The "Blithe Spirit"

Witness: Dwayne Gagnon
Location: Portland, Maine
Date of Encounter: September – October 1999

I was an intern for the Portland Stage Company (PSC) at the time of this encounter. They are a professional theatre working in Portland, Maine. One of my jobs as an intern for PSC was to ready the set and work the light board during the production of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit."

The set was made to resemble the inside of an English manor and it had two levels. On the second level was a group of windows with curtains that the actors worked during one scene in the play. I had just made sure that the curtains were open for the afternoon rehearsal and when I was finished, I headed up to the light booth. I was working on something in the light booth when someone told the stage manager that the curtains on one of the windows were closed. The stage manager was in the booth when I opened the curtains and she watched me do it. It hadn't been 5 minutes since I'd opened the curtains. I knew the curtains hadn't slipped or fallen back into place. The set builders had made certain that the curtains couldn't close on their own when they built the set.

The stage manager and I agreed immediately that it was the work of a ghost.

I had some other experiences in the building as well. I've seen a shadowy figure there and felt very uncomfortable in certain parts of the building, especially if I was alone. The place is more than 100 years old and it was at one time a Society of Oddfellows fraternal hall.