a little under 2 hours into the film when an older man came walking down the aisle to our right, threw his stuff down, including a cane and a bundle, sat down, threw his hat off, dropped the cane, picked the cane BACK up, put his hat back on, and walked back up the aisle without the cane. He came back a moment later and sat down. At that point he began furiously writing something in a notebook, despite it being pretty dark in the theater. While this is going on, I started feeling uncomfortable. I know the Mothman Festival has the potential to bring out some...different...types of folks, but this was getting to the point where I felt personally that we weren't dealing with an every-day eccentric.

When the guy violently ripped a page from his notebook, tearing the paper almost in half in the process and then walked over and thrust it at a boy sitting with his family in the next aisle over, all three of us present gave each other the LOOK. When the guy then approached the stage and leaned over it (using it as a table, I guess, but giving him an eerie appearance from behind as if he were praying at an altar) we decided we needed to leave---immediately. I don't think I can put into words what I felt---just that I felt so uncomfortable and had a nagging feeling that we had to leave or else. As we were standing outside the theater discussing what we should do (tell the staff, although they didn't seem too concerned by the guy's erratic behavior or go back in and find different seats) the guy quickly comes out of the theater and starts walking towards us. We made a hasty retreat to the car and booked it out of town!

Our night wasn't completely over yet, though. We decided to drive out to the TNT area. When we got out there, there were plenty of other people who had a similar idea, so we chose to avoid the crowds waiting to explore the igloos and come back when it wasn't so busy. The drive back was a little eerie. A crescent moon hung low on the horizon and the clouds gave it a reddish glow, almost turning it the color of blood. It was quite the backdrop as we discussed what happened in the theater to have made all of us have the same feelings and react the way we did. Did we just overreact to someone who was a little off, or did we all simultaneously pick up on something that threw up a red flag? We might just have gotten our answer the very next day...

Mothman Festival Day 2
Mothman Festival Day 3

CT's Haunted Sterling Opera House

From Electronic Valley

Located in Derby, the Sterling Opera House was the first building from Connecticut to be added to the National Register of Historic Places.  Named for piano manufacturer Charles Sterling, the opera house opened for business on April 2, 1889.  Over the years, many notable performers and performances took place at the Sterling, including my personal favorite, Harry Houdini!

Unfortunately, the last official performance of the Sterling was in 1945.  After that, the lower levels of the building were used as city hall offices, a police substation, small jail, and even a fire station.  Since the 1960s, the structure has largely sat empty, waiting to be restored through grants and hard work to its original glory.  While it waits, its racked up quite a lot of interest through its reputation as being haunted!

From Electronic Valley

Numerous investigation teams have had an opportunity to explore the paranormal claims of the Sterling, including TAPS, who shot an episode of Ghost Hunters there that aired in April of 2011.  Some of the claims that have been made have been shadow figures, finding a child's handprints in the dust, EVPs of children's voices, and even a photograph that allegedly shows a Victorian-era woman and child.

It is theorized that any number of people may actually haunt the old Opera House, but many believe that the most likely suspects are Charles Sterling, who died two years before the building was completed and a young boy they call 'Andy.'  Visitors leave balls and toys for Andy throughout the building, and its been said that he likes to move them around when no one is looking.

There's also a certain chair in the middle balcony beside a pole that garners a lot of attention...Even 'Maggie,' the official dog of the TAPS team, was drawn to this specific chair.  Wherever in the building she was let loose, she always made her way back to that chair, said to be occupied by an unknown ghostly woman.  Is this the woman that was allegedly photographed?  Is she Andy's mother?  As restorations are still being planned, the location is still accepting investigators to try to uncover the mysteries of the Sterling Opera House.

Sources and More Info:

Damned Connecticut
Haunted Hovel
Wikipedia
Save Our Sterling
Electronic Valley

Indiana's Haunted Bristol Opera House

The Bristol Opera House was built in 1896 by Cyrus and Horace Mosier, brothers from Elkhart, Indiana.  It opened in 1897 with a production of U.S.S. Pinafore by the Arion Company, and quickly became a showplace for Bristol's arts and entertainment.  Over the years, the Bristol Opera House tried to keep up with the growing needs of the community, as well as advancements in technology.  It served as a music hall, a cinema, and even a skating rink, all before 1940.  However, that year, the aging structure was deemed unsafe for anything other than storage...a position it held onto for 20 years.

In the early 1960s, the former Opera House was still declining, and slated for demolition when the Elkhart Civic Theatre company swooped in and saved the building, eventually bringing it back to its former glory and turning it again into a showplace for Bristol's arts and entertainment community. It's reopening was in July of 1961. Today, the old Opera House is still home to the Elkhart Civil Theater, but its also home to a few resident ghosts.

