Friday, the Haunted Tour came back to the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St.

Willy Adkins, Illinois Ghost Tours founder, led a tour of paranormal activity in the 82-year-old theatre. The Northern Star caught up with Adkins to talk about the tour and other ghostly matters.

Northern Star: Why host the tours at the Egyptian?

Willy Adkins: My grandmother’s very first job was at the Egyptian Theatre. I’ve always had some kind of attachment to it; and, it being a local jewel of the community, I’ve always had a huge interest in it. And it does have pretty amazing stories to go along with it.

NS: What is the haunted tour? From what I understand, it’s not your typical haunted house.

WA: You’re taking an actual tour, a walking tour. We fill you in on historical and paranormal history surrounding the theater…After that, we will break everyone up to investigate using all the typical paranormal gear that you see on television (and other little tools you might not know)…It’s not like a haunted house where it’s something scary. This is more trying to communicate with grandma or grandpa. It’s a very friendly atmosphere. The hauntings are very friendly as well.

NS: Is there anything new coming to the haunted tour this time around?

WA: It’s always new! You never know exactly what you’re going to experience when you go into these situations.

NS: Now, a couple more personal questions. I hear that you have a character named “Mr. Willy,” can you tell us a little about him?

WA: The Mr. Willy character came to be for a music group called the DiAmorte’. I was booked as a drummer for the group eight days before they played at the Chicago Horror Film Festival. Basically, it was like vampire theatrics onstage that took place during a gothic-metal type show… And [the character] has been brought in as an event host. We’re working on a feature length film to give more of a back-story on him.

NS: So, I saw that in your credits is something called “Ghost Humpers.”

WA: Ghost Humpers is the result of one filmmaker saying to another on a Friday evening, “What are you doing tomorrow? Do you want to make a movie?” Quite honestly. It is probably the worst movie I will ever make, without it being on purpose, but it has entertainment value at the same time.

NS: What’s the plot?

WA: It’s kind of a psychological comedy thing. The main character’s name is Fay, and — (laughs) I’m sorry. It’s just so hard to explain this movie. It doesn’t even make a lot of sense to me, honestly. But [Fay] is haunted by something, and they assemble this paranormal team to investigate it. They have this FLIR camera, and they keep catching spirits humping people … We got it all shot in 48 hours, which is pretty cool, but it’s the worst movie I’ll ever make.

NS: Well to wrap up, can you tell me why you think people should come out to future Haunted Tours?

WA: Well, because I’m there, and you never know what you’re going to find at the Egyptian. I’ve been doing this for three years, and I’m thoroughly entertained every time I go, still. As somebody who is buried in paranormal, almost for a living, it’s one of my favorite places to go.