#Paranormal Wednesday - #Haunted Theatre #ghosts

Victoria High School of the Arts, 1962

This week I'm going to share my story of a haunted theatre (cue in scary over-the-top theatre music). Specifically, a school theatre in the Victoria School of the Arts located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I graduated from this high school in 1982. Back then, the school was known as Victoria Composite High School and was just that; a school divided in half.
The newer half of the building was dedicated to vocational students, while the other half, aka the "old" building, was where the theatre students were relegated. We didn't mind. The old half of the building was cool and we loved it.

Our theatre arts department housed not one, but two stages; a main stage and smaller "black box" theatre. The main stage basement housed the make-up, costume and dressing rooms, plus several storage rooms for props. Spooky? You bet. Especially if you had to go down there alone.

The main theatre and basement were notoriously haunted, and rumors abounded as to whom the ghost might be. One rumor said a student was killed in an accident involving a stage light, another said they hung themselves in one of the dressing rooms, and yet another said they'd slit their wrists in the bathroom. Regardless, there were several incidents that fueled these rumors.

Early one Saturday morning, our cast was rehearsing and the only ones in the school. And yes, we were that dedicated. While standing at the back of the theatre to see how the stage lights looked, we saw the stage trap-door rise and fall with a bang. We ran downstairs to see if someone was in the basement. With only one set of stairs down and no other way out, we would have come face-to-face with someone had they tried to leave. There was nobody down there. All the prop, costume and dressing room doors were locked, including the door with access to the stage trap-door. Needless to say, any treks into the basement that Saturday were put off until later. Not that we were scared or anything... 

Even though the basement held a spooky vibe, we'd often hang out in the dressing rooms during lunch. We were "supposed" to be rehearsing and we were...80% of the time. The other 20% we were doing what high school kids do - talking, napping, sometimes we'd even catch up on homework. Once, we smuggled an Ouija Board past our teacher and spent the afternoon trying to contact whatever would listen. Yeah, we were that dumb.

The girls dressing room and adjoining bathroom seemed to be the hub of activity in the basement. The bathroom shower would turn on-and-off by itself (the first time this happened, I ran to catch the culprit, but the water turned off as soon as I entered). While studying lines in the dressing room and out of the corner of my eye, I'd see someone behind me, floating about two feet off the ground. I'd find out later that this same experience happened to many of the students. Because of that, I always felt the rumor of someone hanging themselves in the dressing room was plausible.

On-stage during rehearsals, I'd see someone sitting in the back right corner in the audience. If I stepped to the apron to get a better look, the person would disappear. It wasn't a shadow due to stage lights because I'd see the same when house lights were on during non-dress rehearsals. Several other students experienced the same phenomena.

There was a brick hallway where students as far back as the early-1900s had signed their names with quotes from plays they'd been in. It was a genuine piece of history and, not to be forgotten, I signed mine too. But if I stood for any length of time to read the other signatures, I'd always feel someone standing behind me. It would become so uncomfortable; I'd have to leave. Again, I found out later I wasn't the only person who'd experienced this.

The school has gone through many changes and by what I see on their website, been upgraded to a performing arts school only. Maybe someday I'll visit the school again, just to check it out. If any current students come across this blog post, leave a comment! I'd love to hear if the ghost/s stuck around. 

Frightening Friday-Collecting #Ouija #paranormal

Photo courtesy of felinebird via Flickr

Mainstream religions (and some occultists) associate the use of Ouija boards with demonic possession, opening portals, and an invitation to evil spirits.

I like Ouija boards. There. I said it. My head didn't spin around or anything. I don't know when I became fascinated with them, nor do I remember where I acquired mine. According to eBay, it's an antique. 

The last time I "played" with my Ouija board was in high school. Our school theatre was reportedly haunted, as all good theatres are. One rumor stated a student hung herself in the dressing room and could be seen over your shoulder when you gazed in the dressing room mirror. Another stated a student committed suicide in one of the bathrooms, which explained why the showers turned on and off by themselves. Yet a third rumor stated a student died on-stage and now sat in the audience to watch rehearsals. Sometimes, you could see their shadow in one of the seats. 

When we asked the teachers for details on these deaths, they were vague. The school was over a hundred-and-fifty years old, they'd say, it probably had many buried secrets. Why would we want to dig up anything so macabre? Well, we'd argue, because we've seen some weird things and want to know if the rumors were true. Unfortunately, we were dismissed with the excuse they weren't allowed to speak of such things. 

But theatre students are persistent. And when word got out that I owned an Ouija board, well...sorry Mr. B. When you thought your cast of Midsummer Night's Dream were rehearsing, we were calling upon spirits of the dead in the dressing room.

Fast forward to years later. Would I "play" with an Ouija board now? Probably not. While I don't feel the board itself is dangerous, the invitation may be. I'm still undecided on whether the board is a tool of divination or the subconscious at work. Regardless, I don't dabble. I collect paraphernalia because it still holds a fascination. I have several T-shirts, a blanket, necklaces, earrings, sunglasses, hair clips, a pair of socks, a business card holder, cellphone case, wallet, mug, spatula, computer sleeve and even a pair of undies.

However, the Ouija board I used in high school is in the attic. My teens keep bugging me to dig it out so they can look at it, but I'm reluctant. The board holds secrets. Secrets of what a group of high school kids contacted in that haunted theatre, years ago. Secrets of what should have stayed buried. Secrets we probably didn't need to know.

And secrets that, for now, will stay in my attic.