The 1922 Dayton's Bluff silent-film house is home to three named resident spirits and offers ticketed paranormal investigation tours year-round
1029 Hudson Rd, Saint Paul, MN 55106
Research updated June 2026
Age
Minimum 13
Cost
$$
Paranormal tours are ticketed; pricing varies by tour type. Contact Real Haunted Tours at rhtmounds@gmail.com or check realhauntedtours.com for schedules and current pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic 1922 theater; multi-level interior with stairs; basement tours included on extended investigations
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1922 · Dayton's Bluff Neighborhood History · Early Sound-Film Exhibition in Twin Cities · Finkelstein & Rubens Theater Chain
The Mounds Theatre was constructed in 1922 on Hudson Road in Dayton's Bluff, a working-class neighborhood on St. Paul's east side. Built for the Finkelstein & Rubens chain, which operated a circuit of neighborhood theaters across the Twin Cities, the building was designed for silent films and vaudeville acts. The theater was among the early venues to adopt sound film technology in the late 1920s and was one of the first theaters in the area to show talking pictures.
The theater operated continuously through the 1930s, 1940s, and into the 1960s before the combined pressures of suburban population shift and television reduced neighborhood-theater audiences across the country. The Mounds closed in the mid-1960s. The last film shown in the building is believed to have been in 1967; workers who reopened the building nearly four decades later found concession wrappers and popcorn boxes still in the seats.
A restoration effort beginning in 2003 stabilized and refurbished the building, and the theater reopened in 2004 under community management. It has since been used for live performances, events, and paranormal investigation tours. The restoration drew significant attention from paranormal investigators — scores of investigation teams visited the space in the years following reopening. Since then, the theater has hosted paranormal tours through Real Haunted Tours and individual investigation events organized by paranormal research groups.
The theater building is included in multiple regional lists of Minnesota's most paranormally active structures.
Sources
The Mounds Theatre's resident-spirit tradition is unusually consistent across sources. Three named entities appear in every account, with specific roles tied to the building's operational history.
Red is described as the theater's longtime projectionist, who worked in the projection booth for many years before dying. Staff and investigators report objects thrown in or near the projection area and a strong sense of presence on the upper level. Red is the most active of the three in terms of reported physical phenomena.
Jim is described as a former usher. His apparition is reported walking the auditorium aisles in the manner of an usher guiding patrons to seats. The figure is seen during investigations and has been observed by staff working late in the building.
The third entity is a young girl, described as wearing a pink dress, who appears on the stage area. Witnesses report seeing her bouncing a ball. The girl's identity has not been established in any documented source; she does not appear to be connected to a specific historical incident at the theater.
The basement area of the Mounds Theatre has generated the most intense paranormal accounts. A frequently cited investigation report describes two investigators fleeing the basement after emerging with what they described as claw marks on their backs. This account appears in the aggregator database and has been repeated in regional paranormal coverage; it has not been independently verified.
Real Haunted Tours has operated investigation events at the theater since the 2004 reopening. The one-hour presentations and the three-hour midnight investigations are available year-round by reservation.
Notable Entities
A one-hour evening tour covering the history of the theater and the documented accounts of its three resident spirits: Red, the longtime projectionist; Jim, a former usher; and a young girl in a pink dress seen on stage. Standard tour, ages 16+ recommended.
A three-hour investigation starting at midnight, covering the theater's main floor, projection room, basement, and stage areas. Participants have time for self-directed exploration in the building's historically active areas. Contact rhtmounds@gmail.com to book year-round dates.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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