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Haunted Harrisburg Cinema 4 among new book's ghost stories

Posted July 20, 2011 11:00 pm

Brian DeNeal

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Bruce Cline has been a fan of the supernatural ever since he was a child seeing the shadow of a wolf-like creature in his bedroom at night.

Though the scare kept him awake all night he continued to be drawn to the spooky side of life, whether watching vampire Barnabas Collins on television in "Dark Shadows" or telling ghost stories in his South Main Street, Harrisburg, treehouse with his Gaslight Ghoul Club.

In 2007 Cline and his wife, Lisa -- now living in Carbondale -- started the Little Egypt Ghost Society, dedicated to researching the paranormal and helping people get rid of unwanted entities. They were also interested in researching historic places and much of the time hauntings and history go hand in hand.

The two have co-authored their first book, "History, Mystery and Hauntings of Southern Illinois." The book is part archival material collected by the Gaslight Ghoul Club and Little Egypt Ghost Society and part tales of legend from Southern Illinois.

The book promises to "expose the truth behind the Murphysboro Mud Monster," and present evidence of paranormal activity at Elizabethtown's Rose Hotel, Oakland Cemetery and Harrisburg's own Cinema 4.

The Harrisburg Cinema 4 investigation began with stories passed on through generations of theater staff.

Kerasotes closed the theater last year, but not before then-manager Dan Beal of Harrisburg arranged for LEGS to investigate.

Beal joined the Clines for an interview Tuesday.

"When I first started working there in 2007 I heard everybody making jokes about ghosts in the auditorium. I thought they were messing with me being the new guy, but the longer I was there I decided they were not messing with me," Beal said.

There were two haunting stories. One involved a figure of a tall man Beal said was described as a "shadow figure." The manager prior to Beal said he had heard a little girl laugh and run around when no one was in the building.

Then Beal saw what he believes was the little girl ghost.

"One night when I was there by myself in the concession stand doing inventory counts or something like that -- there was absolutely no one else in the building -- I saw a little girl run from the women's bathroom into the first auditorium," Beal said.

LEGS set up a motion activated infrared camera at the concession stand pointing toward the women's restroom and Cline was astonished by the video.

"There was an orb in a swirling motion that went to the ladies' bathroom door and came back out of the door," Cline said.

Cline said he suspects the tall, shadowy figure could have been Paul Reynolds a theater official during the time the theater was called the Orpheum Theater.

"Paul Reynolds was a tall, distinguished, with a no-nonsense type of vibe," Cline said.

"He was either the owner or manager of the Orpheum who wore a suit and tie. Very no-nonsense. If you acted up at all he would toss you out. Maybe he was seeing the new theater met up to his standards."

Beal said he would sometimes hear footsteps while he was in the office after hours.

Cline said the Tuttle Bottoms Monster, another popular Saline County legend, made an appearance during Cline's childhood and Cline recounts the occurrence in the book.

Reports of a creature in the Tuttle Bottoms area northwest of town began in the mid-1960s, Cline said.

Cline and his brother were young and their babysitter -- daughter of the then-police chief -- was driving them through Tuttle Bottoms at night.

"A pterodactyl-like bird with a wingspan of 8 or 9 feet flew down and left scrape marks on the car," Cline said.

"It really scared us."

Stories of glowing lights in the Pauper Cemetery and activity in the pauper house museum on what is now the Saline Creek Pioneer Village and Museum made the book.

"Lights would go on and off, there were disembodied voices and cold spots," Cline said.

LEGS investigated a home in Eldorado whose owners believed something dark was happening in the house.

"They thought demonic forces were going in there and it was actually attacking the baby in the house," Cline said.

"That's the first time we encountered anything like that."

The team swept the rooms with a device that detects electromagnetic fields -- such fields believed to be indications of supernatural activity -- and found the highest EMF levels were in the baby's crib. The team could find no explanation for the field, going so far as to take the crib apart looking for an electronic device and shutting off all the power to the house.

Team members also observed a small darting shadow figure and noted temperature dips throughout the house.

"We burned white sage, sprinkled holy water and said protective prayers. We were there all night long. Whatever it was never bothered the family again," Cline said.

"The whole house felt evil," Lisa said.

The family has since moved, Cline said.

Salem Cemetery in Carrier Mills is rumored to have had an above-ground burial of a little girl of supernatural powers.

"They said you could go to the grave, knock three times and smell roses. Sure enough, knock three times and you'd smell roses. But if you go out there now it's missing. To me that's the real mystery," Cline said.

The Hungarian Cemetery at Ledford, the Old Slave House and the Rose Hotel -- a site believed by the group to be legitimately haunted -- have chapters devoted to them in the book.

Cline believes there are more hauntings per square mile in Southern Illinois than other regions for a few reasons.

"The settlers came to Southern Illinois first and then went north," Cline said.

The older the area, the greater the chance for paranormal activity.

"The Indians used to be here and they were very in tune with the psychic and spiritual world. And running water generates paranormal activity. Limestone acts as a battery with the release of energy," Cline said.

The settlement of our region was also a dark one with river pirate mischief and murder having been commonplace. The Clines believe some entities possess intelligence and intent and others are simply moments from the past that play periodically like a film strip. These latter they refer to as residual energy.

"We think emotions are stored up in the limestone and quartz and when the conditions are right, there you go," Cline said.

The Clines will sign copies of their book 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown. Cline said copies will soon be available at Book Emporium in Harrisburg and people may e-mail him at littleegyptghostsociety@yahoo.com to order a copy.

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DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.</li>

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