More at the Lincoln Square Theatre

The Lincoln Square Theatre fails to disappoint. I usually don’t leave without having some kind of experience. And the nice thing about the Lincoln is that the spirits are fun and playful. If you get scared, it’s all on your part, not on the part of the friendly ghosts.

Our Ouija “message”

My first experience with the Lincoln’s ghosts came on an overnight my husband and I did; I believe it was the first one. There were two girls on stage with a Ouija board, and they were frustrated because they weren’t getting anything to happen with it. This was almost at the end of a long night and many of those attending the overnight had left.

So I asked them if they minded if I gave it a try. I happen to be very good with Ouija boards. So I put my fingers on the planchette and my husband did the same. The planchette is the thing that slides across the board and stops at letters or numbers to give you your “message.” Right away, the thing took off and zipped over to “goodbye” on the board and stopped. I tried asking a question, and once more, it took off, zipped around the board and stopped at “goodbye.”

I tried a few more times to ask questions, and each time, the little wooden piece would go zipping off and then stop on “goodbye.” Each time, it seemed to get faster and more erratic, almost as if it were getting irritated with me for not getting the message. After all, what part of “goodbye” were we not understanding?

So we took our fingers off and I told the girls that I thought the spirits were tired of playing with the ghost hunters for the night and were telling us to go home.

Phantom footsteps

At another one of the overnights, once many people had left and there were only a handful remaining, I settled in a seat on the main floor in the center section just off the aisle. People report seeing something up on the Mezzanine from the main floor and I figured I’d stake it out with my camera and see what I could see.

I set my camera bag, all my stuff and my flashlight in the aisle next to me, acutely aware that if anyone came up the aisle, they’d likely trip over my stuff in the dark. At that time, I always carried my big Maglite flashlight with me; I have a much smaller one now. But it would make an easy thing to trip over for anyone walking up the aisle. So I settled in, with an ear toward the door from the stage behind me, just in case, ready to pull my stuff out of the aisle.

Sure enough, about 15 minutes or so later, I heard footsteps coming up the aisle behind me. I quickly moved and reached down to pull my stuff out of the aisle. As I did, I turned my head to apologize to the person who was coming up the aisle. You guessed it: No one was there.
I looked around. There was no one anywhere on the main floor except me.

How do I know it wasn’t my imagination? I can only say that it’s because of my reaction. I immediately went to move my things, convinced without giving it a thought that it was someone coming up the aisle behind me.

So, for a while after that, I kept my back turned and my ears perked behind me, hoping I’d have it happen again. Not a chance. My phantom visitor was gone.

Date night

One really fun spot on the main floor of the Lincoln still defies any explanation for me.

Anyone who watches the paranormal “ghost hunting” shows knows what an EMF meter is. It measures electromagnetic energy in the air. It’s thought that ghosts, of course, are energy and any time they are present, it will disrupt that electrical energy in the air. Of course, other things will set off these meters, such as lights, appliances, anything electrical, including cell phones.

Well, on one of my trips to the Lincoln, I was roaming the main floor of the theater and using my meter to check readings. I found two chairs, just off one of the aisles that registered off the chart on my meter from the bottom of the seat to about where a sitting person’s head would be. Just those two chairs. If I went higher than head level, I lost the reading. If I went back to another seat or farther into the aisle, I lost the reading. It was completely gone.

Yes, there are lights on the floor and on some of the chairs to guide theater patrons to and from seats, but I checked those out and they didn’t have anything to do with it. I got nothing registering from the floor lights, and there were no chair lights on this aisle.

I pulled out my camera to get a shot of the meter going off, and the reading was gone. My meter was at zero, where just a second before, it had been going nuts. The chair next to it was gone as well. Nothing. I waited a few minutes, but it didn't come back.

The rest of the night, I randomly checked out the seats. Most of the night, it wasn’t there, but every now and again, I’d catch it back in the seats. But, as soon as I pulled out my camera or set the meter down, it was gone again.

I mentioned it to someone at the theater, and he jokingly said it was probably some ghost couple enjoying “Star Wars” for the umpteenth time. I kind of liked that. It appealed to the romantic in me.

So, every time since, I check in with my ghost couple in the seats. Still haven’t found any rhyme or reason for the readings, but sometimes they’re there and sometimes not. A few times, it’s only been in one chair, but mostly it’s in both.

Finally, on one of my trips, I was able to get a picture of the meter going off, sitting on the chair, but it was definitely on it’s way down the scale from the high-point reading. Maybe it was hoping that if it let me take the photo, I’d quit bugging it and leave whoever it was alone to enjoy the show.

I still check in at those seats. I’ve sat in them a few times and never felt anything strange. It’s kind of fun. I’d tell you where the seats are, but if you ever get to the Lincoln, check it out for yourself. It’s more fun if you find them on your own.

Still more stories to come …