The Ghost Light and Theatre Ghosts

“A single light left burning center stage when the theatre is empty. The source of the term is the superstition that a ghost will move in if the theatre is left completely dark.” - International Dictionary of Theatre Language

When Shall We Three Meet: A Ghost Light’s Tale will be published November 10, 2026! YA Historical Fiction, set in the haunted Bowery Theatre in New York City during the tumultuous year of 1849.

Do theatres have ghosts? Actors and stagehands who’ve experienced odd paranormal occurrences say so. I grew up performing at the Civic Theatre in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Many people who worked there swore the Civic had a ghost named Thelma Mertz. She was a mischievous spirit, always playing tricks on the actors and stagehands.

Across the world, most theatres have a ghost light—a single bulb mounted on a pole, encased in a wire cage that burns when a theatre is empty. (Before electricity or gas, ghost lights were a single candle on a stand) The practical reason is to keep people who work in the theatre safe. The stage can be a dangerous place; ask anyone who’s fallen into a deep orchestra pit! The more intriguing reason is the centuries-old legend: the light keeps ghosts from inhabiting a theatre.

I like to imagine that theatre ghosts are Earthbound. Trapped between death and some transcendent place, unable to move on from a particular theatre because of unfinished business when they were alive. While many in the theatrical community believe the light is used to keep ghosts at bay, I prefer to fantasize that it burns as a spotlight for theatre ghosts to perform under.

Check out this article by Robert Viagas from Playbill for further reading!

Photo purchased from Shutterstock