Barter Theatre

The number of books that maintain Abingdon’s Barter Theatre is haunted by former Broadway star Robert Porterfield includes Charles Edwin Price’s 1993 The Mystery of Ghostly Vera: and Other Haunting Tales of Southwest Virginia, L. B. Taylor, Jr.’s 1996 The Ghosts of Virginia, Volume II, Donnamarie Emmert’s 2004 booklet Haunted Historic Abingdon, Volume 1, Donna Gayle Akers’ 2005 Legends, Stories and Ghostly Tales of Abingdon and Washington County, Virginia, Christopher Kiernan Coleman ‘s 2011 Ghosts and Haunts of Tennessee and many, many others. He is usually seen on-stage before a performance is about to become a blockbuster. However, the first mention of the ghosts of the theatre also mentions a malevolent force that these authors have shied away from, and indeed, staff at the theatre do no wish to talk about.

In his 1982 book The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible, Mark Dawidziak tells that this dark and sinister presence is felt less often than Robert Porterfield, but is occasionally seen turning corners. Most people who encounter the shadow experience the feeling of dread, but no one has ever been hurt by the shade. Dawidziak is quick to point out that nothing tragic ever occurred in or around the building and leaves the insidious specter’s identity in question.

Bibliography:

Akers, Donna Gayle. Legends, Stories and Ghostly Tales of Abingdon and Washington County, Virginia. Boone, NC: Laurel, 2005.

Coleman, Christopher Kiernan. Ghosts and Haunts of Tennessee. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 2011.

Dawidziak, Mark. The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible. Boone, NC: Appalachian Consortium, 1982.

Emmert, Donnamarie. Haunted Historic Abingdon, Vol. 1. Abingdon, Virginia: Self-published, 2004.

Price, Charles Edwin, and Sharyn McCrumb. The Mystery of Ghostly Vera: and Other Haunting Tales of Southwest Virginia. Johnson City, TN: Overmountain, 1993.

Taylor, Jr., L. B. The Ghosts of Virginia, Vol. II. [Williamsburg, Va.]: L.B. Taylor, 1996.

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