THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The historic Ritz Theater in Shawnee, Oklahoma, is allegedly haunted by Leo Montgomery, a longtime projectionist who suffered a fatal heart attack inside the booth during a movie screening. Staff and theatergoers frequently report experiencing flickering lights and unexplained voices attributed to his lingering presence. The venue is also rumored to host the spirit of a woman named Amelia, who tragically died of pneumonia when the upper floors of the late-1890s building operated as a boarding house.
It was built in 1897 as a dry goods store, and then it was turned into a boarding house. The Ritz theater was born in 1926, and it may be haunted by a 1900s projectionist named Leo Montgomery who died of a heart attack during a movie showing. Flickering lights and unexplained voices have been noticed, perhaps caused by Mr. Montgomery or, as some believe, by the lingering spirits of boarding house residents. Another ghost said to reside here is called Amelia; legend has it that she died of pneumonia when the building was a boarding house.