On May 23rd, 2009 the Northeast Oklahoma Research Society investigated the Historic Constantine Theater in Pawhuska, OK. We were joined by members of Insight Paranormal out of Oklahoma City. The setup began after a short tour of the facility.  Upon setting up all the equipment All investigators listened to A board member give a detailed history of the location. After that we worked on a rotational basis covering four main areas of the building. investigators would rotate every 30 minutes to get new perspective on the location and to ensure that all investigators were able to see the entire building.

There were reports at the location of seeing lights in the auditorium and near the stage. to eliminate outside lighting we covered all windows in the building to block any outside light. there were also previous reports of sounds and due to the excellent acoustic qualities of the location we directed a strict no whisper policy which was monitored by two static investigators positioned in strategic locations throughout the theater

Right at the Beginning of the investigation we began to get reports of multiple events occurring around the location. including light anomalies around the stage and basement areas. Investigators reported movement in several areas and on occasion voices could be heard. often described as a female. . There were multiple reports of a single light appearing on the center stage lasting for several seconds then disappearing. the source was searched for but no known source could be located.

There appeared to be a lot of activity in the basement area of the building. The reports indicated that shadows were seen and even a few light anomalies mostly being seen as pinpoint red floating lights. On one occasion a microphone cover was ripped from the microphone and thrown 3-4 feet. and towards the end of the night a researcher had the back of her shirt tugged on in the basement while standing free of any obstructions.

During the investigation we suffered numerous equipment problems including the CPU shutting down and then immediately restarting , major power drains on batteries as well as other that were not discovered until the review process. The review process is still ongoing and will be posted soon with any evidence that is recovered from this Investigation.

Below is a log from the investigation stating times of events that were reported to NORS command post

Arrived: 1900

Members on Scene:

Shane, Dustin, Larry, John, Larry C. , Ashley, Nick, David, Melanie, Carissa, Chrissy

Special Investigators: Insight Paranormal,

Initial Setup was completed investigators were set up in four locations

Position 1 basement

Position 2 lower level of theater

Position 3 balcony

Position 4 Boardroom

Command Post: Front Lobby

Insight Command Post: Behind Building

Events:

2203 hours DVR computer shuts down while all other power remains on

2205 a loud bang was heard in the boardroom was confirmed to be investigator causing the noise

2213: dark shadow appeared on DVR system camera covering Mr. Constantine office. Covering partially a manikin in the closet then camera attempts to focus and blurs for approx. 2 minutes then clears

1016 Computer showed a blue screen then immediately recovers

1018: High pitched moaning sound was reported by insight members in the basement

1019 Another Moaning sound was heard in basement reported by insight members

1020: Report of footsteps being heard on stage

1021: streams of light in basement about the size of a flashlight reported by insight members

1022: Bright light was seen at the top of DVR Camera 4 covering the back of the seating area of the lower level of the theater

1024: a large light was reported on the back of the stage

1024: investigators report seeing movement in the tunnel in basement

1025: report of shadows being seen in the basement near the staircase

1028: more movement under the staircase in basement

1036: flash of light seen on camera 4 in the back of the theater

1038: Report from static investigator Nick who stated that he observed something to pass an IR light in the stairwell of the basement appeared to be about 5 ½ feet tall

1040: John reported that his 8 hour battery drained o no power and hen turned off . after a few minutes the power returned to his battery

1041: lower level investigators report hearing a female voice coming from the basement, all investigators are male in the basement at this time

1041 ball of light reported in the basement

1047: dark shadow reported in the corner of the basement near the stairs. Investigator David reports that his microphone cover was pulled off his microphone and thrown about 3-4 feet the microphone however was untouched

1057: Command observed movements on channel 3 camera below exit sign on west side of stage

1128: four camera failure recovered four minutes later

1131 Insight reports sound of someone standing at the top of the stairs in board room

1141: Investigator Mellisa heard an unusual tone in the boardroom

1147: brad from Insight was stationed in the balcony reported hearing footsteps coming from the stage no person was on the stage

1150: two spikes reported on K-2 Meter in boardroom

1151: investigator Larry recorder was knocked off his leg by an unknown force

1152: report of a shadow seen in front of the IR light in basement by stairs

1155: dark spot appeared by the camera light in basement red lights were reported across from the camera

1158: computer pixilated and then restarted

1144: investigator Melanie had her shirt pulled in the basement

1143: appearance of someone standing in the doorway of stage left

1145: report of sound of someone standing on staircase

1152 stage appeared to darken on camera

1154: light appears on the stage for at least 7 seconds before moving off and disappearing

1215: flash of light seen on stage

1217; Investigator had shirt pulled in the basement

1225 some unknown object moved across stage left to right on the stage

1227 something walking left to right on stage towards the back

1246 ball of light seen on right side of stage on Camera 3

1248 Bright light floated from on end of screen to the other on camera 1

1249: Inv. Mel saw something walk through the lobby and heard the sound of shuffling

1253: bright light at top of screen towards camera 1 and went back to the stage.

