Halloween: Is Harrogate Theatre's ghost coming back as plans go ahead for first live show since Covid

Fears grow over Harrogate move into higher tier after Leeds moves to toughest Tier 3 level

Booking for Reece Dinsdale - Reece's Pieces, is open now via www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk

But anyone booking tickets should be advised seating capacity will be strictly limited for the show starring top actor/director Reece Dinsdale on Saturday, November 28 to ensure Harrogate Theatre operates in accordance with Government guidelines on Covid.

Having been closed since late March, the question in this Halloween season is whether Alice, Harrogate Theatre's famous mysterious apparition, will also return along with theatre-goers.

Supposedly the victim of a terrible love affair, Alice's spirit was apparently first sighted decades ago in the distinguished venue which first opened in 1900.

So well-known has Alice become over the years, she has even been written about in The Guardian and The Stage.

An usherette, cleaning the balconies in the 1990s, said she saw a whitish-grey apparition after experiencing a sudden chill.

In March 2000 an electrician saw a pillar of brilliant blue light in front of the circle which shot across the auditorium, hovered and disappeared.

Such is the hold of the mystery of Alice on the public's imagination, Harrogate Paranormal Society carried out an official ghost hunt inside Harrogate Theatre.

Armed with equipment, EMF Meters, full spectrum cameras, the team were keen to try and capture anything that showed itself at this atmospheric Victorian theatre.

Sadly the results were inclusive despite previous accounts of sightings, as well as reports of unaccountably cold rooms.

Some stories suggest Alice could be an usher, another a cleaner.

One report says she was an actress that kept getting smaller and smaller parts.

People who have seen her over the years have said there’s a smell of peppermint in the air... and nobody can explain why.

But Alice is not the only spooky phenomena in the Harrogate district, as befits an area where Sherlock writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited and conducted his own seances in The Harrogate Club in the early 1900's.

Tales of ghosts, supernatural phenomena and paranormal activity, abound in a region full of history and heritage.

Top 5 spooky goings-on in the Harrogate district

1. Ripley Castle: A sad figure dressed in 19th century costume

Said to be the ghost of Lady Alicia Ingilby, who lost her only two children to meningitis in the 1870s, the figure is seen walking towards the children’s bedrooms before passing through a locked door.

Legend has it that Lady Alicia must still be caring for the children of the house in spirit and it is her image that is seen.

This stateley home, steeped in 700 years of history, has a wealth of even more mysterious tales and is hosting tours today to allow visitors a glimpse.

2. Cedar Court Hotel's 'spooky' corridor

This historic Grade II listed Cedar Court Hotel Harrogate dates back to 1671 and sits on the site of the town's first ever hotel

The old building, which has stood on the same spot since 1672, has been changed countless times in the last 300 years.

But one wing has stayed the same - and spooky corridor’, as it is known, is said to be home to some ghoulish guests.

3. The Knaresborough Mist

A mist which appears to show a fighting man has been seen in the dungeons at Knaresborough castle.

A photographer at the castle is said to have recorded the mist’, which took the form of a large person standing above another who was lying on the ground.

The taller entity appears to have his right arm raised as if to strike the prone figure.

4. Hales Bar - strange sounds and falling bottles

The Hales Bar is the oldest licensed premises in Harrogate. It is an old coaching inn and founded in the mid-17th century.

Rebuilt in 1827, it became the Promenade Inn. This was enlarged in 1856 and the name was changed to Hodgsons.

When William Hales took it over in 1882, it became the Hales Bar.

In keeping with its history, it still maintains gas lighting and cigar lighters. For the most part, it exhibits ghostly manifestations. these include poltergeists with strange sounds and manic laughter.

Licensees have reported bottles and glasses falling off the shelves, spin and drop. However, never smash. Customers have witnessed shadows walking through the bar.

When it was investigated by Harrogate Paranormal Society, the static camera caught a black shape floating down behind an internal door. The light on the camera adjusted itself to it.

5. The wolf of Harlow Hill

A spectral wolf known as the Harlow Hound is still said to haunt Harlow Hill.

The wild wolf and great Dane cross is said to have roamed free on the hill in the 1970s, worrying sheep and frightening farmers.

Angry farmers, banding together to kill the animal, tracked the hound, shot it, and strung its body up in the Ship Inn pub for all to see.

The Ship Inn has since been demolished.

Fears grow over Harrogate move into higher tier after Leeds moves to toughest Tier 3 level

Revealed: Covid costs £3.7million in lost sales to Harrogate Theatre

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