Las Vegas Academy of the Arts Main Theatre

The apparition at the Las Vegas Academy's main theater has been reported under varying accounts since the building opened. The figure is consistently described as an elderly man, well-dressed in clothing that reads as early- to mid-20th century. Staff and students call him Mr. Petre, though the origin of the name is unclear — some accounts say he was a man who lived on the property before the theater was built in the 1930s, others say he was a janitor or teacher who died in the building.

One version circulating among students holds that Mr. Petre fell into the orchestra pit and died there; another says his house stood on the land that was cleared for the school's expansion and burned down with him inside. These competing explanations are consistent with the oral transmission of building legends, where details blur over generations but the central figure persists.

The most frequently reported location for Mr. Petre's appearances is the theater itself when empty — the auditorium after rehearsal, the wings between performances. Teachers report seeing a man they did not recognize standing near the second-floor classrooms in the late afternoon, who was not present when approached. Doors have been reported slamming during performances with no mechanical explanation.

The second entity associated with the building is Will Lowden, son of benefactors Sue and Paul Lowden. Will died young, and piano music heard in the theater when no one is present has been attributed to him.

The campus's paranormal reputation has been covered by Las Vegas local news outlets and paranormal tour companies, and the Academy's theater history is included on some ghost tour itineraries of downtown Las Vegas.