The Paranormal Database

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 1920's.

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.

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 this white figure 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.

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 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.

Bloodied Hands

Location: SE1 (Greater London) - Old Vic, Waterloo Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This ghostly woman has appeared several times, always clasping her bloodstained hands. Some believe that she was an actress, and that the blood is fake - used for a stage production of a Shakespearian play.

Dylan Thomas

Location: SE13 (Greater London) - Bush Theatre (Shepherd's Bush Hotel)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: A former BBC worker, Thomas enjoyed drinking and socialising at this site.

Smartly Dressed Woman

Location: Shaftesbury (Dorset) - Shaftesbury Theatre
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: Seen only once, this woman in autumn clothing stood on a catwalk seventy foot above the stage - she was passed by a builder who was sent to fix the ceiling damaged in a storm. At first it did not register that she was out of place, and when the worker went to speak to her, she had vanished.

Lady Philomere

Location: Sonning (Berkshire) - The Mill theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Lady Philomere is said to have thrown herself into the nearby waters to end her life, and now haunts the theatre.

Strange Shadows

Location: Southsea (Hampshire) - Kings Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: July 2006
Further Comments: Staff and visitors to the theatre have reported seeing weird shadows and hearing strange noises. Wessex Ghost Hunters investigated the site and the team's medium declared the theatre to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who committed suicide.

Charles Manford

Location: St Andrews (Fife) - Byre Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Though never seen, the non-threatening presence of the former owner is often felt or heard and is considered reassuring. The ghost moved with the theatre after it was pulled down in 1970 and relocated under half a kilometre down the road.

Man Dressed in Black

Location: St Helens (Merseyside) - Theatre Royal
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: There are several people in the running who could be this ghost (including a former manager and a Second World War pilot), who wears a black suit and long coat.

Allan Mair

Location: Stirling (Stirling) - Tolbooth Theatre / public house
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: Allan Mair was a prisoner held at this former jail. He died on site and was buried within the grounds. Manifesting in eighteenth century clothing, Mair is also held responsible for smashing bottles of alcohol and creating noises where the cells once held him.

Mrs Johnstone

Location: Sunderland (Tyne and Wear) - Empire Theatre
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: A violinist who died on the site, Johnstone has been seen by the manager, drifting along the dress circle before vanishing. There are also rumours that Sid James haunts the Empire, and that Barbara Windsor (and several others) refused to work there.

John Baldwin Buckstone

Location: SW1 (Greater London) - (Haymarket) Theatre Royal
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2009
Further Comments: A welcome ghost, Buckstone only manifests when a performance is destined to make it big. Patrick Stewart reportedly spotted Buckstone during a performance of Waiting for Godot. Another former manager of the theatre, David Morris, is reported to return maybe once a decade to the theatre just to cause trouble for a single night, before returning to his grave.

Sir Herbert Beerbohm-Tree

Location: SW1 (Greater London) - Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Responsible for funding the theatre's rebuild in 1899, Sir Herbert was the manager and an actor, and his favourite seat in the theatre was the top box to the right. In recent years (so they say) people sitting here have felt cold spots and had the door open on its own accord.

The former site of St James's Theatre, London.

Former Actress

Location: SW1 (Greater London) - St James's Theatre (no longer standing, replaced by an office block), King Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Pre-1957
Further Comments: This white clad ghost was thought to be an eighteenth century actress. An unknown presence would also hammer at dressing room doors, disappearing as soon as they were opened, and once it was announced that the theatre would close, a man would be seen standing in the shadows, vanishing if approached.