Starry Night Theatre, Inc.
170 Schenck St.
North Tonawanda, NY 14120
(716) 743-1614
The Haunted
Ghostlight Theatre
According to legend, the cornerstone of the Ghostlight Theatre was laid on a dark and stormy Halloween night in 1889. It was a church until 2001 when it was given to Starry Night Theatre, Inc. and since then, we've noticed some unexplainable things.
All theatres have a ghost story, and the Ghostlight Theatre is no different. In fact, we're named after a piece of theatre lore: a ghostlight. All theatres have a ghostlight, not just us. It's believed that when a theatre is "dark" (closed), you should always keep a light lit. Some believe it keeps the ghosts away (and keeps them from causing mischief). Others believe the light acts as an invitation to the ghosts to play on the stage when no one else is around.
Spirits have appeared both on our stage (during performances!) and all throughout the building. Most famously, we captured a photo of what we believe is a ghost during a 2004 production of A Christmas Carol.
Some hot spots in the theatre include the costume room, the basement, the balcony, and the spiral staircase. We believe our building is haunted by a male spirit in the sprial staircase, a little girl named Mary, and our most famous spirit: The Lady in Red. Some of our former cast members have also been known to pop in from time to time to check in on their beloved theatre.
Get to know the Ghosts of the Ghostlight by visiting us! We offer family-friendly ghost tours around Halloween and public ghost hunts several times throughout the year.
The 2004 Christmas Carol ghost. A figure is seen standing in the corner behind Jesse Swartz (Jacob Marley). The only other person on the stage at the time was Don Swartz, playing Scrooge who stood directly in front of him.
A photo taken at a 2017 ghost hunt in our basement. We believe the left photo is of Jed Woomer who passed away in 2015. He died when he was 19, but appears many times as an 11 year old. An EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recording was captured in the same spot, saying in Jed's voice, "I'm fine."
Check out the type of spooky events we offer as well as the haunted locations we visit, experiments we try, and gadgets we use on our hunts!
Get to know our haunted history with The Ghosts of the Ghostlight Theatre!
In this new book, read over 100 real-life ghost stories from cast, crew, and audience members over the last 20 years. Order on Etsy and 100% of the proceeds are donated back to the theatre! Compiled by long-time theatre member, Amanda Woomer, with a foreword by L. Don Swartz.
Have you had an unexplainable experience at our theatre that you'd like included in The Ghosts of the Ghostlight Theatre
Vol. 2?
We would love to hear about it! Just send us a message below!