Halloween in Scotland: I visited 'haunted' Edinburgh theatre to meet friendly ghost who loves classical music

At the time, it was known as the city’s super-cinema and the largest cinema in the country.

Officers were said to have started their investigation and quickly came across an open stage door. Feeling that something was amiss, they searched the building where one officer then entered the landing on level six.

There, he met an elderly man who introduced himself as Albert, the stage door keeper.

“Everything’s all fine here,” is what the officer was allegedly told by the man. So, the officer being reassured, went to leave the building.

Where the story takes a turn, Playhouse tour guide Jenny Kemcheva says, is what happened next.

“While the officer was leaving the maintenance manager was just coming in,” she says. “The police then told him that Albert said ‘everything was fine’.

“The manager then said ‘we’ve not had somebody called Albert working here for quite some time now’.”

Chills run down my spine as I hear that it is said Albert had died some time previous alone in the building late one winter’s night.

Like many ghost stories, there are many variations to the tale. However, existing Edinburgh Playhouse staff and visitors have shared numerous weird happenings within the building that have been attributed to the phenomenon that is Albert the ghost.

“He’s a friendly ghost,” Ms Kemcheva says. “We do like him. We keep a very nice relationship with him.” However, I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make me feel less scared as I prepare to roam the same corridors Albert allegedly likes to frequent.

Alongside my guide, I’m accompanied on the behind-the-scenes tour with Playhouse communications officer Erin McClelland and a theatre fan who bought a ticket for the backstage tours the Playhouse offers.

Unlike any of the members of my group, I have never been to the Edinburgh Playhouse before. As I enter the historic building and witness it in all its grandeur with beautiful golden ornate decorations and red plush seating, I feel a bit embarrassed to admit this is my first time visiting. Alas my excuse, and perhaps a valid one, is that I only moved to Edinburgh a week ago.

I’m at the theatre on the day before Halloween and when, according to the stories, the “veil between the worlds” should almost be at its thinnest. I’m not very clued up on the history of Albert’s hauntings, though the staff at the Playhouse are more than happy to show me around and fill me in on all I need to know.

Before my official tour, Ms McClelland, who has worked at the Edinburgh Playhouse for several years, tells me she has never had an interaction with Albert, though she has heard many stories. She takes me through the theatre, up a flight of stairs and we are finally standing in front of a sign that reads level six.

This is where the first interaction with Albert allegedly happened and, as we are among the only people in the building, it is totally silent.

It is here where I’m told about an experience with Albert that happened ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1997.

Police sniffer dogs had been called in all night to clear each level for drugs. However, the dogs “wouldn’t budge” when they went to clear level six, Ms McClelland says.

I’m told Playhouse staff joked that it was Albert, but that regardless the army dog-handler was called, with army dogs used to clear the level instead. Allegedly, this was because the dogs, who were based at Edinburgh Castle, were used to “spooks and spirits”.

When I am later taken on a tour of the building, Ms Kemcheva says performers who come to the theatre “absolutely hate” being in dressing rooms on level six.

“They say there’s strange drafts, strange noises and that the lights flicker,” she tells our group. “That there’s keys jangling, that there’s doors slamming. They just do not like to be there.”

The most common interaction Playhouse staff have with Albert, I’m told, is of lights flickering and staff members seeing dark shadows where they shouldn’t be.

‘Classical music fan Albert has messed with staff radios’

It’s not only the lights that Albert likes to mess with, Ms Kemcheva says - it is also the radios of members of staff.

“We also have a backstage crew member, who is now a backstage manager” our tour guide says. “He told the story that in his early days here he was working on the stage and had his radio on listening to heavy metal music.

“It kept constantly switching to classical music all night. So I think we know his [Albert’s] preferences well. He’s a little bit more old-fashioned, but we love him for that.”

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As the tour ended and I discovered more history as well as what goes on backstage during shows, I knew I would be making a return visit to Edinburgh Playhouse.

After all, as Ms Kemcheva told me, if there is actually a ghost named Albert, then he seemed generally friendly. I’ll just make sure to play classical music on my next visit.