HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 1913 vaudeville house turned movie palace in Washington NC, now home to Arts of the Pamlico — the first stop on the Washington Haunts Ghost Walk, where the former projectionist is said to still haunt the booth
150 W Main St, Washington, NC 27889
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Event tickets vary by show; Washington Haunts audio ghost tour is self-guided and separately ticketed. See artsofthepamlico.org for performances.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored historic theater in a 32,000-square-foot building with two theaters
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1913 · Early 20th-century vaudeville house · Contributing structure to Washington NC Historic District · Rehabilitated as community arts center in 1990s
C. A. Turnage opened his eponymous theater around 1913, incorporating the enterprise as New Theatre Inc. and installing a shoe store on the ground floor with the vaudeville performance space above — a common commercial combination of the era along Main Street corridors in small American cities.
The venue drew traveling variety acts through the vaudeville circuit during the 1910s and into the 1920s. When sound-on-film transformed the entertainment industry, a second theater specifically designed for talkies was constructed behind the original building in 1928, giving the complex additional capacity as a movie palace.
The building fell into disuse in later decades but was saved by an adaptive rehabilitation effort in the 1990s. The restored complex spans 32,000 square feet and now serves as home to Arts of the Pamlico, presenting live performances, community events, and East Carolina University music and art programming. The Turnage Theatre contributes to Washington's historic district and is recognized as a North Carolina historic site.
Sources
The Washington Haunts audio tour identifies the Turnage Theatre as stop one on its route, noting that 'the spirit of the projectionist who still haunts the movie theater' is among its documented legends. The projection booth, a space that historically saw long solitary shifts during the theater's decades as a movie palace, is the focus of the most persistent accounts.
A former technical director at the Turnage reported seeing a figure grasping the balcony rail and looking down into the empty theater below — a description consistent with someone surveying the house from above, the perspective a balcony operator or technician would have had during performances.
Separately, a male apparition referred to as 'George' has been reported by witnesses in the mezzanine area and at the end of the hall. No historical figure named George has been documented in available sources as connected to the theater's operation; the name appears to be the label given to the apparition by those who encountered it.
Notable Entities
The Turnage Theatre is the first stop on the Washington Haunts self-guided audio tour, a one-mile walking tour covering approximately four ghost stories in Washington's historic district. The tour takes roughly one hour. Download or stream the audio at youraudiotour.com/tours/washington-haunts/.
The restored Turnage Theatre now houses Arts of the Pamlico and hosts live performances, East Carolina University music and art events, and community programming across its two theater spaces. The building spans 32,000 square feet.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Springfield, MO
The building opened on October 8, 1916 as the Electric Theatre on a block that had been almost entirely destroyed by a major fire in 1913. It operated as the Fox Theatre from 1928 until 1982 and now houses the History Museum on the Square.
Lake Charles, LA
The Rosa Hart Theatre occupies a corner of the Lake Charles Civic Center complex on the lakefront, built in the 1970s. The surrounding area has historical ties to Gerstner Field, a World War I Army Air Corps training facility that operated nearby.
Murfreesboro, TN
Constructed in 1909 as Murfreesboro's first federal building, the structure served successively as a post office, a stable, and the city's Linebaugh Public Library before being converted into the Center for the Arts in 1995.