2nd Witch : how about 10.30 just after the cast have come off stage?
3rd Witch: yeah just past the green room by the props store
1st Witch: oh yeah that’s a good one it will really freak them out!
Ok rubbish jokes aside there is no denying that theatre have a reputation for ghosts and ghouls. It seems that if you are any sort of theatre at all you need to have a ghost.
A general check list for a theatre ghost story is:
Place : - Theatres are usually old buildings and have the advantage of being filled with people with vivid imaginations.
People:-. The actor and actress’ looking for their big break, Ghosts are usually actors that have died on stage because of accidents or murder. In more modern stories it is the theatre managers that roam the corridors – ensuring everything is in order. And as in the case of Drury lane audience members!
The story :- The theatre is also a place of dreams, love and passion. Actors falling in love with co-stars only to be betrayed. Jealous stars plotting their rivals down fall. Technical staff having accidents with rigging, traps and scenery.
The stories usually have a ghost that originates from the Victorian era or earlier when theatre were one of the main forms of employment and entertainment.
Name:- it also seems that theatre ghosts must have the most unimaginative names as possible the grey man/lady or the white lady/man are common ones…. or maybe they are just touring ghosts!
So why are theatre inherently spooky? It seems to be that people are spooked when the theatres are empty.
There is a huge difference between an empty or full theatre. The Theatre, when it is full, is buzzing busy with sometimes hundreds of people getting ready for a show, the bar is full of patrons enjoying a tipple before the start of the show. The cast are carrying out their routines and superstitions in the green room with a tuned ear to the relay listening for the audience and trying to gauge how full the house is. The cheery smile from front of house saying hello and chatting with the regulars. Then as the auditorium doors close a hush descends as the actors play their piece. As the performance finishes the theatre fills with bodies flowing organically into every corner of the bar the chatter is infectious vocal reviews fill the air press against the walls and ready to envelop the players.
Once the celebrations are over the theatre falls a comparative deathly silence. The building sighs, the weary floor boards creek and the ghosts come out to play. The theatre is theirs once more to perform their eternal roles.
Even the most sceptical cannot deny that and empty theatre has a strange atmosphere. It is usually cold, the lights can be dim and cast many shadows the silence amplifies any noise. It is not unlikely that if you are alone your eyes may play tricks on you.
May be it is just a tradition that has been passed down through the years with the superstitions. After all the ghost light (see below) is a superstition that came from the ghosts in a theatre!
So the tapping that happens every evening at 11.30 pm becomes the ghost of a sailor that use to tap the pipes to secretly meet his actress lover after the show . Not the old pipe left over from the original water system that taps and contracts with the heat from the new central heating when it comes on every night at 11.30.
I guess the former has the magic of theatre about it, and the ghosts in any theatre are keeping the image that we have of ornate balconies, velvet drapes and gas lamps alive. That theatre is a lifestyle and choice, years and years of hard work, long hours, heartbreak, applause and joy so much so that even after death you can’t bear to pull yourself away from it.
As well as ghosts the theatre is also full of superstition.
Here are a few of the most common ones.
Macbeth - *sorry cough cough the Scottish play* is probably the probably the most well-known superstition so I will start with that one .
It is unlucky to utter Macbeth in a theatre unless it is on stage during a performance… you should refer to it as the ‘Scottish play’ or ‘the bards play’. It is said that quoting the play or speaking its name will the most dreadful luck will befall the company from forgetting line, backstage accidents and even death!
The truth behind Macbeth’s reputation is a little exaggerated to say the least, with a play about witches and spells, betrayal and death I think actor may have got a little carried away. The reason Macbeth was deemed and unlucky play dates back to repertory theatres (where a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire throughout the year). When the season would draw to a close the repertory theatres would sometime see that they were not going to break even so they would bring out The crowd pleaser…Macbeth. More often than not however this would not be enough to save the theatre from going bust and thus over time the curse was perpetuated. Macbeth was not just associated as ‘bad for business’ but unlucky too.
Colours
The colour Blue is an unlucky colour for an actor to wear the world over, silver being it's only saving relief.
The Origin:
In the early days of theatre, blue was an extremely difficult dye colour to create, and therefore was very expensive. Any theatre company spending such extravagant amounts on costumes was sure to close without turning a profit. But if the actors are wearing real silver it meant that the company was funded by a very very wealthy patron.
Certain shades of yellow are also, are considered unlucky, particularly in a tie, a vest, or a hat. The colour yellow is another that is considered unlucky.
The Origin
This is said to date from the days of the religious and morality plays. Yellow was the colour worn by the actor playing the devil.
The ghost light
The ghost light is a light bulb on a stand that is turned on and placed into the middle stage at night . This is a superstition that goes both ways.
Some people say if an emptied theatre is ever left completely dark, a ghost will take up residence.
In other versions of the same superstition the ghosts of past performances return to the stage to live out their glory moments.
I like the latter personally there is something delightfully quaint about it!
The Origin:
The practical origin of this is that people coming into a darkened theatre cannot see what delicate costumes, sharp and pointy props and dangerous set pieces have been left lying about, and a light is important to prevent injury or damage.
Whistling
Whistling is expressly prohibited in the theatre. You should not whistle anywhere in a theatre especially backstage or in the dressing rooms, for it means the whistler will soon be out of work!
The Origin:
Theatre technicians use to be sailors on shore leave/ex-sailors (all that rigging and knots you see). So before Cans and walki talkies were invented they communicated que’s with sailors whistles.
If you whistled back stage you could set of a cue before it was ready which could chaos for the production and back stage staff. If this happened more often than not someone would get the sacked or at least a black eye from the tech staff!
If you are interested in the history and stories that make up the theatre I highly recommend going on the magic lantern tour of Nottingham royal theatre, informative and fun with a creative delivery. details can be found at - http://www.bonecorporation.co.uk/magiclantern.php 
very entertaining insight into the spooky world of theatre.Creak creak. Wassat? Oh just me old bones.
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