The Haymarket Theatre Ghost

The Haymarket Theatre Ghost By Jessie Adelaide Middleton © 2006 by http://www.HorrorMasters.com

The Haymarket Theatre has a ghost, said to be that of John Buckstone, who was manager of the theatre between 1853 and 1876, and whose career was bound up with it. Mr. Cyril Maude, on page 177 of his interesting book, The Haymarket Theatre, mentions the ghost. “By the way,” he says, “before I conclude this chapter, I would mention that in Sir Squire and Lady Bancroft’s delightful book I can find no mention of the Haymarket Ghost. Yet a real ghost has been supposed to have haunted the theatre for many years. Personally I have never seen it, but two firemen, of whom I know, declare positively that they have seen a face staring through a window. “Our valued business-manager, Mr. Horace Watson, is also inclined to believe in the existence of the Haymarket Ghost, for he declares that he distinctly saw the door of his office open and shut, but upon looking about could find no trace of any human being who could have done it.” Being anxious to investigate the matter, I wrote to Mr. Horace Watson, who most courteously replied that he would be pleased to be of any service to me, but was afraid that the stories of the Haymarket ghosts were somewhat exaggerated. Calling on Mr. Watson, I saw him in his snug little office at the theatre, and found that he remembered the incident mentioned by Mr. Maude quite well. He has been at the Haymarket since 1895, when Sir H. Beerbohm Tree was manager. “I was sitting in my office—not this one, but another room which has since been pulled down,” said Mr. Watson, “and was very busy doing some accounts. The door was one that opened and shut with a spring. Close to it was a small cabin washstand. “It was about 2 a.m. when I had finished, and I was pouring out some water to wash my hands before going home, when suddenly, without any warning, the door opened quite wide and then slowly closed again. “There was not a breath of wind and, although I am not in the least superstitious and never pretend to have seen anything, I consider it was most extraordinary and I cannot account for it in any way. “The Haymarket Ghost is supposed to be that of John Buckstone. There are odd stories in the theatre about it. Some of the firemen have declared they heard mysterious footsteps when on night-duty, though, if you come to think about it, an empty theatre at night is rather a ghostly kind of place, and any creaking sound up in the flies at once conjures up something supernatural. “One fireman was quite certain he had seen Buckstone’s ghost. I must confess that this fire- man was a most extraordinary man. One morning he said to me, ‘You were in Suffolk Street very early this morning, sir.’ “I said, ‘Oh!’ “He replied, ‘Yes, I saw you go into Dr. —’s office’ (mentioning the name of a wellknown doctor). “ ‘What time?’ I said. © 2006 by http://www.HorrorMasters.com

“ ‘At half-past six,’ he replied. “Now the odd part about it all is, that during the night, or rather the early morning, I had dreamt I was coming out of the doctor’s house, in Suffolk Street. It was a very vivid dream, and I remembered every detail of it after I woke up. You would probably say that what the fireman saw was my astral body which had detached itself while I was dreaming. I have no faith in astral bodies, but I am quite ready to admit that the experience was a very strange one. “This particular fireman went to Drury Lane Theatre after he left the Haymarket, and he and another man both declared that one day they walked into the late Augustus Harris’s office and saw him distinctly, sitting at the table. The fireman was an extraordinary chap and really did seem to ‘see things.’ He is dead now. “When Mr. Maude was here, he once tried to palm himself off on me as the Haymarket Ghost. He dressed himself up in a darkish, old-fashioned costume, put on a white wig and sent a message to me saying, would I go round and see him. “To get to his room I had to pass by a dark corner of the dress-circle. There I saw a shadowy figure, something like the portraits of old Buck-stone, in a wig, close beside me, waiting in the corner. “Was I frightened? Not in the least. After the first glance I guessed who it was, knowing Mr. Maude and his love of a joke too well. “But I don’t want to spoil your ghost story, and certainly the fireman I have spoken of was a very odd fellow and appeared to be speaking the truth. “You see every theatre has a ghost! It ‘walks’ every Friday (pay night), and is really the man who hands over the salaries. The expression, ‘The ghost walks!’is old theatrical slang, which is still used in the theatre. I think it gives rise to many of the stories about haunted theatres, because somebody may be heard saying that ‘the ghost walks,’ and it is taken to mean a real ghost.”