Calumet Theatre - Calumet, Michigan

 

Synopsis

The Theatre was built in 1900 by architect Charles K. Strand. It opened on March 20th, 1900 and was one of the first municipal theatres in the country and held 1200 seats. In 1920, the theatre was converted into a motion picture house and used as such until 1958, then brought back performance art. In 1971, the theatre was added to the National Register of Historic sites. In 1975, the auditorium was restored to hold 700 seats and the exterior was restored in 1988-89.

 

Paranormal Activity Reported

Paranormal activity has been reported for decades in the theatre by staff and patrons. One of the famous reports of paranormal activity is the spirit of Madame Helena Modjeska haunting the theatre. In 1958, actress Adysse Lane claimed she saw the ghost of Madame Helena during a performance, where she forgot her lines and Madame Helena helped her by mouthing the lines of the play.

Other reported paranormal claims stem from the tragic Italian Hall disaster. On December 24, 1913 the families of striking mine workers were attending a Christmas party at the hall. Over 400 people attended the party that evening. During the gathering someone falsely yelled “fire”, causing a panic which resulted in the deaths of 73 people, of which included 59 children who were crushed to death in the frantic stampede.

Witness reports claimed that anti-union workers were connected to the event and even blocked the exit doors to disrupt the party.

The hall was about a block away from the theatre, which was used as a temporary morgue after the tragic disaster. In 1984, the hall was demolished and only the stone archway remains as a historical marker in remembrance of the tragedy. Claims from staff and patrons seeing apparitions and hearing voices of the deceased from the hall disaster now linger within the theatre.

 

Investigation

On March 20^th, 2021 the Wausau Paranormal Research Society conducted an overnight investigation of the theatre and it was subsequently the 121^st anniversary of the grand opening. Investigators present were Beaudry, Blaschka, Duginski, Coscio, Cruz and VanProoyen.

Equipment used during the investigation included a night vision DVR camera system, EMF detectors, REM Pods, motion and vibration detectors, infrared and full spectrum camera, thermal imager, IR flood lights, digital recorders and the SLS digital mapping system.

DVR cameras were placed around the entire auditorium and stage area, including the lower level hallway near the changing rooms. Rem pods, motion and vibration detectors were placed around the stage and lower seating areas.

Investigators walked around the entire building taking numerous photographs with the infrared and full spectrum cameras, including conventional camera photographs. After the cameras and equipment were placed, the team set up their monitoring base in the connected meeting hall that’s attached to the auditorium. Speakers were set up on stage and the play of Shakespeare’s, “The Taming of the Shrew” was played while the team observed from home base any activity.

During the course of the night, the team broke down into smaller groups investigating different areas of the theatre, taking photographs, conducting EVP and observation sessions. The team also conducted group EVP sessions in the auditorium and left the DVR camera system recording the entire night.

Our team investigated the location of the Italian Hall disaster and conducted an EVP session as well as took EMF readings. No EVP recordings were captured, but an extremely high EMF spike was detected on the TriField EMF detector upon walking though the old archway.       

 

Evidence

Upon reviewing the numerous photographs, audio recordings and video footage during the investigation, only a few unexplained events and anomalies were captured. EVP’s were possibly captured, but due to the low frequency and quality of the EVPs, the recordings were not considered sufficient enough to be considered evidence.

The entire video footage was reviewed and only had one strange occurrence captured. On two of the cameras that were located on the 2^nd floor balcony, a fast moving anomaly was detected that activated the motion sensor on each camera, moving at a fast meandering speed. Do to the very cold conditions and the low heat in the theatre, the possibility of an insect was unlikely, but cannot be ruled out entirely.

On one occasion, an investigator was conducting an observation session on the second floor balcony and observed a strange light flare that partially illuminated a wall on the side of the lower auditorium. After reviewing the video footage, no such light anomaly was captured.

Out of the plethora of pictures taken around the building, only two stood out that could not be fully explained. One photograph captured a white mist on the staircase that was not visible to the human eye. The other was located in the auditorium, taken with the infrared camera, which appears to be a possible head and neck of a figure? The figure appears to have a higher lighted color content (almost glowing).

In contrast with the infrared camera, if an object is very dark in nature it will be lighter in the photo and if the object is lighter color in nature it will appear darker in contrast. So this possible figure was very dark and being in a dark auditorium means it was nearly impossible to be seen with the naked eye.

 

Conclusion

The Calumet Theatre has a very rich history in performing arts as well as being notorious in its paranormal hauntings within the walls of this once pristine theatre. The investigation yielded a somewhat quiet result with very few personal experiences. The evidence collect was limited. The WPRS could not validate any significant evidence, but the photographs that were collected are indeed intriguing and possibly in the realm of paranormal in nature.

In closing, taking into consideration the history, the personal experiences from staff and patrons though out the years and the collection of data that the team collected, it is possible that paranormal phenomenon could very well exist at the theatre. 

 

 *Any use or reproduction of this documentation is prohibited without the sole permission of Bill Beaudry and the WPRS.