THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Orchestra Hall is associated with the spirit of conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch, with reports of phantom music, footsteps, voices, cold spots and unusual smells inside the historic concert hall.
Detroit’s Orchestra Hall opened in 1919 and is home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Its best-known ghost story concerns former conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch, who played a central role in the hall’s early history. Staff and visitors have described unexplained footsteps, voices, cold spots, unusual smells and music heard when no performance is taking place. The identification of the spirit is traditional lore, while the reported phenomena remain anecdotal.