Ghostly Encounter in the Playhouse

From: Ian Janosko (bjan+@pitt.edu)
Story type: Ghost
Location: The Pittsburgh Playhouse
Source: Form Submission

Since the Pittsburgh Playhouse's building is 100 years old, and has 4 theaters it has its share of paranormal activity. I am 14 years old and have been taking acting classes at the Playhouse for more than 5 years. I have leaned more than just acting. I have heard and experienced supernatural tales. No matter how unbelevable this story may seem it is compleatly true and scarred the crap out of me.

Over the years the Playhouse has been many things. The Rockwell Theater was a church, the dressing rooms were town-houses, until they burned, and there is a bar in the lobby that has been there for years. During the time The Rockwell was a church, a couple were married. They held their reception in the bar that is still there. During the reception the wife found out her husband was having an affair. She was enraged, so she shot her husband, then climbed the stairway to the balcony of the Hamlet St. Theater, where she plunged to her death. It has been said that the wife, who has been named the Lady in White, has been seen walking across the balcony of the Hamlet St. Theater with her gun in hand.

One story I heard, is that a House Manager was in the Theater Upstairs, another theater that is now used for storing props, working on the lighting on the stage. While he was working, he looked behind him and saw a woman dressed in white, with her back towards him. While he looked at her, she slowly turned towards him. When she faced him, he saw she was aiming a gun at him. He ran out of there and quit his job.

That leads up to my story. 2 years ago I was in my first show at the Playhouse. The show was in the Hamlet St. Theater. Before that time I heard almost all the ghost stories about the Playhouse. Also before that time I was never in the Hamlet St. Theater, let alone the balcony. So one night, before the Curtain Call, I decided to go into the balcony. I climbed the stairs, got to the top, took a left and went down a short flight of stairs to the front row of the balcony. Then I took a seat. Now, at this time no one was in the theater but me, the Cast was all in the dressing rooms getting ready for the show. After I looked around for a while I was ready to leave. As I took the left to go down the stairs, I swear that something behind me whispered my name. I felt an icy chill shoot through my body. I slowly turned around and saw a white blur floating inches from the floor! I could barely see a gun near the middle of the figure! I turned and ran down the stairs as fast as I could, almost tripping twice. When I neared the bottom of the stairs I heard a gunshot coming from the top of the stairs. I ran back to my dressing room, and never went in the balcony by myself again.

Also, this is my second attempt to transmit this story. The first time, when I finished and was about to E-mail it, my computer mysteriously shut down, so I hope it gets through this time.