Boyertown Paranormal Series — Spirits captured on camera

Since the infamous Rhoads Opera House fire on Jan. 13, 1908, there have been reports of paranormal activity.

Up and down Boyertown’s Philadelphia Avenue corridor, in homes and in businesses, strange happenings and appearances have made their way into conversations. Not only local talk but documented historical facts.

The Rhoads Opera House was located on the corner of Philadelphia and Washington streets. That corner currently houses Skye Real Estate, LLC, apartments, The Book Nook, and The Other Farm. In the 1930s and 40s, that part of the block was a brewery, later to become Karver-Fry, a popular gift and toy store, and is now known as The Other Farm.

Previously in the series, I shared stories from The Other Farm and The Ironstone both located only a few doors from where the Rhoads Opera House existed.

So, let’s stroll east from the corner of Philadelphia and Reading avenues and learn more about Boyertown’s paranormal activity along its Philadelphia Avenue corridor.

An investigative crew went into the basements of several historic buildings on Philadelphia Avenue.  It seems that most of these energy readings are detected in basements.

Example: on the corner of Philadelphia and Reading Avenues, Adriane Zapian, of Revamped Salon and in charge of Boyertown’s Olde Soul Stroll, mentioned how when you are in the basement, it’s weird how even though it is on a busy intersection you can’t hear anything in the far corner.  At times their equipment would shut off, motion sensors went off, orbs showed up on photos, and they had the feeling of the energy being sucked out of the space.

They used an SLS camera which records stick figure-type images. With their SLS cameras, they were able to get a clear picture of two stick figures, one larger (an adult), and one smaller (a child).

When the paranormal team went into the building, formerly known as Serenity Junction and now known as Deal Me In Games, the gal in charge asked if there was a spirit present to please make itself known. Just like that, a screw dropped out of the ceiling and hit her on the head. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not!

Atherton Inn, previously Twin Turrets and recently remodeled under new ownership, has a story all its own, about a sighting in a room on the third floor.

Horace Boyer owned and lived at 11 E. Philadelphia Ave., a private residence. The wife died, the kids were grown and gone, and Horace’s female housekeeper had a room on the third floor. One day there was no breakfast on the table, which was quite unusual, so he sent another female up to check on her. The door was locked, so they got a ladder to go up on the outside of the building into a window. She was found dead, hanging inside the closet. She still, on occasion, makes appearances.

Talarico’s was a popular sandwich on Philadelphia Avenue. Pop and Mom Talarico were known by everyone in Boyertown. Years after Mom Talarico died, employees noticed that when they’d take things down to the storage area in the basement, the next time they went down, those items would be rearranged, Mom’s way!

A little girl in Victorian-period clothing has been documented as being seen in the store now known as The Book Nook.

Margaret Harner, a local historian, shared some of the factual stories she’s accumulated over the years, stories she has been permitted to share with participants of ghost and historical tours she used to conduct.

Harner shared a story from what is now Skye Real Estate.  The staff had turned off the copy machine, locked up the office and went to lunch. Upon returning, doors still locked, they discovered a photocopy of a handprint in the out tray. Mysterious!

Another time, during an actual Ghost Tour, the participants stood on the famous corner of the Rhoads Opera House and looked into the pitch-black office of the building. There looking out was the figure of a woman in Victorian attire.  Two of the participants actually got the “spirit” on their phone cameras.

And then there was the time a woman and her young son from out of town came to look at an apartment.  They were totally unfamiliar with Boyertown and never heard of the fire of 1908. However, her son became hysterical and refused to go into the building. When asked what upset him so, he referred to the smoke and people running down the stairs and screaming. They did not take the apartment.

Another story: In the 1930s a Greek family owned a soda fountain on Philadelphia Avenue near the railroad tracks.  On a trip to Philadelphia, the family was hit by another car, and their 4-year-old daughter was killed.

Years later, in the apartment above the E. Kenneth Nyce, Attorney at Law, building, a father, mother and their daughter resided. The daughter had an imaginary playmate named Ginny. Her parents weren’t concerned about their daughter until she grew older and still talked with Ginny. They sought professional counsel when eventually they discovered the story of that Greek family (across the street) and their daughter named Virginia. Ginny, Virginia?

One more story in my series to come in the final installment.

Column submitted by Sandra Moser of Boyertown who researched and wrote a four-part series on paranormal activities on the Philadelphia Avenue corridor in Boyertown related to the 1908 Rhoads Opera House fire, stories that she claims are factual, not made up for publicity.