Elks Opera House

Staff and visitors at the Elks Opera House report unexplained voices, footsteps in empty hallways, lights turning on when no one is inside and glimpses of figures in period dress, and a theatre manager has described hearing faint operatic singing while alone in the building. A legend told by the Sharlot Hall Museum has employees leaving one evening after the 1981 remodel hearing tinkling glass and seeing the transparent form of a little girl swinging from the new chandelier. Legend tells of a Russian immigrant violinist, Professor Stanislaus Scherzel, who played classical music here each evening before the pictures began in 1912 and, depressed, is said to have shot himself one Sunday afternoon; the faint operatic singing is often linked to him. Built for Prescott's Elks Lodge and opened in 1905, the theatre staged plays, operas, concerts and boxing before turning to films from 1910 to 1983, and it has since returned to live performance. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.