History & local legend
The Strand Theater in Zelienople had an unusual way of acquiring a resident ghost: local students invented one. The Ghost of the Strand contest invited seventh- through twelfth-graders to write a short story, and the winning character became the theater’s official Halloween specter for the year.
Nightmare Tours guide Ron Carter explained the tradition during a KDKA visit in October 2015. Because each year brought a new winning story, the ghost’s identity changed. One memorable entry involved a person killed by buttered popcorn.
That same Halloween weekend, the Strand hosted a séance with the Amazing Kreskin, bringing another kind of supernatural performance to the stage.
