The Paranormal

Spirits of the Theatre Royal, Chatham

The Theatre Royal at Chatham, built with all the brio and confidence of the late Victorians in 1899, was the largest theatre outside London, capable of seating up to three thousand in its plush surroundings. What elegance, what extravagance. Small wonder that it attracted such large crowds to see Dan Leno and George Robey, Marie Lloyd and Girtie Gitana, and all of the stars of the day up to Harry Secombe and Ken Dodd, Morecambe and Wise. And there were some of the greatest actors and actresses in the land - Robert Donat, Michael Redgrave, Sybil Thorndike, as well as opera and ballet companies from all over the world.

And it all came to nothing. In the Fifties, just like so many of the other great theatres, the Theatre Royal at Chatham closed its doors. It served in several unworthy capacities as warehouse, furniture shop, department store until finally it was in total decline, deserted by all save vagrants and pigeons. It seemed that this beautiful building was destined simply to collapse.

And then suddenly there was an upsurge of interest in it. Property dealers homed in on the idea that it could be converted to commercial use. Perhaps it could become a shopping mall. Not so, said others, suddenly and at last aware, after so many years, of the forgotten jewel in their midst. These were the ones who were determined to save the old theatre and who aimed to restore it to its former glory. They were ready to fight and work selflessly to put an end to the years of neglect. These restorers - the enthusiasts, volunteers and selfless workers of the Theatre Royal Chatham Trust - have remained loyal to the old theatre.

So too have its ghosts, there since its earliest days, ghosts who stayed with the theatre through two wars as well as through peacetime, and, who since the closure in 1955, have remained on site. Today, and through the renovation period, they still made their presence felt. A woman in a long evening dress has been seen on the second floor; a woman's voice, faint but clear, has been heard; the figure of a man has been spotted in various areas. In several parts of the building, and particularly in the room known as the annexe, there has been significant poltergeist activity. But the stories of the hauntings go back a long way.

Recently, Alex Ludlow and Pat Willoughby, who worked in the theatre many years ago, recalled what happened one day in 1943 when they were up in the 'gods', preparing the lighting for a performance. Alex happened to glance over his shoulder and he caught sight of a man, wearing what looked like a duffel coat, standing a few yards away by a staircase. That was wrong, a complete stranger hanging about at that time of day. What on earth was a member of the public doing there?

'Who's that feller there?' Alex asked Pat and together the two young men walked towards the stranger.

'You shouldn't be here, mister!' Pat shouted. 'What're you doing here?'

And with that the stranger took off - straight through closed doors.

'We turned tail and ran right down,' Alex recalls, 'and we ran into Warren Bennet, the Music Director. He said: "It looks like you two lads have seen a ghost".'

In 1950 Jack Stolton, Assistant Stage Manager at the Chatham Empire, had a similarly odd experience. He needed to borrow some spotlight from the Royal and the fact that the theatre was closed did not present a problem. The staffs of the two theatres were on good terms and he was given the keys to let himself in and out. Lack was to have been accompanied by his stage electrician, but he was delayed by other business to attend to at the Empire. The electrician said that he would follow on shortly.

Jack let himself into the empty theatre and made his was to the stage to switch on the lights. When he did so he looked up to the dress circle which was still in shadow. Then he saw a figure there, looking down at him. What the devil was the electrician doing up there?

'Hey, come down here,' Jack called out. They had no time to waste and he must have felt peeved that his colleague should be messing about where he should not be.

The figure paused and then made towards one of the exits. Jack then lest the stage area and made for the foyer where he expected to see the electrician coming down the staircase from the interior of the building. But as he entered the foyer, the door from the street opened.

'Sorry I'm late,' the electrician said. 'I was held up longer than I expected.'

Though they looked round the building, for they had no wish to lock anyone inside, they did not come across another soul.

Jack Stolton has no doubt that he had seen one of the ghosts. Perhaps he had. Perhaps he had seen Humphrey, the theatre's best known apparition.

