If we are to believe a paranormal team sent to investigate, the historic Route 66 Movie Theater in downtown Webb City, Missouri, is haunted by a spirit named Zach.
Here’s the story posted on KOAM-TV:
The team that did the investigation was Four States Paranormal, which does work in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
I tried once to narrow down the five most haunted places on Route 66, which you can read here. However, since the list was made, the Spook Light near Quapaw, Oklahoma, has been nearly completely debunked by a prominent author as a paranormal phenomenon and exists as a natural one instead — namely, the bouncing light is caused by car headlights from a distant Route 66.
Another thread about ghost stories on the Mother Road can be read here. The Legends of America site also keeps a ghost listing here.
Not to besmirch the paranormal group’s motivations, but I remain highly skeptical of such ghost stories or attempts to communicate or detect with them — presuming these ghosts exist at all.
The theater, formerly the Newland Hotel, opened in 1945. It closed for a while, then reopened in 2005 when Scott and Nancy Hutson bought the property. It shows first-run films.
(Image of the Route 66 Movie Theater in Webb City by jawsawthat via Flickr)