Haunted Theatres

Keep it clean and ... spiritual. ;-) :lol:

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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I've spent many nights working alone at Old Mill, right through until daylight, and am disappointed to report NO strange goings-on at all. Perhaps any lurking spirits kept a low profile in case I gave them some work to do!

Per Ardua Ad Astra

I agree Tim it's all a load of rubish that's perpetuated by scops & as about as mythical as the biggest money spinner of all derived from moots;- the bible!

Like you I have worked in a lot of venues on my todd overnight, but yet to actualy see an apparition, specter or whatever. Beyond Peppers Ghost & the illision of the transposition of light on a scrim.

It all makes for good theatre by adding to the colour & the historical value of the fabric of the venure.

Gawd we are becoming as bad as the yanks, with thier gizmos to generate money from gullable yoyo's, but it can add &/or enhance story lines.

The most active "Haunted" theatre I have ever been in was the Old Stirling Players theatre once located off Cedric Street. Sadly, that was pulled down to allow a somewhat gregarious Council Office.

Garrick Theatre has a few stories and I can show you a few photos with interesting 'Orbs' in them...

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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Oh, I'm not saying that I think it's ALL a load of rubbish, Joe...just that nothing has ever manifested itself at the Old Mill during my presence there. There have been three occasions in my life when I've experienced phenomena that absolutely, positively defy rational explanation...two of them extremely frightening. I remain completely open-minded to the possibility (indeed, leaning towards probability) that paranormal phenomena is real. There's a lot more to the universe and human spirituality than we will ever understand.

Per Ardua Ad Astra

It's good you have an open mind Tim, but as a wee bloke growing up in pohmy theatre, it became easier to accept the unexplaned phenomina as a manipulated happeing, accidental or sheer illiusion. To me it's a kin to phsychics, mind readers, reading tealeaves, glass balls, faces &/or messages in the embers of a fire. That's all it is a way to make money.

There was supposed to be one called "old George' at the Patch' Theatre when it was in Williams Street perth years ago. Strange things would happen as he was said to be in the lighting box, which was back stage. but I believe it had more to do with dodgy wiring, electrics & I think possibly a bod called georgio from the Greek Deli.

Contrary to Tim Prosser's experiemce, I am sure there is a 'ghost' at Old Mill Theatre. It seems to be non-threatening tho. I am often there late at night and while I agree with Jeff that all theatres are spooky at night and alone, it's different feeling to wondering what the usual creaks and odd noises are. (And NO, I'm discounting the rats)

If there is  not indeed one yet, I imagine there could well be soon  with the earthly passing of our founder!

Sorry Steve, Tim & others. I don't mean to knock your posts, experiances or endeavours.

But I'm a complete sceptic or peptic even when it's happened to me & write it off as easily explained!Although the last time it happened a few years ago, it did make me stop & think about the MacB'th bit of there being "more in heaven 'n earth - Horatio".

I was dropped of home in the late afternoon after working at Phoenix theatre all day, I had forgotten to take my house keys & had to wait on the back patio for my wife & son to come home.

I nodded off sitting at the table out the back, then woke up with a start, to find someone leaning over  peering at me face to face! I jumped up with a start & said 'Erh g'day who are you"?, he smiled & just stood there. My heart was in my gob & had no clue what to do other than to look at him for a fair while. After a few minutes he just acknowledged me with a wave & I'm sure he actualy left by evaporating through the asbestos dividing fence. I climbed up on the chair to check the other side of the fence & he was not there? Except for the women next door sitting in her wheelchair reading a magazine in the sun. I said hello to her then stopped myself explaining why I was looking over the top of the 6' fence, because I know it would have freeked her out.

I can still descibe the bod being of short skinny statue, oval face with dark short back & sdes hair,  how he was dressed in a scungy dark blue canvas shirt & shorts. So I sat down again & had a quick couple of blasts of my inhaler 'n another smoke or two to calm down.

Then it dawned on me I was a sleep at the time so I must have of been day dreamimg & a pathetic old fart!.

Love the story. Question is Were you asleep? really?

I was visited by my Grandmother on the evening after her funeral. I could have been asleep then yet it was unlike any 'dream' I have ever had. However, that is not the only experience...

