Investigation Report: Return to the Auckland Civic Theatre - 6th August 2012
Introduction
We were lucky enough to get another shot at the grand Civic Theatre for a segment that was to be shot for 20/20. This ended up being swapped for a segment on another paranormal group in another part of NZ that has been receiving a large amount of press at the moment, due to the amount of paranormal claims and attention.
Theatres make great places to do investigations. Not only are they soundproof from the outside world, but they make places where completely opposite feelings are felt. Dreams are made, or torn apart in theatres. Not only would they make a wonderful place to come visit again, to relive happier times, but also they are a place that would have torn many a person back down to size and shattered their dreams, when shows don’t go according to plan. When the place is full, The Civic is a humming, very busy place. When it is empty, is it really empty? Does the Civic store the energies of the living, to relive moments when the place is quiet enough for people to notice?
A lot of the staff remark that when they are in the place, and
the
place is quiet, that they are very much not alone. Ushers speak of a
rather rowdy "Doorman D" that is said to be lurking, making noise and
being felt around the place.
Also worthy of mention, is the so called "White Lady" that has been attributed to Freda Stark, a dancer at the civic, during the war years. She was in a relationship with Thelma Trott, a fellow dancer at their Mount Eden home, and Eric Mareo, a try hard composer, that performed at the old St James Theatre and the Civic. Mareo was convicted for Trotts murder by poisoning, sentenced to death by hanging, spent months on death row in Mount Eden Prison, but later commuted to a life sentence, being released in 1958. Mareo’s life was never going to reach the glory he had dreamed of after his reputation was dashed.
There is a nice wee section that is maintained by Friends of the Civic that has an area dedicated to the memory of these dancers, Freda included. Freda was recently buried with her friend, Thelma Trott in Waikumete Cemetery.
Before its life as the Civic, the
grounds were the site of a
large
market square, which burned down, with only one casualty that died on
the corner of Wellesley and Queen Streets.
In the mid 1930's Colin Anderson, the first managing director of The Civic, left the UK and journeyed to NZ via South Africa. In South Africa he met Lady Blythe who accompanied him to Auckland where they built Tamaki House in Kohimaramara, 40 acres of landscaped gardens with a Marie Antoinette farm. High society, racehorses, and a business associated with 'the Kelly gang", a group of Auckland Racing Club, Beer Barons, Hotel proprietor business men who had bankrolled Thomas O'Brien (creator of the Civic Theatre), led to them being among the elite of Auckland Society. Colin's wife died in an ‘unfortunate tragic accident’, and he was offered the management and a directorship of the Civic, and was spectacularly disliked, not being suitable for the role. His traditional garb of a grey suit, led to the coining of the nickname "Grey Ghost", together with his habit of spying on staff from the foyer balcony. A subsequent scandalous liaison rocked Auckland society. Jewels, gambling, scurrilous allegations and a court case led to him being dismissed as the Civic manager/director. He shot himself.
The Investigation
The group was split up into two teams, Team One comprising of Matt, Lisa, Kel and Kris, whilst the other one (Team Two) was
made up of Mark, Barbara and Jay. The group were to be filmed for an upcoming 20/20 television article, so we had the company of Producer Mark Sleeman, Reporter Emma Keeling and Cameraman Chris along for the night.
Team one went off to start their session in the main
auditorium with
T.V crew following them, whilst team two started the investigation by
entering the dressing rooms and lower areas. Needless to say, this was
different to any investigation that has happened before, as we had
cameras and their lights following us around and asking questions. This
made some people in the group feel self-conscious and under pressure to
give results. It also affected people’s levels of concentration, and
with so many people running around, made is a little busier that what
we are normally used to. However, a good night was had by all, and once
we had warmed up to being filmed, started to get flowing after that.
Experiences:
Mark:
At one point whilst Team One were upstairs being filmed, Mark,
Barbara
and Jay were downstairs documenting the surroundings and recording for
E.V.Ps.
