Lady in black is Carl’s ghost, say spook hunters

Carl Paulson — former Rep director, now its ghost, says group

THE ghost of Coliseum favourite Carl Paulsen is annoyed there is a photograph of him wearing a black dress displayed in the theatre foyer.

But the late director of Oldham Repertory Theatre enjoys hanging about with the wardrobe staff, and keeps them company when they work on their own.

These are some of the findings of a paranormal investigation at the Fairbottom Street theatre by Club Zero, a Stockport-based ghost hunting group.

The club first visited in January, for a preview, and were so excited that they came back for a full investigation this week.

Tom Sweetman, the Coliseum’s marketing officer, said: “I was astounded by the amount of technical equipment they brought. They had TV monitors, full-size video cameras, electromagnetic frequency detectors and motion sensors.

“There were about 16 people and they broke into two groups. They spoke about the theatre being a calming, happy place, with enjoyment on stage and in the audience.

“They held seances and one of them became Albert, an elderly gent who enjoyed a drink at the bar, so they are going to try and research who he was.

“The most interesting thing was Carl Paulsen. The first time they came various people such as cleaners told them they had seen the ghost of a woman in a black dress.

“But they didn’t feel it was a female presence and it was only when they saw the photo of Carl they could understand what it meant.

“People said the figure walked away through a wall and disappeared. The group checked plans and found a door was originally at that place. They say he is not happy because of the picture taken when he was in ‘Charley’s Aunt’.

“He wanted to be portrayed as a great performer, not just as he was in a dress.”

Pictures from the Club Zero video are now on show on the club’s web site, which they say show evidence of paranormal activity. And wardrobe staff say this has cleared up a mystery presence they feel in their work room.

Wardrobe manager Sarah McDougall said: “When you are here on your own things happen and we have noticed a very heavy smell of perfume.

Now we feel we know it is Carl Paulsen.”

Wardrobe assistant Rebecca Godfrey added: “He is not scary. But there was a lot of noise down the other end of the room when I was on my own on Saturday and you always feel you have got to look over you shoulder.