Chapter 2:
Ryan got out of the van and helped unload the truck. He had never been to this theater before but was surprised that he had never noticed it either. It was a large building with very impressive architectural details. If he was correct this building was probably built in the late 1800's.
As they entered the building John had asked him to join them when they took the tour of the place. Ryan was glad to be part of the tour since he would get to hear some of the history of the place first hand.
They were greeted by an older gentleman in the lobby. "Hello, my name is Weston Parker; and from the looks of it you must be John Logan". He offered his hand for a handshake.
John grabbed the older man's hand and shook it, "Yes, I'm John and this is a few of the guys that will be conducting the investigation with me. It's really nice to meet you Mr. Parker".
Weston softly clapped his hands together as he said, "Please, call me Weston. So, where would you like to start?"
"Well, this is your place so I think we'll just follow your lead".
"Ok, well let's see, this place was built in 1892 but wasn't always a theater. I know it was used once as a temporary shelter with people who had tuberculosis".
As Weston led the way he brought the group to some rooms at the back of the theater, "Well, let's see this is where the actors practice their lines and get ready for a show. There are several rooms back here to accommodate a variety of actors, but there is one room in particular I wanted to show you". He led them into a small room that looked like it was someone's dressing room. "This is an extra dressing room that we use if needed, but most people who end up here don't stay long. They say there is a feeling of being watched all the time and that there stuff disappears or gets moved around".
"Has anyone ever seen anything in here?"
"A few people have claimed to have seen something appear in the mirror, but as soon as they turn around whatever it was they thought they saw is gone".
"How about voices, has anyone ever heard anything?"
"Not that I know of, but this room has a reputation now, so we don't usually get too many people who are willing to stay in here".
"Do you have any idea of what it could be?"
"I'm not sure, but I know these rooms were used to house some of the people who had tuberculosis. There were quite a few people who died here so it could be one of them".
John turned to one of his guys, "Bill, I think we should get a camera set up in here and it would be a great place to do some EVP's".
Bill took some notes before responding, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'll take care of it".
"Great", he looked toward their host, "Well, where too next Weston?"
"I think we should head down to the lower floor directly below the stage". Weston led the group back out of the room and down a short hallway before reaching a set of stairs, "Please be careful on these steps, we have to get one of them repaired so please just hang on the railings".
Each one of them had no trouble finding the broken step, but luckily it wasn't a problem since they were told to hold the railing.
"So Weston; is there another way down here".
"Yes John, there is an elevator and another set of stairs that are much safer, but I thought taking the back stairs would be quicker since they were closer".
"Good, I was just thinking about how to get our equipment down here".
Weston led the group to a large open area, "this is where the orchestra usually sits, and it is also used to house larger props, that when needed, can be lifted onto the stage. We have had several claims of a man being seen walking around here carrying a violin".
"What's so strange about that, this is where people with instruments would be hanging out?"
"I thought that as well, but I was always told the man was wearing a suit that was straight out of the late forties and when anyone tried to talk to him he would disappear right through the wall. I thought it was all talk, but one night when I was down here getting the place set up I saw him".
John found this interesting, "So, do you have any idea who this man might be?"
"I have a theory after doing a little bit of research. There was an older gentleman whose name I think was Richard and he used to work here in the forties up until his death. It was said he had a heart attack while he was doing his solo piece for a play that was going on upstairs".
"Wow, that's some good history". John once again turned to Bill, "we should probably get a camera set up down here as well".
As Bill wrote down more information, John turned back to Weston, "So are there anymore areas of interest?"
"Yes, there is one more place". Weston led them to another set of stairs at the opposite end of the room. They went up one flight, "Now, here is where our regular actors have their dressing rooms. It's been this way all the way back to the thirties. There have been claims of a woman screaming and running through the hall toward the stage. When people have tried to respond to her, she disappears. It's said she is the ghost of a murdered actress; Lily Van Walken. She was quite the actress in her days".
This story intrigued Ryan enough for him to ask a question, "Do you have any more information on how she was murdered?"
"All I know is that she was said to have been stabbed and then the body was burned in the back alley. It sounded like a gruesome murder. From what I had been told by someone, they had a suspect, but no one was ever convicted of her murder, but some guessed it was a mob hit".
