The Barter Theatre is Appalachian GhostWalks longest supporting partner in Abingdon, Virginia. Beginning with the production of our "Haunted Historic Abingdon GhostWalk" in 2004, former Artistic Director Richard "Rick" Rose agreed to allow us access to the building for a full investigation of the structure. Now a featured stop on the ghost tour of Abingdon for twenty years and running, the Barter Theatre has a fascinating history.
The earliest theatrical event known to occur at the Barter Theatre was a production of The Virginian on January 14, 1876, the proceeds of which were used for facilities and repairs. In 1890, the Sons of Temperance transferred the building's title to the Town of Abingdon, to be used as a town hall for the benefit of the citizenry. In addition to offices, the town used the building as a fire hall.
The Barter Theatre has been host to strange things which have happened in and around the building that some would attribute to the paranormal. For example, until 1994 a fire alarm was stationed on the roof of Barter Theatre and sounded as needed at any time, day or night. When the fire siren sounded during a Barter performance, the actors were instructed to freeze their position on stage and to resume the action when the alarm concluded.
While the "Haunted Historic Abingdon GhostWalk" goes into much greater detail about the buildings hauntings, many Barter actors and employees claim to have had many incidents of the unseen and the unexplained in the building!
Click Here to visit the Barter Theatre website for addtional information, show times, and online tickets.