So the end of the day you completely Believe that this theater is haunted oh I noticed I know of 21 the spirits most Of which I have names for I had waited 8 Years to see her and she finally showed Herself that’s what I saw I saw her Looking at me with these red beady eyes But it felt like the evil you know when I look back to turn the lights on she Had disappeared Cleveland Ohio is one of The most dangerous cities in the United States in the heart of the city lies an Abandoned theater that is reportedly Haunted by 21 different spirits that has Never been investigated by a paranormal TV show or YouTube group until now it’s Named a variety theater and it’s a Building in desperate need of repairs Attention and love there are thousands Of abandoned theaters in the United States but most don’t have the history That the variety does the building Started out as a vaudeville theater Before turning into a Warner Brothers Movie house and it eventually became a Live music venue during a now legendary Performance in the 1970s rock band Motorhead turned their amps up so loud That the ceiling of the building began To crack and crumble raining chunks of Building material down into the mosh pit Below from the outside the variety looks Like any other old historic property in Cleveland it has that forgotten look to
It but it doesn’t seem menacing However when you head inside you will See the true nature of the variety when You step inside of this abandoned movie Theater the atmosphere changes it grows Colder the hairs on the back of your Neck begin to stand on end and the Darkness seems to take on a mind of its Own there have been a number of deaths In the building over the years and some Of this history seems doomed to repeat Itself night after night inside of the Crumbling walls this historic and Haunted theater the place is magical and Absolutely massive yet at the same time One can’t help but feel like there’s a Powerful darkness within waiting to make Its presence known the night that we Filmed this episode inside of the Variety the temperature outside was 27 Degrees Fahrenheit and since the Building is no heating it was even Colder inside of the building We literally had to pause filming Multiple times because our hands and Faces kept going numb during the shoot And this bone-chilling cold inside of The theater proved to be an intense Challenge that we had to overcome while Shooting that night so I’m just can’t be Role right now and I’ve heard a lot different things – some Voices some bang I’m gonna play those Clips for you now I’m using my Lumix G H
Five so it’s really zoomed in but you Got to hear some of the stuff that I Just heard it’s crazy There was a bang right there that came From in here somewhere Hello Hello See what I mean it’s creepy as hell in Here Hello That’s you can you walk over to me See it’s like that clientele you hear Something Before we begin investigating we met up With Patrick a man who has been managing The building for 15 years and has spent Countless hours alone in the building Getting to know each and every spirit That lives inside I guarantee that what Patrick is about to say no you’re not oh Hello there my name is Patrick Colvin I Am with the Friends of the historic Variety theater here in the variety Theater in Cleveland Ohio theatre was Built in 1927 three local businessman Abe kramer meyer fine and Sam Dekker Developed the variety amusement company The building is actually a city block Long and includes the 21,000 square foot Theater that we’re in as well as ten Storefronts and 13 apartments currently It’s currently under renovation although We haven’t started renovations yet the Plan is to restore and renovate
Hopefully to as historically accurate as Possible Being that the building is on the National Register of Historic Places Variety theatre was built in 1927 it was Built as a vaudeville film house does Have three dressing rooms in 1927 when It was built it was built along with the Uptown Theater over on East hundred Fifth which is no longer in existence it Believed her the cost of about two Million dollars in 1927 dollars so these Were pretty ornate theaters there were Actually four theaters in this area Within sight of each other pretty much a Variety the Alhambra the I’m sorry the Almira the lyric and there’s another one That escapes me but it wasn’t here for Very long it kind of fell through the Cracks As far as historical record but those You know that this was people’s Entertainment clearly in 1930s America Half of the population Of this country went to the movies every Week they got newsreels they got their Information they got their entertainment Their escape all at you know once a week You know today in 2020 we have all of These other options you can stay at home Watch a big-screen don’t have to go out Streaming it’s things like that that you Know now clearly and there’s more Population one tenth of the US
