Resident Ghosts of the Princess Avenue Playhouse
The Princess Avenue Playhouse, like many other theatres in Canada, has moans and groans that are easily explained. Wooden floors moan as the building cools at night while certain areas of the building are subject to heat changes, depending on the external weather conditions.
Read about the ghosts to learn more about the paranormal experiences at the Princess Avenue Playhouse.
Read about the ghosts to learn more about the paranormal experiences at the Princess Avenue Playhouse.
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE
In 2001, a group of students from Ryerson Institute for the Arts, in Toronto, arrived to shoot a documentary about the spirits of the Princess Avenue Playhouse and proceeded to interview Elgin Theatre Guild members who had strange experiences in the theatre.
During one such interview in the office, the students listened to the story about the Philanthropist and rattling of the office filing cabinets. All technical equipment appeared in working order during the interview. However, back at the studio, it was determined that audio feed during this portion of the interview was missing. Immediately after the interviewee went on to another topic, the audio feed continued as though nothing had happened. The feed was never recovered.
One evening, these students were accompanied by a medium with the ability to see and speak with spirits. Without knowing any details, the medium went to each location where a spirit was perceived and provided astonishing details.
In 2001, a group of students from Ryerson Institute for the Arts, in Toronto, arrived to shoot a documentary about the spirits of the Princess Avenue Playhouse and proceeded to interview Elgin Theatre Guild members who had strange experiences in the theatre.
During one such interview in the office, the students listened to the story about the Philanthropist and rattling of the office filing cabinets. All technical equipment appeared in working order during the interview. However, back at the studio, it was determined that audio feed during this portion of the interview was missing. Immediately after the interviewee went on to another topic, the audio feed continued as though nothing had happened. The feed was never recovered.
One evening, these students were accompanied by a medium with the ability to see and speak with spirits. Without knowing any details, the medium went to each location where a spirit was perceived and provided astonishing details.
Child's Voice
What Happened...
In 1999, a rehearsal was breaking up at approximately 10 o' clock in the evening.The women in the cast all claimed that they heard a child crying for help. They refused to leave until the building was checked. The entire cast and crew searched the building for several hours.Only after every inch of the building was searched would the ladies agree to go home.From time to time, women will mention that they hear a child's voice. No men have ever heard this voice. |
What the Medium Said...
The child's voice belongs to a happy young girl, with blonde hair, aged 5 or 6. The little girl plays and runs around the seats on the main floor of the theatre. The little girl's name is Maisie. |
Sitting Ghost
What Happened...
During the run of "A Very Modest Orgy", two directors were originally assigned to direct the show. As the show progressed, only one of the directors remained. During a performance, two performers looked up into the balcony area and saw the remaining director sitting in the front seat beside a figure of a man. The performers commented backstage that it was nice of the other director to come and see how the show turned out. When they asked the remaining director what her seatmate thought of the show, she exclaimed that she was alone in the balcony. This solitary male figure has been seen several times during performances. |
What the Medium said...
The figure of the man sitting in the balcony is the husband of the Church Secretary. He is waiting for her to pass over to the "other side" so that they can be together. For some reason they cannot see each other and are unable to be together. |
Tower Ghost
What Happened...
The temperature in the tower location can go from warm to cold with no apparent reason. Some have seen an old woman standing at the top of the stairs to the tower, clutching the railing. They have described her as an unhappy ghost who does not like people in her area. A chirping or clicking noise heard in the tower has been blamed on her old-fashioned false teeth, as she scolds those who enter her space. |
What the Medium said...
The tower ghost is the church secretary. |
Standing Ghost
What Happened...
During the opening night of "Jennie's Story", one performer saw the wife of a local newspaper critic sitting in the audience. The performer saw what he thought was her husband standing by her left side. After the show, the wife was asked why her husband had been standing during the show. Her reply was that her husband had remained in his seat, to her right, the entire night. When quizzed about the person standing to her left, the lady stated that no one stood there since she was sitting in a corner seat. This figure, dressed in a top hat, has been seen standing and watching shows, predominantly comedies, by different performers. |
What the Medium said...
The medium had great difficulty understanding "Mort". All she could gather was that he was not part of the church and that he came into the building when the Elgin Theatre Guild took possession of the property. |
Footsteps
What Happened...
Day or night, these footsteps could not be explained. As crew members stand on top of a step ladder hanging and focusing lights, they would hear the south door of the balcony open and close. The sound of footsteps across the balcony, the west door opening and closing, and the footsteps carrying on down the hallway to the offices. This apparition has never been seen but heard by many. |
What the Medium said...
The footsteps in the balcony belong to a former Church Secretary who had trouble with her faith after her husband died.The lady blamed God for taking her husband too soon and she never forgave Him.The lady is angry and longs for her husband. |
The Philanthropist
What Happened...
The first performance at the new Princess Avenue Playhouse was "Agnes of God". The Front of House Manager, responsible for box office sales, was at her wits end attempting to balance the cashbox every night of this play. Prior to each performance, she counted the float and found that it was a nickel over from the previous night count. As the play progressed, she and numerous other people began counting the float after the performance, before locking up for the night. The same people would recount the float the following evening before the performance and would find that the float was over by a nickel. By closing night, 16 people had counted the float with the same result; a nickel over. Nice way to make a profit albeit one nickel at a time! |
What the Medium said...
The identity of the philanthropist has not yet been determined. |
The Cussing Ghost
What Happened...
Occasionally personal possessions would disappear during rehearsals or during a show. The crew decided it must be Mort who was the prankster. Crew members would ask for their possessions back to no avail. Out of sheer frustration, one crew member, familiar with a wide range of colourful language, moved to centre stage and cussed Mort out with the fury of a sailor. When entering the crew area, the personal possessions of that member appeared exactly where they had been left. To this day, if performers lose something in the theatre and they cuss Mort out, their possessions are returned. |
What the Medium said...
Mort yelled at the medium and ordered her out of his space. We have since confirmed that Mort's actual given name is John. |
Young Lady
What Happened....
A first-time visitor glanced through the doorway to the theatre in the afternoon and saw a figure behind the pews on the main floor of the theatre. The apparition's face was not visible but her dress, complete with lace collar, was. The visitor was positive that it was a lady, perhaps in her teens. |
What the Medium said...
Two mediums visited the playhouse in advance of the "Spirit of the Playhouse" performances to be held on October 30th and 31st, 2004. One stated that a ghost who had not shown herself before appeared in the lower level of the theatre. The spirit is a blond girl, 17 years of age, and is dressed in a long gown with a lace collar. The young lady is sad and would like to see a particular play performed, which illuminates hypocrisy and treachery. The young lady's name is Jenny. |