Pittsburgh Playhouse
The PittsburghPlayhouse is over 100 years old. It has 4 theaters: The Hamlet St.Theater, The Rockwell Theater, The Theater Upstairs, and theTheater Downstairs. Many actors have been through the Playhouse,and according to the Playhouse's staff, and students, some actorshaven't left. Yes, There is a troupe of paranormal performersthat stay in the building after the lights go out. This bandincludes, but is not limited to, John Johns, The Lady in White,Weeping Eleanor, Gorgeous George, and The Bouncing Red Meanie (BouncingLoony).
First of all you should know the Pittsburgh Playhouse has beenmany things over the years. The Rockwell Theater was a church. Arestaurant was once in the basement, it is now used for storage.A bar is in the lobby, but doesn't serve drinks anymore. Behindthe bar is a door that leads to a series of catacombs. Thedressing rooms were once row houses. And the Theater Upstairs isbelieved to have once been a brothel.
The first story I will tell involves a prominent Pittsburghactor, by the name of John Johns. He was an actor at thePlayhouse between 1950 and 1960. One night he was at a banquet inthe restaurant. During the banquet, he collapsed on the floor,suffering a heart attack. While waiting for an ambulance, a groupof men carried him to dressing room number seven. Just as theywere entering the threshold, John Johns died. Now, people haveheard footsteps climbing the stairs to number seven, neverentering, never going back down the stairs.
Some students were backstage in the Hamlet Street Theater, andsaw a man in an old fashioned tuxedo checking the sets and props.When the students gave their director a description of the man,it fitted John Johns'. One evening after a performance, the wifeof a manager saw a man sitting by himself in the theater. Shetried to talk to him, but he didn't respond. Later, sheidentified him as John Johns, when she saw a picture of him inthe archives.
This story also involves a Hamlet Street Theater performer. Hereis her tragic tail. Many years ago, a actress was married in thechurch, and had her reception in the bar in the lobby. During thereception she found out her husband was having an affair with oneof the girls from the brothel. The wife was not to happy aboutthis, so she shot her husband, went upstairs to shoot his loverthen climbed the stairs to the balcony of the Hamlet St. Theater,and plunged to her death. The wife, who has been named The Ladyin White, has been seen walking across the balcony, with her gunstill in hand.
Years later a technical director was in the Theater Upstairsfixing the lighting on the stage. While he worked he turned hishead and saw a woman dressed in white with her back towards him.As he looked at her, she turned around and aimed a gun at him. Heran out of there and quit his job.
One day a student went into an empty Hamlet Street Theater totake a break from rehearsal. He sat down then looked at the stage.He saw a man dressed in black, dancing with a woman dressed inwhite. After a few seconds the image vanished. Some now say JohnJohns has found a friend in the afterlife.
This is an even more tragic tail. This is Weeping Eleanor's story.Years ago, when the dressing rooms were row houses, a fire spreadthrough the houses. Everyone survived except for Eleanor and herdaughter. It is said that when it is late at night, someone canbe heard crying in one of the dressing rooms, when the door isopened, no one is inside.
Now up, Gorgeous George. First of all, George isn't gorgeous atall. He is a green man with a decaying face. He taps on thewindow of the costume shop, scarring everyone inside.
I have saved the bast story for last. The Bouncing Red Meanie (BouncingLoony). On Halloween Night 1974, five students stayed in thebuilding late. There job was to lock up the building, and turnoff all the lights, which they did. Then they went onto the stageof the Rockwell and held a seance. They sat so that four of themfaced backstage, and one faced the seats. After ten minutes, thefour facing backstage saw a man appear. He was dressed all inred, had a worried expression on his face, and was pacing. Hewent back and fourth, picking up speed as he went, until helifted off the ground, and bounced off the walls and ceiling.Then every phone in the building rang. The one person facing theseats had a look of terror on her face. The other four turnedaround slowly, and saw that every seat in the theater was filledwith people in turn-of-the-century clothes. The five student ranout of the Playhouse, and individualy gave matching descriptionsof the events.
I hope you have enjoyed these stories of the Pittsburgh Playhouseon Craft Avenue. I, myself am a student at the Playhouse. Over myfive years of classes I have picked up these stories, and evenexperienced some of the ghosts myself. If you are ever inPittsburgh and want to try and experience the supernatural, visitthe Playhouse, they'll be waiting for you. . .