This interesting book explores ghostly phenomena in theaters across North and South Carolina. The Paul Green Theater Center for Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has had its share of ghostly activities and apparitions. Some say that it is haunted by Confederate soldiers but there is no proof to back this up. However, many claims to have seen a fuzzy green light in the shape of a man located stage left portion of the auditorium. While the author who has worked in that theater has never seen this apparition she has gotten photos of a light anomaly where the theater ghost is said to appear. Also, when she was working on a play where she was carrying a prop wine bottle she felt and heard someone blow across the top of the wine bottle. Once during a rehearsal for Crimes of the Heart, something from the House came whizzing by her and landed on the stage with a loud crack that everyone heard. They went looking for the object but never found it. There leaves little doubt that this theater is haunted by some sort of ghost.
The Dana Auditorium at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina is said to be haunted by the soldiers from the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781 and those of the military hospital during the Revolutionary War it was built over. The main ghost that appears is that of a soldier they have come to call "Lucas". He is mischievous but harmless and messes with the locks a lot, especially the one to the choir room. One night a security officer found that he could not close a door because it felt as though someone was pulling it from the other side but there was no one there. One Public Safety Officer locked up and turned off the lights to the Moon room. When he did his rounds and returned later the lights were back on but the door was still locked. There are also tales of a piano being played with no one there to play it. But Lucas isn't the only ghost. Other soldiers are said to have been seen as well. There's also the ghost of a little dark haired girl who is a malevolent ghost that has appeared to people playing music and at a seance held. One night two guards were alone in the auditorium when a chandelier began to swing wildly then dropped and shattered on the ground. Its thought that maybe the little girl was responsible. I'd say this place makes me believe in ghosts.
The Manor Theater (Regal Manor Twin) in Charlotte, North Carolina is a theater that has always been a movie theater that now runs mainly independent and foreign films. A medium told them they had two ghosts in each auditorium--one negative and one positive. People are scared to look into the projection booth for what they might see there. Supposedly someone hung themselves there. Also, sweeping can be heard right outside the projection booth and the cabinet door won't stay shut. But that's not the only ghost. Another psychic told them a Rose was haunting the ladies powder room. Cold spots can be felt there and one night an employee heard a woman scream from there and when she ran up and entered the room there was no one there. One night when the manager heard her employee scream she raced up the stairs and felt a cold presence pass her by. When she got into the room the woman told her that something had hit the wall hard and left. The only way out was down the stairs past the manager. Other employees have reported hearing whispering coming from the room at night and enter only to find no one there. In 1947 one of the theater's managers committed suicide at home. However, his ghost has been seen dressed for work in his dinner jacket. Employees have reported seeing a white-haired man in the theater whom when they ask if they can help him he vanishes. He also is said to be the one responsible for the sweeping outside the projection booth. One of the projectionists said that he heard sweeping one night and stepped out to check and felt a bump on his foot as though something had hit it. Then he heard the sweeping continue down the hall. The Manor is a great place to check out a great movie or a few ghosts if you are in the mood.
Powell Theater/Chester Little Theater in Chester, South Carolina is said to be haunted by many things including the old gallows dated back to the 1780s, the city morgue next door, the funeral home next door, the supposed murder of a woman in the alley in the 1970s, and the supposed rape and murder of an African-American in the "blacks-only" balcony during the 1950s. But more likely is that it is haunted by the ghost of Daniel Bell from the 1930s who died in a gas explosion saving the lives of three women. Unexplained footsteps and voices have been heard by people who have been completely alone. The sound of a projector with film slapping can be heard even though the theater hasn't been a movie house in many years and there is no projector there at all. Electronic voice phenomenon, which is when disembodied voices or sounds are captured on recording devices but not heard while recording. One such example is when the theater technician who uses headsets stopped the rehearsal because she could hear a baby crying through her headset. One night while the cast was doing The Man of La Mancha they placed a cassette tape inside a player and played "The Death Song" from the play. They left the recorder there overnight and returned the following day to find that when they played the tape back "The Death Song" was playing backward while the other songs were playing regularly. Also reported are odd lights appearing on stage with no apparent source for them. A man has also been seen in the balcony as well as a woman in a long black dress leading up to the balcony. There's no telling what you might hear at this well-haunted theater in Chester.
This book is filled with many ghostly stories that are fascinating to read about. Also included are tales from Waterside Theater's The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama, McGinnis Theater/Messick Theater Arts Center in Greenville, North Carolina, Thalian Hall in Wilmington, ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, The Carolina Theater in Hickory, North Carolina, Longstreet Theater in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Dock Street Theater in Charleston, South Carolina. My only complaint is that there are so few stories from South Carolina. Most of the book is made up of tales from North Carolina. The author is from there and she has worked in a few of these theaters so she is familiar with them most of all so I suppose that is why the disparity. But it hardly seems fair to call it a book of the Carolinas when South Carolina is barely covered. Otherwise, this is a delightfully creepy book that while it won't keep you up at night it will give you some ideas of places to visit to see some ghosts in action. I give this book three out of five stars.
Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Theaters-Carolinas-Cheralyn-Lambeth/dp/0764333275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539607378&sr=8-1&keywords=haunted+theaters+of+the+carolinas
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