The Paranormal Database

Captain

Location: Market Harborough (Leicestershire) - Harborough Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: The theatre is haunted by the spirit of a sea captain. The ghost is also said to have haunted the hotel which once stood on the site before the theatre was constructed. Though the spectre itself was not seen, a team of ghost hunters detected cold spots when they investigated the site in 2004.

Strangulation

Location: Matlock Bath (Derbyshire) - Grand Pavilion Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A presence in the basement is reputed to create the sensation of being strangled. The site is also said to be home to two phantom children.

Projectionist

Location: Maynooth (County Kildare) - Aula Maxima (theatre)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Thought to be a projectionist from the 1940s who fell to his death, this phantom is reputed to turn a particular chair around 180 degrees if he dislikes a production.

No Ghost

Location: Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) - Theatre
Type: Other
Date / Time: 2015
Further Comments: An attempt to start a rumour that the theatre was haunted transpired to be a publicity stunt for a production.

Fred

Location: Monmouth (Gwent) - Savoy Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The theatre is reputed to be haunted by an entity nicknamed Fred.

Organ Music

Location: Morecambe (Lancashire) - Royalty Theatre (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: During the demolition of this building some workers reported the ghostly sounds of an organ being played. The shopping centre that has replaced the theatre may have inherited the ghost, though no one can say for certain.

Oscar

Location: Motherwell (Lanarkshire) - Rex Cinema (was originally the New Century Theatre, but is no longer operational; currently a snooker club?)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: Though Oscar is no longer reported, during his stay here he had a reputation of scaring away usherettes who worked the late shifts.

Footsteps

Location: Newark (Nottinghamshire) - Palace Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Disembodied footsteps are said to permeate the darkness once everyone has left the theatre at night, and doors open and close as if an unseen person has passed through them.

Bob Crowther

Location: Newcastle upon Tyne (Tyne and Wear) - Tyne Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: The ghost that has been felt as it pushes past people is thought to be an actor killed when a stage prop travelling at high velocity landed on him. He also reportedly has a favourite seat, in which he is occasionally seen.

Royal Theatre, Northampton.

Grey Lady

Location: Northampton (Northamptonshire) - Royal Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: No theatre would be complete without at least one shade, and this female entity is blamed whenever the electrics play up or props are moved.

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich.

Black Robed Priest Celebrating Mass

Location: Norwich (Norfolk) - Maddermarket Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1920s
Further Comments: Once a church, the theatre is now known for the infrequent sightings of a spectral priest, though little has been seen or heard from the spirit since the 1920s. Another version of the story says the site is haunted by a procession of monks.

Edna

Location: Nottingham (Nottinghamshire) - Bonington Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1982 onwards
Further Comments: During the construction of the complex where the theatre stands, the skull and bones of a female were discovered. It is thought that the bones belonged to 'Edna', an active spirit who opens doors, moves items around, and can be heard walking around in parts of the building that should be empty.

Alarm

Location: NW1 (Greater London) - The New Diorama Theatre, Camden
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2021
Further Comments: Duty managers at the theatre have reported the door of the disability-access toilet locking itself, and the alarm being triggered, when the facility is unoccupied.

Harold Norman

Location: Oldham (Greater Manchester) - Colosseum Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Thursdays (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Accidentally killed in a mock sword fight while acting as Macbeth, Norham sometimes returns on a Thursday (the day he died) to try to figure out what happened.

Michael Jackson

Location: Outer London: Bromley (Greater London) - Churchill Theatre
Type: Other
Date / Time: 10 May 2014
Further Comments: Several news outlets reported on the photograph of 'Michael Jackson' manifesting near an impersonator which was snapped by a fourteen year old boy, although the entity is more likely to be lens flare.

White Nun

Location: Oxford (Oxfordshire) - Oxford Playhouse
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: The psychical remains of the nunnery that once stood here manifest in the form of a white nun that floats around the building with a thin veil covering her face.

Crushed Children

Location: Paisley (Renfrewshire) - Area around the Piazzia
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the buildings in this area was once a theatre. During a performance, smoke was spotted which made the audience, mostly children, try to escape what they believed to be a fire. It turned out to be a false alarm, but unfortunately several children were crushed to death in the stampede. Their shades are now reported to lurk in the area, still dressed in old clothing.

Grey Lady

Location: Perth (Perth and Kinross) - Perth Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 29 September 2017
Further Comments: A photograph taken shows what appears to be a misty grey figure standing in a balcony while workmen carry out restoration work below. The theatre is reputedly home to a grey lady who wears period clothing, and to the smell of old tobacco smoke.

Mary

Location: Plymouth (Devon) - Palace Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: More often 'felt' than seen, it is believed Mary died in a fire which took several lives in the late nineteenth century.

George and Emily

Location: Portsmouth (Hampshire) - Groundlings Theatre, Portsea
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The ghosts of two children, Emily and George, are said to be among the nine (or ten) phantoms at home within this Georgian Theatre.

Black Mask Attacker

Location: Portsmouth (Hampshire) - Royal Arena wrestling venue (later became New Theatre Royal)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Circa July 1960
Further Comments: A wrestler known as the Black Mask claimed he was attacked in the Rutley dressing room by an unseen presence. Several dancers also complained about the atmosphere in the room. The building's owner denied the site was haunted.

Actor

Location: Portsmouth (Hampshire) - Theatre Royal
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: A brown coloured figure was once seen sitting in the empty theatre. A piano was recorded playing a single note in the building after closing time when all the doors had been closed and locked. Another story says an actor who cut his own throat here in the 1880's is said to remain earthbound.

Man in Black

Location: Retford (Nottinghamshire) - Little Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Wearing a smart suit, this ghostly gentleman may also be the cause of the disembodied footsteps or the sudden cold drafts felt around the building.

Moving Chair

Location: Romford (Essex) - Brookside Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2014
Further Comments: CCTV recorded what appears to be a chair moving unaided in the theatre, although some claim that the movement is an optical illusion caused by a water droplet on the lens of the camera.

Thespian

Location: Rugby (Warwickshire) - Rugby Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The theatre is thought to be haunted by two ghosts. One man fell to his death from the balcony and now haunts the stalls, while the other phantom is of an old actor who died of natural causes at home, but his love for the theatre ensured his return.