Today, we sit down with Cheralyn Lambeth, author of Haunted Theaters of the Carolinas:

IFP: Tell us about your book, Haunted Theaters of the Carolinas. How did you become involved in writing about local ghost stories?

CL: I was actually inspired to write Haunted Theaters because many of the stories in there were ones I had experienced myself, or had gotten first-hand from other people who’d experienced them. As a professional in the entertainment industry, I’ve had the opportunity to work in and visit a wide variety of beautiful and historic theatrical houses, and practically all of them have their own “ghost story”. Another friend of mine who is a paranormal author, Pamela Kinney, encouraged me in the idea of putting them all together in a book, and introduced me to her own publisher (Dinah Roseberry at Schiffer Publishing). I submitted a proposal for the book idea, and was very excited when Schiffer accepted it!

IFP: Why write about theatres? Why in the Carolinas?

CL: It’s very rare to find a theatre that isn’t haunted or doesn’t have one or two good ghost tales connected to it, and that, combined with the history of the theatre buildings, makes for a good story! I concentrated on theatres in the Carolinas because they were ones that I had worked at or visited the most, and had many good stories of my own from them – I could speak from personal experience.

IFP: How do you research these stories?

CL: In addition to keeping notes on the things I experienced myself, I also talked with my co-workers to get their own stories. I was actually working with Playmaker’s Repertory Company at UNC-Chapel Hill when I was doing the majority of research for my book, and made certain to always keep my camera and digital recorder with me at work, just in case! In addition, I did quite a bit of research at various libraries and historical foundations to get background on each of the theatre buildings I wrote about.

IFP: What did you find out about the history of the Carolinas while doing your research?

CL: One thing I was interested to discover was just what an incredible theatrical arts tradition the Carolinas truly have. I have 21 theaters listed in my book, and those are just the ones I was able to get credible stories about; I know there are a great many more than that in both states. In addtion, North Carolina has The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama (located in Manteo, NC), which is the oldest outdoor drama production in North America (and which also has some really good ghost stories of its own!).

IFP: Are there any patterns to the stories that you’ve unearthed?

CL: Except for the common thread of all being related to theatres, there hasn’t seemed to be any pattern in particular to the stories I’ve researched. It’s interesting to note that many of the theatres I’ve discussed are in buildings that weren’t originally intended to be theatres, and their ghosts are relics of the building’s previous history (or, in one case, even of the building next door). But the ghosts seem to run the gamut, from helpful and friendly to cold and unnerving.

IFP: What is the creepiest or most unusual ghost story that you have found?

CL: There were several stories I ran across in the course of my research that gave me chills, but only one was a first-hand account from the person that actually experienced it. He related to me the story of how, when he was in high school, he and some of his fellow students were visiting one of the theatres mentioned in my book where they were participating in a music competition. While they were sitting in the classroom waiting their turn to play, he said they all saw what looked like a ball of light move across the open doorway, but ,when they got up to investigate it, saw no one or nothing there that could have caused it. At the same time, they suddenly heard a sound as if someone was running their fingers down the strings of one of the guitars they had in the room with them, and the lid to the guitar case slammed shut. He said they all got up and quickly left the room, and, to this day, passing by the theatre building still gives him chills.

IFP: Do you run into many supernatural stories about things that aren’t ghosts?

CL: I have one story in particular where the theatre’s “resident ghost” may not be a ghost at all. Longstreet Theatre on the campus of the University of South Carolina-Columbia sports tales of a weird creature known as the “Third-Eye Man” or the “Sewer Man” – eyewitness reports describe this creature as a man dressed all in silver with a small third eye in the center of his forehead, and he is rumoured to live in the series of service tunnels that run underneath the theatre and other parts of the campus (known as The Catacombs). The other stories I’ve researched all centre on more conventional ghost stories, however, the Carolinas do indeed seem to have their share of “weird creatures” (such as South Carolina’s “Lizard Man” and a “Vampire Beast” that has been seen in eastern North Carolina), and I’m hoping to eventually put together a book on these tales.

