Twin Cities Opera House
McConnelsville, Ohio

In 1892 the Twin Cities Opera House opened, for the people of the bustling communities of McConnelsville and Malta, across the river. It dominates the square of the village. Throughout the years, opera, theater, concerts and magic shows entertained the citizens. Upstairs, dances and events were held in the ballroom of the grand old structure. Today, movies and concerts are shown on weekends and ghost hunters hope to find and communicate with the spirits of the building. Who are they? Everett, the usher; Robert, the actor; Victoria, an actress; Elizabeth, a little girl who may be Victoria’s daughter; Sarah, a young girl; and Charley, who is probably demonic!

OPI arrived early in the evening and were greeted by Eric and Aaron who gave us a tour of the building, citing both its history and paranormal events. There is the lobby, stage, balcony, basement, cellar, ballroom, projection room, coat room, clock tower, and catwalk. We set up headquarters on the stage. As we were setting up, a door slammed somewhere. Since we were all accounted for, it was unexplained and a good start for the investigation. Our baseline sweep on the K2 meter showed normal readings, a single green light. We set up six static night vision cameras: in the catwalk, the cellar or “black hole”, and on the stage, one shows the balcony. The Mel meter left on the stage showed no activity. However, the one Rob took with him to the catwalk registered a 1.7, indicating paranormal activity.

We conducted EVP sessions in several areas in the theater, including the balcony, ballroom, coatroom, cellar, and first floor audience seats. I tried conversing through the flashlight, but that method didn’t work at all this particular night.

Eric told us that sometimes the toilet in the women’s bathroom would flush on its own, and I did feel a presence in there. Very unsettling!

Our most intriguing sessions involved Charley, one in the cellar and one in the catwalk. In the first, the ovilus said “Greg” as we walked through the basement on our way to “the black hole.” This is the first time we have heard it say his name. He was feeling somewhat wary at that! All three of us, Greg, Rob, and me, continued into the cellar, where Charley is known to be. It is very dark, the floor is uneven, and low hanging ducts and pipes are everywhere. There was a sense of malevolence. Charley manifests itself as a huge black mass. We asked it, “Why are you here? What are you? How long have you been here?” and similar questions. I began to get nauseas, as did Greg. Rob developed a headache. The ovilus stopped talking after the word “hug” when Rob said, “I’m not going to hug you.” We could feel the presence of Charley. We told it our headache and nausea would not make us leave, and that if we did, we’d soon come back. Nothing further happened then, so eventually we went on to another section of the Opera House. We did tell Charley that he was doing nothing and it was boring.

We tried to communicate with Robert and Elizabeth on the catwalk. Some stuffed animals, a doll, and a tea set are there for Elizabeth to play with. Three red wine bottles sit on the floor for Robert since he likes red wine. In this session we used the spirit box. When I picked up one of the bottles, a voice came through the spirit box commanding me, “Stop!” A little girl’s voice –Elizabeth? said “Hi” and when we asked if she was here with us, she replied, “yes.” Then the same voice said ”Help!” We asked what was wrong, what we could do to help, but nothing more came through. We have discovered that if we are communicating through the spirit box, the ovilus is usually quiet. Also, when we communicate using the flashlight, the ovilus is quiet. It seems the spirit uses one method at a time.

Eventually, we decided to try “the black hole” again. This time the atmosphere was heavier. We sensed the evil presence even more acutely. We called to him using the spirit box. A woman’s voice clearly said, “Die!” When I asked, “What is your real name?” the reply was “Sarah.” Rob developed another severe headache, and I felt great rage directed at us. Maybe he didn’t like being told he was boring! Then the Ovilus spoke, saying the words, “Life” and “Run”! We decided to heed its advice and left taking the camera along, since it was getting late anyway.

For our last session, we asked Eric and Aaron to sit in with us. We wanted to connect with Robert and Elizabeth. However, once we reached their space on the catwalk, the atmosphere was different. We determined that Charley had chased them away. Eric explained that the other spirits felt intimidated by the demon. While we spoke with Charley, the ovilus said words such as “demon, beat, and laugh.” We all formed a circle. Eric and Aaron said that Charley claims to be someone who died in the fire at the Brewster Hotel in the 1880s. They researched. No one died in the fire, and it was the Brewster Home, not a hotel. Eric, Aaron and Rob reported feeling static electricity while I kept getting cold chills. It seemed to be circling us. We demanded that it – Charley- do something to prove its presence: a sound, or move an object. When we saw no cooperation, Eric banished it with the words, “In the name of Jesus Christ, be gone!”

With that session concluded, we went out for some air, and then packed up. It was a good night of investigating, since we had some firsts! We met our first demon, and were threatened with death for the first time. This was the first time I felt sick at an investigation. Greg heard his name on the ovilus for the first time. If the opportunity presents itself, OPI will be back! Thank you Eric and Aaron!

http://www.twincityoperahouse.com/