Among those who believe in the paranormal, the Vernon Town Theatre has long been believed to be a hot bed for ghosts and spirits.
And soon, a paranormal investigation team will reveal their findings at the theatre in a TV series that documents all things ghostly and mysterious.
Jason Hewlitt, co-founder of the Canadian Paranormal Society, brought his crew to the Towne Theatre on Sept. 24, shooting video of their investigation alongside the Hello Okanagan team.
The investigation at the Towne Theatre will be featured in the third season of We Want to Believe, a TV series that can be found on the paranormal-focused streaming platform Paraflixx. The first season finished airing this past summer and season two will be aired shortly.
Hewlett said it’s yet to be decided when the third season will be aired, but it will be worth the wait.
“We’ve been trying to get into the Towne Theatre for a while, just because it’s got a history of being probably one of the most haunted places in North America,” Hewlett said.
Hewlett said there are a number of supernatural stories that have become associated with the Towne Theatre. Some say the historic building is haunted by the ghost of a projectionist who hung himself.
“People have seen various spirits, felt presences in the building,” Hewlett said, adding that old theatres around the world seem to be places where poltergeists congregate.
Hewlett has been interested in the paranormal all his life. He did his first serious investigation when he was in journalism school in 2003.
Asked what triggered his interest in the paranormal, he told a story of when he was six years old and he and his mom were picking up a friend for a sleepover. He was alone in the car while his mom went to the door of his friend’s house when he suddenly saw a face through the rear window of the car, staring at him.
“It was a really frightening, Mongoloid face, and then it was gone. And I remember dropping to the floor of the vehicle and just staying there because I didn’t want to look up and see that face again,” he said, adding neither his mother or his friend had seen anyone outside in the brief moment he was alone in the car.
“I’m not saying it was a ghost, but it really kicked off that interest for me.”
Hewlett has seen his own interest in the paranormal reflected in the kinds of people who tune into programs like We Want to Believe, and he thinks the popularity of the show reflects people’s belief that there is more to this world than meets the eye.
“I think it’s just a general fascination with the unknown, I think everybody likes a good mystery, and I think people are kind of hungry for more than just our 9-5 materialistic existence,” he said. “I think people are starting to want a bit more out of life. I think that’s why spiritualism and religion is still so prevalent, even with science. I don’t think science can provide all the answers to all of life’s questions.”
Hewlett’s team uses a digital recorder and motion activated technology to track the paranormal. With their equipment, they hope to capture an “intelligent response.”
So, is the Towne Theatre haunted?
Hewlett can’t say for sure, but he says the investigation in the basement of the Towne Theatre elicited some “vocal responses that substantiate the idea that there could possibly be something there.”
He said the folks at the Town Theatre are eager to have the team return to further the investigation.
It’s not just ghosts Hewlett is chasing. Come early next year, his book about the Ogopogo will be published, coinciding with the release of a documentary by Small Town Monsters on the creature long said to reside in Okanagan Lake.
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