Quote from Angela on January 21, 2021, 2:08 pm

Did you know the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago is supposedly haunted? The venue was renamed the Oriental and is now known as the James M Netherlander Theatre. The building succumbed to a devastating fire reported as the 'deadliest theatre fire in American history'.

In November 1903 the Iroquois Theatre opened its doors. The following month, just five weeks after its opening, there was a premier matinee performance of a comedy musical called Mr Bluebird.

The show was an instant sell out and over a thousand seats were filled. Sadly the night ended in disaster, when of a curtain ignited on a broken stage light fixture. Over 600 people died that night.

With so many lives lost it comes as no surprise to discover that literally hundreds of visitors to the theatre have reported unexplained paranormal phenomena. Many believe this activity to be spirits of the dead whose lives were lost here.

A 'residual haunting' is when energy remains at a location after someone dies, particularly if the passing was traumatic. This energy can present itself/manifest as sounds (eg crying, footsteps, laughter) or as visually (eg apparitions, shadows, light anomaly).

The public were outraged as the theatre was advertised as being 'completely fireproof'. There was a total safety overhaul of fire systems yet nobody was held personally responsible. Many paranormal investigators report feeling uneasy and as if being watched by unseen forces. 

There is an alleyway not far from the theatre in downtown Chicago which people call 'Couch Place' or the 'Alley of Death' believed to be where all the dead bodies from the fire were stacked upon rescue teams arriving.

There have been many reports of apparitions sighted here, and even members of the public claiming they were touched or pushed by invisible hands when walking here! Also heard is the unexplained sound of a child loudly crying and intense cold spots felt.

Have you ever walked the Alley of Death? If you do, be sure to comment below if you experience anything paranormal.