Population goes to the movies once a Month so you see the dynamic difference There but you know as I said the ability Was built 27 it was sold to Warner Brothers in 1929 before the crash it was A Warner Brothers house until 1954 as a First-run movie house 1954 the Supreme Court rules that movie studios either Have to do distribution or production And the movie movie studios opted to do Production as that was more lucrative And there were ways for them to make Money on the back end anyway they still Had affiliations with the theaters that They the buildings that they sold if you Will 1954 it was sold to local investors Here for about half a million dollars And he had the projectors upstairs two Projectors he was able to get the prints So that’s what he did and he did that Pretty successfully for about 10 years And considering by 1974 you know you had To have parking we didn’t have parking But he still made it work after his Death his wife and sons entered into an Agreement with Belkin productions which Is now Live Nation Clear Channel and They brought in all the bands of the day So Stevie Ray Vaughn you to early in Their career missing-persons romy avoid Metallica a couple times actually Motorhead play it so loud here in 1984 That that was the impetus that was not The reason completely that was the start
Of the end of live music here at the Variety because you have to keep in mind Our our neighbors our closest neighbors Are about 15 feet behind us it’s just an Alleyway a small alleyway that most cars Would not pass through and then Somebody’s house if the opening band is Leaving while the headliner is You might as well it just stuck speakers Out there because the doors are wide Open so of course the neighbors are Gonna be upset but you know going Forward we said no loud amplified music That doesn’t mean we won’t have music Here doesn’t mean we won’t have parties Here it just means we’re not gonna be Crazy 130 decibels you know trying to Shatter people’s the windows outside After the venue got shut down for live Music in 86 It was a charter school for a minute Because that was very popular and Obviously based on the fact that the Theater the space itself lent it to a Charter school type of environment after That it was the Cleveland trestle Plex As you could see behind us most of the Seats on the main floor were removed and Those were actually removed when they Started doing general admission rock Shows here because it was just you know An easy low-maintenance thing to do so There’s only about 166 out of the 1,550 Seats still mounted at the back of the
Main floor so this space has had a Variety of uses I mean it’s had it seen You know vaudeville it seen films and Seen silent films at scene sound films It’s had live entertainment on the stage It is a lot a lot of rich history all of The people that came along in those days Early days and even the later days some Of them decided to stay so here we are As most theaters are a very active Theater if you will there are a lot of Spirits I know of 21 most of which I Have names for you I still have to find Names for Most of them are pretty mellow they’re Not malevolent per se they’re more in The spirit of Casper the Friendly Ghost At least that’s what I the feeling that I get and I’ve been in and out of this Building for with keys for the last Almost 11 years I can tell you here that We’re standing in front of the stage There’s a story of a gentleman who was One of the stage hands up in the rafters And the the the way that building is set Up that that actually goes up about five Six stories and he was in the rafters Fell into a light bar slipped and fell Into a light bar tried to catch himself Was unable to and fell to the stage and Died on impact I’m not sure if his name is Joe or not But I do know that I have encountered Him here being up on the stage
He’s a very gruff person but he’s very Direct but not menacing I also know on This stage when we flip around here in a Moment we’ll show you there’s a there’s A theater scene on the stage and there’s A bear sitting a little teddy bear Sitting in the seat and one of the Groups years ago that I’ve had through Here had found a presence of a small Child and they asked if they could leave A stuffed animal I said well of course We’ve come in here several times when no One else has been in the building and The teddy bear is not in the chair it’s A little off-putting I just happened to Look to the right and sitting right in The proscenium arch is the teddy bear And I thought I was somebody moved in Found out nobody was in here and I Thought well how did it move I put it Back at the chair I walked back up the Floor here to the back and as I turned Around that bear that I put in the chair Was not in the chair now this time he Was on the other side And I thought okay bye maybe I’m my Mind’s playing tricks on me I’m tired Whatever came back down put it back I Said that you need to stay here went Back up bear moves again finally I just Said okay you know what you’re having Your fun I’m not playing this game Anymore I’m going home and then when I Came back the next day and again I was
The only person here the bear was back In the chair so was it the little girl Or a little boy that was playing tricks With me I don’t know I have been known To you know walk around in here and They’ll hear you know when kids run Around and they kind of giggle you hear This giggling and it’ll run past you or It’ll be in out in front of you and you Know that to me is just it’s it’s kind Of an enchantment really it’ll feel Threatened by it you know sometimes they Want to play they’ll play with the Lights they’ll move tools they’ll move Keys as I was telling these guys when it Came in I said I talked to them all the Time so if you hear me talking It says I’m talking to you you always Acknowledge them when you come in and You acknowledge that when you leave and I used to tell them I’ll see you say I’m Coming back tomorrow something comes up And I don’t come back well when you do Come back they get upset with you my Upset I mean you could be in the Auditorium here and they just shut all The lights off there’s really nothing Running on the power here so there’s no Reason for well you know circuits to Trip or anything okay I guess you’re not Happy with me turn the lights back on Walk back up the floor and they turn the Lights off again this is constant same Thing you know different places here in
