Princess theatre, Melbourne

mysterious world
May 26, 2022
2 min read

The princess theatre is a 1488 seat theatre in Melbourne’s East End theatre district, Australia and is the oldest entertainment site there.

The theatre started in 1854 by the name of Astley’s amphitheater. In 1857,the name was changed to princess theatre. Since then it has been owned by multiple people and has been torn down and rebuilt multiple times. The last extensive renovation was in 1986,when David Mariner purchased the theatre.

On March 1888, Gounod’s opera “Faust” was being run at the theatre. Frederick baker under the stage name of Frederick federici was performing the role of Mephistopheles. The production was to end with Mephistopheles sinking dramatically through a trap door to signify him returning to the fires of hell with his prize, the unfortunate Dr Faustus. As he was being lowered down to the basement, he had a heart attack and died immediately inside the basement. He couldn’t come to the stage to take his bows and nobody knew about it. When the opera ended, the company came to know about the tragic incident. However, the company and all the stage staff swore that he had been with them during the bows. Nearly everybody on the stage had seen him taking his bows.

This was the first ever sighting of his ghost. Many people have reported of seeing the ghost since then. Sometimes he could be spotted sitting on one of the chairs watching the show. As a sign of respect for many years on opening night a seat would be left for frederici in the dress circle. His ghost was considered as a sign of good luck for the play. Some people have spotted him sitting in the dress circle well dressed, while others have seen him on stage. Some people have witnessed mysterious lights passing through the corridors. In 1970s during the making of a documentary film, pictures we’re taken. One picture revealed an ashen faced transparent figure. Everybody working at the theatre has experienced some kind of activity at the theatre. They have made peace with it and doesn’t want it to go away.