Family Theater with a Resident Ghost in Oildale
12748 Jomani Dr, Bakersfield, CA 93312
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by show. Box office at 661-587-3377. Box office hours: Mon–Tue and Thu–Sat 11am–6pm, Sun 11am–4:30pm, closed Wednesday.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat, paved interior
Equipment
Photos OK
Oildale, the unincorporated community north of Bakersfield, grew from the boom years of California's petroleum industry. The building that would eventually house the Gaslight Melodrama Theatre was built in the early 1970s as a toy store, positioned in what was then an economically marginal stretch of the district. The owner went bankrupt around 1975, closing the doors permanently.
A predecessor melodrama company, the Vaudeville Express Melodrama, later occupied a location on China Grade Loop in Oildale. That venue closed in 2001, leaving Bakersfield without a dedicated melodrama house for several years. The Gaslight Melodrama Theatre opened in August 2005 at 12748 Jomani Drive — a new building, purpose-built as a performing arts venue, the first of its kind in Bakersfield to be privately planned and constructed for theatrical use. The company quickly established a rhythm of eight productions annually.
By 2020, the Gaslight had reached its 100th show. The company commemorated the milestone with a production titled 'Big Trouble on China Grade Loop,' a direct nod to the Oildale melodrama heritage. Theater owner Michael Prince has led the company through sustained growth in a city not always associated with the performing arts, building a loyal audience in the San Joaquin Valley.
A donation of stage backdrops from Knott's Berry Farm — a theme park with its own layered history — arrived at some point during the theater's operation. Prince has speculated, without certainty, that these items may have introduced additional energy into the building.
Sources
Theater owner Michael Prince first encountered the building's odd character while working alone. Doors opened and closed with no one near them. The sounds were consistent enough that Prince stopped treating them as anomalies.
More recently, a costume rack fastened to the wall fell without warning — something that had not happened in fifteen years of operation. The rack was bolted. Prince could not account for it.
During a subsequent investigation by paranormal researcher Missy Bennett, an unexplained sensation brushed against her ankle in the backstage area. Nothing was visible. The investigation captured no definitive evidence, but the account added to the theater's accumulating record of reported incidents.
Prince speculates the stage backdrops donated from Knott's Berry Farm may have introduced additional presences into the building, though this remains unverified. He has named the theater's apparent residents Sampson, Morty, and Noah — a gesture toward the familiar rather than the frightening.
The Shadowlands account associated the haunting with a former toy store owner who went bankrupt around 1975, describing a presence named Harry that was felt passing people in the stairwell, seen breaking mirrors, and observed crossing the stage during performances. The dressing room has also been reported as a site of unexplained activity — sequin dresses on racks rattling without anyone touching them, shadows appearing where no one stood. The current theater is a different building from the original Oildale structure, but the reports persist.
Notable Entities
Attend an original melodrama or musical in Bakersfield's only privately built performing arts venue, where audience participation is central to the form and the building's peculiar backstory — a 1970s toy store whose owner went bankrupt — is baked into the atmosphere. Theater owner Michael Prince has named the resident spirits Sampson, Morty, and Noah.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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