Mark states "I was using the Parabolic Dish and a Night Shot video camera with Infrared Lamp filming and recording. I asked that if anyone was there, could they please come and touch me. Almost immediately I felt an icy cold chill breeze brushing across my right arm. Barbara was photographing me and at that moment captured a series of photos showing movement of a pinkish orb in front of me. We tried to find the source of the icy breeze but were unable to at the time. There were no air conditioning ducts or other outlets that would have accounted for this."
It was later concluded that the pink orb was in fact lens
flare caused
by Mark’s Infrared lamp which was aimed in Barbara’s camera
direction.
In the dressing rooms Mark, Barbara and Jay all commented that
they
felt there was ‘something’ in there with them. Mark states "We could
all feel it. It was a strange feeling. Like someone was watching us .I
spent a while aiming my night shot camera into the mirrors as it really
did feel to me, like there was someone behind the mirrors watching.
Like a one way mirror. I was hoping to capture some movement through
the glass, but was unsuccessful."
Kris:
"I had the constant feeling as if there was something around, but never
anything negative. It felt as if something was curious about who was
snooping around their theatre, but it didn’t want to attract any
attention. For me, the wheelchair spot, the maze of corridors and some
of the bathrooms felt the busiest. I didn’t feel anything in the Winter
Garden, which is a spot that is famous for being haunted, especially by
the White Lady. The spookiest place I was is in the bathrooms between
levels, which is where I got my best EVP. I know the stories talk a lot
about a white lady, however, I get the feeling that there is more of a
general residual bustling, but more noticeably from a male entity."
Barbara:
Barbara had a general feeling of something being there. She recalls "I
don’t really consider myself a sensitive, but I did get a very strong
impression in the upstairs theatre of a man, near the top of the
stairs. I got an impression of him falling or dropping to the
ground. He had a heart attack and died in the
theatre. He came from Napier and "never went home" (he told
me that)."
Kel:
"In row R sitting near 5 and 6 where the wheelchair seats are, I felt
like I was sinking, and had the sensation of falling forward. I felt a
presence of an older male, but I did not receive a name when I asked.
Sitting closer to the stage I felt presence, Lisa and I tried some
trigger tests by asking the entity to move the curtains in the box
seats, however nothing happened and I received some negative
words.
Upstairs in the circle level, I felt a male presence however I did not receive a name when I asked.
In row P when sitting in seat number 27, I was receiving a lot
of
energy and I received a lot of communication, talking and whispering at
the same time. However I could not pick up one conversation in the
babble. I had to move from seat 27. I sat near Barbara I felt a male
presence and received a name Riley.
Up in the catwalks above the theatre, I received a name Andrew however
I think the entity was playing with me, and giving me false information.
In the bathrooms that service the theatre, I felt a presence of an
older lady just watching Barbara and myself."
Jay :
"Unfortunately during this investigation I had nothing abnormal stand
out on any of my photos, videos or personal experiences"
Combined Experience:
Kris Relates: "We did get some weird EMF (Electromagnetic
Field
fluctuations, which some believe may indicate a presence of 'ghosts')
levels and action, in the Wheelchair Allocation of seats, in Rows P, Q
and R. The levels went from 300mG, which is normal, right up to 1300mG
for about 5 minutes, and once this attracted the film crew, died back
down to being normal. This was also captured by Matt and Lisa’s EMF
meter, and caught on the TV crew cameras as the levels were on the way
back down. This is in the spot where I managed to obtain a couple of
nice wee unexplained voices last time we were here. This was also a
spot, where our sensitive, Kel, was getting some activity. This
happened on two other occasions, both by door D (which is reputedly
haunted), and upstairs in the circle."
Evidence:
Audio Evidence:
The following piece of audio evidence was recorded by Kris in one of the men's bathrooms. Between 7 and 12 seconds a voice can be heard which Kris reacts to, thinking he was being called, however there was no one else present or trying to call him.
Here the audio is repeated, with the section between 7 and 12
seconds amplified by 20dB.