The building that houses the Town and Gown Theater does not seem especially prone to haunting.  Before becoming a theater, the structure served as an office and garage for an oil field service company.  (Of course, what had been on the land previously--and what prompted the owners to sell the building--are matters for future research.)  In 1962, the Town and Gown players stopped performing at Oklahoma State University’s student union and moved in.  Their very first production in the current location could be seen as almost an invitation to the supernatural.  They performed Bell, Book, and Candle, a comedy involving witchcraft.

Since then, reports of ghostly activity have become frequent enough that some have speculated about whose spirit might be lingering here.  Joyce Cox, for instance, is quick to mention Barbara Lee Freed.  Barbara, one of the theater’s founders who made the move into the current building, died in 1988.  Joyce remembers Barbara as a very dedicated but rather discriminating volunteer who now “looks down upon us.  And when we’re not doing something she approves of, she lets it be known by appearing in some sort of way.”  In fact, Barbara’s memorial service was held at the theater.  Among the theater’s files of newspaper clippings, photos, and play programs lies a picture of what is described on the back as her “funeral set.”

Memorial services have been held more than once at the theater.  Judy McCurry is another volunteer whose contributions were honored in this way.  In 1997, Judy was cast in The Man Who Came to Dinner.  After the first weekend of performances--she passed away suddenly.  Another actress had to step in to complete the show’s second weekend.  Does the “unfinished business” of playing her part for the full run of the show draw her spirit back to Town and Gown?

Some say there are several ghosts here, and photos taken by Susan Weber give us some visual evidence of this.  An Internet search for “ghost orbs” can reveal that digital pictures taken at cemeteries or haunted houses frequently exhibit translucent spheres, balls of light that go unseen by the naked eye.  These might be explained as blurred specks of dust or light refractions in the camera’s lens, but some claim these orbs appear only in the shots they take at places where ghosts are reported.  Likewise, Susan says she only gets orbs in pictures she takes at Town and Gown.  Two shots in particular, one of the cast of Twelve Angry Men and another from Seeing Stars in Dixie, display multiple ghostly orbs.  Exactly what these are, no one can say for sure.  Their association with haunted surroundings, though, is well documented.