I recently visited Springer Opera House in Columbus, Georgia to see if the rumors of it being one of the ten most haunted places in America were true; they were.
Springer Opera House is no stranger whatsoever to visits from the other side: there are regular sightings of orbs of light, cold spots in the air, and other paranormal things, as I found from my own experience and from my own research later on. I consider myself to be somewhat interested in the paranormal, so naturally the stories piqued my curiosity.
The most famous spirit that resides in Springer Opera House is Edwin Booth, brother to John Wilkes Booth. As I found, Booth feels quite free to travel around the theatre as he pleases, usually in the box seats and the lobby. At other times he seems to help out the stagehands by moving props or leaving missing bits of wardrobe in plain sight, much to the confoundment of the actors. In addition to Booth, another ghost is said to sometimes appear centre stage. In the upstairs dressing room, children’s laughter can be faintly heard, according to my research. Ghosts are commonly said in folklore to be tied to the place of death, because there’s something in life that they regret or left unfinished.
So what does this have to do with Booth? Booth was a very prominent actor, born near Bel Air, Maryland. He’s often called ‘the Hamlet of the 19th century’. Booth came from a family of actors – his father, Junius Brutus Booth and his brother John Wilkes Booth. Early in his career, Edwin performed alongside his father, debuting as Tressel in Shakespeare’s Richard III. Two years later, he played the part of Richard, standing in for his father who was apparently ill at the time.
Edwin Booth went on a world tour for the next four years, starting in 1852. His career was to last until 1864, which was his last performance for several years. Before John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln, Edwin appeared with him and Junius Brutus Booth Jr. in Julius Caesar in 1864. The part of Marc Antony was played by John Wilkes, Edwin played Brutus, and Junius portrayed Cassius.
In 1876, Edwin Booth came to Columbus, Georgia to perform in the Springer Opera House. He was well-received as Hamlet, which helped to eliminate the stigma of him being the brother of the man who’d assassinated the President, and Hamlet became Booth’s signature role.
Springer Opera House, since its founding, flourished until 1931, when it became a movie house. It no longer hosted live theatrical performances, and was eventually slated to be demolished. Eventually, because of the intervention of an actors’ guild in Columbus, the building was granted a new future of live theatre, but no longer performed Shakespeare. Instead, the Springer Opera House put on performances of classic Broadway shows and American plays, which is what some believe is the cause of Booth haunting the premises. He wishes to see the opera house revitalise the classics which made him famous – then he can properly rest. As to the other presences, ghosts are often believed to be rendered so due to a violent or unexpected death.
In my visit to the Springer Opera House, I didn’t encounter Booth himself, or any other spiritual presences, apart from the eerie laughter on the second floor near where (I assume) the dressing room would be. I couldn’t really hear it with my ears – it was more of a ‘subconscious’ hearing, somewhat akin to peripheral vision. In future, I hope to be able to give this another look, along with other haunted locations. For those who want to visit Springer Opera House to find out for themselves, the address is:
103 10th Street
Columbus, GA 31901
Upcoming plays are Crimes of the Heart, A Christmas Carol and Tuna Christmas.
Sources:
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/brady/gallery/81gal.html
http://www.theatredatabase.com/19th_century/edwin_booth_001.html
