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Watford Palace Theatre
Halloween Investigation
31st October 2008
Introduction
Photographs
Team Report
 Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
All Teams
Introduction
The Watford Palace Theatre opened in 1908 as a Music Hall called the Watford Palace of Varieties, changing its name the following week to the Palace Theatre.
One of the most elegant theatres in Britain, it is a grade two listed building and was restored in the early eighties to its original Edwardian splendour.
Over the years, the theatre has enjoyed a rich and varied history. In the early thirties it introduced weekly ‘rep’ which continued throughout the war period. The Melville Players took residence from 1939 until 1956 and in the fifties the theatre flourished under the management of Jimmy Perry of Dad’s Army and Are You Being Served?
fame. In 1965 Watford Borough Council established an independent company to run the theatre, entitled Watford Civic Theatre Trust Limited. Today an independent Limited Company, the Palace Theatre Watford Ltd, which was set up in 1996 and is a Registered Charity, controls the theatre. It is financially supported by Watford Council, the Arts Council and Hertfordshire County Council.
The Palace Theatre Watford enjoys a high national profile and an enviable reputation for the quality of its production, some of which transfer to the West End and tour to other regional theatres. Kindertransport by Diane Samuels was nominated in the Best Play category at the 1996 Evening Standard Theatre Awards and Elton John’s Glasses by David Farr, which was commissioned specially for the Palace Theatre, won the 1997 Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Best regional Play Award and then transferred into the West End. The Late Middle Classes by Simon Gray was voted the Best New Play in the 1999 TMA awards.
The theatre has always attracted top writers, directors and designers as well as respected actors. Famous names that appeared at the theatre in the early days include Stan Laurel, Charlie Chaplin, Gracie Fields and Bob Hope.
MPI were delighted to be the first paranormal group to be invited to investigate the Theatre and on the special night of “Halloween”, also, as Watford was brimming with revelers to have a police escort to the Theatre, what a perfect start to our nights investigation.
Our hosts for the evening were:
Matthew Ledbury (Technical Manager)
Adrian Lesurf (Communications Director)
We were also accompanied by:
Paul Cowdell (Arts and Humanities Research Institute) University Hertfordshire.
We all arrived at 10.30pm and were greeted by our host Matthew who escorted us to our hub and to meet with Adrian and Paul.
MPI Members Investigating
Val Butler (Group Leader)
Ken Taylor (Technician)
Steen Spencer
Pat Randall
Louise Williams
Laura Brown
Jacqi Ephgrave
Emma Macdonald
Mary-Lou Garrett
Rachel Martin (Guest)
Vigil Areas
Stage and Backstage
Auditorium
Circle
Upper Circle
Dressing Rooms
At 10.45pm the group carried out baseline tests on the walk around with all lights on.
The group divided into three teams to start the vigils.
Photographs
Team Report
Team 1
Val (Lead Investigator)
Louise
Steen
Paul
Vigil 1 Stage
We were on the stage, Paul Louise and Val with glass divination and Steen observing. Val calls for spirit and senses a male. Séance continues with the glass moving with definite action. The letters for spirits name given were W E W K M. Val continues with questions
Q. Where are you standing in the theatre?
A. Between Louise and Val.
Q Male
A Yes
Q Die here
A No
Q More than one spirit
A Yes
Q Age
A 45
Q Year died
A 1867
Q Live in Watford
A Yes
Q Spell out your name
A W E S T A
Q Are 2 spirits here
A Yes
Q How many years here
A Goodbye.
We then felt spirit leave us and another spirit to come forward to join with us.
Q Can you knock?
A Yes – nothing heard
Q Work here
A Yes
Q Are you on stage
A Yes
Q Are you an actor
A Yes
Val has the name of Perry
Q Is your name Perry
A Yes
Q Spell your name
A G I
Q Give the next letter
A GI
Q Spell your name
A GI
No communication for a short while
Q Have you gone?
A No GI
Another spirit seemed to join in with us
Q Spell your first name
A No
Q Age
A 6
Q Age you died
A 28
Then glass moved to goodbye
Q Are there more spirits here
A Yes
Q How many
A 7
No further communication
Vigil 2 Upper Dress Circle
All seemed quiet sitting in the top circle then we heard footsteps. Steen heard female whispering in the middle of the circle and then hears SSSSHH. Val sees a flash of light to the left side. Val feels very happy and wants to laugh she also has the name of Charlie who she wants to laugh at. Louise hears the sound of a seat moving. Ken in the hub watching us on night vision cameras radioed to say there were orbs passing around us. Again Val thought this was funny, but as soon as we left this area she was in a different mood.
With time to spare the team met with team 2 on the stage to hold a short vigil. Val calls out for spirit all of us feel ok. Steen whistles and asks for it to be copied, no response Steen feels like something has dropped on him, Laura is feeling cold, and Paul feels calm. Louise, Val and Paul tried glass divination and there was slight movement of the glass, Laura and Louise feel dizzy and sick. Steen saw the table move slightly. Then we tried table tipping, Paul said the table felt different from before and for some reason he was holding onto the legs of the table as if he was holding it down and at the same time Val was holding the top down. No movement felt séance closed.
Break Time
During this break Matthew told the group that Gilbert Perry produced double acts at the theatre for years. He produced Blythe Spirit a play on which they held a séance on the stage trying to contact a wife. Steen had earlier placed our table for séances on the stage at random; Matthew explained to us that the table we were using was in the exact place as the table in the play. This is a large stage and Steen could have placed the table anywhere.