100; end of investigation Wrap up begins and break down

130: all equipment taken down and investigators leave location

The Constantine Theater is a remarkable place with over a century of history.  In 1894, it began as the Pawhuska Hotel, until the building was purchased by Mr. Constantine in 1911, who turned it into the theater we know it to be today.  At some point, I believe even before becoming a hotel, a woman named Elizabeth Kalibe owned the property as a dance house.

When this building was a hotel, there were at least two deaths.  In 1895, a man by the name of Mr. Rogers became sick with pneumonia and died at the hotel.    Also, in 1905, a young woman named Aida Fryde was in town visiting her sister and brother-in-law, and while staying at the Pawhuska Hotel became ill with typhoid fever and died shortly after.   She was only 20 year old when she passed away and her funeral was actually held at the hotel.

Many people claim to have had strange experiences in the Constantine Theater.  Some have heard the sound of doors opening and closing, footsteps, and, once, a mist was seen in the crawl tunnel underneath the theater’s stage.  Also, it is said that Sappho, Mr. Constantine’s beautiful daughter, can be seen walking around the theater.  What’s even more astonishing is that unexplainable noises have been recorded  – footsteps, the sound of a gunshot followed by a gasp, and deep breathes – by past investigators.

The Constantine Theater caught my eye immediately.  Absolutely beautiful!  I felt as if I had stepped into a time warp.  Mr. Constantine was Greek and his pride shows in the Greek architecture all throughout the building.  The front stage reminded me of Phantom of the Opera!  In fact, just about everything in the building reminded me of a movie.  A lot of strange things happened that night – unexplainable sounds, computer malfunctions, and moments when we weren’t sure if our eyes are playing tricks on us.  So many exciting things!  The best part is yet to come – the evidence will finally be revealed…

The Northeast Oklahoma Research Society would love to thank the Constantine Theater and all of the board members who graciously allowed us to investigate on Saturday May 23rd. The investigation was a huge success and we all had a awesome time! We would also like to thank Insight Paranormal for making the trip down from Oklahoma City to do this investigation with us! They are a wonderful group and our close friends. They will be posting evidence from the Constantine Theater on there site so please check them out at www.insightparanormal.org. We are in the process of reviewing all of our evidence from the theater and will be posting any evidence with the approval of our respected client. Thank you to everyone who helped make this investigation possible, and please check often for updates!!!!

-The N.O.R.S. team.

On 05/20/09 the group sent four members to scout the location for areas that might need to be covered and to gain as much historical information as possible about the location. Upon arriving our members met with a board member of the Constantine who gave us some of the historical information about the location as well as a tour of the entire building.

The Constantine was originally built in the 1880′s   as the Pawhuska House Hotel in 1911 Mr. Charles Constantine purchased the building and began a renovation to turn the hotel into an elegant theater.  The live stage was designed in the Greek revival styling. and was the location of for many famous Vaudeville acts, as well as being used to show silent movies int the early 1900′s one of the biggest of the silent movies era was Ben Hur which played to a packed house at each of it’s showings. As well as numerous plays and Acts from around the Country. including some of the era’s most famous operatic stars. The theater also hosted the original cut of the movie Gone with the wind that was premiered in Atlanta, Ga in the 1940′s which Mr. Constantine was able to obtain and show for a packed house. The theater also hosted many famous stars from Oklahoma Including Bob Wills, and Ben Johnson.

Mr. Constantine

We will update the site with a more complete history of the location soon. if you would like more information on the Constantine Theater please contact them at  918-287-4158 They are located at 110 W. Main in Pawhuska, Oklahoma Tours are available

Below are some photos of some of the acts that were brought to Pawhuska in the early days of the theater the first two photos show some of the vaudeville era acts

Mr. Constantine also had many other famous acts perform at the Constantine Theater including two of the biggest opera stars of the times pictured below

We took a preliminary investigation walk through of the Constantine Theater. Here are some pictures of our walk through.

This May, The Northeast Oklahoma Research Society will be investigating The Historic Constantine Theatre check back often for up to date information