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Secrets Of Centennial Hall Theatre

Centennial Hall is home to two ghosts; one is a young Spanish man from the Colonial Period of Tucson's history and is dressed entirely in black, and a female ghost that prefers the classic long, billowing dresses of the 1890's. Sounds from a piano can often be heard late at night as well as the seemingly muffled conversations taking place in many of the empty rooms.

"There are reports of two ghostly entities inhabiting Centennial Hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona," said Jonathan Holden with U A Presents at the University of Arizona. Centennial Hall has been around for over seventy years and it seems the ghost stories go back that far.

"One of the ghostly entities reported here is a woman completely dressed in her 1890's Victorian era clothing who pushes theatre customers on stairways and in open areas. She is wearing a late 1800's shirt with a high collar; the cameo pendant that was the style of that time; her hair pinned up as they did during the entire 1800's.

It's often reported that she is always seen exclusively at classical performances at the theatre. Holden said actors have also often reported hearing noises directly above them while they were on the stage.

"A male entity dressed entirely in black, in his 20's has often been reported lurking around backstage and he is frequently been seen up in the catwalks overhead. He has been heard to be making horse like whining noises." Holden adds, "There's an old adage that says every good theater that has live performances has ghosts."

That just might be true as five months ago at the theatre, an employee had the most recent of the many reported ghost encounters. Herb Stratford, public information officer for the theater said the employee, a projectionist, noticed a ball of tape suddenly started to move on a counter.

"All of a sudden it started to crinkle, like somebody was grabbing it. He (the employee) said out loud, 'If you're going to play with it, then play with it.' The employee then saw [the ball of tape] roll across the table and back," said Stratford.

That's not all; something was manipulating equipment in the seventy seven year old theater.

Stratford said, "We'd come in the next day and the lens would be all the way screwed out; something that requires a tool," he said.