The Falk Theatre, once known as the Park Theatre, is a live concert and performing arts center in Tampa, Florida.
The theater first opened its doors in 1928.
For many years, Falk was used to film movies and vaudeville shows.
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The Most Engaging Theater of University of Tampa
Updated 2/10/2020 – The theater slowly evolved its purpose, and started to host live performances and events.
Now owned and operated by the University of Tampa, the theater can hold as many as 1,281 guests, and always hosts many events throughout each year.
Despite the numerous attractions, there are many locals who fear the Falk Theatre.
An aspiring actress by the name of Bessie Snavely is said to have committed suicide inside the theater.
Rumor has it that she was found hanging by her neck in her dressing room on the third floor.
Some have claimed to have seen the spirit of Bessie when attending an event at the theater.
Oncoming freshman Hillary had never heard of the haunting before volunteering to work at the theater outside of her class schedule.
Unsure of what to major in, Hillary vowed to get involved with many recreational activities on campus to see what interested her most.
And things started getting strange immediately.
“The night after I had signed on to volunteer at the Falk, I had the strangest dream,” Hillary recalled.
“I was backstage, wandering through the props when I opened a door to storage area.
“A woman was resting, but slowly turned to look at me when I opened the door.
Somehow my dream self knew that the woman I encountered was dead, and that she should not have been able to look at me.
I woke up in my dorm room, covered in a cold sweat,” Hillary said.
Was It Really Only a Nightmare…?
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“It was creepy, to be sure, but I didn’t really think anything of it, until I stumbled upon the exact same room a month after I started volunteering.
I was, admittedly, unnerved, but by that time the department was relying on me, and I didn’t want to let them down.
Besides, how in the world would I explain why I needed to quit volunteering?
“A few days later, one of the drama professors asked someone to take some clothes up to the third floor dressing room.
Everyone around me shuffled nervously and looked down at their feet.
I thought they were just being stupid and lazy so I volunteered for the task.
“I grabbed the clothes and slowly made my way up the stairs.
I ambled to the dressing room and opened the door with my hip.
My arms were so full I couldn’t grab for the light switch at first—and that’s why I saw the figure.
“It was just a silhouette…but I could tell it was a woman in a long dress, soaked with blood, and her feet dangled in the air as she swung from side to side on a thick rope, tied up somewhere in the ceiling.
“The image was terrifying, and I no longer cared about doing my job, I just needed to get out of there quickly.
I threw the clothes into the room and ran down the hall, down the steps.
By the time I arrived back to the stage, I had somewhat managed to convince myself that what I saw had been a trick of the light.
“But as my professor asked me what was wrong, I looked towards the empty seats, and I saw the same woman sitting near the back.
I screamed my head off, and immediately fainted on stage.
The next day I stopped volunteering and I started to pursue a business degree from Tampa.”