Brief history: Although it was built as an opera house in 1896, the theater has served many functions over the years, including a movie house and a skating rink. By the 1940s, however, the building began to show its age and was used only for storage and was even scheduled for demolition. It was saved from that fate in the early 1960s by the Elkhart Civic Theatre company to rennovate and use for their performances.
Ghosts: The Bristol Opera House seems to have three spirits:
- A little girl, known as Beth, that looks out at the audience from behind a curtain at stage left during performances
- A middle-aged ghost called Helen, who has not been seen but only felt, and is regarded as a protective spirit from the third ghost
- Percival is the most active ghost and is thought to be the spirit of a handyman; he "borrows" tools and props, fools with the electrical system, and has even been seen by actors when he hangs around the women's dressing room; he also pulls on actors as they are trying to make their stage entrances.
