HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A campus theater where a student's 1973 fatal fall from the fly gallery left a legend documented in the department's own handbook
175 W Mark St, Winona, MN 55987
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to walk the campus; performance tickets vary by production
Access
Wheelchair OK
University campus building with accessible entrances
Equipment
Photos OK
Winona State University campus history · Documented student death in 1973 · Theater department institutional memory
Winona State University's Robert DuFresne Performing Arts Center sits at the heart of WSU's theater program, which has operated continuously since the university's founding years. The PAC houses the Main Stage theater and serves as the primary venue for student productions and touring performances in southeastern Minnesota.
In October 1973, theater student Christopher Robb Neidringhaus fell from the fly gallery — the elevated rigging system above the Main Stage — and sustained fatal injuries, dying the next day. The incident was documented internally by the theater department, and a former professor's written account of the event and its aftermath has been cited by the WSU student newspaper, The Winonan.
The legend that followed became formalized enough that the department's own theater handbook reportedly addresses it, according to The Winonan's investigation. The handbook passage relates to a specific area of the Main Stage floor where Neidringhaus lay after the fall — a spot that workers and students say has remained impervious to water damage despite repeated exposure.
Sources
Campus legend at WSU holds that Christopher remains in the theater he died in, as a protective rather than malevolent presence. Theater students and staff have reported unexplained interference with stage lighting — circuits that behave anomalously in ways that do not track with equipment failures — and attribute these to Christopher's continued presence.
The most specific physical claim involves a section of the Main Stage floor at the location where Neidringhaus was found after the fall. Students and staff report that this area does not absorb water in the way the surrounding floor does, a detail noted in the investigation published by The Winonan and attributed to a former professor's written account.
The WSU theater department handbook is reported to include language addressing the Christopher legend, an unusual step that reflects how deeply the story has embedded itself in the program's institutional culture. Whether this constitutes acknowledgment or active memorialization is unclear from available sources.
Notable Entities
The Robert DuFresne Performing Arts Center is open during campus hours and hosts regular public performances. The Main Stage floor is the focal point of the Christopher legend — a spot reportedly immune to water damage near where the student fell.
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