What is it about ghosts and theaters? There seems to be something about the excitement and intense emotions exhibited during a performance that encourages spirits to hang around, like afterlife groupies hoping to get invited backstage.
In my last post I talked about the ghosts who haunt the Theatre Royal Bath. However, ghostly apparitions haunt theatres throughout Britain. In the spirit of Halloween, I’ll describe a few more of Britain’s scariest theater ghosts, including the ghost of an English actor who was one of the most popular entertainers of the Regency era.
Four ghosts who haunt the Theatre Royal Brighton
This theater reportedly boasts not one but four ghosts, according to one newspaper account. There’s a Grey Lady, naturally, which seems to be a must-have apparition for old theaters in Britain.
This particular Grey Lady is assumed to be the ghost of Mrs. Elizabeth Nye Chart, who successfully ran the theater from 1876 to 1892, following the death of her husband. Actors, stage technicians and crew claim to have seen her.
The ghosts of a man and two children are also apparently roaming the halls.
But the most famous ghost associated with the Theatre Royal Brighton is that of Sarah Bernhardt.
The legendary French actress damaged her knee during a performance at the theater in 1894, an injury which may have led to the amputation of her leg in 1915.
That sounds like a good reason for her to haunt the place.
A ghostly nun at the Theatre Royal York
The Theatre Royal York has the distinction of being built on the site of a medieval hospital that was run by an order of nuns, so naturally one would expect nuns to haunt the theater as well.
And apparently that’s the case. Actors and others have seen a ghostly apparition in a soft grey habit with a white veil in the auditorium.
This Lady in Grey has a reputation as a benevolent spirit, however. Seeing her appear in the dress circle on the night of a performance is a good sign; it means the show will be a success.
The specter of a gifted clown at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Now we come to a couple of London’s most haunted theaters, including one that has been described as the most haunted theater on planet Earth — the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
At over 350 years old, this theater has witnessed thousands of performances, which translates to lots of opportunities for ghost legends to develop. Since 1663, the theater has been rebuilt four times on the same site, with the “modern” building standing today erected in 1812.
One ghost, known as the Man in Grey, wears the 18th century garb of a cloak (grey of course), a wig, and a tricorne hat. Witnesses say they’ve seen him walking around the theater’s upper circle before vanishing into a wall.
No one knows for sure who the Man in Grey might have been, but some think he’s associated with the skeleton that was found in a secret room at the theater that was discovered by builders in the 1870s.
The ghost of Joseph Grimaldi, beloved actor, dancer, and pantomime clown during the Regency period, also haunts the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, while over at the Theater Royal Haymarket the 19th century actor, theater manager and playwright John Baldwin Buckstone appears.
The performers and crew who have worked at London’s two Theatre Royals have many stories about witnessing ghost sightings and other paranormal events. For example, actors Patrick Stewart and Judi Dench, along with a long list of others, claim to have seen Buckstone’s ghost at the Haymarket.
Other London theater ghosts
Of course, these two Theatre Royals aren’t the only haunted theaters in London.
There is the terrifying severed head that appears at the Lyceum Theatre. A story goes that in the 1880s some theater patrons watching a performance from the balcony looked down over the auditorium below and saw the ghostly head laying on a woman’s lap.
Over at the Adelphi Theatre, 19th century actor William Terriss is blamed for all sorts of poltergeist activity. Terriss was stabbed to death by an extra at the theater’s stage door in 1897, which would be enough to make anyone carry a grudge into the afterlife.
Besides haunting the Adelphi, Terriss has also been seen at the London Underground’s Covent Garden station, which was built after his death. Perhaps he just wants a bigger audience for his ghostly appearances.
Finally, there’s Arthur Bourchier, an actor who died in 1927 and has reportedly stuck around ever since as a ghost. A popular actor especially noted for his Shakespeare roles, for many years Bourchier also managed the Garrick Theater. Now, apparently, he haunts it.
Sudden door slamming, electrical faults, knocking, unexplained television channel changes, floral scents associated with long-dead performers wafting through the air – these are examples of the paranormal events reported at the theaters.
Not Stephen King-level scary, but perhaps enough to make most people think twice about being alone in an old London theater at night.
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Sources for this post include:
- “Inside the world’s most haunted theatre,” by Andrew Dickson, The Guardian, October 29, 2015
- “The chilling stories of the 5 most haunted theatres in London,” by Andrew Walker, My London, January 30, 2021
- “La divine Sarah,” by Suzanne Hinton, French Brighton blog, March 25, 2018
- “Ghosts,” The Argus, February 2007
- “Grey Lady,” The York Ghost Merchants
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Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons