Final Report: Rialto Theater

Investigation Number 03152008

Location: Rialto Theater, El Dorado, Arkansas

Date of Investigation: March 15, 2008

Number of digital photos
taken: 1027

Minutes of Audio recorded:
14 minutes

Minutes of Video taken: 224 minutes

Number of Positive Photos:
6 digital and 2 on video

Number of EVP recorded: 2

Introduction: The Rialto investigation was very special in that it
presented several obstacles for Spirit Seekers to overcome. To that end, I put
together a handpicked team of ten investigators, each chosen for a talent they
could bring to the investigation.

The first obstacle was the
sheer size of the building. The Rialto has four floors of space, each one
packed full of small nooks and hidden rooms. In addition, the theater has been
closed for several months, which meant that it was very dusty at the time of
our investigation -- important to note, given that dust can produce false
positives (“orbs”) in digital photos. Last but most definitely not least was
the factor that we hadn’t anticipated: the St. Patrick’s Day street fair across
the street from the theater, complete with a band. In addition to the noise
from the band, which made EVP collection almost impossible for most of the
night, our Mobile Research Vehicle and a story about our investigation in the
local paper drew crowds of curious people to the front doors of the theater.
While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, our investigators did wind up
spending most of their break times talking with onlookers and handing out
brochures.

Even with all of the
obstacles presented, we managed to find what we believe to be verifiable signs
of a haunting at the Rialto. Though I mentioned the problem of dust above, we
did manage to photograph some energy orbs --
some in motion and some at rest. To be classified an energy orb, the
object must be opaque, very close to round in shape, and show motion. Our night
vision cameras also captured orbs in motion at three different locations in the
theater. The bulk of the evidence gathered was found around the stage.

Because of the band across
the street (and the bands on the square that took off after that was done), I
had to wait till late in the morning to attempt to gather EVP (electronic voice
phenomenon). I was somewhat successful. The best EVPs captured were taken in
the dressing room under the stage and in the back rows of the seating on the
lower level.

Summation: Due to the fact that investigation was very special
and we had lots of area to cover, we used a medium size group of ten
investigators. The team psychic (Angela) was inserted into the theater at 7 pm
with a investigator in training (Natalie). They were allowed to do their
walk-through independently while the others set up equipment and I interviewed
the owner. Upon completion of Angela’s psychic evaluation, she and Natalie were
extracted to be interviewed by me individually. While they were being
interviewed the other investigators went through the theater taking pictures
and various climatic readings. During the interview, Angela revealed that she believed the theater
was full of residual energy -- non-intelligent paranormal energy, with past
events played over and over as if on a looped tape. In addition, she felt that there were four
active, intelligent spirits in the theater and that they were very curious. She
had no encounter with negative energy of any kind.

In one of the dressing rooms
below the stage, Angela felt the presence of an actress. She said that the
actress was lingering there, because it was where she felt she belonged. The
woman’s mannerisms and dress, as described by Angela, suggested a very early
1900’s timeframe. In other instances, Angela sensed a movie usherette playing
peek-a-boo in front of the stage; a group of teens were in the back hanging
around waiting as if their group was incomplete; and a elderly worker in the
upstairs control room. He was still there because he had nowhere else to go.
Some of the group had personal encounters. One felt as if she had been grabbed
by the ankle. Another smelt perfume in the upstairs lobby. Several of the
investigators had batteries in their equipment drained prematurely. One of the
investigators felt as if she was being followed. Later in the night, several
investigators saw a door open slightly in the area under the stage. When we
tried to move it by hand, we found that the door dragged the floor and was very
hard to move.

Conclusions: According to the client, focus of the supernatural
activity is not centered in any one room but rather dispersed throughout the
theater. We at Spirit Seekers believe this to be a true assessment of the
haunting, given that we captured what we consider to be credible evidence in
just about every corner of the theater.

So, is the Rialto Theater in
El Dorado, Arkansas haunted? We have a grading system that helps us to answer
such questions. Hauntings are ranked in three categories:

0-39 = The lowest rank;
little or no activity, or -- if there is a presence -- sporadic, residual
activity with no underlying intelligence.

40- 79 = Intelligent but weak
entities and/or consistent residual phenomena; semi-audible voices and audible
EVPs; visible mists and partial manifestations; the consistent feeling of being
watched or followed, etc.

80 - 100 = The highest level
of activity, featuring intelligent, sentient entities which can interact with
investigators and the physical world around them; top-tier photo and video
evidence: Class A EVP’s; full body manifestations; objects moved or flung;
audible voices that respond to questions, etc.

Our summation of the Rialto
Theater is as follows:

Scientific Evidence (photos,
video, EMF readings, Temperature readings and EVP -- our most desirable form of
evidence), on a scale of 0-50 = 38. The evidence was there and it was fairly
strong.

Sensory Evidence (paranormal
events personally experienced by our investigators, but not captured on film or
audio recording), on a scale of 0-25 = 20
Several of the investigators had paranormal experiences. Many of them
were of the same nature and same location at different times.

Extrasensory Evidence
(feelings and mental images captured by our psychics). On a scale of 0–25 = 22.
In this case the psychic evidence is rated so high because of the fact that
another psychic had made a visit to the Rialto one week prior to our visit, and
our psychic was able to independently pick up on many of the same things the
previous sensitive had. I saw an amazing similarity between the two. They were
so close to seeing or feeling the same things in the same locations that it
would be hard not to see it as evidence.

In conclusion, the final
score for paranormal activity at the Rialto is 78, which puts it in the upper
middle rank of hauntings we have investigated. In short, the evidence gathered
tells us that there is a strong possibility that there is paranormal activity
happening in the dark recesses of the El Dorado’s Rialto Theater

Investigators
signature: A. Lowe