Ghostly Michigan landmark abandoned a century ago to finally be revived

HOWELL, MI - As soon as you step through the doors of this historic Michigan landmark, it’s as if you walked through a portal taking you back to the late 1800s.

From the eerie echoing of the creaking wooden floors and the peanut shells scattered by theater goers more than a century ago, to the colorful stage curtains coated with a century’s worth of dust, the inside of the Howell Opera House is a living time capsule.

And soon, it will be meticulously restored with full productions once again taking place inside this space where the likes of magician Harry Houdini and music educator Lulu Vere Childers are believed to have graced the stage.

Built in 1881, the curtain closed at the Howell Opera House theater in 1925, shut down by the fire marshal for being a fire hazard, with walls made