AMERICUS — According to encyclopedia.com, the definition of a ghost is, “...a spiritualistic manifestation of a person or object in which a form not actually present is seen with such intensity that belief in its reality is created.”

The Rylander Theatre in Americus has such a spirit according to at least two residents of Americus and Kathleen Walls’ book, “Georgia’s Ghostly Getaways.”

“We don’t know who the ghost is,” said vice-chairman of the Rylander Authority, Kent Sole. “My theory is that (he) was a former manager. (It) doesn’t do anything in the theater — mostly stays in the lobbies and in the office area. It’s a friendly ghost.”

Sole went on to explain that the spirit’s main concern is the safety of the building; the ghost primarily makes sure that doors are locked.

“You can be in the theater by yourself and turn around and the door’s been locked where it had been unlocked, and (there have been times) when the certain door can only be locked with a key,” Sole explained.

“He’ll also come up behind you and put his hand on your shoulder,” Sole said.

Sole, in fact, experienced this at one point after the Rylander reopened in 1999. The theater closed in 1951 and sat vacant behind office buildings until 1995, when a local car dealership owner decided, after he realized what a significant part of the early 20th century the Rylander Theatre was, to invest in renovating the facility.

“He likes to make sure the theater is safe — he’s always behind you. I was alone in the theater,” Sole explained, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

When Sole turned around, no one was behind him or around him — Sole, in fact, realized, after searching the building, was sure that he was the sole individual in the Theatre at the time.

“To turn around, and not know what it is — it’s an eerie feeling,” he said.

Brooks Nettum, managing director of the Rylander Theatre, has also experienced the entity.

“Sometimes, I’ll go to unlocked doors, and they’ll be locked, and I don’t think that I have locked them,” Nettum explained. “I go to work at 6:30 in the morning when it’s still dark, and no one else is here. I’ll hear something. Every now and then I’ll look over my shoulder — I can’t put my finger on the feeling, but it’s something like how the book ‘A Widow for One Year’ (by John Irving) describes (the feeling) — it sounds like someone who’s trying not to make a sound. Every now and then, I’ll look over my shoulder.”

Nettum made it more clear by saying that sometimes, it is more of a feeling of a silent presence.

“But,” Nettum explained, “it’s not an evil feeling.”

Although Walls’ book does not tie down specific people who have experienced the phenomena, she does mention that people have experienced particularly cold spots in the theater itself, indicating to the spirit-friendly a specter is present. Also, Walls mentions that the lights, at times, flicker.