Scott Theatre

More From Fort Worth More From Texas

A broken heart caused a rash action. It resulted in mischief and an extra worker.

A mover and shaker pops in to keep an eye on the living.

Unknown spirits, perhaps theater enthusiasts made themselves known.

 

DESCRIPTION/HISTORY

scott-theatre-paranormal

Fort Worth’s Scott Theatre is a versatile performing arts venue in a modern brick and cement building, with nice decor and a well-designed layout. The Scott Theatre is one of two theaters located on the first floor of this large cultural arts building, that has many rooms and offices on the second floor.

Scott Theatre was built in 1966, thanks to William Edrington Scott, who left 3 million dollars in a trust, called the Scott Foundation, which was set up to develop Fort Worth’s Cultural District. Since opening its doors in 1966, this lovely, 500 seat theatre has been the perfect setting for a variety of cultural arts performances, film & slide presentations and events. Upon entering the lobby, one sees a 575 lb., eight feet in diameter, glorious Italian chandelier, and an inspiring mural on the lobby wall. This well done mural tells the historical progress of the architecture in Greek and Roman theaters.

The theatre auditorium has a balcony, and every seat has a good view. A sense of closer intimacy exits between the performers and their audience, because of the kind of stage built here. It’s a “thrust stage”, that has three sides which extend into the audience, connecting to its backstage area by the side furthest from the audience, called its “upstage.” There is a pull-down screen for films and slides as well.

The area behind the stage is where the dressing rooms and lounge are located. From either side of the stage, one can travel to and from the basement via the staircases, which also go up to the second floor. Areas in all the floors of the building are well accessed, being connected by their staircases.

Once in the basement area, one finds a maize of rooms and hallways. An area that is directly below the stage, is known as “the dungeon”. These areas are used for storage and work areas needed in theatre production. These include a costumes room, a paint room, a prop room, equipment room and a place to build the sets.

 

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS

W.E. Scott wanted Fort Worth to have a beautiful theatre, and spent a lot of effort trying to make it happen during his life-time. He put his money where his mouth was, by creating a foundation in his will, to hopefully make it happen in the future. Unfortunately, he never got to see this theater, as it was built with his foundation money after he died from lung cancer.

Sometimes entities of people who worked hard to make a building become reality, but die before it is accomplished, have been known to come back and visit the finished project.

From 1967-1970, an actor, Kenneth Walker Yandle worked for the Fort Worth Community Theatre, as a stage hand. Fort Worth Community Theatre was one of the groups who used the Scott Theatre for its shows. He volunteered his services for two years, and then was hired on as a salaried employee. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Newspaper, Kenny suffered an emotional depression when his girlfriend broke up with him, probably around Christmas/New Years. He committed suicide by hanging himself on January 7th, 1970 in the Prop Room in the dungeon, by stretching a rope across 2 beams. Other sources say he tied the rope to pipes.

Many entities who died from taking their own life, have found that it didn’t help their state of mind, and they are still miserable, and linger in this world.

 

MANIFESTATIONS

The entity of Kenneth – Stage Area

Laughter has been heard in the area underneath the stage.

His apparition has been seen walking across the stage, sometimes wearing a brown suit, perhaps auditioning for a play.

Footsteps have been heard going up and down the staircases, and across the stage.

Kenny’s Basement Fun

In the basement rooms, especially the dungeon, people had felt really uncomfortable when trying to work in the costume room and other areas.

Items have fallen off the shelves by themselves.

Power tools have turned on by themselves.

Cold spots have been felt in the dungeon area.

The water faucet in the Janitor’s closet on the second floor — It was puzzling to a female employee when she heard the water running in the lock janitor’s closet. She turned it off, but it turned itself back on. She said, “Kenny, Stop it!!” This stopped the faucet.

The Spirit of William Edrington Scott

When the Scott Theatre first opened, they had on display some of William Edrington Scott’s paintings.

When vibrations from the street, made the pictures hang crooked, an unseen presence would straighten the pictures.

Unknown Spirits

In the back stage area, a spirit of a woman and spirits of children talked to paranormal investigations via EVPs.

STILL HAUNTED?

Yes Indeed!

The evidence gathered, together with the eye witness accounts point to some entities in residence. The entity of Ken Yandle still gets his chuckles by teasing the living, perhaps regretting his hasty actions.

It is possible that the entity of W.E. Scott still visits on occasion, keeping a fatherly eye on the living. Nothing much was shared about the female entity or the children who call the theatre their home, but the EVPs point to their existence.

The Phantom Hunters did an investigation at The Scott Theatre on Feb. 6th, 2006, and found enough unexplainable phenomena to plan to do another investigation. Some of their evidence: They captured some interesting light abnormalities in the basement, and something turned their camera off in the dungeon. On the stage they caught some bright orbs on camera. Visit their website for more details.

The Stockyards Paranormal Investigation team — did an investigation on July 22nd, 2006. They came up with some interesting, clear EVPs and insight from a medium they brought along with them.

The dungeon area — The use of dousing rods proved to be successful in the dungeon. An investigator was tickled on the back of the neck, and some good org photos were taken in this area. Other evidence was collected on the second floor. Visit their website for more details.

 

LOCATION

3505 West Lancaster Avenue
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
(817) 738-1938

The Scott Theatre is located on the corner of W. Lancaster Avenue, and Gendy Street, just north of Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, and Will Rogers Memorial Center. The major cross streets are Rip Johnson Drive on the east, and Montgomery St. on the west. Both cross streets intersect Camp Bowie Boulevard.

fort-worth

SOURCES INCLUDE

  • stockyardsparanormal.com
  • The Phantom Hunters
  • hauntedfortworth.tripod.com

Our Haunted Paranormal Stories are Written by Julie Carr

Haunts in Fort Worth Haunts in Texas