The Haunted - and Not So Haunted - Theatres of Central Pennsylvania

It's that time of year when ghosts, ghouls, vampires, and zombies walk the earth - and that's just on cable network new fall shows. They also show up for Trick or Treat events, and - for the more serious - they show up in theatres. Frequently they do that on stage, but they do it backstage as well, because ghosts apparently love theatres. The stage and its environs make for some of the great hauntings of history. There's a reason that lamp back there is called a "ghost light."

Central Pennsylvania is home to some great theatre and to some great theatre spaces, some of which indeed profess to be haunted. Some, like Oyster Mill Playhouse and York Little Theatre, have gone so far as to hire paranormal investigators - yes, just like the ones on television - to check out their premises. Both theatres are reputedly haunted, and both profess that there were indeed notable findings of unexplained phenomena by their "ghost hunter" teams.

And then there are the surprises - the places that simply aren't haunted, when by all rights they should be. Take Totem Pole Playhouse in the wilds of Caledonia State Forest. Surrounded by acres of woods, once burned down and then rebuilt (no one died in the fire, it should be noted), in an area once certainly occupied by Native Americans and just possibly taking its name in vain by dubbing itself with the Native American ancestral totem figure, it professes, according to staff and to director S. Sue McMurtray, no known haunting. It would seem that something or other should have been attracted to it, or that it might bear an interesting curse, but no - the theatre is apparently spook-free.

Also surprisingly unhaunted? Ephrata Performing Arts Center, at the Sharadin-Bigler Theatre in Ephrata. According to Artistic Director Edward Fernandez, "Some people - only a couple - have claimed there are phenomena, but I haven't ever seen any, and I think I'm sensitive to things like that. I've run into strange things, and seen them, in theatres - when I was working at the Fulton, definitely. I think the people who have run into things here are just spooked by being alone in the theatre in the dark." But he also thinks it's odd that the place is apparently ghoul-free - Ephrata was once home to a sizeable Spiritualist community, and the park is the former home of the Spiritualist Camp Silver Bell. The theatre is located directly on property where believers once held séances to summon the dead to speak to them. Yet there's nothing inexplicable within the theatre itself, Fernandez says.

Although Gretna Playhouse is in the woods in an area that looks conducive to such things, current staff say they don't know of anything there. One suggests that since the current theatre really is a comparatively new one, any original ghosts may have dispersed. The first playhouse burned down in 1898, while the second one collapsed under snow in the winter of 1994 and had to be rebuilt in 1996. That's possibly discouraging to spirits looking for a home.

At least one theatre in the area falls into the "we're not quite sure" category. Tom Hostetter of Theatre Harrisburg notes that although many years ago someone did pass away at what's now the Krevsky Center, there's nothing associated with that; however, when Hostetter began working there in the Eighties, those who worked there regularly attributed noises and other mysterious goings-on to a possible spirit known as Jane. Jane, if real, seems harmless, if a bit noisy; Hostetter's not sure if there was ever a more-or-less acknowledged proof of her existence or if she's an entirely invented or presumed ghost. "I'm not quite clear if she ever did exist, or if everyone just enjoyed pretending that we had our own ghost, and some people believed it and other people didn't."

There used to be a ghost light at Krevsky Center, although when renovations took place, lighting was installed that made the use of a ghost light unnecessary. "We used to wheel the ghost light out on a tripod after rehearsals. There's no need to do that now. It's sort of a shame - it's the loss of a ritual that brought us together."

Hostetter notes that while the ritual of turning on the ghost light may have been lost at Theatre Harrisburg, theatre superstition as a whole has not. "You still don't mention the name of the Scottish Play [Macbeth]. You don't whistle on stage. And you never give anyone yellow roses. They're bad luck. We had one actress who was given a bunch of yellow roses and another who shared the dressing room with her absolutely demanded that we get them out of there on the spot." (Although everyone may not be superstitious, there are so many people in theatre who do worry that most other people who are aware of the conventions do try to observe the rules in order not to disturb those who might be concerned.)

Lyn Bergdoll of York Little Theatre says that not all of the ghosts at the theatre on Belmont Street in York may be "theatre ghosts" - "A man who came here once checking things out told me that the two places that seem to attract ghosts and spirits are theatres and churches. Maybe they just like to be there with the people." At least one paranormal team has found heavy measurable activity inside the building, although such organizations note that this doesn't automatically translate into "ghosts". This writer acknowledges that an EMF meter she has taken into the premises has had interesting readings that may mean nothing at all other than that there were fluctuations in electromagnetic energy levels throughout the building.

Rene Staub, director of artistic services, says he has not been at York Little Theatre long enough to meet any of the ghosts, but that a member of the set crew has. The back stairwell is a particularly haunted area, and one small section of the basement is noted as always being freezing cold, even in the summer, and even with heat on in the area. That spot is presumed haunted, as well. "I don't know everything about all of the ghosts, but one is named Martha. Another is George. No, they're not together! And there's a little boy. We don't know much about him, but it's said he used to be in shows here. He was very active when we did TOMMY. We think he didn't care for it because of the child abuse mentions.

