Michigan Theatre was a fancy venue when it opened in 1930 for vaudeville and movies. Its basement is rumored to be haunted. Witnesses describe a sensation of dread or of being frozen in place, as well as an eerie feeling of being watched by something invisible.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- W Michigan and N Mechanic
Jackson, MI
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 42.24802548100217, -84.40604312720092
- County:
- Jackson County, Michigan
- Nearest Towns:
- Jackson, MI (0.3 mi.)
Vandercook Lake, MI (3.9 mi.)
Michigan Center, MI (4.2 mi.)
Spring Arbor, MI (8.1 mi.)
Grass Lake, MI (9.9 mi.)
Parma, MI (9.9 mi.)
Napoleon, MI (10.2 mi.)
Hanover, MI (12.6 mi.)
Brooklyn, MI (12.7 mi.)
Cement City, MI (12.9 mi.)
Contact Information
- Web:
- http://www.michigantheatre.org/
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Comments (13)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
i know the lady at the tickit counter and she took me through the basement and the whole basement and under the stage and i did not see a thing but i did get a erie felling and on occation had the shivers
I’ve been there many times and felt uneasy. Also, I felt like I was being watched and I saw shadow blobs. There is something there.
Did you have to have permission?
Upstairs in the women’s bathroom, I always felt uneasy like someone was in there with me. They used to do summer movies when I was around 13-15 and I went every week. I HATED that bathroom. Freaked me out for sure!
Many people have seen a little ghost girl in the bathroom hallway near the men’s restroom/lounge. There were always rumors of a ghost handyman in the rooms in the basement and under the stage. Haunting or not – it’s one of the most beautiful places in the state and well worth a visit.
Back in 2011 when I was working with cleaning crew. I would see shadow people on the 2nd floor seats and on another time I was carrying boxes from the basement up to the 1st I would get cold chills while I was down in the basement.
My car was swallowed by a pothole in front of the theatre.
Once I was in the girls bathroom that is on the second floor when I was younger and I went into the stall and I seemed to be alone or so I thought….I heard footsteps and then a stall slam shut. It sorta took me by surprise and me being curious I peeked down next to me and looked underneath the stalls to see if anyone had came in and no living person was there. I quickly became creeped out and felt some sort of presence so I got up and ran out of the bathroom! I didn’t even wash my hands because I didn’t want to stay in there any longer
Several years ago my aunt and mother cleaned their after a show they locked up and was cleaning my mother was up by the entrances and my aunt was by the stage they heard men talking and doors slamming shut they went to see who was their and no one was in the building they got cold air around them they left and had not returned to work their
Okay. In seventh or eigth grade my class took a field trip to see a movie at the Michigan Theater. We sat in the balconey, only twenty or thirty kids, so there were a lot of empty seats.
I remember looking over in the middle of the movie and there was a translucent woman sitting in the empty rows behind us. She wore a pale dress and sat as if she also watching the movie. I can remember snapping back around and the girl beside had the same freaked expression I know I had. When we looked back, she was gone.
I whispered, “Did you see a pale woman in a white dress?” And she just nodded.
To be honest, I thought this was just my imagination or, for some reason, happened at much younger age when I was too impressionable, but after finding this site? Nope. Totally saw a ghost when I was twelve or thirteen. No wonder I’m so strange.
When I was about 6 or 7, I went to see one of the summer movies. I went to the bathroom, and got a little lost on my way back to my balcony seat. A man in an old fashioned suit with a top hat led me back to my family, and I said thank you to him. No one else saw him, and I couldn’t find him in the audience. I’ve been back a few times since then, mostly for Rocky Horror shadowcasts, and I think I’ve seen him from the corner of my eye in the balcony, but he’s gone when I try to turn and look.
I’ve been in multiple productions in this theatre. We would often use the rooms under the stage/basement area to get ready (vs. the 2nd floor dressing rooms – Honestly, not sure why. It was just the way it was. One production made use of the multiple floor dressing rooms, but the others didn’t).
The first production, I didn’t know it was a haunted place, but I would often feel a sense of dread when I was down in the dressing rooms or using the toilet alone. The second production, I was using the toiler downstairs and there was knocking on the door. There was no one down there with me when I came out and no one was down there with me.
I have also seen a moving shadow in the basement by the downstairs dressing rooms where we kept our props. That show I asked someone to come down with me to make sure I wasn’t alone. The feeling of dread never quite went away when down there.
We changed it up for some other shows and kept our dressing area behind the curtain to avoid going down into the basement. I’ve also broken a bone on the stage in that theatre, but it wasn’t due to anything supernatural (I have been in productions there after that, too).
The bathroom on the balcony area is also kinda weird – haven’t had anything weird happen there outside of some very weird vibes. You know how sometimes you can feel someone in the room with you? Those kind of feelings when you’re the only one in the bathroom.
Still can’t wait to do future productions there again, though! Good times.
I was hired to work there as a stage hand. We were doing rehearsal and my friend Charlie (the directors son) and I had to go on the 2nd floor to figure out spotlight positions. But in the hallway at the top of the stairs it felt cold and we gave each other the look that only friends can give each other. Once we turned the corner he said he saw a woman walk into the seating area but by the time I got up I only saw what looked like the bottom of a white dress go into the area also. After a minor freak out we knew we would just have to suck it up and work fast. We walked onto the balcony and saw nothing so we hurried up and fixed the lights with one of us watching the others back.