It is said the Humphrey was a trapeze artist who made a serious error in a performance in front of Edward VII. Deeply hurt, humiliated in fact by his failure, he is said to have hanged himself from the dress circle. Unfortunately, there is no record of this though there are accounts enough of the so-called Humphrey's regular appearances. Sylvia Flaherty, a former Tiller girl, who is also one of the initiators of the moves to save the Theatre Royal, says that she saw Humphrey frequently during her appearances at the theatre. Furthermore, Sylvia speaks fondly of him.

'Humphrey is the guardian of the Theatre Royal,' she says, 'and the dress circle is his favourite place. He would sit in one of the front rows and watch a show, and if he didn't like it he would get up and walk out. There used to be a heavy glass mirrored door leading from the dress circle to the circle bar and you would hear the door go slam! But there was never a sign of anyone there - no draught, nothing.'

And there is also the story of Humphrey's Curse, a tale that was revived in 1989 on the sudden death of a property developer, who was on the point of converting the building into a shopping mall. The theatre was saved at the last minute and there were those who attributed that to the intervention of the theatre's favourite ghost.

Rather less comforting are the poltergeist activities which have been regularly experienced since the Trust began its work. From time to time there were the minor irritations when tools as well as personal possessions went missing only to turn up in other parts of the building. Sometimes electrical equipment stopped unaccountably. Roy Phillips, one of the Trust Directors, who was also Site Manager, recounts a number of incidents.

One day, for example, he turned up at the theatre and found in the foyer work hats and masks that he and three others had been using the previous day. And he has no doubt that they had been put away the night before in their usual cupboard. 'But there have been many incidents of strange, inexplicable happening within the theatre which I have been aware of,' Roy says. 'I have to say that I was very sceptical with regard to the supernatural, ghosts and that sort of thing, but I am not so sure now.

One day, when the Trust had not long been in possession of the building, Roy was sweeping up the foyer. There was no one else in the theatre at the time. There was a stillness about the place and perhaps, sceptic or no, he began to feel unsure of himself. Roy takes up the story. 'Out of bravado I said: "If there is a spirit here, give me a sign." Immediately there was a crash some thirty feet away from where I was standing as though a ceramic tile had fallen to the floor. I walked towards the area where the sound came from but the floor was completely clear and there were no signs of broken tiles. Laughing, I returned to where I had previously been standing and said, "Well, at least you didn't throw anything at me but I'd still like some proof of your existence." There was immediately another crash as before, but much closer this time. When I investigated the area, again there was no evidence of any broken tiles.'

On yet another occasion when he was waiting for some others to turn up, Roy went to the auditorium and put a tape in the music centre. Phantom of the Opera - perhaps it was appropriate. As the music swelled, Roy walked back into the foyer. And suddenly the music came to a stop. Back he went into the auditorium but when he was within six feet of the music centre the music started up again. Coincidence? A minor bleep with the electrics? Perhaps, but it should be remembered that the malfunctioning of electrical equipment is not unknown when poltergeists are active.

The experiences of some others are distinctly less pleasant, especially in the upstairs room known as the annexe. Here, at Christmas 1995 one woman saw the door slam shut and then reopen of its own accord a number of times. Later she felt a slap on the side of her face. On a different occasion, in the same room, another woman felt a hand run gently down her left cheek. And it is in this room that two separate parties of policemen on a 'stakeout' felt unable to continue their duties. The slamming doors and the unaccountable sound of footsteps in the passageway outside unnerved them and they left. And really when the natural laws are broken, when things occur which are contrary to normal expectation, when rationality is turned on its head, who can wonder that fears are roused?

Elsewhere in this great old theatre, in one particular spot in the auditorium, there is sometimes the smell of sweet plug pipe tobacco. Not everyone can smell it but there are enough witnesses to this curious phenomenon. And it is curious for no one has smoked in the building for nearly fifty years. And anyway, who smokes such old-fashioned pipe tobacco these days?

In September 1996, there was a sponsored ghost watch at the Theatre Royal. An internationally acknowledged spiritualist, Robin Wimbow, and others, recorded what they saw and heard. What was most reassuring in their report to the Trust members was that in general the spirits in the building approved warmly of what the restorers were doing.