Campus Theater Lore at Magnolia's State University
100 East University Street, Magnolia, AR 71753
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public exterior access is free; theater productions vary by show.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved campus walks
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · Arkansas Public Higher Education
Southern Arkansas University was established in 1909 as the Third District Agricultural School under an Arkansas legislative act creating four district agricultural schools. The Magnolia campus expanded through the twentieth century, becoming Magnolia Agricultural and Mechanical College, then Southern State College, and reaching its current name and university status in 1976.
The Harton Theatre, named for a long-serving faculty member, serves as the principal performance venue for the SAU Department of Theatre. The department's main-stage season typically includes a mix of contemporary plays and musicals, with recent productions including Little Shop of Horrors. The building is open during performance season for ticketed shows and during department open-house events.
The Magnolia campus is otherwise typical of regional Arkansas state universities, with academic and residential buildings dating across the twentieth century and modern additions. The university's official communications do not address paranormal claims about Harton Theatre or other campus buildings; the lore is sustained by student tradition and regional ghost-story collections.
Sources
The principal Harton Theatre legend involves a student actress who was reportedly killed by a train on her way to a performance she was set to star in. The story holds that her figure can occasionally be seen walking the catwalk above the stage during shows. The specific year and identity of the student are not preserved in the regional folklore record that research was able to locate, and the account should be treated as campus tradition rather than documented history.
A second story, often paired with the catwalk account, comes from a student photographer working late in the lighting control booth in advance of a production. According to the story, the photographer saw a rocking chair on the otherwise empty stage rocking by itself and photographed it. When the film was developed, every frame on the roll came out clearly except for the single frame containing the chair, which was blurred.
Other SAU campus folklore extends beyond Harton to Bussey Hall, where a separate suicide story is attached to a residence hall room, and Overstreet Hall, where a spirit identified in tradition as 'Beatrice' is occasionally referenced. None of these accounts appears in formal investigation reports or in university communications. They survive in student culture and in regional listings including the Magnolia Reporter and Texas-Arkansas ghost-story compilations.
Visit the campus of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. The Harton Theatre, home to the SAU Department of Theatre, anchors a long-running piece of campus folklore involving a student actress reportedly killed before a performance. The building remains an active performance space; check the theatre department website for current shows.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Redlands, CA
The Redlands Fox Theatre was built in 1927 and opened December 28, 1928, as a 1,505-seat Mission Revival picture house designed by Lewis A. Smith for the West Coast Theatres chain. After West Coast merged with Fox Theatres in 1929 it became the Fox West Coast Redlands. The building reopened in 2009 as the Fox Event Center.
Magnolia, AR
The Cameo Theatre was constructed in 1949 in Magnolia, Arkansas, and served as the city's primary movie palace until its closure in 2012. Designed by architecture firm Ginocchio & Cromwell, the theater featured 850 seats and ornamental murals. W.P. Florence, Jr. owned and operated the theater until his retirement in 2000. Stars Cinema subsequently operated the facility until 2012.
Moorhead, MN
Weld Hall, built in 1915, is the oldest building on the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus. Named after Frank Weld, the building houses Glasrud Auditorium with its balcony and backstage spiral staircases. A $23 million renovation of the building began in 2023, with reopening projected for fall 2026. The university was known as Moorhead State University until 2000, when it was renamed Minnesota State University Moorhead.