Most Haunted Places in America:The Capitol Theater
The building that now houses the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City was first opened in 1913 as the Orpheum Theater. It was considered as having a groundbreaking architectural design for the time, due to its exterior covering of a cutting-edge terra cotta material as well as all of the latest commercial and technological accoutrements. The theater sat 2000 and featured vaudeville acts twice daily. The operation was purchased by the Ackerman Harris Vaudeville Company in 1923.
At this time, vaudeville performances still ruled the American stage, but within a short few years the motion picture started to gain mass popularity. In 1927, the building was sold to Louis Marcus, who was the mayor of Salt Lake City as well as a pioneer of the burgeoning motion picture industry. He changed the name to the Capitol Theater, increased seating capacity and added a Wurlitzer organ, and in 1929 played Salt Lake’s first talking picture.
Between 1929 and 1975 the focus of the building was movies, with the occasional stage production thrown in as travelling troupes came through Utah. In 1975 a 8.5 million dollar bond was passed to restore the Capitol Theater to its former glory and convert it into a grand performing arts center.
The reported paranormal history of the Capitol Theater seems to begin during 1947 when a teenage usher was killed when a portion of the building caught fire. The ghost of this usher, dubbed George by the workers, is said to appear from time to time. George is a prankster – he has been known to unplug extension cords, move spotlights, and fiddling with the locks on the many doors in the complex. There are even cases where, beneath the stage, people have become trapped between a series of two doors, which would mysteriously lock on their own.
There are also stories of electronic equipment malfunctioning inside the theater, when they were in perfect working order before entering. There is also an elevator in the building that will travel from floor to floor with no passengers, with floor buttons what will light up on their own.
The area immediately surrounding the Capitol Theater, called the West Temple and 2nd South area, also has a bleak history that may contribute to the paranormal goings on in the theater. Nearby banks and hotels have all gained reputations as haunted places, with reports of ghosts and poltergeist activity. This area of Salt Lake City was the location of the murder of the Emanuel David family, where a mother tossed her children off the 12th floor of a nearby hotel. There have also been other, more mundane murders in the area. People have also reported hearing the screams of a child, saying: “Mom, don’t make me do it!”
The Capitol Theater seems ripe for paranormal activity partly because of the age of the building and the many renovations that have occurred. Add to that the fact that it has housed hundreds of thousands of people and actors for performances, and it is certain that the place has psychic energy to spare. Then there is the death of young George and the violence that has occurred in the immediate vicinity serving as the proverbial icing on the cake. Paranormal investigations are difficult to undertake here, seeing that the building is still in use and is locked up at night.
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