Unsolved Mystery.-Once called the "South's Finest Theater," the playhouse on the corner of Main and Beale Street in downtown Memphis has risen from the ashes and evaded the wreaking ball several times in its history. Built in 1890 as "The Grand Opera House," the theater rivaled those of New York City and Chicago. Its primary venue was Vaudeville and over time, the theater became part of what was known as the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. As a result it was renamed The Orpheum Theater in 1907. In 1923, during a show, a fire broke out and the theater burnt to the ground. It was rebuilt in 1928 and the new Orpheum was twice as large and twice as opulent as the Grand Opera. Today, the newer Orpheum Theater is a mainstay in the Memphis entertainment complex.
This more recent theater however, has a few unsettling ties to the past. Over the years many people have reported seeing a diaphanous apparition of a young woman, who has come to be called Mary. Theater staff and patrons alike have encountered Mary at the most unexpected times. On many occasions she is glimpsed sitting in seat C-5, sometimes at night after the audience has left the theater, other times she is glimpsed during the day. In other instances, it is the sound of faint giggling that is heard, and there have also been reports of unseen fingers running across the keys on the massive Wurlitzer pipe organ.
Maintenance and office staff have also been subjected to mysteriously opening and closing doors, sounds coming from areas in the theater that are unoccupied and other mischief such as misplaced objects.
Maintenance and office staff have also been subjected to mysteriously opening and closing doors, sounds coming from areas in the theater that are unoccupied and other mischief such as misplaced objects.
Read More Other Unsolved Murders Mysteries article!
