The Grey Lady
May 17, 2007
Bath is one of the most popular places that one should add in their itinerary while visiting England. It is set in the picturesque countryside of Somerset, 100 miles west of London.
This is famous for its hot springs and is rich in Roman and Georgian heritage. The entire city has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. As a tourist there are plenty of sight-seeing venues to wet ones appetite but there is a treat for paranormal lovers as well. The Theatre Royal of Bath is said to be the most haunted theatre in Britain.The Theatre Royal’s most famous ghost – the grey lady makes her appearance frequently. She is seen wearing an eighteenth century evening dress, accompanied with the strong fragrance of jasmine. Sometimes, she appears as a solid mass while other times as a wispy smoky figure.
There are many versions of her haunting. One states that she had been waiting for her lover when her husband challenged the lover in a duel. They fought in a room downstairs and soon she heard a shriek. She knew one of them had been slained. As a man’s footsteps echoed on the wooden boards to reach to her room, she realized that it was none other than her husband. She jumped from the top floor’s window and died.
The second account is that she fell madly in love with an actor at the theatre and spent all her time watching him from the top box. As her love was unreciprocated she committed suicide. The third version is the same as the second one except that the roles of the lady and the actor are reversed. She hung herself behind a door in the Garrick’s Head, the theatre’s own pub.The grey lady’s favorite haunt in the theatre is the top left hand box facing the stage. She has also been seen lingering in the corridor of the dress circle. Most visitors who have seen her, experience a sense of sadness and misery. It is said that they feel the lady’s grim moments before she committed suicide.
The surrounding area of the theatre is said to be spooked with spirits and poltergeists. The theatre is sandwiched between two houses where Beau Nash once resided. He was an aristocrat of the Georgian period who was instrumental in developing the city of Bath.
The Garrick’s Head was his original house. The restaurant ’Popjoy’s’ next door carries the name of his mistress and in 1761, he succumbed to his death here. Both buildings are haunted by mysterious figures and events like a blood stain that appears on the floor of the Garrick’s Head every year in the same spot. Popjoy’s too is said to have its own ghost - A vanishing lady.
©Nayna Chakrabarty, 2007. All Rights Reserved.
Random Posts
Comments
Got something to say?
