3 minute read
Ghosts Of The Village Theatre
While discussing odd occurrences at the Village Theater, Manager Oscar Dominguez was reluctant to discuss too much detail, but admitted that occasionally, “People fall asleep and we have to gently wake them after the movie ends. Sometimes people sneak in alcohol and they have to be helped to the door. Sometimes teenagers sneak in, and sometimes young children get a little too rowdy.”
In the ‘60s, kids would roll glass bottles down the sloped screening room floor. They would flick bottle tops at the screen. While that has greatly diminished over the years, somehow the topic turned to the creepy things that have happened on his watch.
“One lady, in her 50s, was just sitting there, staring at the blank screen,” said Oscar. “We had a late screening back then and it was about 11 pm., so I introduced myself and explained we were closing up.
“She asked me if I had seen the haunted spirits in the theater, the ghosts. That caught me by surprise. She said, ‘Yeah, there’s one right there,’ and pointed off in the distance. She assured me they were pleasant spirits, with good energy, and meant no harm. She explained that spirits seem to gravitate to movie screening rooms because of the cavernous atmosphere, the darkness, the late hour, and they like high frequencies and lots of electronics. She smiled, stood up, and walked out of the theater.”
Of course, ghostly tales and sightings surround older buildings here on the island, such as the Hotel Del, the Boathouse, and many old homes. Years before, while interviewing former Coronado resident Helen Wilson, who, like many young Coronado students, worked at the Village Theater, the following story emerged:
“I remember silly things about those days,” said Helen. “Like nights where the big storms came and the bridge and Strand were closed because of fallen trees and flooding. I was working at the theater one night, in the 1970s, and had to close with some friends who were stuck on the island, so we stayed up all night running the same movies. The reels were way too big and were carefully spliced with the trailers so they could not be changed. It took hours just to set those movies up.
“We walked across the street and got take-out from Night & Day Café. We made popcorn, and actually had a silly teenage seance with a Ouija board on the stage, in the dark!
“We all swore, including a janitor and projectionist who spent time alone in the theater, that there were ghosts in the Village Theater. It was incredibly creepy at night, and not just because of the séance. No one wanted to be there alone with the doors closed.”
