JANELLE PATTERSON The Marietta Times The Twin City Opera House under renovations Wednesday in McConnelsville is the subject of a recent episode of "Portals to Hell" on the Travel Channel.

And the focus? Paranormal portals in McConnelsville’s tallest building, the Twin City Opera House.

Hosts Jack Osbourne and Katrina Weldman were in McConnelsville last winter filming their show “Portals to Hell” in search of demons, ghosts and apparitions within the historic theater which was completed in 1892 after two years of construction.

They were greeted by Morgan County Commissioner Adam Shriver, who manages the venue and brings in acts, movies and events like last month’s youth Easter revival, but they were introduced to the rumored haunting of the building by Eric Glosser, a retired police officer who now coordinates ghost hunts in the theater after hours.

“Eric is our local expert, he does the research and coordinates with the private and public ghost tours,” said Shriver Tuesday. “We’re already getting so many more bookings of private ghost hunts since it aired.”

Jack Osbourne, left, and Eric Glosser stop for a photo in McConnelsville last December before hunting for ghosts in the filming of the Travel Channel show "Portals to Hell."

Twelve bookings were made within 24 hours of the Friday premiere, he said.

“I was always fascinated with the paranormal from listening to some of my mom’s stories,” Glosser explained Wednesday. “I have also seen many things that couldn’t be explained while a police officer.”

Glosser, 55, of McConnelsville, served as a police officer and sheriff’s deputy before retiring and teaching as a police academy instructor for 13 more years after active duty.

After retiring, he founded the United Paranormal Project in Ohio and created PARAEGLO Films and has directed and produced five paranormal documentaries to date.

In the episode, Glosser gives Osbourne and Weldman a tour of the theater and an overview of his past experiences on the catwalk, in the balcony, on the stage and in the basement below the stage, then the team set up equipment including night-vision security cameras, laser grids and frequency monitors.

They’re told of a stabbing in the ballroom in the early days of the theater, a heart attack in the seats and three names of potential beings who still haunt the place.

Redwine Robert Lowry, a stagehand from another age, Victoria, a performer from the opera house’s heyday, and an “evil” called Charlie are all highlighted in the 45-minute episode.

Then, using a Polaroid camera, the team spends additional nights investigating and trying to communicate with supposed beings haunting the halls.

“The filming was quite in-depth. The film crew was here for about a week, and Jack and Katrina were here for about four days,” said Glosser.

Shriver said the camera crews arrived in December, prompting the removal of some Christmas decorations for a week and the removal of some movie posters as well as pausing renovations.

“But they stayed in town and ate at our restaurants,” he said. “Is the title a little disconcerting for the local community? Yes, but I’ve worked here for 15 years and never seen anything or heard anything (paranormal).”

Glosser, on the other hand, said his experiences with the paranormal within the walls of the opera house were confirmed with the visit of Osbourne and Weldman.

Osbourne, son of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, has appeared in travel shows including BBC’s “Saving Planet Earth” and the A&E reality series “Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour.”

He also had a previous paranormal show titled “Haunted Highway” before the current “Portals to Hell” venture with Weldman.

Weldman started her career with “Paranormal State” and “Paranormal Lockdown.”

“I was impressed with the episode. They captured many of the same things that we capture,” Glosser said. “They also did the opera house justice by giving a great deal of history. They did exaggerate at the beginning when they said I was afraid to go into the building, but they needed to show a reason for them being there. I have been going there for 12 years now, and I am definitely not afraid to be in there.”

Tourism may see a boost thanks to the show–an increase Amy Grove, a board member of both the theater and the county convention and visitors bureau said she is excited for.

“When you have a limited number of venues you run the gambit on events, I guess we’re an equal opportunity venue,” she laughed. “But this is wonderful. I have a good friend who teaches at Ohio University, and one of the classes he does is certified interpreter training. The tours he does look at the history behind the mystery and why did that mystery develop. So maybe that will come here, too.”

The opera house can be rented out for private ghost hunts, said Glosser, but there’s also a public hunt coming up this summer.

“We currently have a public hunt scheduled for July 27,” he said. “It will run from 9:45 p.m. to 3 a.m.”

For more information, to book the venue or to purchase tickets for events visit twincityoperahouse.com.

How to watch:

• The show “Portals to Hell” will re-air the episode on the McConnelsville Twin City Opera House on the Travel Channel:

• Friday at 9 p.m.

• Saturday at midnight.

• May 17 at 8 p.m.

• May 18 at 3 a.m.

• The episode is also available on Youtube at https://youtu.be/3waaB2-FRzQ.

Source: Travel Channel and Adam Shriver.