there are countless things in the world that we might never be able to explain despite technological and scientific developments and in spite of the Skeptics of the planet some Mysteries will never be solved plenty of stories around us talk about haunted places lingering spirits and evil forces but it's a very special occasion when one of these unexplainable mysteries that plague people's nightmares actually gets an explanation of some sort or at the very least a name this story takes place in Salt Lake City Utah in the year 2006 at the famous Capitol Theater the building itself
was very impressive with beautiful insides and a very rich history and yet it's not a secret that some of the history is quite dark full of unanswered questions and increasingly unsettling stories the theater was a source of Terror for many employees for the better part of the 20th century there were rumors of intruders pranksters and even homeless people hiding in the many disguised spots of the big building but more importantly most of the stories talked about moving Shadows whispered voices unexplainable scares and shocks that could have killed anyone with a weak heart after more than
half a century of mystery and anguish inflicted on the people that frequented the theater things finally came to a head at the beginning of the 21st century when a series of deeply troubling events finally pushed a small group of people to do something about the dangerous secrets that threaten their lives and Sanity in the hallways of the Capital Theater everything started with Officer Morgan Matthews who was assigned the night shift at the prestigious building he was meant to make sure the building was always empty safe and locked for the night he did his job dutifully
and reliably when new officers were assigned the night shift at the theater officer Matthews trained them taught them everything they needed to know to keep the theater safe and worked with them for a week or two until they were firm on their feet and in control of the place however officer Matthews wasn't completely honest he never told anyone about the very particular challenges of working at the theater since the very first day that he started his job at the Capitol Theater officer Matthews knew one thing for sure he was never alone it was the strangest
experience of his life and no matter how much sleep he lost trying to figure it out he couldn't understand it but his feelings were as real as anything else but he never felt completely alone in that place in every hallway in every room behind every door there was something or someone there with him at first it was nothing but a feeling a vague presence or suspicion but the incident started right away and then never stopped there were voices Whispers And the occasional muffled scream of agony there were Shadows Silhouettes and Nightmare inducing visions there were
footsteps doors slamming shut lights flickering and objects Falling by themselves overall it was an extremely draining and unsettling situation and officer Matthews wasn't sure how much longer he could stand it one day someone new was brought to the Capitol Theater and his presence might not drastically change the condition of the theater but his experience would eventually help shed some light on the dark clouds hanging over the building his name was officer Dave Murphy he was a young man passionate about his job who joined the police force inspired by a childhood dream that became dedication and
professionalism he was eager to learn and on the first night he arrived at the theater he listened attentively to everything officer Matthews had to say he could tell right away that it was a special place a beautiful theater and hopefully an easy job officer Murphy understood his duties easily he was meant to walk through every level of the theater turning off the lights locking the doors and then staying in the control room monitoring the facility over the feed of the surveillance cameras it was slightly more demanding than expected and due to the fact that it
was a large building with too many nooks and crannies where a trespasser could hide at any time plus there was the fact that once the Lights Went Out the theater turned less attractive and welcoming especially the basement which was aptly nicknamed The Catacombs it was a cold and dark space of long hallways historical walls and deep echoes still officer Murphy went on with a nightly routine as confidently as he could he dreamed his entire life of being a police officer he could handle an eerie theater the problem was that unbeknownst to him as soon as
he left the floor of the theater securely checked the lights turned on again the doors creaked open it all went back to life by itself it wasn't until officer Murphy returned to the control room that he realized that there was something deeply wrong going on he was entirely confident in the fact that he already checked that floor and that there was no reason for the lights to be on and the doors opened he had to do something about it with a bad feeling blossoming in his chest officer Murphy went down to the floor in question
when he was there he had the distinct sensation of being observed it was deeply unsettling when he noticed the door of the men's bathroom was open he didn't hesitate to call for backup an officer Matthew started to run toward him in the meantime officer Murphy got into position pulled out his gun and entered the bathroom slowly he was immediately overcome with goosebumps the bathroom felt unnaturally cold it was freezing an officer Murphy could feel something malicious something evil just waiting for him officer Matthews finally arrived with his gun in hand and repaired for the worst
two officers checked the bathroom but even when the Stalls seemed empty they kicked open the doors to be sure no one could be hiding on top of the toilets one two three all the Stalls were open and completely empty that left no other places to hide that meant they were all alone that meant that there was a chance officer Murphy had ruined his first impression at his new job but most importantly there meant they had no explanation for the lights and unlocked doors that small incident wasn't the end of the troubles for officer Murphy additionally
