Well, I finally got to "witness" the theater ghost in action, and I had to admit that it was rather spooky. I'm still convinced that what we all saw can be explained by natural causes. (Ironically one of the characters in the play is a scientist who feels the same way about the happenings in the haunted mansion.)
What happened was there are two candlesticks with five candles each on the fake fireplace which is right next to a door that gets slammed quite a bit during the course of the rehearsal, and when that happens they rock and rock but they DO NOT FALL OUT. So the other night we were all off the stage, all was quiet, the director got up to change something on stage and right after she passed the fireplace, about 4 or 5 steps away as a matter of fact, ONE lone candle fell out PLOP! and rolled behind the candlestick. She turned right around when she heard it and said, "I know I am heavy but I am not that heavy." So--there were witnesses. Nobody was touching the candlesticks, nobody was hiding anywhere, it happened in full view of everyone. It was just like an invisible finger had pushed the one candle over.
Now, being of a skeptical bent, like the scientist character, I went over and examined the other candles. They were all jammed pretty tight in the candlestick. So how did the one come out and why? I did not say anything to anyone, but a few days later I checked the candles again. Some of them were definitely looser than the others, not loose enough to come out, but still loose. So I tightened them all up again, and will check again in a few more days. My hypothesis is that over time vibrations from within the theater and from the street outside which gets a lot of heavy traffic, combined with temperature changes, cause the candles to start slowly corkscrewing their way upwards until one or more reaches the point where they are no longer supported by the candlestick and they pop out. So I would expect to find in a few days that some of the candles are loose again.
Now it seems to me that if there are such things as ghosts, they certainly are amused by very little and don't have much imagination. I mean if I were a ghost I think I could find much better things to do than knock over candles and make strange noises. I mean, why limit oneself? I can think of a LOT of things I could do if I were a ghost. Who knows, I just might be one someday. Then look out! What fun I will have. You want to see haunting, I will show you haunting.
I once visited a cave in northwestern Tennessee that was reputed to be the home of the Bell Witch, an entity that has haunted the area for around 200 years. According to the guide, no one has ever successfully spent a night in the cave. People have tried, but always end up leaving before the night is through. Furthermore, pebbles taken from the cave have the power to cause misfortune down the road, so don't take any as a souvenir. Yet, the cave has to be locked up each night to protect it from vandals! Oh really? I would think that that would be the last place anyone in their right mind would dare to vandalize, but not so. Apparently the fearsome Bell Witch who can do all kinds of evil things is powerless against someone armed with a can of spray paint! Otherwise, why would her cave need to be locked up?
So, I remain unconvinced.
What happened was there are two candlesticks with five candles each on the fake fireplace which is right next to a door that gets slammed quite a bit during the course of the rehearsal, and when that happens they rock and rock but they DO NOT FALL OUT. So the other night we were all off the stage, all was quiet, the director got up to change something on stage and right after she passed the fireplace, about 4 or 5 steps away as a matter of fact, ONE lone candle fell out PLOP! and rolled behind the candlestick. She turned right around when she heard it and said, "I know I am heavy but I am not that heavy." So--there were witnesses. Nobody was touching the candlesticks, nobody was hiding anywhere, it happened in full view of everyone. It was just like an invisible finger had pushed the one candle over.
Now, being of a skeptical bent, like the scientist character, I went over and examined the other candles. They were all jammed pretty tight in the candlestick. So how did the one come out and why? I did not say anything to anyone, but a few days later I checked the candles again. Some of them were definitely looser than the others, not loose enough to come out, but still loose. So I tightened them all up again, and will check again in a few more days. My hypothesis is that over time vibrations from within the theater and from the street outside which gets a lot of heavy traffic, combined with temperature changes, cause the candles to start slowly corkscrewing their way upwards until one or more reaches the point where they are no longer supported by the candlestick and they pop out. So I would expect to find in a few days that some of the candles are loose again.
Now it seems to me that if there are such things as ghosts, they certainly are amused by very little and don't have much imagination. I mean if I were a ghost I think I could find much better things to do than knock over candles and make strange noises. I mean, why limit oneself? I can think of a LOT of things I could do if I were a ghost. Who knows, I just might be one someday. Then look out! What fun I will have. You want to see haunting, I will show you haunting.
I once visited a cave in northwestern Tennessee that was reputed to be the home of the Bell Witch, an entity that has haunted the area for around 200 years. According to the guide, no one has ever successfully spent a night in the cave. People have tried, but always end up leaving before the night is through. Furthermore, pebbles taken from the cave have the power to cause misfortune down the road, so don't take any as a souvenir. Yet, the cave has to be locked up each night to protect it from vandals! Oh really? I would think that that would be the last place anyone in their right mind would dare to vandalize, but not so. Apparently the fearsome Bell Witch who can do all kinds of evil things is powerless against someone armed with a can of spray paint! Otherwise, why would her cave need to be locked up?
So, I remain unconvinced.
