Long Island's oldest active theater, built in 1827, turns seasonal haunted attraction each fall — a late-1800s murder on the premises left more than memories.
215 S Country Rd, Bellport, NY 11713
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Online general admission $42; door admission $52. Kids daytime experience $20 (ages 3+). Seasonal fall operation only.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Level theater grounds; free parking on site
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1827 · Oldest active theater on Long Island · Original structure dates to 1827; Stanford White addition in 1884 · Professional regional theater since the 1960s
The building that anchors the Gateway's campus was constructed in 1827 for Charles Osborn. In 1884 the property was purchased by J.L.B. Mott, who commissioned Stanford White to add a new wing to what was then called the Mansion House — a detail that makes the structure one of the few surviving White-associated buildings on Long Island's South Shore.
The theater's modern history begins in 1941, when Harry C. Pomeran bought a 70-acre farm in Bellport and converted it into a summer resort for visitors. Pomeran and his wife Libby had three children — Sally, David, and Ruth — who performed skits for guests, eventually steering the family toward professional theater. In 1950, a production of The Taming of the Shrew was mounted in the old barn, and the Gateway Playhouse was underway.
Through the 1960s the venue transitioned from summer stock to a professional regional operation with a 500-seat theater facility and acting conservatory. In 2011 the playhouse merged with its affiliated school to form the Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County, which now operates as The Gateway. It remains the oldest continuously active theater on Long Island.
The venue's fall identity as Gateway's Haunted Playhouse dates to the late twentieth century and has grown into one of the most reviewed seasonal haunted attractions in the New York metropolitan area, named by Hauntworld Magazine as one of America's best and cited by USA Today among New York's top haunted houses.
Sources
The Gateway Playhouse's paranormal reputation rests on a documented but imprecisely dated event: a murder that occurred on the property in the late 1800s, during the building's pre-theater phase. The victim's groaning is the most frequently cited auditory phenomenon — staff have described it as coming from walls or from backstage areas with no identifiable source.
The most specific apparition report is a man wearing a top hat who appears in the sound booth. Multiple accounts describe the figure as solid enough to notice but gone before any closer look — a pattern that has recurred across different staff members over the years. The sound booth location has made this one of the more consistently reported anomalies, given that the booth is an enclosed, visible space with limited access.
Other reported phenomena include flickering lights, random knocking, disembodied voices, and objects that appear to shift. The venue's Long Island Haunted Houses profile notes that these occurrences are reported by both employees and patrons during non-haunt operating periods, meaning the activity predates the seasonal theatrical installation.
The building's age — nearly two centuries — and its history of occupation across multiple uses before the theater era give investigators multiple candidate periods for residual activity.
Each fall the theater transforms into a professionally staged haunted attraction with dozens of trained actors, new theme and storyline each year, a midway carnival, food and drinks, shooting gallery, coffin ride, and gift shop. Named one of America's best haunted attractions by Hauntworld Magazine.
The 1827 building on South Country Road is viewable from the parking lot year-round. Summer productions at the Gateway run May through September and offer a chance to see the historic theater in its regular role as Long Island's oldest active stage.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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