The Wayside Theater has obviously seen better and more profitable days. Yet, the theater continues to crank out numerous plays a year to it's patrons who forgo the silverscreen in order to view a live play instead. Before the motion picture came along, plays were the norm for late night entertainment in this country as well as in Europe. However, our culture has changed since the invention of cameras and it has not been kind to the old-style theater industry.
Middletown has a couple local paranormal hotspots but in this post we will focus on the story behind the haunting of this theater. The story goes that the ghost that is said to haunt the building was an old caretaker, named "George," who died back during a small fire in the 1940's or died during renovation (could not confirm either report). The caretaker was an African-American who is said to haunt the stage and the balcony where most of the black people were permitted to sit at that time. Actors and actresses have also reported the feeling of being followed as well as the feeling of dread or being watched in the theater basement.
The most interesting phenomenon that occurs happens in the balcony at seat CC1 where George was reported to sit at every play. After closing, some of the workers march through the theater making sure all seats are raised. However, employees of the theater have reported that when they arrive in the morning, seat CC1 is often lowered while all the other seats stay in their upright position.
There is a good chance that this "George" could still be roaming through the theater, seeing that it's not unusual for spirits to remain in places where that person had a strong bond or presence.
Address
7853 Main Street
PO Box 260
Middletown, Virginia 22645
Links
Official Site: http://www.waysidetheatre.org/who.htm
Article on the Theater: http://www.ourstrangeworld.net/index.php/main/article/flirting_with_theatre_ghosts/
Article on an Investigation at the Theater: http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2008/09/paranormal-investigators-stake-out.html
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