The Storyteller: Cinema ghosts, Dame Agatha and a couple of Pixies

The route I take for my Paignton Ghost Walk takes us past not one, but two allegedly haunted cinemas and as I’ve had dealings with a very haunted one in Plymouth over the years I thought this might be a good opportunity to share the details with you...

The first of my new walks took place the other week, when 15 people joined me on a stroll around the town by the light of a nearly full moon to find out more (particularly the spooky stuff) about the place where most of them live. 

We were even spotted by a passer-by, who took the trouble of posting (anonymously, of course) on Spotted Paignton, asking what was going on at the end of Winner Street that evening with a group of people all dressed in black, staring at a guy wearing “a homemade hat!”  

Yes, my Steampunk hat is all my own design! And yes, it was us, just setting off on the Ghost Walk. 

If the writer is worried about missing out, then they needn’t worry as I’m planning on hosting them again throughout the year especially during the Summer Season. 

Most of what I had to say was new to my guests, but as we approached the building site that is the front of the once grand Paignton Picture House, (it’s hard to tell what it is these days with everything piled up in front of it), I was asked if I had any stories about it...being local, they knew what it was, and practically everyone, including myself, had watched films there over the years.

It has quite a history behind it, opening back in March 1914 (stopped showing films in September 1999), with even Agatha Christie, no less, visiting regularly and having a favourite seat up in the circle. It is said that all the theatres and cinemas described in her books are all modelled on the Paignton Picture House. 

As far as hauntings go, the most commonly reported phenomenon is the smell of cigar smoke coming from the posh boxes at the back of the auditorium. 

Obviously more noticeable after smoking was banned inside public buildings, but you can just imagine a rich, fat gentleman, still sitting in his private box, puffing away on his fancy cigar, waiting for the next film to start...I wonder how much longer he still has to wait?

Leaving the restoration work behind, we headed off down towards the seafront and a working cinema (the establishment of which was allegedly the reason why the Picture House closed) built on the site of the old Festival Theatre, where I was employed for a few years before being taken on full-time at the Princess, across the Bay, and where I had a few interesting times of my own...

After my Summer Season at the Palace Avenue Theatre, and realising that an actor's life for me wasn’t going to pay very well, I got a job working at the Festival in the box office the following Summer. 

I have so many fond memories from my time there...who can’t forget the old fountain, now replaced by a restaurant that naughty children used to pour washing up liquid into, so that the whole turning circle around it used to be awash with foam...and the mindless louts on their skateboards, who kept bumping them up and down the front steps, and were being continuously being chased off by our good old front of house manager, Mark...but it was what happened after my first attempt to leave offerings for the pixies, up on Dartmoor, that I really want to share with you...

Pixies on Dartmoor

Ever since I started to live permanently in Torbay, I have wanted to explore Dartmoor. Scanning the Ordinance Survey map, one thing caught my eye...the Pixie Cave on Sheepstor.  

Keen to visit, I did some research on the wee folk and found it was only polite to leave offerings for them, when in their abode. Things like coins, bits of material and thread, so they can make their little outfits. So, at the first possible opportunity, we set off for Sheepstor.  

However, even though it’s marked on the map, it’s not easy to find and on that first attempt we were forced to give up (I’ve since found it, and been inside many times), but we didn’t want to leave without placing our offerings somewhere. 

Scouring the slopes of the Tor, we came across a suitable outcrop, with a cave that looked like a pixie might reside in it and duly put our coins, and material inside, and then went home...

That following week, I had two strokes of luck. Firstly, a customer tried to use a dodgy credit card. In those days, when such a transaction was flagged up on the system, we had to ring the issuing bank and they would instruct you to cut up the card in front of the customer, asking them to pay another way. Instead the guy just slunk off, sheepishly, without his tickets.

I then had to post the bits of credit card back to the bank, and I was rewarded with £50! Thank you very much Mr Dodgy Customer!

The second piece of good fortune came at the end of the week, when the theatre held the annual Midnight Matinee where all the acts appearing at the local theatres that Summer Season came together on one bill to raise money for charity. I got tickets for it, and as we arrived on the night, they were selling raffle tickets, so I eagerly bought some, and ended up winning Sunday Lunch for two at the Imperial Hotel...all this within a week of leaving offerings for the pixies...make of that what you will...

With regard to any spooky activity at the Festival, I was never aware of any during my time there...plenty at the Princess Theatre, but that’s a different story for another time, if you haven’t heard it already…

However, when it became a cinema, I was told that members of staff were experiencing something strange in one of the screens. 

They would often notice someone sitting on their own on the front row...who wants to sit right in front of a cinema screen if they don’t have to? 

But once the film ended, and the audience began filing out, there was never any sign of this distinctive person from the front row.

When I heard about this, I got myself invited into the haunted screen, after the audience had emptied out, and the lights were on. Interesting, but as my mediums weren’t present, I had no way of knowing if there were any spirits there.

The other week, whilst walking my chosen route for the Ghost Walk, I popped into the Vue for an update. The staff were aware of the alleged activity, but they had no reports of anything recent, but if anything did occur, they said they would let me know...maybe it might be possible to investigate further, at some point in the future?

Reports of similar activity came from a cinema in Plymouth and for many years until its recent closure, investigation groups were allowed access and  to hold overnight vigils. I was lucky that a member of my group, TIP, had a friend who worked there, and, through them, we managed to arrange a visit for ourselves...

The Reel Cinema, or ABC, was built on the site of the old Theatre Royal, and opened in 1938. Because it still had proper stages in some of the screens, it was also able to put on concerts, especially during the 60s, when it hosted the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. 

From the start of its life as a cinema, it was said to be haunted by several ghosts, the best-known one was “Emily”, who was said to be an actress and who had taken her own life in one of the dressing rooms when it was a theatre. 

Vue Cinema

Similarly to the Vue in Paignton, she has often been seen in Screen 2, during a film by members of staff, but has disappeared by the time the audience leaves. We were hoping to find signs of her during our investigation. Sadly, she failed to make an appearance for our cameras, but the building definitely had a spooky atmosphere to it, probably enhanced by the discovery that buildings nearby had been constructed over a burial site for the Royal Naval Hospital at Stonehouse, possibly in use since the Napoleonic War.

We held several investigations there, over the years, so when John Govier from Radio Devon, whose Late Night Radio Show, my friend Maia, and I, were regular guests on, was looking for a venue to host a special live broadcast from to celebrate an anniversary of his show we suggested the Reel Cinema. 

We had already persuaded him to do two outdoor broadcasts for Halloween purposes, in haunted properties, whilst we investigated around him during the show, so this wasn’t a problem for him.

 He liked the idea because it still had a stage space, where he could put on a live band, have special guests, and all in front of a live audience. 

Once again,  we held an investigation throughout the broadcast and gave him regular updates as to our findings. The thing that definitely helped the atmosphere for the audience was the fact that many of the surrounding buildings were in the process of being demolished and body parts had been unearthed during the ensuing excavations...some bones were actually found sticking out of the walls of the building we were occupying...

So next time you are enjoying a visit to your local cinema, take a look around you, as there might be someone present who hasn’t paid for their ticket...