Becky in the Media - "Are You There Flipper?" - Prediction Magazine, February 2006
Text Transcript
Ghost hunting first thing in the morning may not strike you as particularly atmospheric but I had high hopes for my spirit-communicating jaunt with authors Ian Shillito and Becky Walsh. The pair are working on a book about ghosts of theatre land and have seen some truly amazing things. The formula is simple but effective; Ian does research into the venue they are going to visit (both have connections in the theatre) and Becky, a medium, is not privy to which theatre they're doing next. On the day she uses her mediumship abilities to feed back information on what she sees or feels. The rest of the team is made up of photographer Sandy Golden and usually an independent observer or two. On this occasion Ed Douglas, a student at the college of Psychic Studies was one of the independent observers. Lynda Nichol, operations manager at The Peacock, showed us around.
Layers Of History
We began by going into the stalls to see if Becky could pick up anything. Ian also sometimes receives psychic impressions but he tries to keep them to himself as he is acutely aware of any information he might have on a venue and doesn't want to influence Becky. There was this sense of integrity displayed throughout our investigation. We sat in the stalls in silence and it occurred to me how places that are usually seen when noisy become very spooky when they are empty. It seemed almost as though you can hear the building breathing when it's quiet like that. Beck went back through the buildings history, picking up impressions and saying them out aloud. She felt that there had been a theatre on that site for many centuries and prior to that she could feel a great many people and hustle and bustle but not in a theatre sense. Lynda confirmed that the theatre had been built on the site of an earlier theatre and that there had been a market on the site at one time too.
There have been sightings of the ghost of an unknown actress, reputedly the mistress of Oscar Hammerstein II. This is said to be from the time of the previous theatre, built by Hammerstein as the London Opera House in 1911. It later became the Stoll Theatre. This was demolished in 1958 and replaced by the present building in 1960. We were all encouraged to also try to 'tune in' when Becky was silently doing so. I looked around the massive auditorium and especially up at the ceilings, half expecting to see a fully fledged ghost wraith flying about the room. Instead I saw some large round structures mounted to the front of the stage. I was later told by Lynda that these were referred to as the 'tart traps', circular cage like structures where dancing girls would be lowered onto the stage, when the theatre was the venue for Paul Raymond's girlie revues in the 70s. There was a more unsavoury aspect to these shows that was about to be revealed to us.
Trapped Animals
We then went backstage. I have never been backstage at a theatre before and there was lots to see. Some pretend swords sat atop a box in the corner and the curtains made the area seem womb-like. Yet you could just sense what excitement, nerves and magic must go on here every night before a show! As we went into the back, we were asked to try and tune in again. I got a distinct feeling of a zoo being there but felt foolish about such an idea so didn't say anything. However, Becky straight away said she felt she was trapped in a cage and wanted to get out. She mentioned animals and I think she even said the word 'circus'. Ian smiled enigmatically as his researcher status meant he knew what we were picking up on.
We went behind a door to a strange, gloomy room with what looked like a goods lift in the centre of it and a gangwalk around the lift. There were old cardboard boxes down the bottom of the lift shaft and we looked in to the area below. Ed, who was also very sensitive to psychic impressions said he felt incredibly sad and depressed around this lift area. I must admit I wasn't feeling anything, apart from a desire to ensure my clothes didn't get too dusty. Becky also felt that sadness. Lynda then told us a story that made us all feel really dreadful. Back in the 70s, the Paul Raymond revue show had a run in that theatre. The lift actually contained a tank and in that tank was a real life dolphin that had been trained that had been trained to snap the bras off the girls. During the day he would remain there in that tank in the dark and at night it would be raised as the climax to the show. Anyone who knows anything about dolphins will know what a miserable existence such a life would be for one, or indeed for any animal. Dolphins are sociable creatures who need a sense of community and cannot survive in a dark box with no contact, apart from the contrived one in a show. The dolphin eventually died.
Show must go on
As we left that area, Becky raised our spirits somewhat by assuring us that the dolphin's spirit had moved on and the only thing we were feeling was residual energy. Nevertheless people working backstage in the theatre have sometimes heard strange sounds like a child crying. The corridor outside that part of the theatre also flooded mysteriously a few years back. Ed suggested we burn sage in order to bring peace to whatever energy was there. Lynda said the backstage sprinkler system would not make this possible. So we agreed that throwing rock salt into the lift shaft would be a good idea at some stage in the future.
It was surprising how eerie the theatre can look, even during the day. Theatre folk are very superstitious and you can certainly tell why. With a daily need to communicate so many emotions and all the drama that happens here, a theatre is the very best place to find weird and wonderful things happening. The team left still feeling a bit sad at the tale of Flipper but uplifted by the magic of our comprehensive tour of the site. Ian and Becky invited me along to one of their night vigils that are said to be even more atmospheric. If I feel brave enough, I'll let you know how it goes! In the meantime, we're hoping to get some salt down to the Peacock theatre just as soon as possible to allow Flipper to rest in peace.