it seemed to put a gap between both officers officer Matthews carried his own baggage but he was understandably nervous about putting all the trauma of that work in front of the new officer and scaring him off making everything worse for him in the meantime officer Murphy was in the process of finding out for himself just how dangerous and mysterious the dark hallways of that old theater were taunted and unsettled by the lights that continue to turn on by themselves and the locked doors that appeared unexplainably unlocked a few minutes earlier officer Murphy continued his walk
around the building until something changed this time it was a sound it was vague and barely there at first but in a few seconds it became undeniable those were Whispers he could clearly hear someone talking but it brought chills to his body those were nervous frantic Whispers a conversation that was meant to be in private and yet officer Murphy's entire job was about making sure there was nobody else there in the theater with him whoever was whispering in the dark corners of the establishment had to be bought to light and promptly kicked out of there
as he followed the disconcerting Whispers around the theater and down the stairs he realized they were leading him right down to the basement of the Capitol Theater the catacombs he remembered people called them he understood the choice of words the place looked unnerving in the dark most importantly it was a dead end there were no windows and no possible exits to the basement other than the stairs he came from whoever was responsible for those noises would be caught they were all alone in that basement and this time officer Murphy was determined not to fail however
with every door he checked and every room he found completely empty officer Murphy's heart started to race he was just starting to fear he was going crazy but then he caught that smell it was so confusing at first that he didn't identify it but then it turned seriously overwhelming and there was no mistaking it officer Murphy was smelling smoke sour hot unpleasant [Music] filling the basement and his lungs except for the fact that there wasn't any actual smoke anywhere around and no windows from the outside that could bring it in exhausted and more confused than
he'd ever been in his entire life officer Murphy sought counseling from his colleague this time as they talked among the embalathic seats of the theater officer Matthews opened up to Murphy he went all out he confessed to experiencing simmer things almost every single night during the entire time he worked there The Whispers the smell of smoke the slamming doors in the dark all of it for both officers it was a sort of relief to know they weren't crazy but they had to agree to do something about it The Next Step was to bring in a
professional who also happened to be a good friend of Officer Murphy his name was Greg gittins who agreed to visit the theater even though the pair of Officer decided not to tell him anything about the terrifying things they had been experiencing Greg was a person with a gift for his entire life he had been able to see things that most people couldn't feel imperceptible manifestations and appearances that defied what most people could understand about life death and whatever is beyond our world as soon as Greg gittins enters the Capital Theater he's overwhelmed by all the
things he feels emanating between those historic walls they are not alone in that place that much he can tell in fact that whole building feels so crowded he feels compelled to blurt out just this place is haunted but it's more complicated than that the officers gave him an extensive tour that finally brings them to the basement where everything immediately takes a much more Sinister turn as they walk the length of the basement hallway the three men noticed something very strange one of the doors that was supposed to be locked was open a few inches something
that not a simple Breeze could have done but when they approach it slowly before they even get there the door slams violently shut it startles the three of them but not as much as what happened next in front of their very eyes the door knob started to rattle not gently at all he was desperate aggressive movement that very nearly pulled the entire door off its hinges it was a comfort to confirm that the three of them were seeing the same manifestation of something unexplainable neither of them was making things up but when the rattling stopped
and the officers kicked the door open and found the room Beyond completely empty there was no Comfort to be found and they weren't even done further down the hallway they felt the atmosphere around them starting to warm up by now the officers knew what to expect there it was that sickening and unaccountable smell of smoke Greg Gittings could smell it too but he reacted in a different way it seemed he was following that smell into one of the rooms he asked the officers has there ever been a fire in here but neither of them had
an answer to his question not that it mattered much at the moment because the next thing they knew Greg was gasping and pointing at a corner of the room they were in there's a man there Greg said and as it turned out the officers would end up wishing Greg had been right that would have been better that would have been less utterly terrifying but as a matter of fact there was absolutely no other living person in that room look there in the corner there's a man there Greg insisted but the officers unsettled and trembling as
they were swore that they couldn't see it they couldn't see another man there with them at all that whole experience was terrifying but at the very least it confirmed without a doubt that the two officers hadn't lost their minds something strange and unexplainable was happening at the Capitol Theater they hadn't imagined it and others could see it too but the worst was yet to come not too long after Greg's visit officer Matthews was seated in the control room of the theater looking at the footage from the security cameras the entire building was in the dark
