Mounds Theatre
At St. Paul’s Mounds Theatre, specters of the silent movie era might just reach out and grab you
Paranormal Reports at
Mounds Theatre
- The ghost of a little girl reportedly bounces a ball around the theater
- An angry apparition reportedly curses at people and throws things at them
- The apparition of an usher is reportedly seen wandering the building
- Previous ghost tour attendees report strange smells and unexplainable cold spots
- Spirits reportedly reach out and grab people in the theater
Little Theater, Big Shows:
History of Mounds Theatre
On a tightly packed street in St. Paul, Minnesota, a theater doesn’t have much room to make itself grandiose. However, the Mounds Theatre injects a simple and historic splendor into every square inch of its compact structure.
Once a silent movie house, this little theater was saved from certain obscurity in 2001 and has entertained throngs of St. Paul locals ever since.
But, since coming back from the dead, rumors have swirled that the Mounds brought a few extra souls back alongside it.
Though small in stature, the Mounds Theatre is said to be one of the biggest haunts in the Twin Cities.
Timeline of Mounds Theatre's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Mounds Theatre through the years
1922
First constructed in 1922 at the height of the silent movie era, the Mounds Theatre was constructed to provide a movie venue for the film-hungry populace of St. Paul. Originally billed as the pride of the Dayton Bluff neighborhood, the theater showed many popular silent films of the era, and also had a small stage for traveling vaudeville acts and an orchestra pit for live music. The first talkie film at the theater, My Man with Fanny Brice, premiered at the end of the decade.
1933
Around 1933, the Mounds Theatre saw a flurry of significant updates. Along with audio support for talkies, the theater grew to include an exterior ticket booth, a large marquee, and central air. Movies continued to be a big draw through the Great Depression, helping keep the Mounds successful. The theater almost met the wrecking ball shortly after, though. A highway expansion in the late-40s tore up every home and business across the street from the theater. Still today, the theater closely hugs the busy Interstate.
1967
Shortly after the highway expansion was finished, the Mounds underwent another renovation. Old brickwork was covered with stucco, and the marquee was replaced by the twinkle-bulb sign still seen today. Despite the changes, attendance declined as more modern movie theaters opened. By the mid-1960s, it was impossible to disguise the theater’s hard times. Anytime it rained, a section of seats would be blocked off as the roof let cascades of water in. Unable to handle any more hardship, the Mounds Theatre closed its doors in 1967.
2003
After closure, the Mounds was converted into a warehouse. For decades, the building was used to house broken pipe organs. In 2000, the owner donated the mothballed theater to the foundation Portage for Youth and renovations began. Reopened in 2003, the Mounds became a performance venue as well as a movie house. These days, the Mounds remains a popular venue. But, through all its changes and renovations, some things about the Mounds have stuck around. Mainly, ghosts from the theater’s silent film era.
Is Mounds Theatre Haunted?
The old projection booth is said to be one of the theater’s most active ghostly hotspots. Said to be haunted by a grumpy old man named Red, visitors to the booth can reportedly look forward to Red throwing disembodied obscenities their way.
When he’s in an extra angry mood, Red reportedly throws things at people who trespass in ‘his’ projection room. Red is well-known for disliking women especially, and is reportedly more likely to throw things and spout obscenities when women enter the projection booth.
Ghosts Have a Ball at Mounds Theatre
But not every ghost around the Mounds Theatre is a giant grump. Another one of the Mounds’ famous ghosts is a little girl who is often seen wearing a pink dress. Said to be a happy and playful spirit, her apparition is regularly spotted lingering around the stage.
More often than not, the little girl is seen bouncing a toy ball on the stage. Additionally, the figure of a phantom usher is seen strolling through the aisles of the theater. Those who have seen this spiritual usher claim that he looks sad and disheartened by something, though no one has yet figured out what bothers him.
Strange Smells & Odd Chills
Other reports around the Mounds stem from uncertain sources, leaving some to think there are spiritual entities in the building that have not been identified yet. One of the earliest paranormal claims comes from one of the people who originally re-opened the theater in the early 2000s. They reported an unseen force grabbing them while they worked late in the theater one night.
In more recent years, paranormal tours of the theater have become popular, and visitors on the tours report numerous ghostly encounters. Many claim to smell a variety of mysterious stenches that seem to come from nowhere, while others report sudden and unexplainable cold spots.
Mysteries, Movies, and More
at Mounds Theatre
While the Mounds Theatre stays busy as a performance venue, as well as a private event space, the staff works hard to make time for paranormal enthusiasts as well.
The theater hosts a popular series of paranormal tours every weekend in October, inviting interested guests to experience the spooky side of the historic building.
Additionally, the theater offers paranormal investigators the opportunity to book private ghost hunts and explore the venue’s claims on their own.
All of this has served to spread the Mounds Theatre’s haunted reputation throughout the Midwest. So, though it might not be the biggest theater you’ve ever seen, the Mounds Theatre has mystery to go around.
