Imagine going on your own personal ghost hunt, trying to prove or disprove a haunting in what the Wausau Paranormal Research Society calls one of the city's more active locations.
You think you're brave enough, but when the owner locks the door behind you with minimal light and two working flashlights to explore the theater, the anxiety suddenly sets in.
I have two hours to explore an area known for its immense paranormal activity, and now its time to boldly test my own fears.
With that as my only encouragement, I look down the basement staircase, leading into a black abyss, and turn on my flashlight.
The theater, on Fourth Street in downtown Wausau, dates back at least 100 years, but gained the name Roger's Theatre in 1979.
The WPRS has conducted two investigations of the building, one in October 2003 and the other in December 2005. Those investigations yielded some interesting results; the most notable include a woman singing "pray for you" on one of the investigator's voice recorders and a chair rocking back and forth on its own.
The walkthrough
The flashlight burns a narrow path of light into the consuming darkness, leading me into the basement auditorium. Dust fills the air, and my digital camera picks up multiple "orbs" of light in almost every picture I take. Could this be my ghostly evidence?
WPRS lead investigator Shawn Blaschka said they are most likely the result of light reflecting off dust particles in the air.
"Then again," Blaschka said, "there are people that swear that orbs are a manifestation of spirit energy."
Breaking out my digital voice recorder, I asked the spirit, whom many refer to as "Bob," an array of simple questions. His response? Silence.
Later, I am joined by three Wausau East High School students and fellow Wausau Daily Herald reporter Amy Olson, who came to assist me in my search. Although I feel braver, my anxiety intensifies when we hear knocking on one of the upstairs doors while standing in the second-floor hallway. Shining a light into that area mutes it, and we retreat. Once in the main hall, we hear faint footsteps moving slowly upstairs and another door close.
"No way," I softly mutter.
I stood in the main hall with Olson and asked Bob one final time to make his presence known. Though I felt or heard nothing, Olson said a cold breeze hit her neck, followed by another strange feeling.
"It felt like somebody grabbed my hair," she whispered.
Haunted?
Playback on my voice recorder didn't reveal any hidden voices in the background, and though I heard many strange noises, I didn't physically see anything out of the ordinary to convince me the place is haunted.
The experience certainly kept me on edge, and I second the sentiments of owner Dan Miller.
"I don't disbelieve in it," Miller said. "But I can give myself chills if I'm in here by myself and I think about it."
I can relate, especially after arriving home to find a light shining in my bedroom that I didn't remember turning on.
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