The year is 1903. Alliance, Nebraska was just starting the 20th century on sturdy ground. Business was good, the railroad was strong, and new settlers were rapidly moving into the area. Downtown was raising the skyline with dozens of brick buildings; many of which are still around today. The Charter Hotel was among the buildings, up until 1938, that is. After 1938, it was transformed into a theatre. This theatre is still around to day, known as The Alliance Movie Theatre.

When Alliance citizens were asked about the theater being supposedly haunted, almost no one knew about it. But, if one were to look up the topic online, dozens of links would pop up. It is an odd occurrence that such a popular haunted building, is written about in books and blogs, would be such a little known fact to the locals.

It is unclear what the real story behind the ghost is, or whether it even truly exists. Nobody seems to know when the hauntings started, but there are several anecdotes about the subject. Some people say the ghost is named Mary and that at some point a chandelier fell on her and she was killed, but that tale is a little bit too similar to the story: Phantom of the Opera. Others believe that the hauntings began during one of the renovations made to the building over the years, which seems somewhat more likely. Who knows, maybe they started back when the building was a hotel.

Employees of the Alliance Theatre from over the years, all seem to have had the same experience. They say that there are echoing footsteps when the theatre is empty and that there are shadowy figures roaming around. Mckenzie Engelhaupt, a current employee at the theatre, reported that, “All I’ve experienced so far is getting weird feelings that someone is watching me and having a door close on me.”

So, next time you go see a movie, you better watch for more than just the characters on the screen.