Personal/ Public

The Malt House Theatre 42° 40' N, 88° 11' W

Burlington is home to the Malt House Theatre. In the basement of the Hayloft Theatre, there is an entrance to the tunnels. The entire city has tunnels underneath it that, to this day, were then used for harboring runaways and getting them to safety. These tunnels come out all over town, in the basements of businesses and residential homes alike. The theater that was built back in the early 1800s is creepy enough before knowing there are tunnels that people could come out of at any time. During the summer, I spend a lot of time at the Hayloft, painting backdrops for shows, which often means I'm there alone. One day while I was there alone, a man drove up, got out and went down in to the tunnels. He was gone the entire time I was painting. Instead of locking up like usual, I left the basement open for him to come out later. I left for home, passing my old house (which was a house connected to the tunnels) on the way. Standing in the yard was the same man who had gone down in to the tunnels at the Hayloft. When I had lived at my old house, the door to the tunnels had never once been opened. It was the creepiest moment of my life.