The Atlas Theatre, Part I

EMM

August 4th

with Special Guests

Katie and Kaitlin

Cheyenne, WY

A good chunk of my youth was spent in The Atlas theatre, having helped with several productions, with most of my time dedicated to the yearly Haunted Atlas (1996-1999). There's no denying that the theatre carries the energies of those long passed but despite spending so much time there, I had never done any purposeful energy communication. Now don't get me wrong, I have had several seemingly paranormal encounters in The Atlas, but none would fall under the category of communication.

I decided that, after having spent several weeks as a Can Can dancer in this year's Old-Fashioned Melodrama, I should take advantage of the few days I had left in the theatre. Timing proved to be difficult, as hundreds of people would flood into the show during the summer, along with cast and crew. Finding a quiet moment was extremely rare, except on August 4th, the night of our cast party. A time when after the crowd leaves, the cast and crew gather in the lobby to let loose, enjoy food and rounds upon rounds of karaoke.

As everyone headed into the lobby, I lagged behind, along with Katie, another Can Can girl. I touched her shoulder to get her attention and in the lowest voice possible, told her of my plan. We agreed to try and meet up in the tech booth above the balcony (a rumored hot-spot) along with another one of our dancers, Kaitlin. Although Katie was reluctant at first, she changed her mind after seeing the excitement on mine and Kaitlin's faces.

I wasn't entirely prepared that night, not having any tools, talismans or pendulums with me. I made do, however, using a chained amethyst crystal gifted to me by my daughter, that I just so happen to carry with me at all times. We sneaked into the lobby, grabbed a drink or two, my crystal and started towards the tech booth. Sneaking away was actually easier than I had expected, the cast and crew far too distracted with tables of delicious food (thanks, everyone!).

Unfortunately, yet just as I'd feared, the tech booth was locked. We searched for another possible place, one nearest to the condemned 2nd and 3rd floors of the building and settled on the northwestern most corner of the balcony, just to the side of the booth.

This corner served as storage for random stage props and signs, seemingly tossed aside and forgotten. Portions of the original audience railing attached haphazardly to the steps, ready to fall over at the slightest bump. The three of us sat, barely inches apart and began our work.

At this point, I'm unaware of the psychic abilities that the other girls possess, but having spent almost every day together over months, I sensed something did exist in each of them. I felt that having them both there was just how it was meant to be, for whatever reasons.

After a brief explanation of and attuning myself to the crystal, we first opened the communication with inviting anyone, or anything, that wanted to talk.

The following is an account of the dialogue between the three of us, the pendulum (as observed by Katie and Kaitlin as my eyes were closed) and the energy:

Emm - "Is there anyone here with us"

YES

Emm- "We just want to talk with you. Is that ok?"

YES

Emm - "Are you male?"

NO

Emm - "Are you female?"

UNCLEAR ANSWER AT FIRST, THEN YES

Emm - "Did you work here?"

NO

Emm - "Were you a visitor?"

UNCLEAR ANSWER AT FIRST, THEN YES

Katie - "Did you die here?"

NO ANSWER

Kaitlin - "Did you die here?"

NO

Emm - "Thank you. We want to know how old you are. I'm going to count, I want you to answer when I get to the first number of your age."

NO ANSWER

Emm - "1..."

YES

Katie - "It's 1?"

NO ANSWER

Emm - "Is the first number of your age 1?"

NO ANSWER

Kaitlin - "Does your age start with 1?"

YES

I was sensing some maybe some confusion in the energy when asked about whether she worked there or she was just a visitor, as if she wasn't sure why she remained in the theatre or came back after passing. Katie also noticed at this point that the only person she would give a straightforward answer to was Kaitlin. She would present unclear answers whenever I asked and no answer at all whenever Katie did. We decided to have Kaitlin relay our questions to the energy, in hopes to get better cooperation.

Kaitlin - "I'm going to count, will you answer when I get to the second number of your age?"

YES

Kaitlin - "1,2,3,4,5,6,7..."

YES

Kaitlin - "You're 17?"

YES

Katie expressed curiosity about the manner in which the energy chose to answer all of us, wondering if the energy didn't like that she was older or maybe didn't like that she had a cocktail in her hand. I personally didn't feel that this was the reason that the energy didn't want to communicate with her and myself. Then Kaitlin suggested that perhaps it was simply because the energy was closer to her own age and at this, the pendulum answered, "YES"! We decided to press on, with Kaitlin doing the communicating.

Kaitlin - "Do you come out when there are people in the theatre?"

NO

Kaitlin - "So you hide when it's full-"

YES

Kaitlin - "- even when the people that work are here?"

YES

Kaitlin - "Do you like all the changes happening?" (The theatre is undergoing renovation)

NO

I sensed that her not liking the changes was attributed to her not knowing why she still remains in the theatre.

Kaitlin - "Did you push Katie's friend down the stairs?"

NO

Katie had told us a story early in the evening about a friend of hers "tripping" on the right balcony stairs. It was only after the event did her friend confess to being "pushed" down the stairs by something unknown.

Kaitlin - "Do you know who did?"

NO

I had a strong sense of defiance from the energy at this point, an attitude that truly belonged to a teenager. I had a vision of eyes rolling, perhaps this was a typical action done by this energy during her lifetime. I felt like she was growing tired of our questions and that she believed we were communicating only to interrogate or blame her for the incident. I voiced this opinion to Katie and Kaitlin and they were both in agreement, sensing the same feeling for themselves. We had Kaitlin thank her for her time and answers, wished her well and closed the session. The general feeling from this energy was nothing strong or overwhelming, giving more a sense of complacency.

After some conversation among ourselves, Katie, Kaitlin and I agreed that we still had energy to continue the investigation. This time, we chose to move to the stairs where Katie's friend had been pushed.

Find out what happens next in our specter investigation The Atlas Theatre, Part II!