Ghost Stories at Tampa Theatre

Tampa, Florida: Since 1926, thousands of movie goers have passed through the doors of the Tampa Theatre to catch a film in the historic theater. But its not just the guests that love the theater, the Tampa Theater has five ghostly spirits that love the theater that much they don’t ever want to leave. It is the actions of these spirits that makes the Tampa Theatre one of the most haunted places in the area.

Today we took a look at the ghosts that haunt the Tampa Theatre as part of the Ghost Stories tour hosted by the theater. Guided by the theater’s Director of Marketing & Community Relations Jill Witecki, we took a look at the historic theater’s haunted history. Today’s tour combined the history and architecture of the theater with a detailed focus on the ghosts that still roam the halls.

The tour began in the lobby of the theater were we heard the story of a box office attendant who died of a head injury on payday. The attendant known for his unique way of taking tickets was found at the entrance of the theater dead and his paycheck was never found. He is the first of the five spirits we will learn of on our tour through the theater.

The second ghost story was just a short flight of steps later at the manager’s office. It is here that we are introduced to Joe the Janitor. Joe can still be heard throughout the theater by his keys jingling as he patrols the building.

As we were in the lobby of the balcony, we learned about the theater’s oldest ghost. The Lady in White is believed to have been killed in a stage coach accident on the property before the theater was built. Her appearance left a concession worker so scare she refuses to close the second floor of the theater.

Then came the the story of the theater’s most famous ghost, Fink Finley. Fink was the theater’s projectionist. He had a predictable routine in which he would climb the stairs to the projection room with a coffee and a cigarette. Once he reached the projection room, he would get ready for work by shaving and dressing in his suit. But Fink would later die of a heart attack. However, he would not leave the theater, he can still be felt in the theater by the aroma of coffee, cigarette smoke and lilac aftershave.

Downstairs in the auditorium, we were introduced to the fifth spirit known to haunt the theater. This one is an unidentified male seen seated in the lower auditorium. A staff member was walking across the auditorium when she spotted a man seated in the theater, when she turned on the lights, she realized there was no one there.

While in the auditorium, we enjoyed the phenomenal performance of Danny McCollum on the Mighty Wulitzer Theatre Organ. He performed several popular song including the track from Disney’s Haunted Mansion to help set the mood for the tour.

If you would like to experience these stories for yourself, head out to the Tampa Theatre on October 22 for the last installment of the Ghost Stories tour. And if you’d like to do some ghost hunting of your own at the Tampa Theatre, check out their paranormal investigation fundraiser they will be hosting next weekend. Join Tampa Paranormal, Plant City Paranormal Research and Ghost Hunters International’s Angela Alderman for food, drinks and a light’s out paranormal investigation of the haunted landmark theater.

With these and many more experiences, it is easy to see why the Tampa Theatre is on of the most haunted places in the area.

Click on any of the photos above to view my Tampa Theatre photo gallery.