The in the theater are either less Active or more active as I said I know Of 21 spirits it’s not as though they’re All sitting in one row of seats behind Me waiting for the show to start when You get here so you know there might be Two spirits here that I acknowledge when I get here and then maybe 10 when I Leave They tend to like check out what we’re Doing and I anytime I have people in the Building I always come in and say hey I’m gonna have some friends in they’re Gonna do some videotaping they might do Some other investigation and you know Please we go to them and you know Acknowledge them so you know with that I Think we’ll we’ll go down to the Basement because you get a little bit Different perspective down there now a Lot of this and even trying to verify Information is really difficult to do And you have to understand if somebody Dies in a place of entertainment Nobody’s going to advertise that that’s A one way to kill your business somebody Fell out of the balcony Oh let’s advertise that because that Sounds like a whole lot of fun not so I Do know of story of what I could best be Equated as a lover’s quarrel between a Woman and two men and they were up in The balcony at some point in the late 1940s and there was an argument that
Ensued this was before a movie so they Obviously were in here early but it was An argument that ensued and one of the Gentlemen fell over the balcony to the Seats below and died on impact I also know if there’s a one of the Bigger stories that kind of follows this Place is a the woman in white and she is A beautiful late 20s early 30s maybe Wearing a high-necked Dress I did not meet her until a couple Years ago when we had some folks in Around Halloween and stayed afterwards To just do a lights-out experience and See if we could get anything and she Basically manifested herself and ended Up behind me floating up in the Auditorium we were up in the balcony And if you’ve ever taken a picture with Candle like a person individual holding One single candle and that light and if The person takes that candle and passes It along the front of their face that’s What we were seeing as that candle if You will I’m passed in front of her as She’s kind of floating up at eye level Up in the balcony in front of us in the Auditorium I could clearly make out her Eyes or you know she was made up very Pretty and I said oh you must you must Be I mean at this point I’m crying I Said you must be the woman in white I Said I’ve not met you I’ve been waiting To meet you and I’ve been told you were
Down by the water fountain if the ladies Lounge but I’ve never seen you and she Curtsied In front of me and announced and so I Asked her you know did you perform here If you did can you kind of move to your Left and she and I moved to the left and Curtsied again it was really a really Cool experience I had waited eight years To see her and she finally showed Herself and I was very proud of that and When we went to leave as I always say Wellis I have to go as all have to work Tomorrow it’s true and turn the lights Back on and as I came back down she was In the doorway over here like you would Stand in the doorway looking and I could When it came down and walked kind of Past her I could see I’d always been Told you know it’s the the lady in white With the beady red eyes but if you know Anything about photography back in the Day when you take photos you always had Try and keep the red eye out and it Looked like you know grandma was evil Because she had red glowing eyes in the Picture that’s what I saw I saw her Looking at me with these red beady eyes But it felt like it was a picture that I Was looking at and that she was you know Who just happened to be red eyes it Wasn’t menacing or anything And I acknowledged her and I said well I Have to leave now and she bowed and you
Know when I look came back to turn the Lights on and walk back over there if She had disappeared back a couple years Ago as I’ve been involved with this for About 15 years and had keys for almost 11 I had back at the well we had our if You look at our Facebook page you’ll see We have a replica of the original Marquee out front which we dedicated in September of 2016 and at Labor Day of That year my brother who was working on The security system here was sivir Security opted to end his life committed Suicide and I couldn’t come in the Building because he and I were tied to It Tethered to it so tightly and I had to Come in the building because they had to Make sure that the timer was set and Everything was ready to go for this Marquee lighting that we were going to Do and so took me about ten days and When I walked in the first time I walked In the building and they always come in The same way about 25 feet for me from The door was my brother standing there And a Seavers uniform and I seen him a Hundred times like that before and he Didn’t say anything but he smiled at me And we walked into the auditorium in you It’s a series of doors you have to go Through and say unlock the last door and Opened it into the LA inner lobby I’ve Never seen this before or since but it