One such ghost that calls the theater home is a little girl the staff have named "Beth."  Beth's apparition has been spotted at stage left, peeking out from behind the curtain and peering out into the audience.  Another presence is that of "Helen," a middle aged woman who seemingly watches over and protects the directors and producers of the various shows.

And finally...there is Percival.  According to the stories, Percival was a former handyman who worked at the original Bristol Opera House in exchange for room and board, after he and his family lost their home in a fire.  Percival is seen as a trickster, and anything that goes wrong, from electrical disturbances to missing tools and/or props is blamed on Percival.  Percival really doesn't like musicals, so much of the annoying behavior seems to occur when such a production is going on.  But Percival's antics don't end there; he is often felt brushing up against actors and guests, and has even been known to grab and jerk an actor back as he's making his entrance onto the stage.  Ladies have an especially difficult time with Percival as he is often seen hanging around the women's dressing rooms.  He's also seen in the right aisle of the theater.

Links:
Photo and more info from Dread Central
Elkhart Civic Theater Homepage
A 20th Century History and Biographical Record of Elkhart Co. Indiana

Historic Warner Theater

Today, Morgantown's historic Warner Theater is closed for business, and facing an uncertain future.  This is a far cry from the grand days of the theater's early days at 147 High Street.

The Warner Theater was built on the site of the former residence of prominent local physician Dr. David Hall Courtney and his wife, Lizzie.  Dr. Hall had passed away on May 27, 1929 at this location, due to "generalized arteriosclerosis."   In any event, the house was razed, and the property purchased by the Warner Brothers of film fame who hired architect John Eberson to design a grand theater.  The theater officially opened on June 12, 1931 at a cost of $400,000 and was of a classic art deco style.

The first movie that was shown at The Warner was The Millionaire, run by projectionist Constant (Con) DeFere.  Con, who was originally from Belgium and trained in glassworks, quickly found a penchant for film, and helped to actually install the sound and projection equipment in the new Warner Theater.  Con died in December of 1975 and spent much of his life, at LEAST until 1958 (as seen in a local newspaper article), as projectionist for the theater.

In the 1970s, the single screen theater was partitioned out into a tri-plex; the bottom floor was divided into two, with two separate screens.  The balcony became the third auditorium, and was serviced by the original projection booth.  It is this area of the theater that is said to haunted.  Unfortunately, that's about the extent of the information I have on the haunting.  Several websites mention that the balcony is haunted, including one site which includes an informal interview with a former manager of the theater, who stated that many believe that its haunted, but that its probably not.  Other websites claim that an apparition has been seen here and that there are rumors that a body was found in the theater years ago.

If the theater IS haunted, my guess, based solely on what little research I have been able to uncover online, is that there are at least two good suspects.  The first suspect is obviously Dr. Courtney or a member of the Courtney family who lived and died on the land before the theater was even thought of.  The second is Con DeFere, who devoted his life to a somewhat dangerous profession, spending much of his career at the Warner Theater.  Since the haunted area is said to be the balcony area, which holds the original projection booth, this theory makes sense to me.

Another sort of interesting fact that may or may not contribute to a haunting is the construction of the building itself.  In order to maximize acoustics, the walls were plastered with an "absorptive plaster."  This material is filled with tiny holes and is meant to reduce echo and reverberation.  It is said to contain such natural ingredients that its actually edible!  We've all heard the hypotheses that limestone and other materials can "trap" and replay spirit energy...could this edible plaster with its tiny holes actually be trapping and storing energy as well?

Hotel Morgan--Is that the Courtney Home on the right?

Unfortunately, we may not ever get the chance to fully study this location, as it shut down in September 2010.  It had been purchased in 2004 by the Round Table Corporation, who was intent on saving and restoring the theater, while at the same time offering a mix of indie/cult films and newer showings at reduced prices.  Too much competition from bigger area theaters combined with the money and headaches of keeping up an aging structure proved too much, however.  There were issues with the sound and projection equipment (especially in the balcony), the heating and cooling systems, and even the curtains over the screens.  In an ironic twist of fate, the final film shown that last day of operation was Dinner For Schmucks...a far cry from The Millionaire, a film shown when the Warner was truly THE place to be in Morgantown society.

Fun Facts!

*Don Knotts worked at the theater while in college at WVU.  In 1964, the Warner hosted the national premiere of Don Knotts' film, The Incredible Mr. Limpet.

