Haunted Belvidere Theatre in Central City, Colorado

This ghost story is from: www.thefencepost.com By Becky Talley

The Belvidere was the first opera house built in Central City in hopes of drawing acting troupes from New York to its stage. It was built by Henry Teller, a prominent man in Central City who became the first senator from Colorado and later, Secretary of the Interior under
President Chester Arthur. (Teller also now reportedly spends his days haunting the building.) The Belvidere was built in 1874 after a large fire swept through Central City burning down most of the structures.

Unfortunately for Teller, the Belvidere was not as successful as hoped and the present Opera House was built because the Belvidere was found to be too small.

The tour was seated in the audience section of the theatre, looking to the stage, as many done for over a century, as we listened to tales of the spirits that lurk in the shadows of the Belvidere.

Within the Belvidere, there was a bar and rooms where soiled doves plied their trade. A prominent figure in the bar was that of a woman named Kate, a woman who was facially disfigured in a bar fight.

Her ghost is reported to still haunt the establishment, though it has been a long time since it has served its last drink. In fact, a psychic was reported to have visited the theatre to try to establish contact with any soul who may have chosen it as its permanent home. The woman reported to have contacted as many as 45 spirits, according to the tour guides, one of which was a large woman with a disfigured face.

At this point in the tour, I suddenly realized how downright chilly the air was getting. The theatre itself had no heating, so the cool temperature was no surprise. However, the chills that were sweeping over me were not of the cold weather kind. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end and my skin was beginning to crawl. Now, let me tell you, feeling something like this is not pleasant. It is, in fact, downright eerie, and I was soon given a possible explanation for my sudden case of the heebie-jeebies.

The tour guide directed our attention to a section of a balcony about 10 feet to my right and just above my head. Apparently, I was closer to a ghostly site than I had intended to be, and it felt like the ghost was looking over the railing and right through me!

The guide related that this ghost has been identified as a woman named Flora or Florence and was once one of Big Nose Kate’s soiled doves who worked the rooms off the stage. Previously, a tour guide was able to make contact with her with the aid of dowsing rods, and the ghost related her bitter tale. Apparently, she claims that she was murdered by another one of the girls that worked the theatre. Possibly in an attempt to right her horrible death, she continues to this day to ask people for help from beyond the grave.

Another spirit is found in a back corner of the building (further away from my seat, thank goodness), and, according to communications with “Flora,” does not like visitors in the theatre. He is believed to be either a stage hand or director who feels very strongly about the building. The Belvidere was used for a movie theatre for a short time and the projector was put in the general area the ghost chooses to haunt. During this time, there was rarely a time when a movie would be played in its entirety without something going wrong with the projector. Did the machine have a little extra “help” from a projectionist from beyond the grave?

At this point in the tour, all of us ghost hunters were able to walk around the theatre and see what we could scare up. I steeled my nerves to make my way to the corner of the unfriendly man and Flora’s balcony.

Once I set foot on the stairs where the man is reported to be, I instantly felt a sense of dread. There was a little voice inside that not-so-calmly told me it may be time to rethink this whole ghost thing and leave while I still could. I felt like there was someone behind me on the stairs and even turned around several times to see if I was in someone’s way. Of course, when I turned around no one was behind me, so I decided leave that area and take my chances with Flora instead.

When I got to her favorite spot, I met a group of people standing in a circle. All had their hands in the center of the group and informed me that the air was colder there than anywhere else in the theatre. Being game, I stuck my hand in the circle and the temperature did feel colder, but what really creeped us all out was that the air felt like it was vibrating. Now, this building is drafty and we could have convinced ourselves that we felt something that wasn’t there, but no matter what the explanation, I knew it was time to get the heck out of Dodge. I stopped just short of plowing people over on my way to the door.

Others had the same experience. Tour participants Tricia Bergeron of Littleton and Barbara Padilla of Lakewood reported that they smelled something in Flora’s area. There have been no other reports of any scents around Flora’s balcony, but try to tell that to those few who did smell it! Barbara also reported to feel someone on the stairs, just like I did.

Once outside of the Belvidere and back into autumn air at the end of the tour, the hair on the back of my neck began to stand down. What a great way to spend a spooky October evening!

On my drive back down the mountain to home, I ran through the stories of the spirits who have chosen to stay on in Central City for eternity, and was joltingly reminded that there was one exception. John, the Opera House ghost, reportedly decided to give up his familiar settings to haunt a family at their home.

All at once I was set at unease again (the hair on my arms shot to the ceiling), and, though I felt silly, I quickly scanned my car for any ghostly passengers. Was I bringing anything home that I didn’t take with me to Central City? Was Flora riding shotgun in hopes that I could finally give her the help she so desperately seeks? Were those strange noises I heard in my house that night just a case of overactive imagination? I guess that may remain a secret that the ghosts of Central City will take to their graves, literally!