Vigil 3 Dress Circle
The teams again divided and we stood in the boxes either side of the auditorium, again Val is given the name of Ballard and also has a giggle as Charlie is with them. In the right side box Val feels great sadness and feels like she wants to fall over the top, she feels someone had fallen. Louise wants to kneel and pray only to find Steen who is to her left is on his knees. Steen has a falling sensation. Emma calls for spirit from the left side box, no response. Steen feels cold draught on his neck. All hear a sound from the circle. Val sees the image of not how the theatre is at present day but a theatre full of gaiety like an old musical theatre, Matthew then said the theatre was named Palace Variety Theatre when it first opened. Val feels a cold breeze and Charlie and Ballard are still with her
Vigil 4 Backstage and Dressing Rooms.
We walked around the dressing rooms with Adrian joining with us. Each taking turns to call for spirit to come forward, there was no response, in the orange dressing room Steen stood in front of the mirror and stared at his reflection for a long time his face seemed to just disappear, Val tried and Lou could see Val’s face disappearing. Paul and Adrian feel fine as with Louise. All hear a sound from behind the wall like a chair being dragged; Adrian told us the lift shaft was behind the wall.
Backstage was quite eerie and Steen is given the name of Peter, Val says Charlie is again with her and the year is around 1920’s no later than the 1930’s. Steen says the name of Peter Roberts and Val starts to really shiver. Val asks for spirit to affect Paul or Adrian but nothing occurs.
Team 2
Laura (Lead Investigator)
Jacqi
Pat
Matthew
Vigil 1 Auditorium
We all sat at the rear of the auditorium with team 1 on the stage. We could all hear Val conducting a glass divination séance. We could see a light appear on the stage, we felt quite uneasy sitting here while Val was calling out we all could hear small knocks and Pat and Jacqi saw a shadow. A door was heard to shut. Something touched Pat’s hair all is feeling ok, although all feel as though someone is with us. Jacqi is feeling very cold; Laura hears a tap and is also very cold. Laura has the name of Hillary come to mind, Jacqi definitely feels a male presence to the right of the theatre aged forty/fifty. Jacqi had the name of Wesley in mind
Break Time
Back at the hub Steen went back to the auditorium to find Laura and her team, why we do not know there was no explanation for him to go back there as Laura’s team was in the hub.
While he was in there a door opened and then shut. This door was definitely closed beforehand.
Vigil 2 Staircase and Dressing Rooms
In dressing room 2 Jacqi called to spirit all team heard tapping from outside the door the more we asked for spirit the nearer the taps came. When we asked for spirit to move something the taps stopped and nothing more was heard from this room.
We tried glass divination in two of the dressing rooms and felt the glass wanted to move but instead of moving around the table it just kept spinning in one spot.
Vigil 3 Dress Circle
Joined with Team 1.
Vigil 4 Upper Dress Circle
Pat felt uncomfortable up here she felt like she was falling over the rails. Laura said to close your eyes but this didn’t help at all it made Pat worse. Pat put her torch on as she felt so bad, the feeling was so strong she wanted to leave this area.
Team 3
Emma
Mary-Lou
Rachel
Adrian
Vigil 1 Dress Circle
We all sat quietly up in the dress circle, Val was on the stage and we could hear what was being said as this theatre is a place where voices carry. We waited and listened for any occurrences but there were no responses.
Vigil 2 Staircase and Dressing Rooms
Members took turns in asking for spirit to come forward with no responses. All sat in silence hoping to hear some sounds but this was unfruitful.
Emma felt like there were cobwebs across her face and was calling for spirit to join them. Emma knocked and asked spirit to copy her, no response. Emma felt a cold breeze across her hands.
In the green dressing room the team tried the Ouija but had very little movement, then onto orange dressing room. Mary-Lou felt giggly in here and on calling out all heard bangs. Mary-Lou had strange feelings in the corner of the room; no one had the giggles like Mary-Lou.
Emma again asked for spirit to join with them. All sat in silence for a while with no occurrences.
Vigil 3 Stage and Backstage
The glass divination was set upon the stage; Laura was asking for spirit to communicate with us, with our fingers on the glass no movement was felt.
Members took turns in asking for spirit to come forward with no responses. All sat in silence hoping to hear some sounds but this was unfruitful.
In dressing room 2 Jacqi called to spirit all team heard tapping from outside the door the more we asked for spirit the nearer the taps came. When we asked for spirit to move something the taps stopped and nothing more was heard from this room.
We tried glass divination in two of the dressing rooms and felt the glass wanted to move but instead of moving around the table it just kept spinning in one spot.
Vigil 4 Auditorium
Emma was calling out for spirit to come and join with us. To touch one of us, to make a sound. Several little faint knocks were heard but of no significance. We sat in silence for a while, no other occurrences.
All Teams
Vigil 5 Stage and Auditorium
All members held a final séance on the stage by joining hands in a circle. Val has the name of Harris this Emma thought as strange as her maiden name was Harris. Jacqi calls for spirit to join with us. Ken in the hub is watching us on infra red cameras, he can see a male figure standing between Jacqi and Val, and he is wearing a white coat. With him is a man in uniform but not the forces. The man in white is tall and slim and Ken has the name of Korky come to mind. Ken feels that this is possibly a nickname and that Korky fell from some sort of rigging. The man in the uniform is standing with Korky. Val still feels happy and giggly as Charlie is with her. Jacqi has a pain around her neck and shoulder. In the séance held by all the team Pat felt she had been touched and asked Adrian if he had touched her, which he had not. All members feel fine. Séance closed.
MPI would like to say our heartfelt thanks to Matthew Field, Matthew Ledbury and Adrian Lesurf who made us feel so very welcome, and for allowing us to investigate this elegant theatre with their help and co-operation we had a wonderful and promising night. Also to Paul Cowdell for joining in with us.
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