Are there ghosts at Le Petit Theatre? Stories swirl around this century

When the curtain rises on a theater stage and a hush falls over the darkened seats, there's a moment in which reality and fantasy seem to merge.

That's when theatergoers might sense a presence . Or, some might say, a ghost.

Recently a reader queried Curious Louisiana about the spirits rumored to inhabit the oldest, most historic theater in New Orleans: Le Petit Théâtre de Vieux Carre, a 324-seat, 1922 venue in the French Quarter.

"Does Le Petit Theatre have … ghosts?" the reader asked.

The answer is yes. Yes, of course it does.

"John Grimsley, our technical director, has worked at the theatre on and off for a long while, and he is well versed in the ghosts and ghost sightings," Don-Scott Cooper, the producing executive director of Le Petit, wrote in a matter-of-fact email.

On a r