IFP: Has your research made you more or less likely to believe in the supernatural?

CL: I’ve always been fascinated by the supernatural, and have been very glad for the opportunity to concentrate on my interest and turn it into something tangible (my books). And it’s interesting to note that theatre people are generally very accepting of their ghosts and take any odd sights or sounds they encounter during the course of their work as simply par for the course.

IFP: What other projects have you done in the past?

CL: Book-wise, I have been finishing up another ghost book about my hometown of Charlotte and, as mentioned earlier, hope to work on another one relating stories of the weird creatures to be found in the Carolinas. I’ve also been working on a book about puppetry (The Well-Dressed Puppet) – I’ve finished the first draft of that, but it needs more work and revision before it’s complete.

IFP: Tell us about your work in the film industry.

CL: I’ve been very fortunate to be able to take my love of movies and of creating things – costumes, props, and puppets – and turn it into my career! I’d always enjoyed making my own costumes and props for Halloween and costume parties, and was also a big fan of the work of filmmakers such as George Lucas and Jim Henson. (It was the film, Labyrinth, in fact, that really inspired me to pursue a career in the entertainment industry making costumes and puppets). I worked in professional theatre at the start, and eventually moved into a job with the shop that creates the large-scale Muppet costumes for Sesame Street Live! From there, I went on to work with the Henson Creature Shop in New York (which, sadly, is no longer there), and assisted in building creature costumes and puppets for the TV series Dinosaurs! and the film The Muppet Christmas Carol. After that, I continued to work in various aspects of the film and entertainment industry; some of my projects include live interactive properties such as The Star Trek Earth Tour and Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, and films such as The Patriot, The New World, Evan Almighty, and Leatherheads. Most recently, though, I’ve taken a step back from film work (it can be a hectic work schedule!) to concentrate on my research and writing.

IFP: What is your favourite Lovecraft/Mythos story (if you’re not a fan of Lovecraft or Mythos, what is your favourite horror story?)

CL: Sad to say, I haven’t read much Lovecraft! I think, though, that my favourite horror story would have to be the classic Dracula – I re-read it every Halloween.

IFP: What artistic accomplishment are you the most proud of in your career so far?

CL: It’s hard to say what I’m most proud of, but I can say that the one I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to work with the creative folks at Henson when I was at the shop in New York. It was an incredible experience to see in person many of the familiar Muppet characters I’d grown up with on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show (Dr. Bunsen Honeydew was seated at my work table for a while!). The Muppet Christmas Carol was my first film and, when it opened and I had the chance to see it in the theatre for the first time, I was truly excited to see characters I had helped build up there on the silver screen!

IFP: Please tell us about your upcoming projects.

CL: In addition to my current books (Ghosts of Greater Charlotte and The Well-Dressed Puppet) and prospective book ideas (Weird Creatures of the Carolinas), I am also continuing to work in the entertainment industry, and have been building quite a few costume and prop items that will be used on the latest Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship, Oasis of the Seas.

IFP: What is your dream project?
CL: One of my ongoing dreams is to one day work with Lucasfilm on the creative projects they produce (particularly those related to Star Wars!), and/or to one day have the chance to once again work with the Muppets. Much of the “creature work” that was done in the past by puppetry and animatronics is being replaced by computer animation, but I hope there will always be a need for real-life puppet characters, and I’d very much like to continue in that field.

Bio: Cheralyn Lambeth is a professional prop, costume, and puppet builder/performer whose work includes multiple feature films (The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Patriot, Evan Almighty, Leatherheads), TV shows (Dinosaurs!) and various other properties (Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, Titanic: The Movie on Tour). She has also acted in various commercials and films (The Patriot, Leatherheads) as well as the History Channel docu-drama, Isaac’s Storm. Recently, she has become an active paranormal researcher and writes nonfiction ghost books (Haunted Theaters of the Carolinas, Ghosts of Charlotte) with Schiffer Publishing. You can find her at: http://ghostposting.blogspot.com/.

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