Is very cool he pixelated it into about A thousand little bubbles and went into The auditorium and at that moment and Again because I hadn’t been in here in Almost two weeks at that moment I felt This wonderful sense of calm and then Everything was going to be okay and that That this intense that’s really intense And I’m You know I don’t know that you could Write a better story it’s just it just It’s wild but like I said there’s Roger Who was up in the balcony Roger is the Gentleman who determined worked here After World War two until about 1947 he Always worked in the balcony and I first Noticed it when I sat in the balcony Something told me to sit on the aisle in This section and in the corner of my eye Was like watching stop action Photography where I just kept seeing This person coming up and down the aisle And I thought what is this an finally Determined you know he was the captain Or the manager of that space and so he Was making sure that people were not Doing anything funny in his balcony I’ve had several conversations with him I learned that he loved working here he Was here almost every day And one day in 1947 late 1947 he went Home went to sleep and never was in he Died in his sleep so he’s here just Checking on things this is a happy place
So there’s a lot of people’s happy Places this is my happy place you know It’s it’s got a lot of memories like That there are a lot of things you know And of course there’s the the you know Requisite you know you see a shadow you Hear something I will hear it something Earlier you know nothing else to do Friday night so well I think that was Great time to see the basement see the Baseball right on time watch It wasn’t really for me not for sight Line so you want to watch your head down Here kind of hello I know someone that’s Why they started the open on our key Letters yeah we used to have something Like that in here but like I said some Water damage took care of that so water And electric don’t make sure huh well This is storage under the stage and as You can see there are some elements There’s some speaker horns here movie Reels there and then in here we actually Have these places hit a huge deeds so There are three compressors for the air Conditioning system and as I understand It back in 1927 when they first Introduced air conditioning Thank You Willis carrier and they used ammonia gas And they found out that ammonia gas was Released into the atmosphere is deadly So you kill all the patrons if you had a Leak real good for your venue they then Changed to freon because oh well maybe
There’s a problem with you you know Those ohm layer but that’s way up there We ought to worry about that so that’s What they used but you could see that These things would run they had to run Perfectly balanced because you see the Belts these would be rather loud so There’s actually a fire door behind you That would be closed when these were Actually running you had air Conditioning and steam heat so Wow oh It’s kind of Frankenstein if I back up Here yeah yeah you don’t really want to Touch that because You know that’s that’s like a couple Pardon me I’m just going through their Kind of toast yourself no I’m good you Do feel kind of like there’s I always Feel like down here there’s I’m gonna Call it George but there’s somebody down Here he’s just he’s not a very happy Person I but you know what if you didn’t Have windows or daylight and you had to Work down here stay down here don’t Think I’d be very happy I understand his Pain I can agree with that k2 the k2 Meter yeah well we’ve been doing the Interview yeah it’s been going nuts the K2 meter yeah it’s like I’ve been asking Them like if they it’s almost like they Like what it’s been set up here and so I Got the k2 meter out mass than that That’s just like like is this where you Go through to the entrance took on the
Car bit or the guy would stand and then Do you like what we’ve set up here and I’m just all in a red We actually have a marble we have most Of the marble that’s missing and then we Have a monument company that’s willing To come in and replace the missing Pieces Wow Well the balcony up here is as it was Originally it is 350 seats of which they Are all still here pretty much untouched President in the later years balcony Didn’t get a lot of use but simply for The fact they just didn’t want people Doing stupid stuff and throwing stuff Down on the patrons below and if they Didn’t have the attendance you know they Wouldn’t have the need to open the Balcony so there are well it’s a couple People up here that I’m aware of Spirit wise one I do know is Roger and Again as I explained earlier he’s in the Periphery he is always up here like Without fail I don’t think that since I’ve discovered who he is he’s not ever Been here and if he wasn’t then I’d be a Little concerned because very it’s very Reassuring when he’s you know when you Come up here because sometimes you can Feel very like in the basement it can Feel a little stifling or a little how Do I say suffocating that’s a little Strong especially in the summer because The place currently has no heat or air
