Twin Cities Opera House – McConnelsville, Ohio
Our Haunted Destinations Live streaming investigation with The Spirit Realm Network psychic’s Moon Girl Sarah Garcia, Rachel Warren, Amber Martin and paranormal investigator Jim Martin. Join the team as they embark on another fun filled multi-city adventure. This trip kicks off when the team travels to McConnelsville, Ohio for a fantastic opportunity to go live and investigate the famous Twin Cities Opera House.
About The Twin Cities Opera House
By the end of the 1880s, a majority of the McConnelsville council thought the town needed a more suitable place to house the village government. So a controversial and protracted process of building a new town hall began. It was a politically charged issue that was reported through the filters of the two partisan newspapers – The Morgan County Democrat and The McConnelsville Herald.
The building was to be three stories high, and cost about $16,000. The Town Hall would have a tower that would rise 108 feet above the sidewalks of McConnelsville. The third floor would feature a grand ballroom running the complete 63 foot width of the building. Ground was broken for the project on Monday, October 20, 1889. Nearly two and one half years after ground was broken, the Town Hall and Opera House were completed.
The formal opening was held Saturday, May 28, 1892. The opening was to be a grand affair as the Opera House was one of the first buildings in the county to be lit by electric light. Over the years, the Opera House has accommodated an endless variety of performers and celebrities. Everything from fire and brimstone evangelist, Senators to high School commencements and local minstrel shows were staged here. But, most spectacular were the traveling shows. Often arriving by train, the traveling shows brought lavish productions to McConnelsville. Specially constructed doors at the rear of the stage allowed the loading and rigging of the enormous backdrops. Set pieces over twenty feet tall could be slid in through the narrow doors.
And, what would a one-hundred-twenty-nine-year old theater be without its resident spirits? At the Opera House, stories have persisted for over four decades about its apparitions. And for the past several years, groups of paranormal investigators have spent countless nights in the Opera House, attempting to capture definitive evidence that something or someone from the Opera House’s past is still keeping an eye on it.
The Twin City Opera House still has plenty of mysteries left to unravel. Perhaps you will encounter Everett Miller the usher there for 30 years who still watches over the opera house and has been contacted and seen numerous times during investigations. Quite possibly you will run into 10 year old Elizabeth peeking from the catwalk or hear her giggling. Then there is Red Wine Robert who enjoys interacting with paranormal investigators by answering questions through EMF devices and he has also been heard on EVP’s stating that “I’ve got Red Wine”. Perhaps the spirit of John Leezer who was fatally stabbed in the ballroom in the early 1900’s will make an appearance.
For those looking for a darker encounter, the Dark Shadow Masses that lurk deep in the basement near the blocked off tunnels that once ran under the town. These Black Masses have been observed by dozens of people and will occasionally growl or drastically drop the temperature for those who get too near. You may even see the Shadow Man who we believe is the Old Town Marshal Horace Porter coming in through the alley door on his nightly foot beat of the town. His duty ended on September 7th, 1905 just outside the Opera House’s East side alley door when a mentally disturb person snuck up behind him shooting the Marshal four times in the back. One Black Mass was captured on 2 different DVR cameras on June 6th, 2009. Over 1000 EVP’s have been captured from the Opera House. Every part of this historic building has paranormal activity and it has been recognized as one of the most haunted buildings in Ohio.
The Twin City Opera House has appeared on A&E Bio Channel’s My Ghost Story, the SyFy Chiller Channel’s Phantoms of the Opera and on Season 1, Episode Portals To Hell.