Unlike Theatre Harrisburg, York Little Theatre has not abandoned the ghost light, and uses two of them - one on the main stage, and one in their Studio Theatre. Given the amount of spectral traffic noted there, it may well be appreciated by the resident shades.

The best-known of the haunted theatres in the area is undoubtedly the Fulton. With a long past, with its sitting on the foundations of Lancaster's original prison (remnants of prison walls and doors are found downstairs), and with a massacre of Consestoga Indians on the site by the Paxton Boys in 1763, it would be a surprise if there were no haunting; in fact, it's notoriously the most haunted of the theatres in Central Pennsylvania.

It's also possibly one of the few theatres anywhere that just might be haunted by its own audience. The original Fulton Hall interior had a central aisle with all seating on either side of it. Since its 1904 renovation, actors onstage have often noted a mist coming down the center of the theatre towards the front. It's popularly believed to be the specter of past audiences coming into the theatre looking for seats, with no awareness that the seating configuration has changed since they were alive.

There are, unsurprisingly, backstage ghosts at the Fulton. One of the few professional theatres to still use traditional rope rigging, with pin rails, catwalks, and a grid overhead (and the same sandbags that fall on actors' heads in television murder mysteries), prior stage crews still work there in their afterlives. One is a very friendly female ghost who spends her time around the grid. Then, over on the pinrail itself, is a particularly cranky one who's bothered by the living stage crew around him. He's believed to be an old sailor who worked on the rigging in the 1800's - as lovers of old theatres know, theatre riggings were frequently handled by sailors and former sailors who knew their way around ships' riggings. It's believed to be the source of the superstition, mentioned by Hostetter, about never whistling in a theatre - the sailors used whistles to communicate with each other while in the riggings. Whistling on stage could mean a curtain (or that sandbag) on your head.

A woman in white has frequently been seen around the green room and on the now-replaced circular staircase that used to lead from the green room to the backstage area. She's identified herself as a "Marie." Actress Marie Cahill performed at the Fulton in its early days, and was noted for her regular appearances in white dresses. The theatre's green room now boasts a poster for one of Miss Cahill's appearances, in honor of her continued visits to the Fulton.

The third-floor gallery also appears to be haunted - a lighting tech working there once had an invisible assistant toss her a crescent wrench when she'd forgotten hers below. Electrical tape has also been tossed down to the stage from the gallery when no one has been up there.

Ed Fernandez had a witness to his experience at the Fulton. "I was directing there, and was in the rehearsal hall. My assistant was with me. This red-haired woman came flying past us swearing that she was late for rehearsal, and she dashed into the room. Only... she wasn't there once we turned our heads to look for her."

The Native American presence has been felt in various places in the theatre, especially down in the tunnel. But it's also been felt - and heard - outside of the theatre. Adjacent to the theatre is apartment housing used by actors at the Fulton. More than one person staying in the adjacent housing has been kept awake by Native American drumming - it's reported that politely asking the spirits to quiet down so the occupant can sleep does in fact work at silencing the tribal rhythms.

Hershey Theatre, though it seems as if, like the Fulton, it would be the perfect old and elegant home for distinguished theatre-haunters, is surprisingly free from known spectral visitors, even the shades of former touring actors. According to Melissa Stradnick of Hershey Entertainment, "We've been asked that - and no, we really don't seem to have any. We have the national tour of the musical GHOST here for Halloween, but that's as close as it comes."

The Fulton has had ghost tours after some evening performances this season, and York Little Theatre has held tours in the past with paranormal experts, but the haunted theatres aren't simply open for investigation anytime you wish. Most of the area theatres will be happy to tell you if they have any real or imaginary hauntings, but special arrangements are required, normally, to come in to look for them. It's best to ask about a tour, or about whether someone there can tell you any of their stories - don't show up unannounced with your camera, EMF meter, and recording equipment preparing for ghost-hunting. In fact, it's best to leave that to the experts. But if you're determined, you could make arrangements, like the one theatre camp did, to sleep overnight in one of the area's haunted theatres. It's said that the students who slept - or tried to sleep - at the Fulton begged to leave... but that's a tale for another evening...

(All theatres mentioned in this article were contacted directly for information. Each of them can be contacted through their websites. Belief in ghosts is, of course, subjective, although the business of Live Theatre is replete with ghost tales, and the industry does have many legendary superstitions. The telling of ghost stories about various theatres by the persons named should not be taken as the theatre spokespersons' actual personal belief or disbelief in the supernatural, but as a realization that Halloween is the best time to tell their theatres' stories.)

Image credits: The Fulton Theatre, Totem Pole Playhouse, Ephrata Performing Arts Center, York Daily Record

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