My cat of some years back still follows me around. When he passed, I was in the UK walking through Cornish Hills. I swear that I saw and felt him walking along with me. My parents decided that I should not be told as it "may have upset me." It wasn't until about a week later when my OTHER grandmother (still alive) got fed-up and told me. Thing was, I already guessed that was why I had seen and felt him on the hills, and there was no way I was asleep.

My wife, while we were still dating, knew that I had once had a cat, but had never seen pictures nor been told detailed stories about him. When we were at my childhood home, she saw a cat sitting on a low-set aircon, and then it vanished. She described my cat exactly and even 'saw' him in his favourite sitting position. Again, fully awake.

I could go on, but I shan't.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

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Jeff, you've reminded me of an incident involving an Air Force roommate of mine. This friend, Paul, was prone to talking in his sleep, usually in fluent Welsh, although he maintained that he couldn't speak it normally. One night he sat up and was jibbering away very excitedly and I asked what was the matter. He pointed towards the end of his bed and said, in English, "He's right there! Can't you see him?"

"Who's there, Paul?"

"He's right there looking at me! Why can't you see him?"

"I can't see anyone, Paul. Go back to sleep".

Paul laid back down and went straight back to sleep. Next day he received a letter from his mother and turned white while reading it. "My grandfather's died back in Wales...I saw him last night!"

Per Ardua Ad Astra

That is truly freaky. Nice one Tim.

Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)

Jeff Watkins

Looking for an Agent? Read this first!!

I could tell of things that I have personally experienced, but I fear it would be drifting away from the topic of haunted theatres and, unfortunately, I cannot say I've seen anything in one. Suffice to say, though, that I'm a believer.

Per Ardua Ad Astra

I must of been a sleep jeff, but sometime later talking to Mandy next door & she asked me why I was checking out the fence? So I reluctantly told her what happened. She didn't want to know any more about spooks! However she told me that aboriginies aviod the house & would walk away from the property if they passed. So she asked them why they always crossed the street then crossed back, after they had passed the house? They told her it was haunted & they refused to go near it!

  But to me it  was all so much 'my eye 'n Mary Martin'.

I also checked my medication in the Webster Packs after it happened & I hadn't missed taking any.

Gawd know I'm starting to remember when I was a kid, working at the Grand Theatre on Byker Bank in Newcastle upon Tyne UK.

In the dundgeon beneath the stage, if the 'Piss Pots' [Water dimmers] were switched on for whatever reason. A darkened image would apear as a depression in the bricks of the dungeons upstage wall. The story goes it was the ghost of one of the workers, 'wee Geordie', who installed the electric lighting back in the late 1800 & He was testing the water dimmers. As the water level was getting low & as there was no water available, being a Canny he used what was at hand & pissed into the water pot to top it up, resulting in him being  impailed on the back wall & some what crispy fried. {They even added a verse to the old geordie song of the 'Lampton Worm', }

The bricks in the dungeon walls being 'Cowen Fire Bricks', which were a light fawn Blaydon Clay in colour, so any shadow or depression was easly visable.

 {Blaydon Brick Company was owned by one of ansestors Joseph Cowen, which was started up by his Dad Sir Joseph Cowen. Joe jnr owned The Newcatle Brewary, Chronicle Newspaper & built the Tyneside Theatre & Opera house on Westgate Road Newcastle,. Where the City 'n folk of the 'Toon' erected a monument to him - But that's all another story!.}

Sure enough when the wall was checked after the performance or the next day, the shadow & imsge was gone?

Being a wee bloke I soon realised later it was a shadow cast by the newell post on the dungeon stairs, when the lights were switched on. But I never worked out how the depression in the brick wall was achieved?

Steve why not contact Ivan King [curator] at 'His Majesty's Theatre for the Maj's Museum Of Performing Arts.

I'm sure Ivan at 'MOPA'would be able to tell a few stories & possibly have actual defined info about spooks in Perth local theatres. http://www.hismajestystheatre.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=286

I have heard a few stories back in the 70's especialy about hearing a hand bell in the dress Circle at on about a few minutes to 10pm.

There was always stories floating around of the ghost of 'Old Mick' [Erik Edgley of the performing team of brothers (Edgeley & Dawe)] who owned the theatre. He used to lean over the balcony ringing a hand bell  & calling out to the audiance "Last drinks gentlemen please". To signal closing time of the hotel bar which was interconected to the theatre thru an iron door. He would do this every night & invarably stop the show, while the male punters trooped out into the bar & returned to thier seats after the bars 10pm closing time.