A legend that began on the dedication day of Soldiers Memorial Theatre, November 15, 1931, some say, still haunts the Beckley area.
During the ceremony, over a hundred people fell through the scaffolding to the unfinished basement below. One man, who suffered from a compound fracture, still hasn't got over the fall.
"He later became custodian of this building and as a result, upon his death, he was still coming to work here and has been coming to work here for the last thirty or forty years," says John Luckton, director of Haunted Beckley Ghost Tour.
This is just one of the many tales that are told on the Haunted Beckley Ghost Tour each Saturday night at eight o'clock.
Whether you believe in the tales or not, it's a unique opportunity to hear history on the area.
"It's a lot of background history, what Beckley use to be," says Luckton. "Some of the old buildings and a lot of the old buildings are still here that we connect the ghost tales too."
The tour begins at the Neville Street Park and visits the Courthouse, haunted homes on North Kanawha Street, and the Theatre. Can you believe what you hear on the tour? You may have to see for yourself.
"I've always heard about Soldier's Memorial Theatre that different people that's worked there has heard different noises and seen that's out of the ordinary," says Jill Moorefield who works for the City of Beckley.
"I've never seen a ghost inside the memorial building yet," says Luckton. "I'm still hopeful that I might, but I've had several things that I'll never be able to explain while we've been doing tours."
The tour guide isn't the only one looking.
World Paranormal Investigators will be paying the Soldier's Memorial Theatre a visit in September, hoping to detect something supernatural.
Perhaps they will be paid a visit by the janitor.
http://www.wvva.com/News/index.php?ID=3616
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