Investigation at Wilton Town Hall Theater

November 3, 2007

History: In December of 1874, in Wilton, New Hampshire, there was a bad fire which burned Wilton’s big hotel the Whiting House, and many of the other stores and buildings located on Main Street. The Whiting House, built in 1866, was in the center of the north side of the street and could be easily reached by horses, carriages, and people because there was a street on each of the two main sides of the building. The hotel was destroyed in the fire of 1874, and the lot stood for several years with no building on it at all. In1883, the town voted to build a new town house, which is now called a town hall. The Whiting House lot was given to the people of Wilton by the Whiting family, so that they would have a desirable place for their new building. The new town house was opened on January 1, 1885. It was a beautiful building of granite and brick, built at a cost of $20,000. When built, it was one of the finest buildings in the state. Today, this property is known as the Wilton Town Hall Theater and houses not only two theaters but town administration offices as well.

The Wilton Town Hall Theater is known to harbor some paranormal activity. At one time there was a story written about it in a local newspaper.  In the ladies bathroom (located down the stairs), there are rumors of a woman that can be seen in the mirror in old style clothing.  When the hotel burned down in 1874, it claimed the life of a small boy. It is believed the boy’s spirit resides on the staircase. Some people say they have seen this small entity travel up and down the staircase. One theory is that the boy may be looking for his parents to save him from the fire. The spirit/ghost child has been given the name Henry and is usually seen in the area of the upstairs lobby where the concession stand is located.  Henry seems to position himself on the staircase. The manager of the Wilton Town Hall Theater also recalls people reporting a tall skinny male spirit walking about the hallways and then disappearing.

Note: Using headphones will enhance the audio for your listening pleasure.

Investigation: The Souhegan Paranormal Investigators investigated the town hall the night of November 3, 2007. Our investigation began at 11:00 p.m. and concluded at 2:30 a.m. There were seven of us. The lead investigators, Bill and Chris, set up the infrared video camera in the upstairs lobby (where the concession stand is) and directed its aim toward the stairway landing in hopes to capture any paranormal activity that might take place. We also placed chimes on the landing of the staircase. A few of us went into the small theater with an EMF recorder and our digital cameras. We found different areas that appeared to be “cold spots”. When we took readings in the cold spots, the EMF recorder produced very high readings indicating those areas were filled with driving forces of energy. We began a dialog with the entity/entities and asked questions such as, “If someone is here with us can you make the amber light glow on the EMF meter?”. The amber light did glow. We continued using this format of questioning, and some of the time the amber light would glow and other times the light would remain green. We took pictures in the small theater and caught a few orbs on camera. There was a definite feeling in this theater of a presence.

Patti, Bill’s wife, was in the large theater using an EVP recorder. She asked, “If anyone is here would you like to communicate with us. Henry, would you like to say hi?” Though Patti didn’t hear any audible reply, when we later played back the EVP recorder, we heard Henry reply in a muffled voice “I’m here.”  That was the only EVP recording we got. During the investigation Sue was sitting in the stairway where Henry is said to reside. While she was sitting there, some of the other investigators passed by going up and down the stairs and asked, “If anyone is here, can you give us a sign” and “If anyone is here that would like to communicate with us, we would like to help you.” We did not hear or see anything until we played the videotape back. On the videotape, the chimes can be heard ringing on three separate occasions. We were in a closed in area and there was nothing moving so it was impossible for any wind/breeze to make them ring. The videotape showed that at the time they were ringing, no one was moving up and down the stairs. There was nothing in site other than Sue sitting on the stairwell. Everything was at a standstill. The chimes can be heard ringing quite clearly. There were a few orbs; all but one was in still motion. The one in motion moved across the sleeve of Sue's jacket very quickly. She said she had felt a presence but did not see or hear anything.

We would have liked to have been able to stay longer, but when 2:30 a.m. arrived, it was time to leave. Seeing the videotape, capturing the orbs, and getting the words “I’m here” on the EVP, along with the high EMF readings we got, we concluded we did not get enough evidence to say that the theater is haunted but that there is enough evidence to say there is paranormal activity at the Wilton Town Hall Theater.  Note: To view pictures from this investigation please click on this link.  Pictures From Wilton Town Hall Theater Investigation, Wilton, NH Nov. 3, 2007