London’s Haunted Theatre Royal
Drury Lane Theater Is the City’s Oldest One Still in Use
Oct 24, 2007
Theatre Royal, originally built in 1663 by Thomas Killigrew on Drury Lane, is the oldest London theatre still in operation. Nell Gwynne, actress and King Charles II’s mistress, made her stage debut there in 1665. The building was destroyed by fire in 1809. Benjamin Wyatt had the current structure built in 1812.
As some believe Borley Rectory to be England’s most haunted house, there are those who consider London’s Theatre Royal to be the world’s most haunted performing arts center.
There is a tradition, on Twelfth Night, the theater’s performers receive a large cake, courtesy of Robert Baddeley, who died in 1794.
Ghosts at Drury Lane
The Man in Gray: This handsome ghost wears 18th-century knee breeches, a powdered wig, buckled shoes and a long gray cloak. He carries a tri-corn hat. His identity is unknown. In the 1800s, workers found a hidden room with a walled up body and fragments of the previous century’s clothing. A dagger was in the skeleton’s ribs. No record exists of a murder in the theater. One legend is that the victim was a dandy killed in an altercation about an actress.
Appearances of the Man in Gray are usually 9 AM and 6 PM, most often during rehearsals. At times, the he has been seen attending matinees. He walks across the balcony and vanishes in a wall. Sighting this ghost is a good luck omen presaging success. An offer to release the ghost was refused by Theatre Royal’s management.
Charles Macklin: He was an Irish actor who, in a fit of temper accidentally killed performer Thomas Hallam during a scuffle about a wig. Macklin defended himself at the trial. He was found guilty of manslaughter. The sentence was a fine and cold branding, a punishment of imprinting a letter on the convicted person’s thumb with a cold iron. His ghost haunts the halls backstage.
Dan Leno: The apparition of this comedic mime dancer, actor and singer who allegedly suffered from insanity haunts a dressing room.
King Charles II and attendants: These specters were seen in the audience of Oklahoma in 1948.
Freddy Fredericks: This chubby short ghost tends to the building and is generally seen at midnight. His image been captured on film.
Other Phenomena
American actress Betty Jo Jones’ performances in Oklahoma weren’t going well. She felt something push her into a different position and lead her about on stage. After her acting improved, she felt an unseen hand pat her back.
Inexperienced actress Doreen Duke auditioned for The King and I. An invisible force helped her about the stage. She won the role. During rehearsals and on opening night, she felt the hands guiding her.
Some think these incidents were done by the spirit of Joe Grimaldi who died in 1837. He was a pantomime and harlequinade clown and singer who helped aspiring performers in life.
Related articles:
Borley Rectory and Its Ghosts: Harry Price, Controversial ...
Freddie: Ghost of State Theatre
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (Facts on File, Inc., 1992)
Haunted Britain, Antony D. Hippisley Coxe (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1973)
