HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Campus theater at Quincy University where a professor who died in 1998 is said to watch performances from the light booth
1800 College Avenue, Quincy, IL 62301
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Public performances with standard ticket prices; see Quincy University website for schedules
Access
Wheelchair OK
Indoor theater on university campus with paved walkways
Equipment
No Photos
Quincy University theater program history · St. Aloysius Orphanage campus history · Franciscan educational tradition
Quincy University was established in 1860 under Franciscan stewardship and occupies a campus on Quincy's College Avenue. The MacHugh Theater — named in honor of a campus benefactor — serves as the primary performance space for the university's theater program.
The theater sits near the former footprint of the St. Aloysius Orphanage, a Catholic institution that operated on the Quincy University campus grounds. The orphanage housed children through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Campus records regarding the orphanage and any fatalities among its residents have not been independently verified in publicly available sources.
Hugh 'Fitz' Fitzgerald served as a theater professor at Quincy University for decades and was a central figure in the drama program. He died in 1998. Campus accounts describe him as so devoted to the space that students and faculty began reporting his continued presence there after his death.
Sources
The legend of the MacHugh Theater centers on Hugh Fitzgerald, known to students as 'Fitz,' who spent his career running lights and directing productions in the space. After his 1998 death, students and faculty began reporting the sensation of being observed from the light booth and occasional anomalous behavior from the lighting board.
The proximity to the former St. Aloysius Orphanage contributes a secondary layer to campus lore. Reports of children's voices and unexplained movement have been loosely attributed to the orphanage's history, though no documented fatalities or specific incidents involving the orphanage are substantiated in available sources. These claims should be understood as student tradition rather than verified events.
The Quincy University student media outlet documented these legends in 2017, reporting that multiple students and a staff member described anomalous experiences in the theater building. The reporting does not confirm supernatural causation but accurately reflects a consistent campus oral tradition.
Notable Entities
Public performances at Quincy University's MacHugh Theater, a working campus theater known for student and faculty productions. The venue has an attached legend involving a former professor.
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