Landers Theater

I wanted to share my own experience with the other side, although there were no physical manifestations.

When I was fresh out of college in 1972 I took a job working as the resident costume designer at the Landers Theatre in Springfield, MO. There were stories of a deadly fire in 1920, after which the original box office and hallway had been permanently closed.

I often worked alone in the basement getting costumes ready for upcoming performances. I have never been especially suggestible or prone to imagining things, but these are a couple of my experiences:
1) One afternoon I was working alone and suddenly heard all sorts of commotion above me in the theatre: voices, hammering, general activity. I was surprised because I didn't think anything was happening that day. I went up to the theatre and no one was there. Nobody.
2) I leaned over to take a drink from the water fountain at the back of the house and a man started talking right next to me. I looked up... nobody there.
3) Another time, again when I was alone in the basement, I heard a woman's high heels clicking along the floor, accompanied by what sounded like children's feet running along near her. The sounds were directly above me ... where the old box office had been and which was completely boarded up.

None of these events match what my limited research says are the common ghost stories associated with this theatre. I would love to know if anyone else ever had similar experiences!

April 2018