"A mob hit, was she on the wrong side of the law?"
"No, but they did own this place for awhile back in the late thirties and into the mid forties. Some thought she refused to satisfy them so they had her killed. But this is about all I know. I always thought about doing a more intensive search on the history of this place, but the theater has kept me too busy".
John was impressed, there was certainly more to look at then he had originally thought, "Well, I think we'll start getting set up then. This place will certainly keep us busy tonight".
"Well, good luck with your investigation. The place is all yours for the next two days, but we do have a new play starting here on Monday so you'll need to have everything out by then".
"I think we can manage that Mr. Parker".
The next few hours were used to set up cameras and digital recorders in the areas of interest. John had brought his other 4 people up to speed and set up a schedule for everyone to follow. It was decided to have 3 groups of two, with Ryan joining John's group.
Ryan's excitement grew like the advancing darkness outside. He had not done this in a while, but the time to prowl the hallways was almost here. He really hoped he had some kind of supernatural encounter tonight. He remembered the last gig he was on with John. It had been filled with several unexplained experiences that he could never figure out, but John told him they sounded genuine.
As the groups went off to where they were assigned, John, Ryan and Bill made their way to the first room that Weston had showed them.
"So Ryan, is this bringing some good memories back?"
"Yeah John it is. I feel a little rusty, but I'm psyched about the idea of seeing a ghost. That's one thing I have yet to experience. So far I have only experienced sounds and being touched, but seeing a real ghost would make all of this so real".
"Well let's get started then". John led the two guys into the one room where they proceeded to do some EVP for the next 20 minutes. A few times they thought they had heard something but they soon grew tired and decided to move on to the next area.
They were headed back to the lobby in order to search the top balcony area when John stopped, "Hey, did one of you guys remember to pick up the portable EMF meter".
Ryan looked at the gear he was holding and said, "No, sorry I don't have it". He looked at Bill and saw that he didn't have it either". "Do you want me to go back and get it?"
John didn't want to waste any time with their investigation so he took Ryan up on his offer, "Sure, sounds good. You can meet us up in the balcony".
Ryan left John and Bill and made his way to the back of the theater. It didn't take long to find the EMF meter; which meant if he hurried he could make it back to John and continue their search.
As he made his way toward the front he heard a noise coming from behind him. He turned around, "Hello, is one of the groups back there, it's Ryan".
When he didn't hear anyone respond he assumed the noise was nothing, but when he heard it again he knew it was something. He made his way to the back area and kept looking for the source, "Hey is anyone back here".
As the noise resounded in Ryan's ear again he could tell it was coming from the stairwell leading down to the orchestra pit. He walked over; shining his light down the steps, "Hey, is anyone down there?"
As he stood there listening, he again heard the noise, but this time it was at the bottom of the steps. His curiosity was getting the better of him as he started to descend the steps. He knew he wasn't supposed to be going at this alone (this was always one of Johns rules), but he didn't want to lose whatever he was chasing. As the sound came again he quicken his pace a little, but he forgot something. As he was holding the flashlight looked down toward the bottom of the stairs, his foot landed on the broken step. Since he was not holding onto the railing as Weston had told them to do, he slipped and went tumbling down to the bottom. He didn't remember hitting the bottom as he fell unconscious during his fall.
Ryan could feel someone shaking his shoulder, but his head hurt too much for him to respond. As the shaking persisted he finally decided to open his eyes if only to tell whoever it was to stop it.
He slowly opened his eyes, but instead of seeing one of the guys on John's team, he saw a very beautiful woman with a worried look in her eyes staring down at him.
"Are you alright, it looks like you took a nasty tumble down the stairs?"
Ryan stared at the woman, not sure who she was or where she had come from. He sat up and leaned against the wall. He rubbed his head as he continued to stare at her.
As the pain in his head started to lessen and his senses starting returning he wanted to find out who she was, "What's your name?"
"My name is Lily Van Walken, and who are you, I've never seen you here before".
Ryan knew that name, and as he searched his memory his mouth fell open as it he realized who she was.
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