Is St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater haunted?
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Fitzgerald Theater is the oldest, active theater in St. Paul — but is it also haunted?
"It's a magical thing to have a little time box that captures the history of art and entertainment here in the city," said Ashley Ryan with the Fitzgerald Theater.
For nearly 115 years, the Fitzgerald in downtown St. Paul has been a destination, featuring opening and closing acts of all kinds.
"We get opera, we get ballet, we get rock 'n' roll, we get folk music," said Dan Zimmermann, an engineer at the theater.
Names of actors and singers can be found on the famous Fitzgerald bricks. Of course, the Prairie Home Companion show has also had quite a run.
"Paul Simon was one of the first guests he had on. That was just an amazing thing. Paul was great to work with," said Zimmermann.
The performers make the headlines, but it's the people behind the scenes who make the history. That includes an old theater worker, who simply went by the name "Ben."
"He was a stagehand. He had his red toolbox that he carried around all the time," said Zimmermann.
Ben retired half a century ago, and later died, but some believe he never left. Zimmermann said that became a little more apparent during a renovation in 1985, when an architect discovered a hidden door in the first balcony.
"He said 'guys, there's a second balcony up here.' At that time for the movie theater, they had put in a false ceiling from the front of the second balcony to the top of the proscenium," said Zimmermann.
"Within that they found some mysterious — not remains — but mysterious little remnants of the past," said Ryan.
That included an old note addressed to Ben which workers took. Nobody knows what it said, but some believe the discovery stirred Ben's spirit. Employees have reported seeing his ghost in that second balcony when the theater is closed. Audience members have also described getting help from a nice man upstairs.
"Whoever you put me up there with was really helpful. We didn't put you up there with anybody. That's sort of the raised eyebrows and the feelings of - oh, I talked to somebody," said Ryan.
"Some performers when they come, ask about it. Some audience members too. It's definitely out there," said Zimmermann.
So are reports of Vaudeville Veronica- a performer from the theater's early days. Some workers have said they've heard her singing when the Fitzgerald is supposed to be closed. It's possible proof that even when the theater goes dark, the show goes on.
"There's always another layer behind the stories too because this is a place where stories are told. This sort of helps propel this along, but of course, I think a theater should be haunted," said Ryan. "Why not?"
Past theater workers have also described having their tools mysteriously moved while they were working on a project. They believe Ben's ghost is responsible.
