Historic theater where vaudeville spirits perform in the balcony
312 East Main Street, Riverton, WY
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Movie ticket pricing
Access
Wheelchair OK
Theater interior with standard seating
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1920 · Historic entertainment venue · Vaudeville era theater
The Acme Theater represents early-20th-century entertainment infrastructure in Wyoming. Belle Mote, a prominent businesswoman in Riverton, commissioned the theater's construction to serve the community's entertainment needs. Originally, the theater featured live performance spaces—vaudeville acts, theatrical productions, and early cinema alongside penny shows.
The transition from live performance venue to dedicated movie theater reflects broader entertainment industry shifts occurring throughout the early-to-mid 20th century. The Acme has remained in continuous operation as a community cultural institution, serving contemporary audiences while maintaining its historic character.
Sources
The Acme Theater's paranormal reputation centers on a singular, identifiable entity: a vaudeville performer whose apparition manifests in the theater's balcony during performances. The ghost appears dressed in vaudeville-appropriate clothing, suggesting a performer from the theater's early live-performance era. Patrons seated in the balcony report feeling a presence, witnessing the apparition, and experiencing phenomena specifically during late-evening performances.
The basement, formerly used to store film reels and equipment, represents the most intensely haunted area. Employees working in the basement describe a sense of dread and uneasiness. Phenomena include flickering lights, sudden temperature drops, and the persistent sensation of being watched. These manifestations are more intense and disturbing than the balcony phenomena, suggesting either a different entity or intensified emotional residue in that space.
The specificity of the balcony apparition—the vaudeville costume, the consistent appearance, the theatrical context—suggests a spirit bound to the space of his performance and professional identity. The performer appears to continue his metaphorical role even in death, 'attending' performances and maintaining presence in the space where he achieved professional significance.
Notable Entities
Attend a movie or special event at the Acme Theater in Riverton, Wyoming. Built in the 1920s, the theater is haunted by a vaudeville performer visible in the balcony wearing period costume. The basement, once used for film storage, is the most intensely haunted area.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Philipsburg, MT
Prominent businessman Angus A. McDonald built this two-story masonry theater in 1891 to entertain the silver-mining towns of Philipsburg and nearby Granite. It is described as Montana's oldest operating theater. Renamed the Granada Theatre in 1919, it later screened films for decades and continues today as a live performance and movie venue.
Laconia, NH
The Colonial Theatre opened on Main Street in Laconia in 1914, a roughly 1,200-seat house designed for movies and vaudeville. It ran as a cinema until 2002, was later carved into a multiplex, and sat vacant before a 2016-2021 restoration reversed the subdivision and reopened it as a single-auditorium performing-arts venue of about 750 seats in August 2021.
Moundsville, WV
The Strand Theatre in Moundsville opened in 1920 as an 1,100-seat vaudeville house that later showed movies. It closed in 1996 and was restored and reopened in 2014 by the Strand Theatre Preservation Society. Today it hosts plays, music, and films.