LFP ARCHIVES: A ghostly Grand Theatre legend

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In the spirit of the Halloween season, we’re reflecting on what’s arguably London’s most notorious ghostly legend – that the Grand Theatre is haunted by its original owner, Ambrose Small. This story was first published in the Oct. 30, 2009 editions of The London Free Press

The ghostly gossip surrounding the Grand Theatre isn’t going anywhere.

Ninety years after the London landmark’s original owner mysteriously disappeared, amateur ghostbusters continue to be fascinated by suspicions his ghost still haunts the place, with one group certain something spooky’s going on and another readying its own probe.

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“It’s been sort of kept going because (of) people who work in the building, especially after hours, that have felt one thing or another,” said the Grand’s Duane Woods.

“It’s definitely something that’s talked about on a regular basis. There have been a couple of people in senior management (experiencing things) and they’re people who aren’t going to fool around.”

Ambrose Small ran a chain of theatres, including the Grand, for two decades before vanishing in 1919. He disappeared just as he was finishing a deal to sell the chain for more than $1 million.

Those who swear his ghost still haunts the Richmond Street theatre say many have seen an apparition of a man walking through the balcony’s back row. Phantom knocks on dressing room doors are common, too.

“The fact this has happened to a number of people and has continued over the decades . . . you put more stock in it,” Woods said.

That spooky legacy is also what attracts groups such as the Southern Ontario Paranormal Society that conducted a late-night investigation last month and is making its findings public, just in time for Halloween.

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The group’s founder, Steve Genier, said the Grand is high on the list of places people like him want to investigate.

During his late-night experience, he said he constantly felt the sensation of someone trying to push him off a balcony that once served as Small’s office. He also said a video recorder picked up a voice calling out the name Louise.

Find all this talk of the paranormal tough to believe? Genier said he’s right there with you.

“I’m very skeptical,” he said. “We go into most investigations not looking for the paranormal aspect — we’re looking to explain what people think are paranormal aspects.

“(But) there seems to be something going on. I could safely say, ‘Yeah, I do believe something’s going on.’ ”

Another local group is set to probe the Grand’s ghostly side soon, Woods said, and the latest apparent spike in interest comes after years of similar efforts.

In 2000, for example, a London couple brought a psychic into the theatre, hoping to suss out Small’s ghost. Five years ago, an upstart TV show’s crew undertook a similar effort.

The ongoing fascination with perhaps London’s best-known ghost story is no surprise to theatre staff, Woods said. “It’s definitely a major part of the history of the Grand.”

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