Conditioning the summers when you get to About August It gets pretty pretty toasty up here it Takes a while for the temperature to Convert basically from outside but once It does and you know it’s crickets and Humid in here so that’s not a very good Mix but Roger and and one other person That I don’t have a name for but it’s a she Lady I don’t know that she might be a Ticket taker but she’s not you know like I said she’s here once in a while and Then of course we go up into the Projection booth there’s a couple people Up there and they’re primarily as far as I can tell they are projectionists this Was like many of the Cleveland how all All of the Cleveland houses back in the Day it was Union it was local 160 and if You worked in the projectionists Union It was it was a male job it was a tough Job at the outset I mean it got Progressively easier to the point where There’s no union left because they Didn’t need him because it was an easy Job It wasn’t the old changing of the reels And dealing with the flammability factor And things like that so so what kind of Things have people experienced up here Or you in general I could tell you there Was a the strange that you know the Strange things that happen here and then
You can’t translate outside first Episode I had with that was we had a Picture looking down from up to the top Of the steps it was like six or seven Rows here all the aisle seats had Somebody in them however they were not All dressed the same and by that I mean Looked like somebody from maybe in 1930s In 1950s 1960s but they were all aisle Seats and they were all sitting like They were waiting for the show to begin And got the picture tried to transfer it Wouldn’t transfer try to download it on My laptop wouldn’t do it but it’s clear It’s pretty clear you can see like the People in the back of their heads as You’re looking down you know other Things up here You’ll hear noises either and either the Ladies or men’s lounges which is kind of Typical because obviously people had to Use those things you know there’s other Times where generally when we’re Downstairs like we were early You’ll hear a noise and it can look up And I can usually see in the back corner There’s somebody standing there and Again it could be an usher or a Charette Not really sure but you definitely get The feeling that they’re just checking To make sure that everything is okay so That’s why I think it’s somebody you Know an employee I also know when you’re Down looking up here from the main floor
Without the lights on you had a little Bit of light from the windows that were Blacked out the paint’s peeling so There’s a little bit of ambient outdoor Light and clearly on several occasions I’ve seen where there’s somebody who Walks by the window if you will the Projection window and stops it and every Time I felt like it’s there just making Sure that it’s it’s this constant Checking and rechecking and making sure Everything’s okay because people were Coming and paying good money for movies You wanted the sound to be correct you Wanted the picture to be sharp you you Know and the way to do that was they had To go to different windows and look out And make sure that you know that Something wasn’t screwing up and that’s What it feels like it feels like they’re Just still doing that police car welcome To the neighborhood but and that’s Actually very reassuring because it’s Almost like the clockwork it’s almost Like somebody’s going okay I checked you Know like I checked again and checked Again just make sure that everything’s Okay you know and of course once in a While there’s the you know like you feel Like you could sit up here in the dark As I often do there’s people right Around you they’re not next to you but They’re around it might be two rows Behind you and I see for three or four
Seats over you know you try and engage Them and sometimes you’re successful Sometimes not so much But usually you can get something you Know If they can make some sort of noise to Know that make their presence known and A lot of that I think is you know former Patrons or perhaps somebody who worked Here and came out on their day off and You know we’re just sitting watching a Movie killing the time so at the end of The day you completely believe that this Theater is haunted oh I know it is I no One’s going to tell me it’s not because You know what there you could come in Here and be really really tired they Could be anywhere really tired and your Mind can play tricks on it and I know That but I know you know for instance I Know that you know there another group That was in here that did a YouTube cast They we did a lights-out we were down by The stage behind me and one of the Things that they asked was do you know The name of the they were doing that Electronic you know with what is that With the the box and it goes about the Spirit box right whoever said it were Standing down there in complete darkness And they said do you know the name of The gentleman that’s always in the Theater very clearly it comes across Patrick okay and they asked again they
Said if you know the name of the persons In the theatre and they said Patrick and There’s a very good distinction there Anyone who knows me most of everybody That knows me knows I go by Patrick I do Not go by path there’s two or three People that I grew up with that called Me pin everybody else calls me Patrick So to me that was kind of a defining Moment saying okay they know I’m here And I also know that they appreciate the Fact that you were trying to do Something it’s taking a long time and It’s very tiring and I’m not gonna lie About that I think they you know at the end the end Result is going to be something really Special and spectacular for people to Enjoy it’s taken 30 years in the place Has taken a lot of hits but you know the Building is very solid she’s got good Bones we’ve referred to her as the lady On Lorraine she’s a classy lady she Needs a lot of help but she is gonna Come back So it’s not a matter of if it’s when That’s the case and hopefully it’ll be Before I’m out in the old folks home so Perfect Well we’re golden Hello
