Ghostly apparitions and spectral wanderings are ten-a-penny in theatres up and down the land, but Nottingham’s Theatre Royal harbours a spooky tale more spine-tingling than most. Back in the 1880s a chambermaid working at the County Hotel, next door to the Theatre Royal in the city centre, chanced upon a visiting actor.
Before long, the Casanova got the girl pregnant, before rapidly moving on to his next conquest. The story then takes a very solemn turn. These were Victorian times, and the scandal of being an unwed mother back then was too much for the poor girl to bear, so she sadly took her own life… and a ghost was born.
This may have been getting on for 150 years ago, but even today many believe the eerie sounds of unwelcome noises offstage are actually the troubled young lady’s footsteps…
