The Avon Theater, Decatur Illinois Summer 2011
Rarely do I attend a movie in a location other than the beautiful and historic Avon Theater in Decatur. http://www.theavon.com/ The theater has three screens, but the original dates back to 1916. Trish and I have attended movies at both locations and have always enjoyed our visits, not to mention the best popcorn in the world!
The first movie we saw there was appropriately the horror film "The Last Rite". We decided to go on a whim after spending the day driving around visiting some of Decatur's numerous haunted locations. Just prior to the start of the move, Trish had a couple of minutes of strange sensations; seeing a flash of light pass by on her right side, followed by a feeling of being touched on her neck, and a feeling of cobwebs.
Our next visit, for some reason, Trish found a particular seat disconcerting forcing us to move over a few seats! After a couple of visits with nothing unusual, perhaps the strangest event took place.
Near the end of the movie, I thought something had dropped off my lap. It felt like perhaps my cell phone or something of that size and weight, but after having accounted for everything in my possession, and scanning around the dark floor, I found nothing amiss. Then, a couple minutes later, Trish had the same thing happen.
After the film had concluded and the lights came on I decided to crawl around searching the floor, certain that something had fallen. Other than some renegade popcorn kernels, I found nothing; it was very strange indeed!!
Interestingly the American Ghost Society recently did an overnight investigation and found the newer screens "The Twins", built on the former sight of the old Race Mansion , to be quite active too.
The Avon is a wonderful place I recommend to everyone wanting to enjoy a good movie, inviting atmosphere, nice people, and great popcorn. The hauntings are just a bonus feature!!