Colonial Theatre

A beautifully restored former Vaudeville theater in the Lakes Region that had its grand re-opening in July 2021 after extensive renovation.

The former projectionist of the Colonial Theatre in Laconia still watches over the building, his shadowy presence spotted in the projection booth and the aisles long after the last audience has gone home. The theater opened in April 1914, designed by architect George L. Griffin in the Neoclassical style for developer Benjamin Piscopo, an Italian immigrant who had emigrated from Italy to Boston as a stone cutter before becoming a successful real estate developer in Laconia. When the Colonial opened with 1,231 seats, the Laconia Democrat declared it "one of the handsomest play-houses to be found in New England." Griffin commissioned three murals by artist P. Holdensen and a hand-painted fire curtain depicting the city of Venice, giving the interior an elegance unusual for a small New Hampshire city.

The Colonial's early decades were a parade of vaudeville acts and stage shows. The Boston English Opera Company performed "Il Trovatore" on April 6, 1915. John Philip Sousa's band played the stage. In the 1930s, the theater pivoted to motion pictures, and in 1961 it hosted the world premiere of "Return to Peyton Place," drawing national attention to the lakeside city. For eighty-six years, the Colonial was the cultural heart of Laconia's Main Street.

The haunting centers on the projection booth, where a former projectionist reportedly spent so many years running films that he could not bring himself to leave even after death. Employees working late describe the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs to the booth when no one else is in the building. The booth's equipment has been known to activate on its own. A shadowy figure has been seen standing in the booth's small window, looking down at the empty seats below as though checking on an audience that is no longer there.

The activity extends beyond the booth. Staff hear disembodied voices throughout the theater at night -- murmured conversations that seem to come from the seats, as though a phantom audience is discussing the show. Lights turn on and off without anyone touching the switches. Doors open and close in rooms where no one is present, and heavy footsteps echo through the aisles when the theater is locked and empty. One employee reported hearing someone walking up the main staircase at a steady, deliberate pace, each step clearly audible, but when they went to investigate, the staircase was empty.

An apparition of a man has been seen walking through the building -- not transparent or misty, but solid enough to be mistaken for a living person until he turns a corner and vanishes. Multiple witnesses have described this figure independently over the years, always a man, always walking with purpose, always disappearing when followed.

The Colonial Theatre closed in 2000 after eighty-six years of continuous operation but was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and underwent an extensive restoration. It reopened in August 2021 and now hosts live music and performances. The renovation did nothing to quiet the resident spirits. If anything, the projectionist seems pleased that his theater is alive again -- the footsteps in the booth have only increased since the reopening.