The Most Haunted Places in America: The Lincoln Theater
The Lincoln Theater was built in 1916, but the haunting history that surrounds the spectacular building goes back far beyond the theater’s construction. Rumors of its ghostly hauntings have circulated for years upon years, with one common embellishment that we’ll clear up in this article as well.
The first structure to be built on the land in Decatur, Illinois was the Priest Hotel, built in 1860 by Franklin Priest. The hotel changes owners, and several times – in 1880, it became the New Deming, in 1892 the Arcade Hotel and finally in 1900, it was remodeled and termed the Decatur and Arcade Hotel. In 1904, a horrendous fire broke out that destroyed the building, but it was quickly rebuilt and opened once again to the public.
It wasn’t until April 21, 1915, that the real disaster occurred. The common belief is that oily rags were left near a boiler, and subsequently ignited. The blaze enveloped the entire establishment within 10 minutes. There was nothing fire fighters could do aside from trying to save the surrounding structures.
The number of hotel guests who died in the catastrophic inferno is unknown, as most bodies were not recovered, though two men were identified; local engineer William E. Graham and a traveling salesman from Lockport, New York.
In 1916, Clarence Wait, the son of the Decatur & Arcade hotel’s owner Augustine Wait, inherited the land and built the Lincoln Theater, constructed specifically to be absolutely fireproof as Decatur had suffered numerous structural blazes over the years. The glorious theater opened and was immediately a hot spot for locals and tourists alike, featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment in those days.
Rumors of the Lincoln Theater being haunted began as early as the 1930s. People have felt “strange vibes”, suffered loss of breath, black outs, eerie feelings of being watched, touched or even held down by an unseen force. Footsteps have been heard on the stage when there was no one else in the theater. Voices have been reported from various locations, though no one else was present to speak them.
What exaggerated the rumors was the misleading story of a stage hand known as “Red”. Red absolutely loved his job at the theater, wishing that he could be up on the stage, receiving the same thunderous applause he had seen so many famous performers receive. Red was very shy, however, and simply not cut out for the entertainment industry, therefore he relished in the ability to work in the background among such an atmosphere. He would show up on his days off and linger after his day was done.
The exaggeration comes in his untimely death. The rumor was that Red had been working alone one night in the rafters, where a beam inlaid with metal hooks to hang and adjust the lights and curtains was located. It was said that though Red was very comfortable and used to the heights, he slipped, fell from high above the beam, and his arm caught on one of the hooks. The weight and speed of his falls caused his arm to be ripped from his body, and he was later found in a bloody heap upon the stage.
Immediately “Red” became the source of the ghostly hauntings at the Lincoln Theater. However, the true story is that Red was wounded in World War I, lost his arm, and was hired for his keen ability to work the lights and curtain better than anyone else, even with a single arm. He died of natural causes, during his sleep, while on a break from work in the theater.
Whether it is the spirit of Red, who so loved the theater and chooses to stay, or perhaps one or more of the burned victims from the blaze of 1904 who haunts the Lincoln Theater, none can say. Perhaps it is just an old building with suspicious sounds from the settling of the massive structure. Those who have visited the Lincoln Theater, however, are most adamant that it is, in fact, quite haunted and qualifies as one of the most haunted places in America.
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