THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Lancaster's historic Fulton Theatre openly acknowledges numerous ghost stories, including the "Woman in White," a disappearing man known as "The Whistler," phantom applause and whistling, and an elderly apparition seen watching a performance from a closed gallery.
The Fulton Theatre in Lancaster stands on a site with an unusually dark history. In 1763, fourteen surviving members of the Conestoga people who had been placed in the old county jail for protection were murdered there by the Paxton Boys. The later Fulton Hall also briefly served as a hospital for wounded Civil War soldiers after Gettysburg. Today, the theatre itself openly preserves several paranormal traditions. Actors and stagehands have reported a woman in a white dress near an old spiral staircase, sometimes identified as actress Marie Cahill. Another apparition, known as "The Whistler," is described as a man wearing a light-colored suit, brown shoes, and a straw hat. A carpenter working during renovations reportedly encountered the man, watched him disappear, and refused to return to finish the job. Theatre employees have subsequently reported similar sightings, along with unexplained whistling and clapping backstage. Another story involves an elderly man seen sitting in a gallery closed to the public who claimed to be watching his granddaughter perform; the actress later said both of her grandfathers were deceased. These accounts are prominently preserved by the Fulton Theatre as part of its own history.