Halloween Ghosts

The ghost of a woman with bloodstained hands is said to be seen haunting The Old Vic. But it’s not quite as gruesome as it sounds – apparently, the blood is actually stage make up and our spectre is an overly committed actress refusing to take her final bow. Bravo, we say. 

Lilian Baylis dedicated her life to managing The Old Vic. She died of a heart attack on 25 November 1937, the night before the opening of a production of Macbeth starring Laurence Olivier and Judith Anderson. At the beginning of each Season, she traditionally gave each member of the company a sprig of heather. But the autumn before her death, she gave everyone rosemary, for remembrance. It is said that Lilian can be heard playing her violin into the night after the audiences have returned home – some say that if you happen to be around after everyone has gone, you might just catch a glimpse of ‘The Lady’ herself.

Watch Stage Door Manager Ned’s account of seeing the ghost of Lilian Baylis on our TikTok. 

During the refurbishment of the theatre in the 1980s, the stage door was moved. Seemingly unaware of the re-route, the ghost of a ballerina has allegedly been seen running through the wall where the door used to be. 

Many actors who perform on The Old Vic stage talk about sensing the spirits of past actors. But some have gone further and seen ghostly apparitions, such as one actor who saw a white figure walking down the stalls during a performance of Hamlet in 2004. Another actress was sitting in the box and noticed that the door knob was turning as if to open. When she opened the door, she found no one on the other side… 

On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by no less than four ghosts who warn him to change his ways, lest he meet a lonely fate… for the eighth year running in 2024, the ghosts of Dickens’ morality tale return to The Old Vic stage, this time to haunt John Simm in the role of the miserly Southwark money lender.