Remodeling raises spirits at Venetian Unexplainable events bring paranormal investigators to Main Street theater

Remodeling raises spirits at Venetian Unexplainable events bring paranormal investigators to Main Street theater
August 25, 2009
By Susan Gordanier
The Hillsboro Argus

It's closing time at the Venetian Theater and Bistro, and a staff member heads into the auditorium.

A tall, gray-haired man remains in the back-most row of seats. "It's time to leave," he's told. He does, only not through the door. He simply disappears.

Saxony Peterson, co-owner of the theater at 253 Main St., says the same man has appeared three different times and to different people too.

If this were the only odd occurrence at the Venetian, it might be blamed on late hours, power of suggestion or the overactive imaginations of a weary crew. But it's not.

Peterson said, during play rehearsals, Bag and Baggage's Scott Palmer has heard unexplained footsteps crossing the stage. Staff returning from the upper dining area reported turning off the lights and music, only to have them come back on as they started down the stairs. This happens regularly, she said.

Normal work flow in the kitchen was once interrupted by water streaming from above. After mopping up, the crew removed the ceiling panels to find the leak's source. Peterson said they found no water pipes, nothing there containing any water. Strangest of all, the removed panels were not even damp, even though a flood had passed through them not long before.

Then there's Dale Buck's experience. One night she was alone in the auditorium, on her way to check the rear exit door, when she heard whispers coming from the left side of the room. Then a "big rush of cold air came past my left ear," she said. "It was colored gray and black, and as it passed my ear, it whispered 'stop.' "

So Peterson and Denzil Scheller invited a team of paranormal investigators, volunteers from the International Paranormal Reporting Group, to conduct an investigation. IPRG, which itself has allied teams in Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Germany, is recognized by The Atlantic Paranormal Society. TAPS, for fans of events that defy scientific explanation, is the group behind the Ghost Hunters show on the Syfy network.

The team came to The Venetian on July 25. They brought digital voice recorders, infrared cameras, temperature sensors and K-2 meters for reading electromagnetic disturbances.