UCSB Ghost
Okay: I was just ina show at the University of California, Santa Barbara, whichclosed last Sunday (the show, not the university. :) I amallergic to hairspray so I can't change in the dressing rooms inthe basement of the theater. Since the theater is located in themusic building, I ran up to a practice room on the second floorto change costumes and makeup. (A practice room is a small room,usually with a piano, where musicians and singers go to practiceon campus). After Friday night's show, I was talking to somefriends who had come to see it and guess I took longer than usualto change and take off my makeup, because by the time I hadbrought my costumes back down to drop them off at the dressingrooms, the theater was dark and locked and everyone had left.
I was bummed because I was standing there with my bike and anarmful of costumes that I couldn't very well take home with me onmy bike. So I locked my bike and began systematically tryingdoors all around the theater to see if one was open and I couldat last leave the costumes inside the theater tucked awaysomewhere until the next day's performance. Every door I triedwas locked, though: stage entrance, main doors, shop room... soin desperation I took the stairwell down to the basement. Thereare professor's offices and more practice rooms in the basement,and at the end of the corridor is a door, more often than notlocked, which leads to another corridor which goes to thedressing rooms. Surprisingly this door was open.
I was very relieved, because I figured this meant that someonewas still there and I would be able to lock up my costumes. Iwent through and down the corridor to the dressing rooms, but asI approached them I could see that all the doors were locked andmost of the lights were off. Out of desperation, I decided to goto the women's dressing room door and try it anyway, because Ihad to leave the costumes *somewhere*. As I moved down thecorridor and turned to open the door, I stopped dead in my tracksabout 3 feet from the door; I felt an unmistakeable sudden chilland the *hair* on the back of my neck *rose*, which is a VERYbizzare sensation, for those of you who have never felt it. I gotthe distinct feeling that there was someone standing behind me.Moreover, I got the feeling that it was male and older, not theage of someone in the cast or a student. But there are peopleworking with th show who *are* older, including orchestramembers, so I figured it was one of them. I turned -- and therewas no one there. But I *felt* they were still there, andwatching me. I tried to shake off the feeling once I didn't *see*anyone standing there; I called out "Who is that?",still hoping that maybe it was someone who'd unlock the dressingroom for me (!). When no one responded (but I still felt weird),I decided to go try the *other* entrance to the women's dressingroom around the corner (not realizing I still hadn't checked thedoor I was standing by). I took two steps down the corridor andstopped again; the pit of my stomach had just fallen out, likewhen you're in an elevator that drops too quickly. I got theabrupt feeling that it would be a *VERY BAD* idea to go down thatcorridor, and whatever I was feeling was watching me which hadpreviously been pretty neutral felt suddenly threatening. I gotthe impression of a very large... *presence*... *looming* overme, and that I should *GET OUT NOW*. Did I? YOU BETCHA!! I turnedright around and headed back the way I'd come, trying futilely tohum tunes from the show but breaking into a run before I evenmade it to the door that led back to the professor's offices andpractice rooms. As soon as I'd made it through and rounded thecorner, all the feelings suddenly... vanished. Like they'd nevereven happened. Needless to say, I was spooked -- badly. I rolledup the costumes in a huge ball and somehow made it home with themon my bike.
I told two other cast members about it, but no one else, and I'venever heard of anything like that happening in that theater. Iwill never, ever go down to the basement by myself ever again.Not for a bazillion dollars!!! (FWIW, I've been in LOTS ofperformances in that theater and *have* been in the basement lotsof times by myself -- before. But I won't go ever again!). I feltlike whatever/whoever was down there had BUSINESS down there thatI had unwittingly intruded upon, and the consequences if I hadstayed would've been... very unpleasant. *Whew!* Boy did I havetrouble sleeping for the next couple of nights. I was so badlyspooked that one of the other cast members I had told came tocheck on me after the next show; I didn't like being in thebasement even with all the other people around, although I didn'tfeel anything amiss ever again. Scary!!!