1927 Greensboro Vaudeville Palace with a 1981 Arson Fatality
310 S Greene St, Greensboro, NC 27401
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by event. The theatre hosts film series, live music, comedy, and dance programming year-round.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored historic theater with accessible seating and elevator access
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1927 · National Register of Historic Places · 1920s Vaudeville Palace · 1981 Arson Fire · Greensboro Civic Restoration
The Carolina Theatre opened on October 31, 1927, in downtown Greensboro. The 2,200-seat hall was designed as a vaudeville and silent-movie palace at the height of the Jazz Age, with ornamental plasterwork, suspended chandeliers, a deep proscenium stage, and a steep balcony. Local newspapers covered the opening as one of the most ambitious commercial entertainment openings in the Piedmont. Construction was completed despite the death of at least one worker during the building of the structure — a death documented in period press accounts and incorporated into the theatre's later paranormal narrative.
The theatre operated through the decline of vaudeville and the dominance of cinema. Live performances by Ethel Barrymore, Bob Hope, and Elvis Presley among others used the stage between the late 1920s and the late 1950s. The auditorium was subdivided into a multiplex in the 1970s as suburban shopping-mall theaters drew downtown audiences away.
On the night of July 1, 1981, a woman named Melvallene Ferguson concealed herself in the theatre after operating hours and set a fire that destroyed substantial portions of the interior. Ferguson died in the fire. The motive remains a subject of regional debate; surviving accounts describe a personal crisis at the time. The damage was severe but not total. A community restoration effort over the following decade returned the theatre to operation as a nonprofit performing-arts venue. The Carolina Theatre of Greensboro reopened in restored form in 1991.
Today the theatre operates as a multi-use performance venue with film, music, comedy, and dance programming. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure to downtown Greensboro's historic commercial district.
Sources
The Carolina Theatre's paranormal reports cluster around two figures and several recurring activities. The first figure is associated with the 1981 arson fire. Melvallene Ferguson — the woman who set the fire and died in it — has been reported by staff and visitors as an apparition walking the mezzanine level, sometimes carrying or accompanied by what witnesses describe as a clothing basket or laundry. Performers during rehearsals have described seeing her cross the back of the auditorium and disappear. Theatre staff acknowledge these reports as part of the building's long-running paranormal narrative without confirming the identification.
The second figure, known to staff and patrons as Christopher, is described as a young boy who rattles doorknobs, moves chairs across the floor, and occasionally appears briefly in the balcony. The identification as a specific child is folkloric; no contemporary record names a Christopher associated with the theatre's history. The theatre's interpretive material and ghost-tour guides present the figure as an unattributed child presence rather than as a documented historical person.
Additional reports include phantom footsteps on the stage when the auditorium is empty, the smell of smoke in spaces away from the kitchen and concessions area, and brief auditory phenomena that recall the theatre's vaudeville-era audience activity — applause, voices, the rustle of programs. The Carolina Theatre periodically hosts public ghost tours that cover this material alongside the documented 1927 construction history and 1981 fire.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Attend a film screening, concert, or live performance in the 1927 vaudeville and silent-movie palace that opened on Halloween night and has hosted Ethel Barrymore, Bob Hope, and Elvis Presley. The theatre's historic interior — including its chandeliers, balcony, and mezzanine — was extensively restored after the 1981 arson fire.
The Carolina Theatre occasionally hosts public ghost tours covering the building's documented paranormal reports, the 1981 fire, and the multiple long-term apparition accounts. Check venue website for current scheduling.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Joliet, IL
The Rialto Square Theatre opened May 24, 1926, designed by Chicago firm Rapp & Rapp for the six Rubens brothers. Its Neo-Baroque interior — modeled in part on the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles — earned it a place on the American Institute of Architects's '150 Great Places in Illinois' and a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Louis, MO
The Fabulous Fox Theatre opened in January 1929 as one of five 'Fox' picture palaces commissioned by film magnate William Fox. Designed by C. Howard Crane in a 'Siamese Byzantine' style, the 4,500-seat auditorium was the second-largest in the United States at its opening. After decades of decline the theatre closed in 1978 and was restored by the Fox Associates beginning in 1981, reopening in 1982 as the centerpiece of Grand Center.
Ashland, KY
The Paramount Arts Center opened September 5, 1931 in Ashland, Kentucky as one of the first movie palaces purpose-built for sound film. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, the theater closed in 1971 and was rescued from demolition by the Greater Ashland Foundation, reopening as a performing-arts center in 1972.