By Larry Clark
Published: June 18, 2011
Updated: June 18, 2011 - 5:37 PM
Does Hickory have enough spooks to warrant a visit from the Syfy channel’s “Ghost Hunters” team? David McLaughlin thinks so.
He entered the city in Syfy’s America’s Home Town Ghost Hunt. The 50 finalists have been selected, and Hickory is right there among cities such as Cincinnati, Gettysburg, San Antonio and Raleigh.
“There is a lot of paranormal activity in Hickory,” McLaughlin said. “We’re loaded with ghosts.”
He submitted five locations – the number required by the contest – as top haint hangouts: Mosteller Mansion, Hickory Community Theatre, McGuire’s Pub, Better Homes Furniture and Table 220.
“Lots of other places are downtown, but these have many sightings and unexplained events,” McLaughlin said.
Of course, if the Ghost Hunters team comes to Hickory, they’ll want to talk to people associated with each site. McLaughlin said most people he’s talked to seem willing to share their experiences and face the cameras.
And, there are a few who say they haven’t seen anything that would cause a paranormal panic.
“I’ve been here eight years, and I haven’t seen or heard anything,” said Christine Stinson, as she led a couple of inquiring minds through the maze of halls and rooms at Hickory Community Theatre.
The HCT building was once Hickory’s police department, jail and fire departments. When the lights are dim, the main stage and all those underground recesses are somewhat eerie.
You can see where jail inmates left messages on the ceiling, often by using matches or cigarette lighters to burn the images. Remnants of cold steel bars, low ceilings, narrow doorways and three armored vaults invite the imagination to run wild.
But now there’s just dressing rooms, the cabaret-style Fireman’s Kitchen, props galore, workshops, stage accesses and lots and lots of plain old stuff. Some of the rooms are musty and stuffy. And you can’t see squat if the lights are off.
This is no place for a stranger to find an exit in the dark, but no readily apparent specters from the Great Beyond.
Not so fast, says Anne Elliott, HCT’s veteran stage manager. She’s seen plenty, and she can feel the theatre vibes change.
Elliott retired from teaching in 2000 and became interested in HCT. She has managed 37 productions. During the upcoming season, the total will reach 40.
“The first year I was there, I seemed to be more susceptible” to paranormal presence, Elliott said. “Now, I think they’re used to me and I don’t feel them as much.”
But the spirits are still there. According to Elliott, the theatre is a haint haven.
In the center of the first balcony is a ghost who sits and watches her work. “I think he finds it amusing to watch me sweep the stage,” she said. “I’ve never seen him, but I feel his presence.”
Elliott says there is a group of ghosts who don’t like having productions on Sundays.
“Some Sundays, especially when we had the old light board, things would go awry. They still do on Sundays. They don’t think we should have the theater open on Sundays.”
An old legend at HCT is the Lady in White. Elliott said she first saw her while watching “Amadeus” on the main stage.
“She was in costume, standing in the wings, waiting to go on stage,” Elliott said.
And there was the time the lady actually took the stage one night after a performance of “Wit.” The cast was discussing the play and the show that night. The Lady in White went across the stage behind the actors. Elliott saw her.
Not all of the ghosts are confined to the theater building. “I’ve been followed home by a spirit in yellow,” said Elliott, who lives in Hickory.
But the spirit goes back to the theater.
Elliott said other people have had eerie experiences at HCT. A set builder once said he saw a ghost. An actor in the Firemen’s Kitchen – it’s in the underground part of the building – said he could smell creosote, and that’s not been used in the theater for years.
Elliott can’t seem to get away from ghosts for very long.
“I used to do tours at The Propst House,” she said. “One time, when I was there by myself, I could smell flowers and cookies – roses. They must have liked me.”
She’s also heard stories of a little girl who would sit on stage at the theater. “Sometimes, it can really feel creepy,” she said. “Whoever is there is very protective of their theatre,” she said.
But so is Elliott. “It’s been fun, it’s been a great ride,” she said of her affiliation with HCT. The ghosts may understand that.
“They know me,” she laughed. “I’m not a threat.”
Ol’ Toby isn’t a threat at McGuire’s, either.
Carol Keller, a long-time employee, knows the story well. The building in which McGuire’s is located was once owned by Shuford Mills. The pub, that’s below street level, was the coal cellar.
“They kept all the coal and boilers down here. They generated electricity and heated the building from here.”
A homeless man whose real name is lost in time often slept in the coal room. One night, a truck dumped a fresh load of coal, and the poor man was crushed. His body was found when that load of coal was used up.
“He’s here,” Keller said. “We call him Toby. He moves glasses around sometimes, and flickers the lights. He has changed the channel on the TV.”
But he’s a good ghost. He’s never skunked the beer.
McGuire’s has a photo at the bar. Keller shows it eagerly. It’s a picture of two smiling customers and – whoa! – there’s Toby’s face in the background.
Keller is emphatic when she says, “That’s not a reflection.”
Syfy will choose three cities to visit. The winners will be announced on the fall premier episode of “Ghost Hunters.”
