Belasco Theatre

Posted: 11.15.2015 | Updated: 03.12.2025

Broadway is to Manhattan what Hollywood is to Los Angeles, thanks to its Great White Way. This section of the city is known for its rows of theater venues and advertising billboards, where countless entertainment icons got their start. But there is one theater that stands out from all the rest due to its chilling reputation — The Belasco Theatre.

Its spacious interior filled with stunning grandeur provides a unique experience for ticket goers, along with a couple of otherworldly guests, known to leave staff with chills when working after hours. 

The living aren’t the only reason NYC never sleeps. Visit our website today, and join NYC Ghosts for a chilling ghost tour through some of New York City’s most haunted sites! We may even offer a tour near you! Don’t forget to also check out our blog for more spine-tingling stories from America’s spookiest locations. 

Is the Belasco Theatre Haunted?

No performer hears of the Belasco Theatre without getting chills, thanks to its haunting reputation. Frightening occurrences have left performers and staff afraid to be alone, especially after hours. For the skeptical, one need not look any further for proof than up at the box seat section when taking in a show at the Belasco. 

History of the Belasco Theatre

Broadway was first known as Wickquasgeck Trail, a natural trail stretching vertically through Manhattan that was used by the island’s early Native American tribes. Its name changed to Gentleman’s Street when Dutch colonists arrived to create New Amsterdam. It was changed once more when the British took over. New Amsterdam was renamed New York and Gentleman’s Street became what we know it by today – Broadway. 

Many of the city’s theaters were nothing more than red-painted wooden houses. However, as Manhattan continued to develop well into the early 20th century, more of them became established in brick and mortar locations. They naturally found themselves concentrated in one district that Broadway runs through: the theatre district, more popularly known as Times Square.

Located between 42nd and 53rd street, it was dubbed “The Great White Way,” from when it was one of the first roadways lit with electric lights in the 1890s. It was truly a magical scene by 1907, and brightly lit arc lamps made the night come alive among the cacophony of voices.

Illuminated billboards advertised any number of entertainment venues within walking distance: vaudevilles, silent pictures and Broadway variety shows.

David Belasco

Among the many theaters adorning this scene was the Stuyvesant Theatre, which was renamed the Belasco Theatre in 1910. It was owned by David Belasco, an eccentric man who dressed as a Catholic priest despite being Jewish by birth and not an official practitioner of any religion. He lived in a duplex above the theater with the decor of a Gothic church. One doesn’t have to wonder why he was nicknamed the “Bishop of Broadway.” 

After Belasco’s death, the Shubert Organization took over the theater in 1948. The theatre still stands under the organization’s ownership today. Although many say Belasco didn’t officially give up his control, even in death. 

Hauntings Overview

David Belasco’s spirit is still believed to haunt the halls of his beloved namesake theater, despite being chased away for a few decades by a nude performance of Oh! Calcutta!

Witnesses claim to have seen a shadowy figure sitting in one of the box seats every show. Some have even said that afterwards, they shook hands with his ghostly figure, noting the traditional priestly cassock he was wearing. 

Belasco’s lingering spirit is also known for being his usual traditional homebody as he was in life. Staff can hear the shuffling of dancing feet accompanied by old-time Jazz coming from his former duplex upstairs despite it being locked. Authorities in the past have gone up to look for intruders, only to see that nothing, not even the dust, had been disturbed.

Another story quoted from the Times stated that a dog would growl at an invisible figure in the theater every day at precisely 4 p.m. 

The Lady in Blue

David Belasco may not have been as “priestly” in life as his notable wardrobe would have you believe. In fact, it’s said he had a mistress who was a showgirl at his theater, until one night she fell to her death in an elevator shaft. The circumstances surrounding her death remain unknown.

Since then, staff have seen the elevator operate on its own. Her ghost has also been seen sitting in one of the box seats taking in a final dress rehearsal; unusual considering the doors leading to these seats are locked. 

Nonetheless, performers have continuously seen her spirit described as having blonde hair and wearing a blue dress. Actress Laura Linney has even admitted to seeing the lady in blue sitting in the balcony during one of her performances – a moment that converted her to a ghost believer. 

Haunted NYC

New York City is a city filled with spirits around every corner that call out. Their haunting echoes fill the air underneath the city’s pulsating nightlife. Some are even so bold as to dwell among the living, and what better place than Broadway. 

Known as New York City’s most haunted theater, the Belasco Theatre exudes a feeling of eeriness. Its halls are filled with the lingering presence of its former owner, and a show girl whose death remains shrouded in mysterious circumstances. But as the saying goes, the show must go on, and in the case of these two ghostly figures, even after death. 

Step out from the lights of Times Square, and into the shadows of New York City’s most haunted sites with NYC Ghosts! Visit our website today, and join us on an unforgettable ghost tour through the Big Apple that will leave you with goosebumps for years to come. Be sure to also read our blog and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuGKPFzy5JI
• https://nyghosts.com/
• https://www.timessquarenyc.org/entertainment/belasco-theatre
• https://topviewtix.com/new-york/new-yorks-theatre-history-broadway#:~:text=Before%20%22Broadway%22%20became%20synonymous%20with,what%20is%20now%20Wall%20Street.
• https://shubert.nyc/about-us/
• https://www.nyctourism.com/articles/urban-legends-broadway/
• https://playbill.com/article/tales-by-the-ghostlight-with-patrick-page-the-phantom-of-the-belasco-theatre
• https://ny.curbed.com/2013/10/28/10182824/the-haunting-of-broadways-spirited-belasco-theatre