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The theatre, currently celebrating its centenary this year, is not only famous for being a 'comic graveyard' not least for the fact that the audiences in the North-East were at one time reknowned for being difficult to please1 but is also said to be one of the most haunted theatres in the UK. It was the last stage that Sid James (left) performed on (he collapsed mid-performance and literally 'died on stage'). Similar to Tommy Cooper's final exit, the audience thought that what they were witnessing was part of the act. It is now believed by some that James haunts the dressing room that he occupied before his death. Some months after his death, actors using the room reported becoming unsettled and experiencing strange sensations.
In 1989, another great British comic - Les Dawson - is reported to have been so troubled by something that he saw in the dressing room, he not only refused to describe in full what he had seen but he also turned down further invitations to work at the theatre2. It is believed that he saw the ghost of Sid James but we will never know as Dawson took the details of this encounter to the grave.
The Empire Theatre was officially opened in 1907 by Vesta Tilley, (right) a popular Music Hall entertainer and most interestingly, one of the top male impersonators of her time. She was also the first artist to tread the boards at the Empire. Massively popular in both the UK and America with her portrayals of dapper young men about town, sailors, soldiers and other male characters, she eventually retired from the limelight in 1920 - a year after her husband had been knighted for his services to the war effort. She went on to lead the life of a politician's wife before moving to Monte Carlo where she lived until her death in 1952. Some say that Tilley still appears at the theatre, haunting the auditorium along with another female, Molly Moselle.
Moselle, an assistant stage manager to a touring production of Ivor Novello's The Dancing Years, disappeared on January 14, 1949. Some say that she disappeared while on her way to post a birthday card, others say that she went missing on her way to keep a secret tryst with a Russian sea captain. In the sixties, a body (of the same height as Moselle) was recovered from the River Wear but remains unidentified. Although there were apparent sightings of her at various train stations around the country at the time of her disappearance, she was never seen again and what happened to Molly Moselle remains a mystery.3
Security staff have reported odd noises in the empty auditorium during the night and visitors to the theatre have also reported feelings of being watched and weird sensations. While it can be said that the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is the most famous 'haunted' theatre (boasting the ghosts of Joseph Grimaldi as well as others), Sunderland's Empire is still a sure contender for the title of one of the most haunted theatres in the UK.
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