It's Scotland's largest theatre, attracting tens of thousands of punters a month, but it just the world-class performances that cause spines to tingle at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
You'd think a venue that plays host to all manner of stage entertainment, from touring musicals and ballet, to pantomime, comedy and pop concerts would be low on the list of the capital's most haunted places - but you'd be wrong. Each evening, when the curtain comes down and the lights are switched off, peculiar things happen at the Playhouse.
Since the 1950s, the 3,000-seater theatre has reportedly been home to a spectre named Albert, who is said to haunt the back stage areas and refuses to leave the premises.
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It's said that Albert was a Playhouse employee who worked as a maintenance man and died suddenly on the job when he was alone in the building one evening.
Staff down the decades have reported hearing strange noises, with some swearing that the ghostly apparition of a man dressed in grey overalls regularly stalks the corridors of the Greenside landmark.
Others have said that Albert has even helped them out with directions, claiming that the Playhouse's resident friendly ghost appeared when they were lost only to vanish the moment they took their eyes off of him.
It's the kind of thing that would be sure to give you a fright, but going by the stories, it's clear that Albert is not a malevolent spirit. He simply wants to help out around the Playhouse, just as he did when he was alive.
As friendly as they come, Albert is Edinburgh's very own Casper.
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Bound to the theatre for more than 60 years, Albert seems to have loved his place of work so much he just can't bring himself to leave. He walks around the theatre late at night when it's empty, and is especially fond of the upper balcony in the auditorium and a room on the sixth floor.
Edinburgh Evening News writer Liam Rudden recalled how he joined a 'ghost hunt' at the Playhouse a number of years ago, and interviewed various members of staff about their own encounters with Albert.
One of those staff members was stage door keeper Keith Donald, who was convinced Albert's presence had spooked his dog one night.
He said: “One night, I’d gone all the way up the North Tower and across the stage and, as usual, my dog Meg was with me. I was just about to go up the steps of the South Tower when I realised Meg wasn’t with me. I looked back and she was just sitting there, staring.
"I went back and tried to encourage her but she wouldn’t move. So I put her lead on her and tried to get her to come with me but she literally went rigid, looked at me, then to the top of the stairs, and then back at me as she started moaning and whining. That was enough for me, the South Tower didn’t get checked that night.”
But while Albert is guaranteed to turn some a whiter shade of pale, he is far more revered than feared by the Edinburgh Playhouse. The venue has even taken the step of honouring Albert by naming one of their bar's after the legendary friendly ghost.
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