Cold Spot Chronicles

September 22, 2026

No lights, five cameras, and a quest for action…of the paranormal variety, of course. 

 

Last month USPR traveled to Watertown, Wisconsin to investigate the historic Towne Cinema. This site is home to reports of shadow figures, disembodied voices, and is even known for common sightings of who locals call “The Tan Man”, a well dressed, friendly regular who was alleged to have worked at the theater in the early to mid 19th century.

 

For this investigation, the team consisted of five members, plus some of the curious staff that decided to hang out and participate in the experience. We set up five cameras; one in each of the three theaters, one in the upstairs hallway, and one in the basement. We also used two digital audio recorders that were carried with each group. 

 

One of the most active tools that we used throughout the night was a trip wire that uses lights to signal EMF detection. There were some unexplained light indications in theaters one and two on multiple occasions, and at one point a shadow obstructed our view from a section of the tripwire. That happened specifically in theater one, the largest and oldest of the theaters, where several team members also heard odd shuffling noises and felt an overall stronger energetic presence. During our time in the same theater there was a radio malfunction that occurred in sync with the trip wire lighting up, but when we tried to recreate or debunk the experience by triggering other devices, it would not happen a second time.

 

Another popular method we used was the Estes method, a technique that involves sight deprivation and noise cancelling headphones that receive audio from a spirit box. While the majority of the team asks questions, one person listens to the spirit box only and speaks what they hear without any knowledge of the questions being asked around them. This method tends to provide some interesting feedback because the spirit box scans through radio waves so when we hear explicit words such as “F***”, or specific names are referenced (yes, both of these happened on this night), that tends to signal some alarm bells for us. 

 

If you want to hear more details or see what other odd findings come to light after combing through the evidence we’ve gathered, then stay tuned and follow our page for more! Remember, we’ll be back at the Towne Cinema on October 17th 2026 with gadgets, trinkets, and a presentation with a Q&A session before settling in for a cozy, comforting horror flick!

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Written by: Caitlin Weaver 2026