*Albert "Al" Fusco was the manager from 1961-76.  He passed away in 2007.

*The Warner Theater is located adjacent to the (haunted?) Clarion Hotel Morgan.

*The front of the theater still houses several businesses, including a hot dog restaurant.

*The original ticket price for a daytime showing was 15 cents.

Please see THIS ARTICLE for more information, stories, and recollections!

THIS ARTICLE talks about the hauntings on the balcony

Former Ravenswood Theater

This tale is summarized from two different books on WV ghost-lore, Ruth Ann Musick's Coffin Hollow, and A Guide to Haunted West Virginia by Walter Gavenda and Michael Shoemaker:

A young man who worked at the former Ravenswood Theater as a projectionist shared a very eerie tale which happened to him while working at the theater one night.  After the last movie had ended, and the last guest had left, the boy was sweeping up, and getting ready to lock up for the evening.  That's when he saw what he described as something passing behind the screen, carrying what appeared to be a lantern.  Knowing that no one else was in the theater, the boy panicked and called the police, who found the door locked and no evidence of anyone having been there.


The owner of the theater, an older lady, was also alerted, but told the boy he didn't need to worry about someone being there who shouldn't because for the past 30 years, this same person walked the theater on a regular basis...and he was not of this world.  She went on to explain that at one point, there was a lodge for a local fraternal organization located adjacent to the theater, and at one point, there were actually passages between the buildings.  The type of lodge this was has been lost to folklore, but many believe the second floor was used in questionable initiation rites, which were shrouded in secrecy.  One night, a fire broke out in the lodge, gutting the building.  There was allegedly one tragedy--a man believed to have been in the attic at the time was never found, and presumed dead.

The owner believed it was this man who haunted the theater, as she herself had seen the phantom many times.  The boy verified this story with his father, who provided one more fascinating detail:  the man who died in the fire was the HUSBAND of the theater owner.

During the 1960's the theater ceased operations, and would later house Almeda's Clothing Store.  Today, its home to a physical therapy office.  As an interesting side note:  As I was sitting here typing this entry, I had the Guide to Haunted West Virginia book sitting open beside me on the desk to refer to.  I checked a fact, looked away, then looked immediately back at the book to verify what I had just read.  In that split second I looked away, a ladybug took up residence right on the page.  Ladybugs are considered almost universally as a good luck sign!

*There's been a ton of visitors to this post today, and I want to thank you all for stopping by!  If you'd like to hear of another Ravenswood area haunt featured on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State, please feel free to check out the Washington Motel! *

Huntington's Keith Albee Theater

Construction on 4th Avenue's Keith Albee Theater began in 1926 when A.B. Hyman consulted architect Thomas Lamb for plans to build a magnificent vaudeville theater for the people of Huntington. With the introduction of the the "talkie" "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, plans had to be tweaked, and the original budget of $250,000 was exhausted quickly.

The rococo style theater named for the Keith Albee vaudeville chain opened May 7, 1928 with vocalist Rae Samuels, several vaudeville acts, and a screening of "Good Morning Judge" with Reginald Denny.  Opening day admission was 50 cents a person, and all 3000 original seats were filled.

Still in private operation despite financial difficulties, the 1937 flood, and various changes in the entertainment industry, the Keith Albee has also picked up the reputation of being one of the most haunted locations in the tri-state area.  There have been a few verifable deaths in the building.  Down in the basement, two electricians were electrocuted, and a maintenance man died in the modern projection room.  There are also rumors that a homeless man taking shelter in the basement froze to death one winter under the stage area.

In fact, the areas of the deaths ARE reported to be some of the "hot spots" in the theater.  Movement and shadows are often seen in the projection room where the maintenance man has died, and the basement, and its legends of the tunnel system have long been the source of ghostlore.

However, the most famous ghost in the theater is no doubt the Lady in Red.  The Lady in Red is seen in the mezzanine level ladies' room.  A mirrored parlour leading into the restroom is said to be her favorite locale, but she has also been seen wandering around the rest of the mezzanine.  She is described as wearing a 1940s style red fancy dress and high heeled shoes.  Another Keith Albee ghost tends to stay in the area of the basement level ladies' room.  Visitors to this restroom often report the feelings of someone watching them, and following them down the stairs into the restroom.  Unlike the Lady in Red, this resident ethereal is heard and felt, rather than seen.

HPIR investigated this location in the fall of 2007.  Please click the link to see our investigation results!

UPDATE July 1, 2011:  The Keith-Albee sign was damaged in an early June storm.  Please click on the link below for the story, and how you can assist with restoration efforts.

Keith Albee Sign Damaged