Welcome to the Haunted Hall
Escape Quest moves into the LSPU Hall for special shows
From Aug 22 to Aug 26, Escape Quest will be moving into the LSPU Hall for a special “Ghosts of the LSPU Hall” event.
Participants will have the chance to explore the LSPU Hall, and to find out why some say it is the most haunted building in St. John’s.
Escape rooms are a relatively new form of entertainment. Escape Quest in St. John’s sends groups into thematic rooms filled with obstacles, locks and clues.
The group must work together to solve each problem, in order to escape the room before the clock runs out.
This week, the goal will be to expel all of the ghosts from the LSPU Hall.
“It has a rich history of haunting,” said Mike Hammond, box office and Facilities manager at LSPU Hall.
Hammond and a co-worker were participating in an escape room last year, when they started chatting with the staff about collaborating on an event.
Hammond has been working
at the LSPU Hall for three years, and although he has never had a paranormal experience himself, he told The Telegram that some of his co-workers have.
“My boss was downstairs, and the technicians were upstairs,” said Hammond. “They all heard a scream, and started running, and ended up meeting in the middle. Nobody knows where the scream came from, and it happened in the middle of the day.”
This will be the second year for Ghosts of the LSPU Hall event. Managing operating partner of Escape Quest, Kevin Noseworthy, said that last year they had their own eerie experience.
“There was a woman in one of the dressing rooms by herself,” said Noseworthy. “Suddenly, I heard a scream.”
“I was terrified. I thought she had tripped or hurt herself, so I ran in. When I reached her, she was laughing saying how the sound effect we played was so scary,” said Noseworthy. “We didn’t play any sound effects.”
Stephen Barnes has been exploring the history, legends and folklore of Newfoundland for about 50 years.
He told The Telegram about some of his recent research into the history of the LSPU Hall.
“In the late 1780’s it was a church, which burned down in a fire in 1817,” said Barnes. “Another church was built on the same land, and burned down again in the Great Fire of 1892.”
“Since it was a meeting hall, a church and a theatre, there was always so much activity,” said Barnes. “And although there have been many renovations over the years, the outside always looks pretty much the same.”
Barnes said that legend has it, that some of the people who spent a lot of time in hall, still return as ghosts.
For more information about the event you can visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/341106716302214/