Woodstock Opera House

Illinois · United States · Theatre

Woodstock Opera House — Illinois · United States · Theatre

One balcony seat at the Illinois opera house is left empty at every performance. The staff call her Elvira, and they watch the staircase during auditions.

The Woodstock Opera House in Illinois keeps a seat in the balcony permanently unoccupied. It is left for Elvira at every performance, and the practice has held long enough that nobody argues with it.

She is seen rather than merely felt, which is unusual. Descriptions agree closely: a young woman with blonde hair falling below her waist, in what witnesses call a filmy dancing gown. She has been reported walking the corridors and standing at the upper windows looking out.

The part of the tradition that staff take most seriously concerns auditions. When young actresses are in the theatre trying out for a part, the staircase is watched. The reason given is that a girl will occasionally feel an overwhelming pull to climb it toward the open portals at the top, and staff attribute the impulse to Elvira. Every actress who has been found in that state has been drawn back from the stairs before reaching them. It is the only house rule of its kind we know of at an American theatre.

FAQ

Where is Woodstock Opera House located?

Woodstock Opera House is in Illinois, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

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