» Our theatre ghosts
Phil Mills reports on the ghosts that are said to haunt the theatres of East Sussex
A poltergeist, a smartly dressed doorman and a fragile teenage girl are reported to be haunting Brighton theatres. The dozens of ghosts treading the boards in the city are said to be friendly and do not cause any harm. Nevertheless, it is rumoured that supernatural activity at one venue has spooked staff when working alone at night.
“The poltergeist plays naughty tricks in the ladies toilets – it has been known to flush the toilet when people have been using them!”
The Corn Exchange, one of the three sites operated by Brighton Dome, is reputed to be haunted by a poltergeist. Stories about this and other ghosts are detailed in a new book Haunted Theatres of East Sussex. Author Tina Lakin describes that the haunting has been going on for some time in the Corn Exchange building, which dates back to 1868.
She writes: “Poltergeist activity has been present here for many years, but little notice is really taken of it any more as it causes no harm or hurt in anyway.”
“It is particularly in the bar area that ghostly activity has been noted, where glasses fall, breaking and exploding when no one was near them. The poltergeist also plays naughty tricks in the ladies toilets, and it has been known to flush the toilet when people have been using them!”
Dome spokeswoman Shelley Bennett said no one currently working there has seen the ghostly activity but there has been talk of it. She said: “We have heard rumours of it but there has been no positive sightings.”
Spooky happenings also affect Theatre Royal Brighton, where a smartly dressed doorman who devoted his whole working life at the venue can be seen. According to Haunted Theatres: “It was said that he died of a broken heart when it was suggested that he should retire at quite an old age. His life was the theatre. However his happy spirit has chosen to linger on.”
Theatre spokeswoman Emma Riley said she had not heard of a doorman, but Theatre Royal Brighton has a famous ghost called the Grey Lady – believed to be Mrs Ellen Nye Chart, who owned the theatre from 1876 to 1892. Some people believe it is also haunted by the ghost of the French actress Sarah Bernhardt.
The Nightingale Theatre near Brighton Station is believed to be the resting place of 14-year-old Emily Coalthorpe, who came to the building in the 1880s shortly after it opened as the Railway Hotel. Frail Emily was the daughter of a tailor and his wife from South East London and had been sick all her life with breathing problems and chest pains. The family came to Brighton to benefit from the sea air. Following a period of recovery and bathing in the healing sea waters, Emily took an unexpected turn for the worse and caught a chill. She died three days later.
Tina Lakin writes: “Doctors said that Emily’s condition had not really changed much since arriving by the sea but all the enjoyable experiences had made her feel better and that in itself was a tonic. She had worn herself out but at least she had been happy.
“As she was dying her parents told her that she would always be their beautiful little nightingale. Perhaps this is how the theatre acquired its name.”
July 13th, 2011 at 1:50 am
The Brighton Centre has also been haunted since the days when it was the Alhambra Opera House. A boy named Billy who suffered from rickets died in the lobby after struggling to the theatre from a nearby orphanage. He died in the lobby and is still occasionally seen where the theatre once stood.