But the one I’m most OK with telling happened one autumn evening when I was working at an aging movie theater that did “Up All Night” or “Insomnia Theater” or something like that. But the gist was that you could catch a movie at like midnight, and if the film happened to be “Horror Hotel” well then, so much the better.
I was alone in the old projection room, a long narrow affair with two projectors, one set-up as you walk-in, and facing those vertical slots you can see when your in your seat below, and an old relic of a projector sitting dusty and abandoned at the other end of the room.
I was kneeling over my bag, waiting for the all-night projectionist to arrive in the robe and slippers I’d asked hime to wear, along with a cup of coffee and maybe a teddy bear.
A shadow or movement caught my right eye as I was setting-up, and I thought it strange to think that there had been someone with me in the room all this time and I hadn’t known it. I had just a glimpse, but there was someone in a light blue shirt and navy trousers, typical maintenance wear. He was bent over the old machine, with a red wooden toolbox at his side. A bit of a sepia glow surrounded him, as if he was lit from a tungsten bulb somewhere within the old machine.
I didn’t turn around right away, so he was there peripherally for a few seconds…choosing a tool, lowering his grey head and peering through his wire-framed glasses.
I put down my camera and turned to say hello, but there was just the old machine. No sepia glow, no toolbox, nothing.
I did the standard routine. Stood up…blinked a few times…smiled a “Go ON!!” kinda smile.
I leaned my head forward as if that extra inch and a half would make a difference, but one thing I didn’t do was walk the length of the room to get a closer look.
Instead I got very busy, placing a light, moving some junk out of the shot, whistling softly.
The projectionist arrived toting two ancient film cases, his coffee, teddy bear, robe and slippers.
He looked great. We introduced ourselves and got to work.
About 40 minutes later we were almost finished, and were making small talk about the old theater. He told me that this particular room wasn’t used anymore for anything much more than storage.
He looked through the dimness and the dust toward the old projector in the corner and said, "Upstairs there’s a state of the art room...with new equipment."
There was a pause while he repositioned the teddy bear, “But even if we need to just get a case of paper cups or something from this room, no one want to come in here alone.”
“Why is that? I asked.
He smiled a little and glanced around. "Well, even when we used this room all the time, everyone said it was haunted, ” he whispered.
