This fact is unknown to many outside of the Theatre Guild, but there’s a dark myth running through the auditorium: the theatre ghost. It’s kept a secret by arts students, and only a few rumors have managed to escape from tightly sealed lips. Occasionally something slips out and lets the whole school know, but it’s not always the truth. Our paper has finally gotten the insider information from actors and performers alike, to bring the top four facts and myths about the haunting of our halls.

Top Four Myths About the Theatre Ghost, and the Truth Behind Them:

1.       The Only Haunted Place is the Auditorium: False

According to experienced technician and respected auditorium manager here at Chelsea High School, Chuck Griffin, he sometimes will “hear footsteps in the catwalks while up there, working.” While this proves the auditorium is haunted, some people are unaware it’s not the only place. Griffin also confirmed that another ghost, Vanessa, goes throughout the hallways and auditorium alike, and there’s even a ghost in the bathrooms and dressing rooms.

2.       The Ghosts Are All Evil: False

While some ghosts can be malignant, the most well known ghosts at our school’s theatre are actually very friendly. Chuck Griffin says that even though many people are fearful of the ghosts, he’s always felt that they just had a “feeling of curiosity” and that they, especially Walter, were “just curious about what [he] was doing.” Grace Boote says that the ghost that haunts the auditorium and hallways, Vanessa, “is like the old grandma down the street” even if there’s some disagreement about Vanessa’s actual age. Some say she’s an older woman, while others say she’s only a child, but almost none deny her playful nature.

While not all are evil, though, some are devious. Ali Boham, Grace Boote, and former theatre director Kat Altman experienced the more startling parts of the theatre ghosts. “We all got locked in and [heard] strange noises,” revealed Boham. She says, however, that working in the theatre “[isn’t] scary anymore” because the “ghosts have become my friends and that she hopes “it wouldn’t scare anyone from joining the theatre guild.” So while they may startle you at first, once the theatre ghosts get used to you, and you to them, there’s nothing to be worried about!

3.       The Ghosts All Died in the Theatre: False

While plenty of fake deaths have occurred on stage, no real deaths have happened in our school, according to music director Mr. Fritzemeier when questioned about it. Since no severe or fatal accidents have ever occurred, none of the ghosts could have died in a theatre, especially considering that this school and theatre have only been in existence for twenty years.

4.       There Are Only a Few Theatre Ghosts: False

Several sources from Theatre Guild have all confirmed that there are multiple ghosts, the most well known and often seen being Vanessa, Walter, and Meredith. Meredith haunts the bathrooms and dressing rooms. According to Boote, “there are like, hundreds [of theatre ghosts], including myself.”