HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Decatur's 1916 Beaux Arts theater built on the ruins of a fatal hotel fire, with overnight ghost hunts
141 North Main Street, Decatur, IL 62523
Research updated June 2026
Age
18+
Cost
$$$
Overnight paranormal investigation tickets through American Hauntings; see booking URL
Access
Wheelchair OK
Indoor theater with lobby and main floor accessible; upper levels via stairs
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1916 · Priest Hotel Fire 1915 · Beaux Arts Architecture · Decatur Entertainment History · Fire Victims Memorial
The Priest Hotel stood at 141 North Main Street in downtown Decatur until the night of its destruction in 1915. The fire that consumed the building killed at least two confirmed individuals: William E. Graham, the hotel's engineer, and C. S. Guild, a traveling salesman who was a guest at the time of the blaze. Contemporary accounts suggest other victims may have gone unaccounted for in the chaos of the fire, though the exact death toll remains uncertain.
Construction of the Lincoln Square Theatre began on the cleared lot almost immediately, and the new Beaux Arts theater opened in 1916. The building's footprint sits directly over the former hotel's foundation. Cinema Treasures documents the theater's architectural history and confirms the Priest Hotel as the prior structure on the same site.
The theater operated as a commercial venue for decades and is now managed for community events and rentals through LST Events. American Hauntings, the Decatur-based paranormal tour operator founded by Troy Taylor, has made the Lincoln Square Theatre one of its flagship overnight investigation venues, citing the 1915 fire as the origin event for the reported activity. A long-term theater employee known by the nickname 'Red' — a former worker believed to have died on the premises — is cited in some accounts as a third reported entity.
Sources
The foundation of the Lincoln Square Theatre's haunted reputation rests on documented history: two people died in the 1915 Priest Hotel fire that preceded the building's construction. William E. Graham, the hotel engineer, and C. S. Guild, a traveling salesman, are the confirmed casualties whose deaths are attached to this location in contemporaneous records. Paranormal investigators working the site under the American Hauntings framework treat the fire as the originating trauma.
A third entity — referred to as 'Red' — is reported by those who have worked in the theater over extended periods. Red is described as a former worker, possibly a stagehand, who appears walking across the stage before vanishing. The identity of 'Red' is not corroborated in any documentary record located for this build; the name appears to be an internal nickname passed through the theater's working staff rather than a verifiable historical figure. Accounts of Red should be understood as staff tradition rather than documented history.
American Hauntings has operated overnight investigations at the Lincoln Square Theatre as part of their broader Decatur portfolio, making it one of the most commercially active paranormal sites in central Illinois. Paraatlas and other paranormal-tourism aggregators independently document the site's active investigation schedule.
Notable Entities
American Hauntings operates ticketed overnight ghost hunts inside the Lincoln Square Theatre, one of the primary venues in their Decatur haunted tour portfolio. Investigators have access to the stage, basement, and corridors associated with reported activity.
Lincoln Square Theatre hosts community events, performances, and rentals. Visitors can see the historic Beaux Arts auditorium without a paranormal booking.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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