{"id":31617,"date":"2024-01-11T10:51:42","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T15:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=31617"},"modified":"2024-01-11T12:14:25","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T17:14:25","slug":"andrew-lloyd-webber-called-priest-to-remove-poltergeist-from-his-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2024\/01\/andrew-lloyd-webber-called-priest-to-remove-poltergeist-from-his-home.html","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Lloyd Webber Called Priest to Remove Poltergeist From His Home"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Featureflash Photo Agency \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andrew Lloyd Webber, known for his musical “The Phantom of the Opera,” recently discussed his encounter with a “mischievous spirit” at his Eaton Square residence in London and how he sought a priest’s help to remove the spirit.<\/p>\n

In an interview with <\/a>The Telegraph, <\/em>the award-winning composer shared that while he’s never seen a ghost, his former 19th-century home in Eaton Square was occupied by a poltergeist that would “do things like take theatre scripts and put them in a neat pile in some obscure room.” He said, “In the end, we had to get a priest to come and bless it, and it left.” Poltergeists, known as “noisy spirits,” are often associated with troubling activities, such as hurling objects, biting and even starting fires.<\/p>\n

Historical accounts include the Borley Rectory in Essex, once labeled Britain’s most haunted house, where residents reported poltergeist activity before its 1944 demolition. In 1879, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, witnessed a poltergeist reportedly stabbing a woman. According to The Telegraph<\/em>, the theatre world is no stranger to ghostly encounters: Patrick Stewart claimed to have seen an apparition while performing with Sir Ian McKellen in “Waiting for Godot” at London’s Haymarket Theatre in 2009.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Cameron Mackintosh, a collaborator of Lloyd Webber, felt a mysterious presence on stage during the 1989 opening night of “Miss Saigon” at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The theatre manager attributed this to the resident ghost, known as the Man in Grey. The Telegraph<\/em> notes that Eaton Square’s notable past residents include former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax, actress Vivien Leigh, actor Rex Harrison, former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and socialite Diana Mitford.<\/p>\n