When most people picture a theatre, they imagine a space alive with energy — actors breathing life into stories on stage and stirring powerful reactions from the audience. But the case is different at the Lincoln Theatre, which has survived multiple threats of closure, and continues to entertain not only its earthly guests but also its supernatural ones.
Stories of ghosts at the Lincoln Theatre have persisted for decades, such as coins dropping from thin air, drapes moving by themselves, and the sound of footsteps in empty parts of the theatre. Built on the ground where one of Mount Vernon’s early settlers Captain David Decatur’s home once stood — and later beside the site of a county jail — the Lincoln has inherited more than brick and plaster. Its spectral residents are said to include Decatur himself, members of the Pollock family who built and lived in the theatre, and the restless echoes of prisoners who once paced the alley next door.
The most enduring symbol of this haunted legacy is the ghost light — a single bulb left glowing on the stage after dark. In theatre tradition, it keeps performers and crew safe from unseen hazards, but at the Lincoln it also serves a spectral purpose: lighting the way for its resident spirits and keeping their mischief at bay. The staff at the Lincoln value this tradition so deeply that, even during years of COVID closure, the ghost light continued to shine.
This Halloween, the ghost light is joined by a sea of flickering candles as the Lincoln hosts Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics. Classical renditions of cult Halloween tunes such as Thriller and Beetlejuice (Themetune) will be sure to set you dancing — and perhaps tempt the theatre’s supernatural residents to dance along in the shadows. As the glow of hundreds of candles blends with the ever-burning ghost light, will you accept the invitation to commune with the spirits of the Lincoln’s past?