Life After Paranormals: Season 2, Episode 3

Paranormals put on a show for former Capitol Theater police officer Dave Murphy in "Capitol Theater Haunting."

How long has it been since you've seen any paranormal activity at the Capitol Theater?
The last I saw was in 2006, so about 6 years ago. I haven't been back to the theater in about a year and a half.

Had you had any paranormal experiences in the past?
Yeah, I'd seen things, but nothing like what I'd seen there. In 1982 I saw a cloaked figure standing at the foot of my bed. I'd been studying—I was in university back then—and I was listening to John Lennon's "Woman" and wondering why anyone would want to kill that man, when suddenly at the foot of my bed there was this figure. I didn't see arms but it must have had arms because they were outstretched. And then it disappeared.

Leading up to that I'd seen something in my parents' window and then I heard what sounded like a woman screaming. I ran upstairs and asked my Dad if he'd heard it, but all he said is "Are you crazy?" So I didn't bring it up again. My grandmother had claimed to see things, and so had my mother. Are we psychic? No clue. 

More recently, we were just on the Queen Mary and I got a great picture of a cloaked being. I'm not saying it's the same one, though.

Were you afraid of talking about what you'd seen in the theater, being in law enforcement?
It's true, you keep your mouth shut because it's a career killer. But so many other officers had had experiences there—when I was first on the force I was riding shotgun and the sergeant who was driving pointed to the theater and told me it was haunted. I said, "You're full of it," because I thought he was joking, but he got offended. Turns out, we were all told not to call dispatch if something happened at the theater because that place was haunted.

You mentioned you're writing a book about the theater?
Yes, there are a lot more stories about the Capitol Theater that have not been recorded before—a woman smelling burning flesh, a giant rope swinging on its own onstage. And pretty much anything that could happen has happened in that theater. So I just compiled stories from officers and the staff. It's sitting on my computer now; I just started a new job so I kind of have to keep it on the lowdown. But I tell people I know what I saw: a lady walking in front of me in turn-of-the 20th century clothes when no one else was in the building, that kind of thing. I'd taken the idea to a publisher and he told me it's a great story but it's only one facility—yeah, it's one facility, but it's affected so many people.