with all the lights off but the infrared cameras allowed them to see it all almost as clearly as he would with the lights on for safety reasons this would have been a good thing anywhere else but in that curse placed that technological feature would prove to be the last straw for officer Matthews at first he thought he was imagining it there was no way somebody could have gotten in the theater and taken a seat in the middle of one of the rows in front of the stage and yet officer Matthews saw that man clearly it
was a human silhouette a tall man wearing some sort of dark Hood completely still and relaxed as if he'd been watching a play on the stage officer Matthews studied him closely trying to determine the best course of action to catch the trespasser but he waited a moment too long he was still looking intently into the screen when it happened the man flung himself out of the chair his entire body flew at light speed directly toward the camera it all happened so quickly so real so horribly officer Matthew screamed stumbled backward and started crying it was
the most terrible Vision imaginable he thought he would never be able to forget those glowing red eyes that charred skin that malicious Grimace imprinted on their Undead face staring at him through the screen he couldn't take it anymore he refused to share his space with something so demonic he quit his job at the theater the very next day since then officer Murphy had to face the horrors of the Capital Theater by himself two more incidents would lead him to a final revelation first there was one night when he was completely alone in that deceiving building
he was doing his rounds along the several floors when he heard it music there was a strange kind of Ragtime Melody playing from somewhere in the theater that was new officer Murphy thought and he couldn't come up with a plausible explanation of any kind all he could really do was follow the music and hope that this time he could catch an intruder of Flesh and bone that he could arrest and move on with his life and yet a painful pressure on his chest warned him that this wasn't the case he finally reached the floor where
the music was coming from his heart was racing his hands gripped his gun tightly and when he rounded the corner there was the piano but the music stopped and there was nobody around that could have possibly been playing officer Murphy made sure of it but the worst part by far was when he approached the old piano to close and lock the lid and it violently slammed shut a second before he could even touch it not too long later officer Murphy was assigned a new officer to train for the job at the Capitol Theater this was
officer Josh Thomas who had no idea what he was getting himself into but he would soon find out before I conclude this story I just want to say thank you for choosing to watch this video and I hope you enjoy my narration if you are please hit the like button and if you don't already subscribe to my channel also those of you that have been kind enough to support me on my new patreon account were able to get early access to the audio of this story ad free prior to my Youtube upload I have a
starting tier of just three dollars per month for Early Access and a nine dollars per month exclusive content access tier where you not only get access to behind the scenes content but also an exclusive Tales of high strangeness pin if you want to support my mission to become a full-time Storyteller and content creator please head over to patreon and consider signing up for just the cost of one cup of coffee per month during officer Thomas's first night at the theater officer Murphy guided him through a tour but when they reach the stage a strange noise
alarmed them and prompted them to split up to try and figure out what it was officer Murphy had a bad feeling but nothing as bad as when he heard officer Thomas say what did you say that was strange officer Murphy hadn't said a thing officer Thomas was nervous convinced that he had heard the other man speaking he had heard some strange Whispers he was sure of it and he was growing increasingly nervous but then all at once he stopped officer Murphy moved closer concerned about the shocked look on the other man's face officer Thomas raised
his hand slowly pointed to a spot behind officer Murphy and quietly said there's a man behind you a man in the mirror with a burnt face the tension in the air was suffocating officer Thomas was frozen in place and on the verge of tears officer Murphy moved slowly turned around as slowly as he could but there was nothing it was gone once again the truth eluded him but this time he had had enough there were too many coincidences and this time officer Murphy decided to do something about it he started interviewing employees at the theater
asking for information regarding any Supernatural events in there but everyone was reluctant to talk everyone except for one employee that told him to look for Doug Morgan it wasn't easy but officer Murphy finally reached Doug Morgan who welcomed him into his house and was jealous enough to share not just all his experiences working on the Capitol Theater for most of his life but finally the truth of the events according to Doug Morgan who had just started working at the Capitol Theater as an usher in 1948 and matching the stories printed in the newspapers that year
there was a terrible fire a real catastrophic tragedy that attacked the building filled with people that night and among the victims one name stood out Richard Duffin he was also an usher but when the fire broke out and when it was obvious that not everyone managed to make it out of the building Richard went back in he entered the theater he went down to the basement and he never made it out the smoke the fire the frenzy and the confusion it was a raging fire that ate Rich Duffin alive but since then he never really
left the Capital Theater and perhaps he never would this story was written by Nanny Rahel Nieto and narrated by me James Deverell thank you for watching this video again if you enjoyed it please don't forget to hit the like button and if you don't already subscribe to my channel I have just launched the podcast version of this YouTube channel on all major podcast platforms so don't forget to head over to Spotify or apple podcasts And subscribe right now the content there is ad-free so take advantage of that don't forget to check out the content I'm
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