Marion's 1929 Mayan Revival vaudeville house — listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now an active community arts center — carries a long oral tradition of workman's ghost, phantom footsteps, and a screaming voice.
117 E Main St, Marion, VA 24354
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Performance ticket prices vary by event; lobby and exterior accessible without tickets during events
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown flat streetscape; theater has accessible entrance
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1929 · National Register of Historic Places (1992) · Marion Historic District · Mayan Revival Architecture · Southwest Virginia Community Arts Heritage
Marion, the seat of Smyth County in Southwest Virginia, gained the Lincoln Theatre in 1929 as part of a regional wave of ornate movie palace construction across small American cities. Architect or builders gave the building an interior designed to evoke an ancient Mayan temple — an unusual choice for the Virginia mountains. Six large paintings depicting scenes from American and local history line the walls.
Access to the theater is through a broad arcade on the ground floor of the Royal Oak Apartment House, which fronts E Main Street; the theater itself sits behind the apartment building. This arrangement, while uncommon, preserved the theatrical interior from street-level disruption.
The theater operated as a vaudeville house and later as a movie theater through the mid-twentieth century before closing in 1977. It sat unused for nearly fifteen years. In 1992, the Lincoln Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Marion Historic District. A collaborative public-private effort eventually funded its restoration, and the theater reopened in 2004 as a community performing arts center. It continues to host concerts, film events, and community programming.
Sources
The Lincoln Theatre's haunting tradition centers on a figure identified in local accounts as a workman who died during the building's construction in 1928 or 1929. The specific circumstances and identity of the individual are not documented in the historical record retrieved for this entry — this is oral tradition that has circulated among theater staff and Marion residents.
Phenomena associated with the theater include footsteps heard on stairways when the building is unoccupied, a phantom muttering — described as a low indistinct voice — and cold breezes that move through the theater with no clear source. The most striking reported phenomenon is a woman's screaming voice, said to call out 'Let me out.' Some accounts connect this to a nearby Civil War-era cemetery, though no documented link has been established.
These reports have been collected by paranormal documentation projects but have not been subject to journalistic or academic investigation. The theater's long period of closure between 1977 and 2004 — nearly three decades as an unoccupied historic building — may have contributed to the accumulation of local legend around the structure.
The Lincoln Theatre's Mayan Revival facade is unusual for the Virginia mountains. The three-story building at 117 E Main Street is accessed through a broad arcade on the ground floor of the adjoining Royal Oak Apartment House. The theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1992) and is part of the Marion Historic District.
The Lincoln Theatre reopened in 2004 as a community performing arts center, hosting concerts, film screenings, and cultural events. Check the theater's website for current programming and ticket pricing.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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